Lincoln, May 15, 2024- Beginning in July, qualified individuals receiving assistance from the Nebraska Specialized Telecommunications Equipment Program (NSTEP) will notice some updates to the program as a result of legislation (<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Final/LB1031.pdf" target="_blank">LB 1031</a>) passed during the 2024 legislative session.

Administered by the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC), NSTEP assists qualifiedindividuals who are deaf, have visual/hearing loss, or a speech disability obtain specializedtelecommunications equipment.“The NSTEP program helps to provide the deaf, hard of hearing and visually impairedcommunity access to telecommunication devices essential for their everyday lives,” saidCommission Chair Dan Watermeier. “We want to thank everyone who worked to help makethis process even more accessible to those in need of these services.”

“NCDDH is proud to have collaborated with the PSC since the establishment of NSTEP,”NCDHH Lead Advocacy Specialists, Kim Davis said. “The updates to the NSTEP program are a positive and necessary step in adapting to the constant evolvement of telecommunication devices and equipment.”

The new law updates the eligibility standards and criteria to allow two qualified residents living at the same address to receive telecommunications equipment. Previously only one resident per household was allowed to receive assistance. It also allows a recipient of telecommunications equipment to reapply for NSTEP assistance every three years instead of every five years.

To be eligible to receive a wireless device (cellphone) or other qualified telecommunicationequipment as a part of NSTEP, residents must complete an application, including a certificationby a professional that the applicant is deaf, hard of hearing, or has speech impairment.

Once deemed eligible, applicants will receive a voucher that they can take to a participatingvendor. The voucher will cover the cost of the equipment up to $1,000.&nbsp; Participants areresponsible for any monthly fees associated with the device, including a required data plan,if applicable.

Information on NSTEP and how residents can qualify for a voucher to be used toward the cost of a mobile wireless device or to apply for other telecommunications equipment can be found on the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/for-consumers/trsnstep-consumer-information" target="_blank">For Consumer TRS/NSTEP</a>&nbsp;page of the PSC website or&nbsp;<a href="https://ncdhh.nebraska.gov/services/nstep" target="_blank">the NSTEP page</a>&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<a href="https://ncdhh.nebraska.gov/" target="_blank">Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NCDDH)</a>&nbsp;website

Deb CollinsLincoln, May 15, 2024- Beginning in July, qualified individuals receiving assistance from the Nebraska Specialized Telecommunications Equipment Program (NSTEP) will notice some updates to the program as a result of legislation (<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Final/LB1031.pdf" target="_blank">LB 1031</a>) passed during the 2024 legislative session.Administered by the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC), NSTEP assists qualifiedindividuals who are deaf, have visual/hearing loss, or a speech disability obtain specializedtelecommunications equipment.“The NSTEP program helps to provide the deaf, hard of hearing and visually impairedcommunity access to telecommunication devices essential for their everyday lives,” saidCommission Chair Dan Watermeier. “We want to thank everyone who worked to help makethis process even more accessible to those in need of these services.”“NCDDH is proud to have collaborated with the PSC since the establishment of NSTEP,”NCDHH Lead Advocacy Specialists, Kim Davis said. “The updates to the NSTEP program are a positive and necessary step in adapting to the constant evolvement of telecommunication devices and equipment.”The new law updates the eligibility standards and criteria to allow two qualified residents living at the same address to receive telecommunications equipment. Previously only one resident per household was allowed to receive assistance. It also allows a recipient of telecommunications equipment to reapply for NSTEP assistance every three years instead of every five years.To be eligible to receive a wireless device (cellphone) or other qualified telecommunicationequipment as a part of NSTEP, residents must complete an application, including a certificationby a professional that the applicant is deaf, hard of hearing, or has speech impairment.Once deemed eligible, applicants will receive a voucher that they can take to a participatingvendor. The voucher will cover the cost of the equipment up to $1,000.&nbsp; Participants areresponsible for any monthly fees associated with the device, including a required data plan,if applicable.Information on NSTEP and how residents can qualify for a voucher to be used toward the cost of a mobile wireless device or to apply for other telecommunications equipment can be found on the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/for-consumers/trsnstep-consumer-information" target="_blank">For Consumer TRS/NSTEP</a>&nbsp;page of the PSC website or&nbsp;<a href="https://ncdhh.nebraska.gov/services/nstep" target="_blank">the NSTEP page</a>&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<a href="https://ncdhh.nebraska.gov/" target="_blank">Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NCDDH)</a>&nbsp;website

UPDATES COMING TO STATE’S NSTEP PROGRAM

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/05/14/ne-officials-say-voting-went-mostly-smoothly-in-states-first-election-requiring-voter-id/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA —&nbsp;A school lockdown in Lincoln on Tuesday briefly shut down a polling place.

In Omaha, a power outage caused by a construction crew gaffe had some voters casting ballots by the light of a lantern.

Those were among a few notable mishaps reported on primary Election Day in Nebraska.

But the biggest change that Nebraskans saw in voting procedures — the new legal requirement that they show a form of identification to cast a ballot at the polls — caused no widespread problems or concerns as of early evening, according to a check with various Nebraska officials.

“This has been a pretty smooth day,” said Steve Smith, spokesman for Civic Nebraska, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting voter rights and democracy. “We really didn’t know what to expect.”&nbsp;

He said earlier outreach efforts by the Nebraska Secretary of State —&nbsp;whom he called the “MVP” of the day —&nbsp;and advocacy groups appeared to have helped educate voters about requirements under the recently passed law.

Overall, Civic Nebraska as of about 6:30 p.m. Central Time reported an “efficient” Election Day. Smith said about four dozen observers visited a total of about 100 precincts.

Just under 50 queries were received by the “election protection line,” he said.

“Our primary is the state’s first election with the new ID requirements, and it continues to be top-of-mind with voters,” said Heather Engdahl, Civic Nebraska’s director of voting rights. “We have been providing clarity about the new law so that everyone who wishes to cast a ballot can do so without impediment.”

Driver’s license and state ID were most common

Jackie Ourada, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said voting across the state had gone mostly smoothly into the evening.

She said most voters have chosen to show either a driver’s license or a state ID.

A news photographer said on social media that his Supreme Court-issued media photo ID was rejected. He wondered out loud if he would “risk a confrontation” by returning to the polling place in Otoe County.

Ourada said she was told by the county clerk that it was the name on the ID that caused confusion for the workers, as opposed to the type of ID. The name reportedly was similar to another voter’s name on the roster, the clerk said.

In another instance, Ourada said, a voter in Douglas County showed an out-of-state driver’s license, which is not acceptable ID under the new law. She said the person was allowed to fill out a provisional ballot, which requires the voter to report to the election commissioner within a week with an acceptable form of ID so the ballot can be counted.

Social media also highlighted pro-life messages scribbled in chalk near a polling place at Omaha Skutt Catholic High School.

Brian Kruse, Douglas County election commissioner, said he did not see the chalkings as electioneering violations since no abortion-related initiatives were on the ballot.&nbsp;

Kruse said that voting overall in Douglas County had gone relatively smoothly into the evening, with perhaps the most notable mishap being the power outage in central Omaha that affected two church polling places for less than two hours.

Voting continued with the help of natural light in one church. The other had voting booths in the basement. The Election Commissioner’s Office sent a runner to that facility with several&nbsp; lanterns, and the church also provided lanterns and flashlights.

In Sarpy County, Election Commissioner Emily Ethington said voting was “running smoothly” with “no issues to report” as of early evening.

In Lincoln, a polling place at Mickle Middle School was closed from about 8:20 a.m. to 8:54 a.m. because the school was placed in lockdown, said Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen.

The school chose to go into lockdown mode after learning that the Lincoln Police Department and its SWAT team were in the neighborhood serving an arrest warrant.

Wiltgen said his office had a plan to relocate the polling place to another spot nearby, but the school reopened before the move started.

He said there was light voter turnout at the time, and he did not think anyone was turned away.

Overall, Wiltgen said, voting operations had gone smoothly into the evening. He knew of no problems related to voter ID.

An official at Spirit Life Church in Bellevue said morning voting had gone without any snags.

A yard sign planted at the entrance of a long driveway reminded voters of the need for ID. Another sign waited at the door.

“People have their IDs ready,” said Stephanie Warren.

At the American Legion Post 331 in South Omaha, polling official Janet Bonet said voting was light and no concerns had surfaced with voter ID.

She said one woman, a naturalized citizen born in El Salvador, had walked to the polling place to vote for the third time since becoming a citizen. She told workers that her mail-in ballot had gotten ruined in the washing machine.&nbsp;

Bonet said the decision was made for the woman to cast a provisional ballot, as everyone wanted to see her vote count.

