LINCOLN, NE —Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis, a coalition of patients, families, and other allies, are clear with their message: we are going to the 2024 ballot. Wednesday was the deadline for bill introduction in the Nebraska Legislature. This will be the first session in 10 years that no medical cannabis bill will be introduced.&nbsp;

“Patients and caregivers have&nbsp;advocated, educated and fought, trying to get our elected leaders in the Unicameral to listen, and every year we come up empty handed. Our voices have been loud and clear; you have failed to act, so we are going to the ballot to let Nebraskans vote on this,” said Crista Eggers, mom to 9-year-old Colton.&nbsp;

Nicole Hochstein’s son Jayen is 12, and has drug-resistant epilepsy, and echoes the same sentiment:

“For the past decade, the people of Nebraska have begged for help from our legislative representatives. We are no longer willing to wait on them; the ballot initiative is happening now and we are more determined than ever.”

Shelley Gillen’s son Will, who is currently hospitalized, made her feelings very clear:

“State leaders have failed us; they have failed Will and all the patients in Nebraska. We are taking the decision out of their hands and giving it to the people,” Gillen said.

Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis continues to support Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) in their signature drive, and encourage people to get involved at&nbsp;<a href="http://nebraskamarijuana.org/" target="_blank">nebraskamarijuana.org</a>, and find a place to sign the new 2024 petitions.&nbsp; NMM&nbsp;will be required to collect approximately 87,000 valid signatures per petition and signatures are due for turn in on July 3, 2024.

NF4MC expresses their appreciation for the&nbsp;work that Senator Mike McDonnell did to create a bill for introduction, but at the end of the day recognize this is only going to happen through a vote of the people.

Crista EggersLINCOLN, NE —Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis, a coalition of patients, families, and other allies, are clear with their message: we are going to the 2024 ballot. Wednesday was the deadline for bill introduction in the Nebraska Legislature. This will be the first session in 10 years that no medical cannabis bill will be introduced.&nbsp;“Patients and caregivers have&nbsp;advocated, educated and fought, trying to get our elected leaders in the Unicameral to listen, and every year we come up empty handed. Our voices have been loud and clear; you have failed to act, so we are going to the ballot to let Nebraskans vote on this,” said Crista Eggers, mom to 9-year-old Colton.&nbsp;Nicole Hochstein’s son Jayen is 12, and has drug-resistant epilepsy, and echoes the same sentiment:“For the past decade, the people of Nebraska have begged for help from our legislative representatives. We are no longer willing to wait on them; the ballot initiative is happening now and we are more determined than ever.”Shelley Gillen’s son Will, who is currently hospitalized, made her feelings very clear:“State leaders have failed us; they have failed Will and all the patients in Nebraska. We are taking the decision out of their hands and giving it to the people,” Gillen said.Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis continues to support Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) in their signature drive, and encourage people to get involved at&nbsp;<a href="http://nebraskamarijuana.org/" target="_blank">nebraskamarijuana.org</a>, and find a place to sign the new 2024 petitions.&nbsp; NMM&nbsp;will be required to collect approximately 87,000 valid signatures per petition and signatures are due for turn in on July 3, 2024.NF4MC expresses their appreciation for the&nbsp;work that Senator Mike McDonnell did to create a bill for introduction, but at the end of the day recognize this is only going to happen through a vote of the people.

Not Waiting On Legislature; Nebraska patients and families are clear: we will put medical cannabis before voters in November

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent President Joe Biden a short-term spending bill on Thursday that would avert a looming partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies into March.

The House approved the measure by a vote of 314-108, with opposition coming mostly from the more conservative members of the Republican conference. Shortly before the vote, the House Freedom Caucus announced it “strongly opposes" the measure because it would facilitate more spending than they support.&nbsp;

Nevertheless, about half of Republicans joined with Democrats in passing the third stopgap funding measure in recent months. The action came a few hours after the Senate had voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill by a vote of 77-18.&nbsp; 

Nebraska congressman Don Bacon was the only member of the delegation to vote against the resolution.

The measure extends current spending levels and buys time for the two chambers to work out their differences over full-year spending bills for the fiscal year that began in October.

The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies. Their funds were set to run out Friday. It extends the remainder of government operations to March 8.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president would sign the resolution and urged Republicans to quit wasting time on partisan spending bills.