“It’s been a good experience so far for me and everybody else,” Bonet said of the day.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715788127724.jpeg" alt=" A sign at the entry to a church campus in Bellevue, where voters cast ballots Tuesday, reminds them of the state’s new voter ID law. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> A sign at the entry to a church campus in Bellevue, where voters cast ballots Tuesday, reminds them of the state’s new voter ID law. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Cindy Gonzalez<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/05/14/ne-officials-say-voting-went-mostly-smoothly-in-states-first-election-requiring-voter-id/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA —&nbsp;A school lockdown in Lincoln on Tuesday briefly shut down a polling place.In Omaha, a power outage caused by a construction crew gaffe had some voters casting ballots by the light of a lantern.Those were among a few notable mishaps reported on primary Election Day in Nebraska.But the biggest change that Nebraskans saw in voting procedures — the new legal requirement that they show a form of identification to cast a ballot at the polls — caused no widespread problems or concerns as of early evening, according to a check with various Nebraska officials.“This has been a pretty smooth day,” said Steve Smith, spokesman for Civic Nebraska, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting voter rights and democracy. “We really didn’t know what to expect.”&nbsp;<h2>MVP of the day</h2>He said earlier outreach efforts by the Nebraska Secretary of State —&nbsp;whom he called the “MVP” of the day —&nbsp;and advocacy groups appeared to have helped educate voters about requirements under the recently passed law.Overall, Civic Nebraska as of about 6:30 p.m. Central Time reported an “efficient” Election Day. Smith said about four dozen observers visited a total of about 100 precincts.Just under 50 queries were received by the “election protection line,” he said.“Our primary is the state’s first election with the new ID requirements, and it continues to be top-of-mind with voters,” said Heather Engdahl, Civic Nebraska’s director of voting rights. “We have been providing clarity about the new law so that everyone who wishes to cast a ballot can do so without impediment.”Among issues reported to Civic Nebraska:<ul>
 <li>In Omaha and Lincoln, poll workers in a few instances were briefly unsure how to proceed after a voter presented a current Nebraska driver’s license that contained an old address. The new law allows outdated or expired ID cards, as long as they carry the person’s photo and name. Civic Nebraska said each of those situations was “quickly resolved,” and the voters were allowed to cast their ballots</li><li>In Douglas County, a poll worker asked a voter to put away a mobile phone while in the voting booth. The voter cited a state law that allows voters to employ such resources to help in their voter process —&nbsp;and was allowed to vote.</li>
 </ul><h2>Driver’s license and state ID were most common</h2>Jackie Ourada, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said voting across the state had gone mostly smoothly into the evening.She said most voters have chosen to show either a driver’s license or a state ID.A news photographer said on social media that his Supreme Court-issued media photo ID was rejected. He wondered out loud if he would “risk a confrontation” by returning to the polling place in Otoe County.Ourada said she was told by the county clerk that it was the name on the ID that caused confusion for the workers, as opposed to the type of ID. The name reportedly was similar to another voter’s name on the roster, the clerk said.In another instance, Ourada said, a voter in Douglas County showed an out-of-state driver’s license, which is not acceptable ID under the new law. She said the person was allowed to fill out a provisional ballot, which requires the voter to report to the election commissioner within a week with an acceptable form of ID so the ballot can be counted.Social media also highlighted pro-life messages scribbled in chalk near a polling place at Omaha Skutt Catholic High School.Brian Kruse, Douglas County election commissioner, said he did not see the chalkings as electioneering violations since no abortion-related initiatives were on the ballot.&nbsp;<h2>SWAT team in the area</h2>Kruse said that voting overall in Douglas County had gone relatively smoothly into the evening, with perhaps the most notable mishap being the power outage in central Omaha that affected two church polling places for less than two hours.Voting continued with the help of natural light in one church. The other had voting booths in the basement. The Election Commissioner’s Office sent a runner to that facility with several&nbsp; lanterns, and the church also provided lanterns and flashlights.In Sarpy County, Election Commissioner Emily Ethington said voting was “running smoothly” with “no issues to report” as of early evening.In Lincoln, a polling place at Mickle Middle School was closed from about 8:20 a.m. to 8:54 a.m. because the school was placed in lockdown, said Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen.The school chose to go into lockdown mode after learning that the Lincoln Police Department and its SWAT team were in the neighborhood serving an arrest warrant.Wiltgen said his office had a plan to relocate the polling place to another spot nearby, but the school reopened before the move started.He said there was light voter turnout at the time, and he did not think anyone was turned away.Overall, Wiltgen said, voting operations had gone smoothly into the evening. He knew of no problems related to voter ID.<h2>Washing machine woe</h2>An official at Spirit Life Church in Bellevue said morning voting had gone without any snags.A yard sign planted at the entrance of a long driveway reminded voters of the need for ID. Another sign waited at the door.“People have their IDs ready,” said Stephanie Warren.At the American Legion Post 331 in South Omaha, polling official Janet Bonet said voting was light and no concerns had surfaced with voter ID.She said one woman, a naturalized citizen born in El Salvador, had walked to the polling place to vote for the third time since becoming a citizen. She told workers that her mail-in ballot had gotten ruined in the washing machine.&nbsp;Bonet said the decision was made for the woman to cast a provisional ballot, as everyone wanted to see her vote count.“It’s been a good experience so far for me and everybody else,” Bonet said of the day.

NE officials say voting went mostly smoothly in state’s first election requiring voter ID

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates in June and September — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN — but their camps appeared far apart on key details like the ground rules for the presidential face-offs.

The quick agreement on the timetable to meet followed the Democrat's announcement that he will not participate in fall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/political-debates">presidential debates</a>&nbsp;sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that has organized them for more than three decades. Biden's campaign instead proposed that media outlets directly organize the debates with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/presumptive-nominee-biden-trump-6b2a3beb31896894ded9e96aa30cfcec">the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees</a>, with the first to be held in late June and the second in September before early voting begins. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site, said he was “Ready and Willing to Debate” Biden at the proposed times.

Hours later, Biden said he accepted an invitation from CNN to a debate on June 27, adding, “Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, anytime, any place.” Trump told Fox News Digital he accepted the invitation: “I’ll be there,” he told the outlet.

Still, the two sides appeared to be hold significant differences on key questions of how to organize the debates, including agreeing on media partners, moderators, location and rules — some of the very questions that prompted the formation of the Commission on Presidential Debates in 1987. Biden's proposal would exclude third-party candidates, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-robert-f-kennedy-jr-rfk-097ac973a32ddf2e8e4edecd6a8f3153">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>

Trump’s team did not immediately weigh in on the details of the Biden proposal, but Trump expressed his desire for a large live audience.

“I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds - That’s only because he doesn’t get them,” Trump said. “Just tell me when, I’ll be there.”

Trump has been pushing for more debates and earlier debates, arguing voters should be able to see the two men face off well before early voting begins in September. He has repeatedly said he will debate Biden “anytime, anywhere, any place,”&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/hGDMG0MM6F4?feature=shared">even proposing the two men face off</a>&nbsp;outside the Manhattan courthouse where he is currently on criminal trial in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-hush-money-f96dd7289cf952145cdd6737b29add3d">a hush money case</a>. He also has been taunting Biden with an empty lectern at some of his rallies.

Biden’s campaign has long held a grudge against the nonpartisan commission for failing to evenly apply its rules during the 2020 Biden-Trump matchups — most notably when it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-donald-trump-joe-biden-health-campaigns-0f7315791a3ead1919842c894bedb68f">didn’t enforce its COVID-19 testing rules on Trump</a>&nbsp;and his entourage — and Biden’s team has held talks with television networks and some Republicans about ways to circumvent the commission’s grip on presidential debates.

Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Wednesday sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates to say that Biden’s campaign objected to the fall dates selected by the commission, which come after some Americans begin to vote, repeating a complaint also voiced by the Trump campaign. She also voiced frustrations over the rule violations and the commission's insistence on holding the debates before a live audience.

“The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors," she said. ”As was the case with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/today-in-history-covid-health-middle-east-ts-eliot-90ea2a57ca484c41565b1c1a257fc1d9">the original televised debates in 1960</a>, a television studio with just the candidates and moderators is a better, more cost-efficient way to proceed: focused solely on the interests of voters."

There was little love lost for the commission as well from Trump, who objected to technical issues at his first debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and was upset after a debate with Biden was canceled in 2020 after the Republican came down with COVID-19. The Republican National Committee had already promised not to work with commission on the 2024 contests.

The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The Trump campaign issued a statement on May 1 that objected to the scheduled debates by the commission, saying that the schedule “begins AFTER early voting” and that “this is unacceptable” because voters deserve to hear from the candidates before ballots are cast.

Under the debate commission's rules, Kennedy or other third-party candidates could qualify if they secured ballot access sufficient to claim 270 Electoral Votes and polled at 15% or higher in a selection of national polls.

O’Malley Dillon said the debates "should be one-on-one, allowing voters to compare the only two candidates with any statistical chance of prevailing in the Electoral College – and not squandering debate time on candidates with no prospect of becoming President.”

The Biden campaign also proposed that the Biden-Trump debates this year be hosted by “any broadcast organization that hosted a Republican Primary debate in 2016 in which Donald Trump participated, and a Democratic primary debate in 2020 in which President Biden participated — so neither campaign can assert that the sponsoring organization is obviously unacceptable: if both candidates have previously debated on their airwaves, then neither could object to such venue."

Those criteria would eliminate Fox News, which did not host a Democratic primary debate in 2020, and potentially NBC News, which did not host a GOP one in 2016 — though its corporate affiliates CNBC and Telmundo were co-hosts of one debate each that year.

In teeing up the debates, both Biden and Trump traded barbs on social media — each claiming victory the last time they faced-off in 2020.

“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate,' Biden said in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. "Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal.”

Trump, for his part, said Biden was the “WORST debater I have ever faced - He can’t put two sentences together!”

The Democrat suggested that the two candidates could pick some dates, taking a dig at Trump’s ongoing New York hush money trial by noting that the Republican is “free on Wednesdays,” the usual day off in the trial.

The president first indicated he would be willing to debate Trump during an interview with the radio host Howard Stern last month, telling him that “I am, somewhere. I don’t know when. But I’m happy to debate him.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he will not participate in fall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/political-debates">presidential debates</a>&nbsp;sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that has organized them for more than three decades and instead proposed two debates with former President Donald Trump to be held earlier in the year.

Biden's campaign proposed that the first debate between&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/presumptive-nominee-biden-trump-6b2a3beb31896894ded9e96aa30cfcec">the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees</a>&nbsp;be held in late June and the second in September before early voting begins. Trump responded to the letter in an interview with Fox News digital, calling the proposed dates “fully acceptable to me” and joked about providing his own transportation.

Biden, in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, sought to needle his rival, saying, “Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal.”

Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Wednesday sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates to say that Biden would not participate in its announced debates, choosing instead to participate in debates hosted by news organizations. The Biden campaign objected to the fall dates selected by the commission — which come after some Americans begin to vote — repeating a complaint also raised by the Trump campaign.

Biden's campaign has long-held a grudge against the nonpartisan commission for failing to evenly apply its rules during the 2020 Biden-Trump matchups — most notably when it didn't enforce its COVID-19 testing rules on Trump and his entourage — and Biden's team has held talks with television networks and some Republicans about ways to circumvent the commission's grip on presidential debates.

Biden indicated again last week that he was preparing to debate, telling reporters as he was leaving a White House event: “Set it up.”

Trump has repeatedly dared Biden to debate him, keeping a second podium open at rallies and claiming that his rival would not be up for the task.

Trump, too, has taken issue with the debate commission, but he and his team have maintained that they don’t care who hosts the debates as long as they happen.

The Trump campaign issued a statement on May 1 that objected to the scheduled debates by the Commission on Presidential Debates, saying that the schedule “begins AFTER early voting” and that “this is unacceptable” because voters deserve to hear from the candidates before ballots are cast.

Trump said at a Pennsylvania rally before his hush money trial began that the debates were needed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates in June and September — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN — but their camps appeared far apart on key details like the ground rules for the presidential face-offs.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. <a href="https://t.co/AkPmvs2q4u">pic.twitter.com/AkPmvs2q4u</a>&mdash; Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1790713878248038478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The quick agreement on the timetable to meet followed the Democrat's announcement that he will not participate in fall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/political-debates">presidential debates</a>&nbsp;sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that has organized them for more than three decades. Biden's campaign instead proposed that media outlets directly organize the debates with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/presumptive-nominee-biden-trump-6b2a3beb31896894ded9e96aa30cfcec">the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees</a>, with the first to be held in late June and the second in September before early voting begins. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site, said he was “Ready and Willing to Debate” Biden at the proposed times.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715783969577.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Hours later, Biden said he accepted an invitation from CNN to a debate on June 27, adding, “Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, anytime, any place.” Trump told Fox News Digital he accepted the invitation: “I’ll be there,” he told the outlet.Still, the two sides appeared to be hold significant differences on key questions of how to organize the debates, including agreeing on media partners, moderators, location and rules — some of the very questions that prompted the formation of the Commission on Presidential Debates in 1987. Biden's proposal would exclude third-party candidates, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-robert-f-kennedy-jr-rfk-097ac973a32ddf2e8e4edecd6a8f3153">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>Trump’s team did not immediately weigh in on the details of the Biden proposal, but Trump expressed his desire for a large live audience.“I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds - That’s only because he doesn’t get them,” Trump said. “Just tell me when, I’ll be there.”Trump has been pushing for more debates and earlier debates, arguing voters should be able to see the two men face off well before early voting begins in September. He has repeatedly said he will debate Biden “anytime, anywhere, any place,”&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/hGDMG0MM6F4?feature=shared">even proposing the two men face off</a>&nbsp;outside the Manhattan courthouse where he is currently on criminal trial in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-hush-money-f96dd7289cf952145cdd6737b29add3d">a hush money case</a>. He also has been taunting Biden with an empty lectern at some of his rallies.Biden’s campaign has long held a grudge against the nonpartisan commission for failing to evenly apply its rules during the 2020 Biden-Trump matchups — most notably when it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-donald-trump-joe-biden-health-campaigns-0f7315791a3ead1919842c894bedb68f">didn’t enforce its COVID-19 testing rules on Trump</a>&nbsp;and his entourage — and Biden’s team has held talks with television networks and some Republicans about ways to circumvent the commission’s grip on presidential debates.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">JUST ANNOUNCED: CNN will host a 2024 Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, GA. The debate will air live on 6/27 at 9pET on <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNN</a>, CNN Max and without a cable login on <a href="https://t.co/dOLGQHu7eC">https://t.co/dOLGQHu7eC</a>. More: <a href="https://t.co/rjbaLohxLs">https://t.co/rjbaLohxLs</a> <a href="https://t.co/g3PCztJInt">pic.twitter.com/g3PCztJInt</a>&mdash; CNN Communications (@CNNPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNPR/status/1790757195455324413?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Wednesday sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates to say that Biden’s campaign objected to the fall dates selected by the commission, which come after some Americans begin to vote, repeating a complaint also voiced by the Trump campaign. She also voiced frustrations over the rule violations and the commission's insistence on holding the debates before a live audience.“The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors," she said. ”As was the case with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/today-in-history-covid-health-middle-east-ts-eliot-90ea2a57ca484c41565b1c1a257fc1d9">the original televised debates in 1960</a>, a television studio with just the candidates and moderators is a better, more cost-efficient way to proceed: focused solely on the interests of voters."There was little love lost for the commission as well from Trump, who objected to technical issues at his first debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and was upset after a debate with Biden was canceled in 2020 after the Republican came down with COVID-19. The Republican National Committee had already promised not to work with commission on the 2024 contests.The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.The Trump campaign issued a statement on May 1 that objected to the scheduled debates by the commission, saying that the schedule “begins AFTER early voting” and that “this is unacceptable” because voters deserve to hear from the candidates before ballots are cast.Under the debate commission's rules, Kennedy or other third-party candidates could qualify if they secured ballot access sufficient to claim 270 Electoral Votes and polled at 15% or higher in a selection of national polls.O’Malley Dillon said the debates "should be one-on-one, allowing voters to compare the only two candidates with any statistical chance of prevailing in the Electoral College – and not squandering debate time on candidates with no prospect of becoming President.”The Biden campaign also proposed that the Biden-Trump debates this year be hosted by “any broadcast organization that hosted a Republican Primary debate in 2016 in which Donald Trump participated, and a Democratic primary debate in 2020 in which President Biden participated — so neither campaign can assert that the sponsoring organization is obviously unacceptable: if both candidates have previously debated on their airwaves, then neither could object to such venue."Those criteria would eliminate Fox News, which did not host a Democratic primary debate in 2020, and potentially NBC News, which did not host a GOP one in 2016 — though its corporate affiliates CNBC and Telmundo were co-hosts of one debate each that year.In teeing up the debates, both Biden and Trump traded barbs on social media — each claiming victory the last time they faced-off in 2020.“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate,' Biden said in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. "Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal.”Trump, for his part, said Biden was the “WORST debater I have ever faced - He can’t put two sentences together!”The Democrat suggested that the two candidates could pick some dates, taking a dig at Trump’s ongoing New York hush money trial by noting that the Republican is “free on Wednesdays,” the usual day off in the trial.The president first indicated he would be willing to debate Trump during an interview with the radio host Howard Stern last month, telling him that “I am, somewhere. I don’t know when. But I’m happy to debate him.”------------------WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he will not participate in fall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/political-debates">presidential debates</a>&nbsp;sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that has organized them for more than three decades and instead proposed two debates with former President Donald Trump to be held earlier in the year.Biden's campaign proposed that the first debate between&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/presumptive-nominee-biden-trump-6b2a3beb31896894ded9e96aa30cfcec">the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees</a>&nbsp;be held in late June and the second in September before early voting begins. Trump responded to the letter in an interview with Fox News digital, calling the proposed dates “fully acceptable to me” and joked about providing his own transportation.Biden, in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, sought to needle his rival, saying, “Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal.”The Democrat suggested that the two candidates could pick some dates, taking a dig at Trump’s ongoing New York hush money trial by noting that the Republican is “free on Wednesdays,” the usual day off in the trial.Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Wednesday sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates to say that Biden would not participate in its announced debates, choosing instead to participate in debates hosted by news organizations. The Biden campaign objected to the fall dates selected by the commission — which come after some Americans begin to vote — repeating a complaint also raised by the Trump campaign.Biden's campaign has long-held a grudge against the nonpartisan commission for failing to evenly apply its rules during the 2020 Biden-Trump matchups — most notably when it didn't enforce its COVID-19 testing rules on Trump and his entourage — and Biden's team has held talks with television networks and some Republicans about ways to circumvent the commission's grip on presidential debates.The president first indicated he would be willing to debate Trump during an interview with the radio host Howard Stern last month, telling him that “I am, somewhere. I don’t know when. But I’m happy to debate him.”Biden indicated again last week that he was preparing to debate, telling reporters as he was leaving a White House event: “Set it up.”Trump has repeatedly dared Biden to debate him, keeping a second podium open at rallies and claiming that his rival would not be up for the task.Trump, too, has taken issue with the debate commission, but he and his team have maintained that they don’t care who hosts the debates as long as they happen.The Trump campaign issued a statement on May 1 that objected to the scheduled debates by the Commission on Presidential Debates, saying that the schedule “begins AFTER early voting” and that “this is unacceptable” because voters deserve to hear from the candidates before ballots are cast.Trump said at a Pennsylvania rally before his hush money trial began that the debates were needed.

🎥Biden and Trump agree on debates: 'Make my day pal'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rates-inflation-mortgages-52156f98736527a254d5717b83e219f2">unlikely to raise</a>&nbsp;its key interest rate in response to signs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-rates-economy-federal-reserve-biden-f02b969d1b44a7ccb0385be03f766de0">stubborn inflation</a>&nbsp;and underscored his view that price increases would soon start to cool again.

Yet Powell, during a panel discussion in Amsterdam, said his confidence that inflation will ease “is not as high as it was” because price increases have been persistently hot in the first three months of this year. Powell stressed that the Fed’s preferred approach was to keep its benchmark rate at its current two-decade peak rather than increase it.

“I don’t think that it’s likely, based on the data that we have, that the next move that we make would be a rate hike,” Powell said. “I think it’s more likely that we’ll be at a place where we hold the policy rate where it is.”

Financial markets and economists have been hoping for signs that one or two Fed rate cuts might be coming this year, given that inflation is down sharply from its high in 2022. But with price pressures still elevated, Powell and other Fed officials have signaled that no rate cut is likely anytime soon.

Powell spoke hours after a report on U.S. producer prices showed that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-powell-c8c2bf0556446c1c4c858f6fc2f877ea">wholesale inflation picked up in April</a>. On Wednesday, the government will issue the latest monthly report on consumer inflation, which is expected to show that price growth cooled a bit last month.

In his remarks Tuesday, Powell downplayed the wholesale price report, which also showed that some costs cooled last month, including for airfares, hospital visits and car insurance.

“I wouldn’t call it hot,” he said of the wholesale inflation data. “I would call it sort of mixed.”

Economists are divided over whether the high inflation figures this year reflect a re-acceleration in price growth or are largely echoes of pandemic distortions. Auto insurance, for example, has soared 22% from a year ago, but that surge may reflect factors specific to the auto industry: New car prices jumped during the pandemic, and insurance companies are now seeking to offset the higher repair and replacement costs by raising their premiums.

Other economists point to consistent consumer spending on restaurant meals, travel and entertainment, categories where in some cases price increases have also been elevated, possibly reflecting strong demand.

Powell said that upcoming inflation reports will reveal whether such factors are keeping inflation high or whether inflation will soon fall back to the Fed’s 2% target, as he said he expects. Inflation, which peaked at 9.1% in the summer of 2022, is forecast to slow to 3.4% in Wednesday’s latest report.

The Fed chair noted that rising rents are one key factor keeping inflation high. He called that “a bit of a puzzle” because measures of new apartment leases show new rents barely increasing. Such weaker data has apparently yet to flow into the government’s measures, which cover all rents, including for tenants who renew their leases. Though rents are still growing faster for tenants who renew leases, Powell said the government’s measures should eventually show rent growth easing.

The Fed chair also acknowledged that the economy “is different this time” because so many Americans refinanced their mortgages at very low rates before the Fed began raising borrowing costs in March 2022. Many large businesses also locked in low rates at that time.

“It may be,” he said, that the Fed’s rate policy “is hitting the economy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rates-inflation-mortgages-52156f98736527a254d5717b83e219f2">not quite as strongly</a>&nbsp;as it would have if those two things were not the case.”

Last week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rates-inflation-mortgages-52156f98736527a254d5717b83e219f2">Fed officials underscored</a>&nbsp;that they were prepared to leave their key interest rate at 5.3%, the highest level in 23 years, as long as needed quell inflation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sharp interest rate hikes of the past two years will likely take longer than previously expected to bring down inflation, several Federal Reserve officials have said in recent comments, suggesting there may be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-inflation-prices-interest-rates-cuts-348e4db8a6c91f108268713d181d6a17">few, if any</a>, rate cuts this year.

A major concern expressed by both Fed policymakers and some economists is that higher borrowing costs aren't having as much of an impact as economics textbooks would suggest. Americans as a whole, for example, aren't spending much more of their incomes on interest payments than they were a few years ago, according to government data, despite the Fed's sharp rate increases. That means higher rates may not be doing much to limit many Americans' spending, or cool inflation.

“What you have right now is a situation where these high rates aren’t generating more braking power on the economy,” said Joseph Lupton, global economist at J.P. Morgan. “That would suggest that they either need to stay high for longer or maybe even higher for longer, meaning rate hikes might come into the conversation.”

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-inflation-prices-interest-rates-cuts-348e4db8a6c91f108268713d181d6a17">earlier this month</a>&nbsp;that an interest rate increase was “unlikely,” but he did not fully rule it out. Powell emphasized, however, that the Fed needed to take more time to gain “greater confidence” that inflation is actually returning to the Fed's 2% target.

“I think the Fed’s telling you hikes are not quite as on the table as the market was expecting,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities.

On Friday, Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said that it is “just too early to think" about cutting rates, according to news reports. She also suggested that it is unclear whether the Fed's rate is high enough to quell inflation. Logan is one of the 19 officials on the Fed's interest-rate setting committee, though she does not vote on rates this year.

Higher-for-longer borrowing costs are sure to disappoint many, from Americans hoping for lower mortgage rates before buying a home, to Wall Street traders eagerly awaiting a cut, to President Joe Biden, whose reelection campaign would likely benefit from lower rates.

On Wednesday, the government will release April's inflation report, and economists forecast it will show inflation declined slightly to 3.4%, from 3.5% in March. It has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-rates-economy-federal-reserve-biden-f02b969d1b44a7ccb0385be03f766de0">climbed from 3.1% in January</a>, however, after falling sharply last year, raising concerns about whether progress in reducing inflation has stalled.

The Fed has pushed its key rate to a 23-year high of 5.3% in an effort to bring down inflation, which peaked at 9.1% in June 2022.

Yet despite those sharp increases, Americans, on average, spent just 9.8% of their after-tax income paying interest and principal on their debts in last year’s fourth quarter. Two years earlier — before the Fed hiked rates — they spent 9.5%, a historically low percentage.

Why hasn't the figure risen by more? Millions of American homeowners refinanced their mortgages at very low rates during the past decade and a half when the Fed mostly kept its key rate at nearly zero to bolster the economy. As a result, their mortgages remain low and their finances largely unaffected by the Fed's policies. Consumers who paid off their cars, or who took out low-rate five-year car loans before rates rose, have also felt little impact.

The average rate for a new 30-year mortgage is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-loan-a1e51b9f3da89e361d75ba93da23db28">nearly 7.1%</a>, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. But Goldberg calculates that the average rate on all outstanding mortgages is just 3.8%, not much higher than 3.3% when the Fed began to hike rates. The gap between new rates and the average outstanding is the highest since the 1980s.

"One of the things we hear is that maybe because so many Americans refinanced their mortgages when mortgage rates dropped during the pandemic ... people are not feeling the bite of higher mortgage rates yet,” Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve's Minneapolis branch, said last week. “If that’s true, and I think there’s some truth to that, then it may take longer” for the Fed’s rate hikes “to be fully felt by the housing market and by the economy more broadly.”

Many large corporations also locked in low rates before the Fed began hiking, further limiting the impact of higher borrowing costs.

“I think the most likely scenario is where we are right now, which is just we stay put for an extended period of time,” Kashkari said, referring to the Fed's key rate.

There are signs that higher rates are causing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-credit-cards-delinquencies-scores-renters-85aab5e510f531df140f99629a4f60c3">more financial struggles</a>&nbsp;for many Americans, as delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans rise. And many younger Americans are becoming increasingly concerned that, with mortgage costs so high, they will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-housing-trump-home-price-rent-248ef02e197c3a7ffb801e370c529d33">not be able to afford</a>&nbsp;a home.

Yet delinquencies are climbing from very low levels and are not yet historically high. Pandemic-era stimulus checks and rising incomes allowed many people to pay down debt in the past few years.

And Americans, in total, are carrying much less debt as a percentage of their incomes than they did during the housing bubble 15 years ago, Lupton notes.

“With consumers and businesses alike sheltered from higher interest rates thanks to pandemic-era debt paydowns and refinancing, their aggregate interest burden is not yet historically elevated," Tom Barkin, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve, said in recent comments. “To me, that suggests the full impact of higher rates is yet to come.”

Goldberg said that greater borrowing costs will eventually start to bite as more Americans throw in the towel and purchase homes, even with higher mortgage rates. In some cases, they may move for a new job or have family changes that require a move. And more companies, over time, will have to borrow at higher rates as well, as their low-interest loans mature.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642689710083.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rates-inflation-mortgages-52156f98736527a254d5717b83e219f2">unlikely to raise</a>&nbsp;its key interest rate in response to signs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-rates-economy-federal-reserve-biden-f02b969d1b44a7ccb0385be03f766de0">stubborn inflation</a>&nbsp;and underscored his view that price increases would soon start to cool again.Yet Powell, during a panel discussion in Amsterdam, said his confidence that inflation will ease “is not as high as it was” because price increases have been persistently hot in the first three months of this year. Powell stressed that the Fed’s preferred approach was to keep its benchmark rate at its current two-decade peak rather than increase it.“I don’t think that it’s likely, based on the data that we have, that the next move that we make would be a rate hike,” Powell said. “I think it’s more likely that we’ll be at a place where we hold the policy rate where it is.”Financial markets and economists have been hoping for signs that one or two Fed rate cuts might be coming this year, given that inflation is down sharply from its high in 2022. But with price pressures still elevated, Powell and other Fed officials have signaled that no rate cut is likely anytime soon.Powell spoke hours after a report on U.S. producer prices showed that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-powell-c8c2bf0556446c1c4c858f6fc2f877ea">wholesale inflation picked up in April</a>. On Wednesday, the government will issue the latest monthly report on consumer inflation, which is expected to show that price growth cooled a bit last month.In his remarks Tuesday, Powell downplayed the wholesale price report, which also showed that some costs cooled last month, including for airfares, hospital visits and car insurance.“I wouldn’t call it hot,” he said of the wholesale inflation data. “I would call it sort of mixed.”Economists are divided over whether the high inflation figures this year reflect a re-acceleration in price growth or are largely echoes of pandemic distortions. Auto insurance, for example, has soared 22% from a year ago, but that surge may reflect factors specific to the auto industry: New car prices jumped during the pandemic, and insurance companies are now seeking to offset the higher repair and replacement costs by raising their premiums.Other economists point to consistent consumer spending on restaurant meals, travel and entertainment, categories where in some cases price increases have also been elevated, possibly reflecting strong demand.Powell said that upcoming inflation reports will reveal whether such factors are keeping inflation high or whether inflation will soon fall back to the Fed’s 2% target, as he said he expects. Inflation, which peaked at 9.1% in the summer of 2022, is forecast to slow to 3.4% in Wednesday’s latest report.The Fed chair noted that rising rents are one key factor keeping inflation high. He called that “a bit of a puzzle” because measures of new apartment leases show new rents barely increasing. Such weaker data has apparently yet to flow into the government’s measures, which cover all rents, including for tenants who renew their leases. Though rents are still growing faster for tenants who renew leases, Powell said the government’s measures should eventually show rent growth easing.The Fed chair also acknowledged that the economy “is different this time” because so many Americans refinanced their mortgages at very low rates before the Fed began raising borrowing costs in March 2022. Many large businesses also locked in low rates at that time.“It may be,” he said, that the Fed’s rate policy “is hitting the economy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rates-inflation-mortgages-52156f98736527a254d5717b83e219f2">not quite as strongly</a>&nbsp;as it would have if those two things were not the case.”Last week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rates-inflation-mortgages-52156f98736527a254d5717b83e219f2">Fed officials underscored</a>&nbsp;that they were prepared to leave their key interest rate at 5.3%, the highest level in 23 years, as long as needed quell inflation.----------WASHINGTON (AP) — The sharp interest rate hikes of the past two years will likely take longer than previously expected to bring down inflation, several Federal Reserve officials have said in recent comments, suggesting there may be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-inflation-prices-interest-rates-cuts-348e4db8a6c91f108268713d181d6a17">few, if any</a>, rate cuts this year.A major concern expressed by both Fed policymakers and some economists is that higher borrowing costs aren't having as much of an impact as economics textbooks would suggest. Americans as a whole, for example, aren't spending much more of their incomes on interest payments than they were a few years ago, according to government data, despite the Fed's sharp rate increases. That means higher rates may not be doing much to limit many Americans' spending, or cool inflation.“What you have right now is a situation where these high rates aren’t generating more braking power on the economy,” said Joseph Lupton, global economist at J.P. Morgan. “That would suggest that they either need to stay high for longer or maybe even higher for longer, meaning rate hikes might come into the conversation.”Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-inflation-prices-interest-rates-cuts-348e4db8a6c91f108268713d181d6a17">earlier this month</a>&nbsp;that an interest rate increase was “unlikely,” but he did not fully rule it out. Powell emphasized, however, that the Fed needed to take more time to gain “greater confidence” that inflation is actually returning to the Fed's 2% target.“I think the Fed’s telling you hikes are not quite as on the table as the market was expecting,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities.On Friday, Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said that it is “just too early to think" about cutting rates, according to news reports. She also suggested that it is unclear whether the Fed's rate is high enough to quell inflation. Logan is one of the 19 officials on the Fed's interest-rate setting committee, though she does not vote on rates this year.Higher-for-longer borrowing costs are sure to disappoint many, from Americans hoping for lower mortgage rates before buying a home, to Wall Street traders eagerly awaiting a cut, to President Joe Biden, whose reelection campaign would likely benefit from lower rates.On Wednesday, the government will release April's inflation report, and economists forecast it will show inflation declined slightly to 3.4%, from 3.5% in March. It has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-rates-economy-federal-reserve-biden-f02b969d1b44a7ccb0385be03f766de0">climbed from 3.1% in January</a>, however, after falling sharply last year, raising concerns about whether progress in reducing inflation has stalled.The Fed has pushed its key rate to a 23-year high of 5.3% in an effort to bring down inflation, which peaked at 9.1% in June 2022.Yet despite those sharp increases, Americans, on average, spent just 9.8% of their after-tax income paying interest and principal on their debts in last year’s fourth quarter. Two years earlier — before the Fed hiked rates — they spent 9.5%, a historically low percentage.Why hasn't the figure risen by more? Millions of American homeowners refinanced their mortgages at very low rates during the past decade and a half when the Fed mostly kept its key rate at nearly zero to bolster the economy. As a result, their mortgages remain low and their finances largely unaffected by the Fed's policies. Consumers who paid off their cars, or who took out low-rate five-year car loans before rates rose, have also felt little impact.The average rate for a new 30-year mortgage is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-loan-a1e51b9f3da89e361d75ba93da23db28">nearly 7.1%</a>, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. But Goldberg calculates that the average rate on all outstanding mortgages is just 3.8%, not much higher than 3.3% when the Fed began to hike rates. The gap between new rates and the average outstanding is the highest since the 1980s."One of the things we hear is that maybe because so many Americans refinanced their mortgages when mortgage rates dropped during the pandemic ... people are not feeling the bite of higher mortgage rates yet,” Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve's Minneapolis branch, said last week. “If that’s true, and I think there’s some truth to that, then it may take longer” for the Fed’s rate hikes “to be fully felt by the housing market and by the economy more broadly.”Many large corporations also locked in low rates before the Fed began hiking, further limiting the impact of higher borrowing costs.“I think the most likely scenario is where we are right now, which is just we stay put for an extended period of time,” Kashkari said, referring to the Fed's key rate.There are signs that higher rates are causing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-credit-cards-delinquencies-scores-renters-85aab5e510f531df140f99629a4f60c3">more financial struggles</a>&nbsp;for many Americans, as delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans rise. And many younger Americans are becoming increasingly concerned that, with mortgage costs so high, they will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-housing-trump-home-price-rent-248ef02e197c3a7ffb801e370c529d33">not be able to afford</a>&nbsp;a home.Yet delinquencies are climbing from very low levels and are not yet historically high. Pandemic-era stimulus checks and rising incomes allowed many people to pay down debt in the past few years.And Americans, in total, are carrying much less debt as a percentage of their incomes than they did during the housing bubble 15 years ago, Lupton notes.“With consumers and businesses alike sheltered from higher interest rates thanks to pandemic-era debt paydowns and refinancing, their aggregate interest burden is not yet historically elevated," Tom Barkin, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve, said in recent comments. “To me, that suggests the full impact of higher rates is yet to come.”Goldberg said that greater borrowing costs will eventually start to bite as more Americans throw in the towel and purchase homes, even with higher mortgage rates. In some cases, they may move for a new job or have family changes that require a move. And more companies, over time, will have to borrow at higher rates as well, as their low-interest loans mature.

Bad news for shoppers: Inflation not going away

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday.

It's the first arms shipment to Israel to be announced by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jdam-2000-bomb-israel-pause-13c22dd220b2262890e92bccdc6c591b">3,500 bombs</a>&nbsp;— on hold this month. The administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The White House has come under criticism from both sides of the political spectrum in the U.S. over its military support for Israel's now seven-month war against Hamas in Gaza. Some of President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats have pushed him to limit transfers of offensive weapons to Israel to pressure the U.S. ally to do more to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-aid-deliveries-us-pier-dangers-israel-f7b351934c22d58d94a48eb6ca5d60ff">protect Palestinian civilians</a>. Many Republicans condemn any lessening of military backing to Israel.

The package being sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the congressional aides said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.

There was no immediate indication when the arms would be sent. It’s not clear if this shipment is part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-ukraine-aid-tiktok-senate-8fe738b17e5c4b2636bc0de11b2620b7">long-delayed foreign aid package</a>&nbsp;that Congress passed and Biden signed last month, a tranche from existing arms sale or a new sale.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans to move the package.

House Republicans were planning this week to advance a bill to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel. Following Biden’s move to put a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-weapons-shipment-us-eed365ebef0477ba74bf9848cacae4f4">pause on bomb shipments</a>&nbsp;last week, Republicans have been swift in their condemnation, arguing it represents the abandonment of the closest U.S. ally in the Middle East.

The White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress. The bill also has practically no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and roughly two dozen have signed onto a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing the bomb shipment.

One of the letter’s signers, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, said he would likely vote for the bill, despite the White House’s opposition.

“I have a general rule of supporting pro-Israel legislation unless it includes a poison pill — like cuts to domestic policy,” he said.

In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in touch with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.

“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, adding that the administration plans to spend “every last cent” appropriated by Congress in the national security supplemental package that was signed into law by Biden last month.

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1697623831480.png" alt="White House file photo" />
 <figcaption>White House file photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday.It's the first arms shipment to Israel to be announced by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jdam-2000-bomb-israel-pause-13c22dd220b2262890e92bccdc6c591b">3,500 bombs</a>&nbsp;— on hold this month. The administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.The White House has come under criticism from both sides of the political spectrum in the U.S. over its military support for Israel's now seven-month war against Hamas in Gaza. Some of President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats have pushed him to limit transfers of offensive weapons to Israel to pressure the U.S. ally to do more to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-aid-deliveries-us-pier-dangers-israel-f7b351934c22d58d94a48eb6ca5d60ff">protect Palestinian civilians</a>. Many Republicans condemn any lessening of military backing to Israel.The package being sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the congressional aides said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.There was no immediate indication when the arms would be sent. It’s not clear if this shipment is part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-ukraine-aid-tiktok-senate-8fe738b17e5c4b2636bc0de11b2620b7">long-delayed foreign aid package</a>&nbsp;that Congress passed and Biden signed last month, a tranche from existing arms sale or a new sale.The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans to move the package.House Republicans were planning this week to advance a bill to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel. Following Biden’s move to put a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-weapons-shipment-us-eed365ebef0477ba74bf9848cacae4f4">pause on bomb shipments</a>&nbsp;last week, Republicans have been swift in their condemnation, arguing it represents the abandonment of the closest U.S. ally in the Middle East.The White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress. The bill also has practically no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and roughly two dozen have signed onto a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing the bomb shipment.One of the letter’s signers, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, said he would likely vote for the bill, despite the White House’s opposition.“I have a general rule of supporting pro-Israel legislation unless it includes a poison pill — like cuts to domestic policy,” he said.In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in touch with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, adding that the administration plans to spend “every last cent” appropriated by Congress in the national security supplemental package that was signed into law by Biden last month.

U-turn: U.S. will send $1 billion in weapons to Israel

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The $200,100 winning bid for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-marc-benioff-glide-lunch-auction-8e6e7c259db618ae92035c9e76d61fb2">private lunch</a>&nbsp;with software titan Marc Benioff might appear disappointing at first glance after years of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-new-york-city-omaha-5805bbcd0bacb5c7930d6d71dfaa2247">multimillion-dollar bids</a>&nbsp;for a private meal with investor Warren Buffett, but the winner also pledged to donate a total of $1.5 million to the California homeless charity that benefits from the auction.

The weeklong&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/296359018503">eBay auction</a>&nbsp;that raises money for the Glide Foundation in San Francisco wrapped up Friday night. This is the first year that a meal with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-national-national-332a075a4cce4122a09955d1fdd41469">Benioff</a>, who is Salesforce's Chairman and CEO, was the prize after Buffett raised $53 million for Glide over more than two decades of lunches.

The winner of the Benioff auction chose to remain anonymous much like many of the winners of a steak lunch with Buffett over the years. The 93-year-old Buffett decided to make the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-california-san-francisco-philanthropy-omaha-42082c288b3e1e575fc4e52a4f08cbb1">2022 auction</a>&nbsp;his last one as he continued to cut back on his public appearances, but just last weekend Buffett, who leads the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/berkshire-hathaway-inc">Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate</a>, spent all day answering questions from thousands of his shareholders at the company's legendary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/berkshire-hathaway-warren-buffett-shareholders-meeting-b345638b402f5ef2f9f9d7080eff0978">annual meeting</a>. The final Buffett auction attracted $19 million.

The auction will still provide a boost to Glide, which provides meals, health care, job training, rehabilitation and housing for the poor and homeless, but it represents a small portion of the organization's $31 million annual budget. Buffett became a fan of the charity after his first wife introduced him to it, and he always said he was impressed with the way Glide managed to give new hope to people in desperate situations.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The $200,100 winning bid for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-marc-benioff-glide-lunch-auction-8e6e7c259db618ae92035c9e76d61fb2">private lunch</a>&nbsp;with software titan Marc Benioff might appear disappointing at first glance after years of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-new-york-city-omaha-5805bbcd0bacb5c7930d6d71dfaa2247">multimillion-dollar bids</a>&nbsp;for a private meal with investor Warren Buffett, but the winner also pledged to donate a total of $1.5 million to the California homeless charity that benefits from the auction.The weeklong&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/296359018503">eBay auction</a>&nbsp;that raises money for the Glide Foundation in San Francisco wrapped up Friday night. This is the first year that a meal with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-national-national-332a075a4cce4122a09955d1fdd41469">Benioff</a>, who is Salesforce's Chairman and CEO, was the prize after Buffett raised $53 million for Glide over more than two decades of lunches.The winner of the Benioff auction chose to remain anonymous much like many of the winners of a steak lunch with Buffett over the years. The 93-year-old Buffett decided to make the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-california-san-francisco-philanthropy-omaha-42082c288b3e1e575fc4e52a4f08cbb1">2022 auction</a>&nbsp;his last one as he continued to cut back on his public appearances, but just last weekend Buffett, who leads the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/berkshire-hathaway-inc">Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate</a>, spent all day answering questions from thousands of his shareholders at the company's legendary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/berkshire-hathaway-warren-buffett-shareholders-meeting-b345638b402f5ef2f9f9d7080eff0978">annual meeting</a>. The final Buffett auction attracted $19 million.The auction will still provide a boost to Glide, which provides meals, health care, job training, rehabilitation and housing for the poor and homeless, but it represents a small portion of the organization's $31 million annual budget. Buffett became a fan of the charity after his first wife introduced him to it, and he always said he was impressed with the way Glide managed to give new hope to people in desperate situations.

Marc Benioff lunch auction raises $1.5M for charity. Not bad for first year without Warren Buffett

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A large group of Republican attorneys general on Monday took legal action against the Biden administration and California over new emissions limits for trucks.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is leading the group of GOP attorneys general who filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting truck emissions.

A separate lawsuit against California claims a phased-in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-truck-drayage-emissions-climate-change-ab703c7f6274e35d408e020c7a1a823e">ban</a>&nbsp;on internal-combustion trucks is unconstitutional and will hurt the U.S. economy.

Hilgers in a statement said the EPA and California rules “will devastate the trucking and logistics industry, raise prices for customers, and impact untold number of jobs across Nebraska and the country.”

“There’s not one trucking charging station in the state of Nebraska,” Hilgers later told reporters. “Trying to take that industry, which was built up over decades with diesel and fossil fuels-based infrastructure, and transforming it to an electric-based infrastructure – it’s probably not feasible.”

EPA officials have said the strict emissions standards will help clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

The new EPA rules are slated to take effect for model years 2027 through 2032, and the agency has said they will avoid up to 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades.

Emissions restrictions could especially benefit an estimated 72 million people in the U.S. who live near freight routes used by trucks and other heavy vehicles and bear a disproportionate burden of dangerous air pollution, the agency has said.

A spokesperson for the EPA declined to comment on the legal challenge to the new rules Monday, citing the pending litigation.

California rules being challenged by Republican attorneys general would ban big rigs and buses that run on diesel from being sold in California starting in 2036.

An email seeking comment from California’s Air Resources Board was not immediately answered Monday.

California has been aggressive in trying to rid itself of fossil fuels, passing new rules in recent years to phase out gas-powered&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-california-air-resources-board-climate-and-environment-dc75c11280f85a8ab134cf392497be68#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20Calif.,transitioning%20to%20zero%2Demission%20vehicles.">cars</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-truck-drayage-emissions-climate-change-ab703c7f6274e35d408e020c7a1a823e">trucks</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-rail-train-emissions-climate-change-1b3e39ea4731422bc630a07c08c6a826">trains</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-gavin-newsom-california-pollution-environment-and-nature-a0110d773785d920558134c0009ba694">lawn equipment</a>&nbsp;in the nation’s most populous state. Industries, and Republican leaders in other states, are pushing back.

Another band of GOP-led states in 2022 challenged California’s authority to set emissions standards that are stricter than rules set by the federal government. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-climate-vehicle-emissions-rules-b649b3fe05a97876a51b55a52af7ea1e">last month ruled</a>&nbsp;that the states failed to prove how California’s emissions standards would drive up costs for gas-powered vehicles in their states.

States that joined Nebraska's latest action against the EPA are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

States that joined Nebraska's lawsuit against California are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715712313594.jpeg" alt=" Motor vehicle traffic moves along the Interstate 76 highway in Philadelphia, March 31, 2021. Dozens of Republican attorneys general on Monday, May 13, 2024, took legal action against the Biden Administration and California over new emissions limits for trucks. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)" />
 <figcaption> Motor vehicle traffic moves along the Interstate 76 highway in Philadelphia, March 31, 2021. Dozens of Republican attorneys general on Monday, May 13, 2024, took legal action against the Biden Administration and California over new emissions limits for trucks. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A large group of Republican attorneys general on Monday took legal action against the Biden administration and California over new emissions limits for trucks.Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is leading the group of GOP attorneys general who filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting truck emissions.A separate lawsuit against California claims a phased-in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-truck-drayage-emissions-climate-change-ab703c7f6274e35d408e020c7a1a823e">ban</a>&nbsp;on internal-combustion trucks is unconstitutional and will hurt the U.S. economy.Hilgers in a statement said the EPA and California rules “will devastate the trucking and logistics industry, raise prices for customers, and impact untold number of jobs across Nebraska and the country.”“There’s not one trucking charging station in the state of Nebraska,” Hilgers later told reporters. “Trying to take that industry, which was built up over decades with diesel and fossil fuels-based infrastructure, and transforming it to an electric-based infrastructure – it’s probably not feasible.”EPA officials have said the strict emissions standards will help clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases.The new EPA rules are slated to take effect for model years 2027 through 2032, and the agency has said they will avoid up to 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades.Emissions restrictions could especially benefit an estimated 72 million people in the U.S. who live near freight routes used by trucks and other heavy vehicles and bear a disproportionate burden of dangerous air pollution, the agency has said.A spokesperson for the EPA declined to comment on the legal challenge to the new rules Monday, citing the pending litigation.California rules being challenged by Republican attorneys general would ban big rigs and buses that run on diesel from being sold in California starting in 2036.An email seeking comment from California’s Air Resources Board was not immediately answered Monday.California has been aggressive in trying to rid itself of fossil fuels, passing new rules in recent years to phase out gas-powered&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-california-air-resources-board-climate-and-environment-dc75c11280f85a8ab134cf392497be68#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20Calif.,transitioning%20to%20zero%2Demission%20vehicles.">cars</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-truck-drayage-emissions-climate-change-ab703c7f6274e35d408e020c7a1a823e">trucks</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-rail-train-emissions-climate-change-1b3e39ea4731422bc630a07c08c6a826">trains</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-gavin-newsom-california-pollution-environment-and-nature-a0110d773785d920558134c0009ba694">lawn equipment</a>&nbsp;in the nation’s most populous state. Industries, and Republican leaders in other states, are pushing back.Another band of GOP-led states in 2022 challenged California’s authority to set emissions standards that are stricter than rules set by the federal government. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-climate-vehicle-emissions-rules-b649b3fe05a97876a51b55a52af7ea1e">last month ruled</a>&nbsp;that the states failed to prove how California’s emissions standards would drive up costs for gas-powered vehicles in their states.States that joined Nebraska's latest action against the EPA are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.States that joined Nebraska's lawsuit against California are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

GOP attorneys general sue Biden administration and California over rules on gas-powered trucks

WASHINGTON (AP) —Thousands of women in states with abortion bans and restrictions are receiving abortion pills in the mail from states that have laws protecting prescribers, a new report shows.

Tuesday’s release of the #WeCount survey shows about 8,000 women a month in states that severely restrict abortion or place limits on having one through telehealth were getting the pills by mail by the end of 2023, the first time a number has been put on how often the medical system workaround is being used. The research was conducted for the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion rights.

Another 8,000 women in states without bans or major restrictions on telehealth abortion were receiving pills each month through virtual appointments, the study showed.

In all, the survey counted about 90,000 monthly surgical or medication abortions offered by medical providers in 2023, higher than the previous year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pills-mifepristone-supreme-court-27d18f91242eb08c4d805880ddb5bb60">Another study recently found</a>&nbsp;that close to two-thirds of the total use pills.

The group found that by December 2023, providers in states with the protections were prescribing pills to about 6,000 women a month in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-dobbs-anniversary-state-laws-51c2a83899f133556e715342abfcface">states where abortion was banned</a>&nbsp;at all stages of pregnancy or once cardiac activity can be detected — about six weeks, often before women realize they're pregnant. The prescriptions also were going to about 2,000 women a month in states where the local laws limit abortion pill prescriptions by telemedicine.

“People ... are using the various mechanisms to get pills that are out there,” Drexel University law professor David Cohen said. This "is not surprising based on what we know throughout human history and across the world: People will find a way to terminate pregnancies they don't want.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-covid-science-health-2d52ebf9efc6ef06f03e788fecd13013">Medication abortions</a>&nbsp;typically involve a combination two drugs:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mifepristone-abortion-pill-supreme-court-1d2221251197a391c9bca833918e4554">mifepristone</a>&nbsp;and misoprostol. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pills-mifepristone-supreme-court-27d18f91242eb08c4d805880ddb5bb60">rise of these pills</a>&nbsp;is one reason total abortion numbers increased even after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;in 2022.

After Roe was overturned, abortion bans took effect in most Republican-controlled states. Fourteen states now prohibit it with few exceptions, while three others bar it after about six weeks of pregnancy.

But many Democratic-controlled states went the opposite way. They've adopted laws intended to protect people in their states from investigations involving abortion-related crimes by authorities in other states. By the end of last year, five of those states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Washington — had such protections in place specifically to cover abortion pill prescriptions by telemedicine.

“If a Colorado provider provides telehealth care to a patient who's in Texas, Colorado will not participate in any Texas criminal action or civil lawsuit,” Cohen said. “Colorado says: ‘The care that was provided in our state was legal. It follows our laws because the provider was in our state.’”

Wendy Stark, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, called the shield law there “a critical win for abortion access in our state.”

James Bopp Jr., general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, said the law where the abortion takes place — not where the prescriber is located — should apply in pill-by-telemedicine abortions. That's the way it is with other laws, he said.

But unlike many other aspects of abortion policy, this issue hasn't been tested in court yet.

Bopp said that the only way to challenge a shield law in court would be for a prosecutor in a state with a ban to charge an out-of-state prescriber with providing an illegal abortion.

“It’ll probably occur, and we’ll get a legal challenge,” Bopp said.

Researchers note that before the shield laws took effect, people were obtaining abortion pills from sources outside the formal medical system, but it’s not clear exactly how many.

Alison Norris, an epidemiologist at Ohio State University and a lead researcher on the #WeCount report, said the group is not breaking down how many pills were shipped to each state with a ban “to maintain the highest level of protection for individuals receiving that care and providers providing that care.”

Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, director of Aid Access, an abortion pill supplier working with U.S. providers, said having more shield laws will make the health care system more resilient.

“They’re extremely important because they make doctors and providers ... feel safe and protected,” said Gomperts, whose organization's numbers were included in the #WeCount report. “I hope what we will see in the end is that all the states that are not banning abortion will adopt shield laws.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680967437018.png" alt="Photo Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>Photo Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —Thousands of women in states with abortion bans and restrictions are receiving abortion pills in the mail from states that have laws protecting prescribers, a new report shows.Tuesday’s release of the #WeCount survey shows about 8,000 women a month in states that severely restrict abortion or place limits on having one through telehealth were getting the pills by mail by the end of 2023, the first time a number has been put on how often the medical system workaround is being used. The research was conducted for the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion rights.Another 8,000 women in states without bans or major restrictions on telehealth abortion were receiving pills each month through virtual appointments, the study showed.In all, the survey counted about 90,000 monthly surgical or medication abortions offered by medical providers in 2023, higher than the previous year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pills-mifepristone-supreme-court-27d18f91242eb08c4d805880ddb5bb60">Another study recently found</a>&nbsp;that close to two-thirds of the total use pills.The group found that by December 2023, providers in states with the protections were prescribing pills to about 6,000 women a month in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-dobbs-anniversary-state-laws-51c2a83899f133556e715342abfcface">states where abortion was banned</a>&nbsp;at all stages of pregnancy or once cardiac activity can be detected — about six weeks, often before women realize they're pregnant. The prescriptions also were going to about 2,000 women a month in states where the local laws limit abortion pill prescriptions by telemedicine.“People ... are using the various mechanisms to get pills that are out there,” Drexel University law professor David Cohen said. This "is not surprising based on what we know throughout human history and across the world: People will find a way to terminate pregnancies they don't want.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-covid-science-health-2d52ebf9efc6ef06f03e788fecd13013">Medication abortions</a>&nbsp;typically involve a combination two drugs:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mifepristone-abortion-pill-supreme-court-1d2221251197a391c9bca833918e4554">mifepristone</a>&nbsp;and misoprostol. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pills-mifepristone-supreme-court-27d18f91242eb08c4d805880ddb5bb60">rise of these pills</a>&nbsp;is one reason total abortion numbers increased even after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;in 2022.After Roe was overturned, abortion bans took effect in most Republican-controlled states. Fourteen states now prohibit it with few exceptions, while three others bar it after about six weeks of pregnancy.But many Democratic-controlled states went the opposite way. They've adopted laws intended to protect people in their states from investigations involving abortion-related crimes by authorities in other states. By the end of last year, five of those states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Washington — had such protections in place specifically to cover abortion pill prescriptions by telemedicine.“If a Colorado provider provides telehealth care to a patient who's in Texas, Colorado will not participate in any Texas criminal action or civil lawsuit,” Cohen said. “Colorado says: ‘The care that was provided in our state was legal. It follows our laws because the provider was in our state.’”Wendy Stark, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, called the shield law there “a critical win for abortion access in our state.”James Bopp Jr., general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, said the law where the abortion takes place — not where the prescriber is located — should apply in pill-by-telemedicine abortions. That's the way it is with other laws, he said.But unlike many other aspects of abortion policy, this issue hasn't been tested in court yet.Bopp said that the only way to challenge a shield law in court would be for a prosecutor in a state with a ban to charge an out-of-state prescriber with providing an illegal abortion.“It’ll probably occur, and we’ll get a legal challenge,” Bopp said.Researchers note that before the shield laws took effect, people were obtaining abortion pills from sources outside the formal medical system, but it’s not clear exactly how many.Alison Norris, an epidemiologist at Ohio State University and a lead researcher on the #WeCount report, said the group is not breaking down how many pills were shipped to each state with a ban “to maintain the highest level of protection for individuals receiving that care and providers providing that care.”Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, director of Aid Access, an abortion pill supplier working with U.S. providers, said having more shield laws will make the health care system more resilient.“They’re extremely important because they make doctors and providers ... feel safe and protected,” said Gomperts, whose organization's numbers were included in the #WeCount report. “I hope what we will see in the end is that all the states that are not banning abortion will adopt shield laws.”___

Survey: 8,000 women a month got abortion pills despite states' bans, restrictions

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — In one of the most closely watched congressional races this year, U.S. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska is looking to defeat a fellow Republican in Tuesday's primary election in his quest for reelection. He'll have to do it without the support of the state Republican Party, which has endorsed his primary challenger.

Bacon, whose district includes the state's largest city of Omaha, isn't the only one being snubbed. The Nebraska GOP, which was taken over by those loyal to former President Donald Trump during a contentious state convention in 2022, has refused to endorse any of the Republican incumbents who hold all five of the state's congressional seats.

The state party has endorsed primary challengers to U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents the state's vast rural 3rd Congressional District. And it has declined to issue endorsements in the primary races of U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer and Rep. Mike Flood, who represents the 1st Congressional District that includes the state capital of Lincoln. Both Fischer and Flood face primary challengers who entered those races after the Nebraska GOP announced its endorsement decision in January.

It's an oddity that lays bare the bitter divide between Trump loyalists who control the Nebraska GOP, as well as several county Republican parties, and the more establishment-type Republicans who were previously at the helm, said John Hibbing, a longtime University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science professor.

“It's not a good look,” Hibbing said. “You'd like the faces of your party, who would be your elected representatives, and the state party leaders to be on the same page.”

It's even more perplexing when considering the voting records and campaign rhetoric of the incumbents, he said.

“I think they're probably wondering: ‘What else can we do?’” Hibbing said. “These are solidly conservative individuals.”

Nowhere is the state party's rejection more likely to leave a mark than in Bacon's race. The incumbent faces a challenge from Dan Frei, who bills himself as to the right of Bacon. Frei previously ran for the seat in 2014 and came close to besting then-Rep. Lee Terry in the Republican primary.

Bacon is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-primary-biden-16-house-fitzpatrick-houck-c5b7c0a05a7dbe9e61b3607767b5f629">one of 16 Republican members of Congress</a>&nbsp;representing districts that Democrat Joe Biden carried in 2020.

Nebraska eschewed a winner-take-all system of awarding presidential electoral votes more than 30 years ago and instead allows its electoral votes tied to its three congressional districts to be split. Bacon's district has seen its elector vote go to a Democratic presidential candidate twice — to Barack Obama in 2008 and to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-lincoln-omaha-93fdcb5a05fc62878b4fe70c2f7f6e5a">Biden in 2020</a>.

After the state GOP endorsed Frei, Bacon defended his record as “a common-sense conservative who is able to reach across the aisle and find areas of consensus."

Bacon has said that “it's sad to see the division in the party,” Danielle Jensen, communications director of the Bacon campaign, said Monday. “I can tell you, he does not think this is going to negatively affect the campaign.”

The campaigns of Fischer, Flood, Ricketts and Smith did not answer questions by The Associated Press about the lack of state party endorsement.

The state party said in an email Monday it didn't endorse any of the Republican incumbents because they didn't ask. But Bacon said Monday that incumbents didn’t have to request the party for endorsements in years past.

“These folks were hostile to all of us, and they changed the rules,” Bacon said.

The challengers who got the party's endorsement did ask, and a vote of the more than 160 elected governing body members of the party gave them that endorsement, said Todd Watson, political director of the state GOP.

Watson denied that the move was solely about Trump, but said most Nebraska Republicans are fed up with what they see as attacks on Trump, the state party's new direction and “our way of life.”

“What we believe in is the Constitution, conservative principles, and God,” he said.

A former state Republican Party official, Kerry Winterer, excoriated the state party in an opinion piece published in the Nebraska Examiner last week, saying the party's primary purpose is to elect Republicans but that it has instead become bound solely to Trump.

“A political party bound to one candidate cannot possibly fulfill its purpose of electing candidates that share a common political philosophy," Winterer wrote.

Watson countered that “the old leadership” of the state GOP has it wrong.

“Objectives of the party are achieved in our mind when we elect constitutional and platform Republicans to office,” he said. “Electing Republicans that are not committed to the objective of the party ... to defend the Constitution and advance our principles as stated in our written platform and plans have been a real problem for this party and country.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715712248402.jpeg" alt="U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a Republican moderate, speaks following a closed-door GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. In one of the most closely watched congressional races of the year, Bacon is looking to defeat a fellow Republican in the primary election, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in his quest to hold on to his House seat. He'll have to do it without the support of the state Republican Party, which has endorsed his primary challenger. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a Republican moderate, speaks following a closed-door GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. In one of the most closely watched congressional races of the year, Bacon is looking to defeat a fellow Republican in the primary election, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in his quest to hold on to his House seat. He'll have to do it without the support of the state Republican Party, which has endorsed his primary challenger. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — In one of the most closely watched congressional races this year, U.S. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska is looking to defeat a fellow Republican in Tuesday's primary election in his quest for reelection. He'll have to do it without the support of the state Republican Party, which has endorsed his primary challenger.Bacon, whose district includes the state's largest city of Omaha, isn't the only one being snubbed. The Nebraska GOP, which was taken over by those loyal to former President Donald Trump during a contentious state convention in 2022, has refused to endorse any of the Republican incumbents who hold all five of the state's congressional seats.The state party has endorsed primary challengers to U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents the state's vast rural 3rd Congressional District. And it has declined to issue endorsements in the primary races of U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer and Rep. Mike Flood, who represents the 1st Congressional District that includes the state capital of Lincoln. Both Fischer and Flood face primary challengers who entered those races after the Nebraska GOP announced its endorsement decision in January.It's an oddity that lays bare the bitter divide between Trump loyalists who control the Nebraska GOP, as well as several county Republican parties, and the more establishment-type Republicans who were previously at the helm, said John Hibbing, a longtime University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science professor.“It's not a good look,” Hibbing said. “You'd like the faces of your party, who would be your elected representatives, and the state party leaders to be on the same page.”It's even more perplexing when considering the voting records and campaign rhetoric of the incumbents, he said.“I think they're probably wondering: ‘What else can we do?’” Hibbing said. “These are solidly conservative individuals.”Nowhere is the state party's rejection more likely to leave a mark than in Bacon's race. The incumbent faces a challenge from Dan Frei, who bills himself as to the right of Bacon. Frei previously ran for the seat in 2014 and came close to besting then-Rep. Lee Terry in the Republican primary.Bacon is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-primary-biden-16-house-fitzpatrick-houck-c5b7c0a05a7dbe9e61b3607767b5f629">one of 16 Republican members of Congress</a>&nbsp;representing districts that Democrat Joe Biden carried in 2020.Nebraska eschewed a winner-take-all system of awarding presidential electoral votes more than 30 years ago and instead allows its electoral votes tied to its three congressional districts to be split. Bacon's district has seen its elector vote go to a Democratic presidential candidate twice — to Barack Obama in 2008 and to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-lincoln-omaha-93fdcb5a05fc62878b4fe70c2f7f6e5a">Biden in 2020</a>.After the state GOP endorsed Frei, Bacon defended his record as “a common-sense conservative who is able to reach across the aisle and find areas of consensus."Bacon has said that “it's sad to see the division in the party,” Danielle Jensen, communications director of the Bacon campaign, said Monday. “I can tell you, he does not think this is going to negatively affect the campaign.”The campaigns of Fischer, Flood, Ricketts and Smith did not answer questions by The Associated Press about the lack of state party endorsement.The state party said in an email Monday it didn't endorse any of the Republican incumbents because they didn't ask. But Bacon said Monday that incumbents didn’t have to request the party for endorsements in years past.“These folks were hostile to all of us, and they changed the rules,” Bacon said.The challengers who got the party's endorsement did ask, and a vote of the more than 160 elected governing body members of the party gave them that endorsement, said Todd Watson, political director of the state GOP.Watson denied that the move was solely about Trump, but said most Nebraska Republicans are fed up with what they see as attacks on Trump, the state party's new direction and “our way of life.”“What we believe in is the Constitution, conservative principles, and God,” he said.A former state Republican Party official, Kerry Winterer, excoriated the state party in an opinion piece published in the Nebraska Examiner last week, saying the party's primary purpose is to elect Republicans but that it has instead become bound solely to Trump.“A political party bound to one candidate cannot possibly fulfill its purpose of electing candidates that share a common political philosophy," Winterer wrote.Watson countered that “the old leadership” of the state GOP has it wrong.“Objectives of the party are achieved in our mind when we elect constitutional and platform Republicans to office,” he said. “Electing Republicans that are not committed to the objective of the party ... to defend the Constitution and advance our principles as stated in our written platform and plans have been a real problem for this party and country.”

The Nebraska GOP is rejecting all Republican congressional incumbents in Tuesday's primary election

Lincoln, May 14, 2024- The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) approved an Order(<a href="https://www.nebraska.gov/psc/orders/telecom/2024-05-14%20C-5561%20Order%20Issuing%202024%20Grant%20Application%20Schedule%20and%20Application%20Materials.pdf" target="_blank">C-5561</a>) issuing the 2024&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/telecommunications/nebraska-broadband-bridge-program-nbbpcapital-projects-fund-cpf" target="_blank">Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program (NBBP)</a>&nbsp;schedule and application materials. Applications for the 2024 NBBP funding year will be accepted beginning Monday, June 17. Perthe Order (<a href="https://www.nebraska.gov/psc/orders/telecom/2024-05-14%20C-5561%20Order%20Issuing%202024%20Grant%20Application%20Schedule%20and%20Application%20Materials.pdf" target="_blank">C-5561</a>) the application guide will be available on the Nebraska Broadband Bridge page of the PSC website. Applicants must comply with all aspects of the application package.

“NBBP has proven to be an effective way to get broadband to unserved and underserved areas ofthe state and we are eager to begin the fourth cycle of this program,” said Commission Chair DanWatermeier. “We would encourage participants to file as early as possible to ensure all requestedinformation is received.”The deadline for applications to be filed is no later than 5 p.m., (CT), Monday, July 8. All filingsmust be submitted electronically by email to &lt;&nbsp;<a href="mailto:psc.broadband@nebraska.gov" target="_blank">psc.broadband@nebraska.gov</a>&nbsp;&gt;. Applicationsreceived will be posted to the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/telecommunications/nebraska-broadband-bridge-program-nbbpcapital-projects-fund-cpf" target="_blank">Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program page</a>&nbsp;found under theTelecom/NUSF tab of the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/" target="_blank">PSC website</a>&nbsp;by Thursday, July 11.

Created by the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 86-1301-86-1312), theNBBP provides up to $20 million dollars annually for the deployment of broadband networkscapable of at least 100/100 Mbps (down/up) in unserved and underserved areas of the state.

During the 2023 grant cycle the PSC awarded 22 grants to 10 providers for a total of$19,713,379.26. The PSC has awarded nearly $60 million in broadband grants since the program’s inception. A detailed list of approved projects and funding amounts can be found on the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/telecommunications/nebraska-broadband-bridge-program-nbbpcapital-projects-fund-cpf" target="_blank">Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program</a>&nbsp;page of the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/" target="_blank">PSC website</a>

Deb CollinsLincoln, May 14, 2024- The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) approved an Order(<a href="https://www.nebraska.gov/psc/orders/telecom/2024-05-14%20C-5561%20Order%20Issuing%202024%20Grant%20Application%20Schedule%20and%20Application%20Materials.pdf" target="_blank">C-5561</a>) issuing the 2024&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/telecommunications/nebraska-broadband-bridge-program-nbbpcapital-projects-fund-cpf" target="_blank">Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program (NBBP)</a>&nbsp;schedule and application materials. Applications for the 2024 NBBP funding year will be accepted beginning Monday, June 17. Perthe Order (<a href="https://www.nebraska.gov/psc/orders/telecom/2024-05-14%20C-5561%20Order%20Issuing%202024%20Grant%20Application%20Schedule%20and%20Application%20Materials.pdf" target="_blank">C-5561</a>) the application guide will be available on the Nebraska Broadband Bridge page of the PSC website. Applicants must comply with all aspects of the application package.“NBBP has proven to be an effective way to get broadband to unserved and underserved areas ofthe state and we are eager to begin the fourth cycle of this program,” said Commission Chair DanWatermeier. “We would encourage participants to file as early as possible to ensure all requestedinformation is received.”The deadline for applications to be filed is no later than 5 p.m., (CT), Monday, July 8. All filingsmust be submitted electronically by email to &lt;&nbsp;<a href="mailto:psc.broadband@nebraska.gov" target="_blank">psc.broadband@nebraska.gov</a>&nbsp;&gt;. Applicationsreceived will be posted to the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/telecommunications/nebraska-broadband-bridge-program-nbbpcapital-projects-fund-cpf" target="_blank">Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program page</a>&nbsp;found under theTelecom/NUSF tab of the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/" target="_blank">PSC website</a>&nbsp;by Thursday, July 11.Created by the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 86-1301-86-1312), theNBBP provides up to $20 million dollars annually for the deployment of broadband networkscapable of at least 100/100 Mbps (down/up) in unserved and underserved areas of the state.During the 2023 grant cycle the PSC awarded 22 grants to 10 providers for a total of$19,713,379.26. The PSC has awarded nearly $60 million in broadband grants since the program’s inception. A detailed list of approved projects and funding amounts can be found on the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/telecommunications/nebraska-broadband-bridge-program-nbbpcapital-projects-fund-cpf" target="_blank">Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program</a>&nbsp;page of the&nbsp;<a href="https://psc.nebraska.gov/" target="_blank">PSC website</a>