“House Republicans must finally do their job and work across the aisle to pass full-year funding bills that deliver for the American people and address urgent domestic and national security priorities by passing the President’s supplemental request,” Jean-Pierre said.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been under pressure from his right flank to scrap a $1.66 trillion budget price tag he reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier this month for the spending bills. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said the continuing resolution passed Thursday will facilitate that agreement, and urged colleagues to vote against it.

“It's Groundhog Day in the House chamber all the time, every day, yet again spending money we don't have,” Roy said.

Johnson has insisted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-shutdown-speaker-johnson-freedom-caucus-a9683a7381563499e0ba10987e93fb92">he will stick with the deal</a>, and centrists in the party have stood behind him. They say that changing course now would be going back on his word and would weaken the speaker in future negotiations.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Americans expect Congress to govern and work in a bipartisan fashion.

“Some of my colleagues would see that this government would shut down and don't care how hurtful that would be,” DeLauro said.

House Republicans have fought bitterly over budget levels and policy since taking the majority at the start of 2023. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-motion-to-vacate-congress-327e294a39f8de079ef5e4abfb1fa555">ousted by his caucus</a>&nbsp;in October after striking an agreement with Democrats to extend current spending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-mccarthy-congress-republicans-732baaa19c91f981e492fd0e6a76aba8">the first time</a>. Johnson has also come under criticism as he has wrestled with how to appease his members and avoid a government shutdown in an election year.

“We just needed a little more time on the calendar to do it and now that’s where we are,” Johnson said Tuesday about the decision to extend federal funding yet again. “We’re not going to get everything we want.”

Most House Republicans have so far refrained from saying that Johnson’s job is in danger. But a revolt of even a handful of Republicans could endanger his position in the narrowly divided House.

Virginia Rep. Bob Good, one of eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, has been pushing Johnson to reconsider the deal with Schumer.

“If your opponent in negotiation knows that you fear the consequence of not reaching an agreement more than they fear the consequence of not reaching an agreement, you will lose every time,” Good said this week.

Other Republicans acknowledge Johnson is in a tough spot. “The speaker was dealt with the hand he was dealt,” said Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr, noting the constraints imposed by the party's slim majority.

In Thursday afternoon's vote, 107 House Republicans voted to keep federal agencies funded and 106 voted against the measure. To almost lose the majority of his conference underscores the challenges facing the new speaker and signals the difficulty he will have in striking a deal that will not alienate many of his GOP colleagues. They are clamoring for deeper non-defense spending cuts and myriad conservative policy mandates.

Meanwhile, 207 Democrats voted for the resolution and only two voted against.

The short-term measure comes amid negotiations on a separate spending package that would provide wartime dollars to Ukraine and Israel and strengthen security at the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson is also under pressure from the right not to accept a deal that is any weaker than a House-passed border measure that has no Democratic support.

Johnson, Schumer and other congressional leaders and committee heads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-speaker-johnson-border-security-ukraine-government-shutdown-fa505e84f1ffd1767eb01a250a161393">visited the White House</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday to discuss that spending legislation. Johnson used the meeting to push for stronger border security measures while Biden and Democrats detailed Ukraine’s security needs as it continues to fight Russia.

Biden has requested a $110 billion package for the wartime spending and border security.

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Lisa Mascaro and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705615858646.png" alt="The U.S Capitol is seen on a sunny day in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)" />
 <figcaption>The U.S Capitol is seen on a sunny day in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent President Joe Biden a short-term spending bill on Thursday that would avert a looming partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies into March.The House approved the measure by a vote of 314-108, with opposition coming mostly from the more conservative members of the Republican conference. Shortly before the vote, the House Freedom Caucus announced it “strongly opposes" the measure because it would facilitate more spending than they support.&nbsp;Nevertheless, about half of Republicans joined with Democrats in passing the third stopgap funding measure in recent months. The action came a few hours after the Senate had voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill by a vote of 77-18.&nbsp; Nebraska congressman Don Bacon was the only member of the delegation to vote against the resolution.The measure extends current spending levels and buys time for the two chambers to work out their differences over full-year spending bills for the fiscal year that began in October.The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies. Their funds were set to run out Friday. It extends the remainder of government operations to March 8.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president would sign the resolution and urged Republicans to quit wasting time on partisan spending bills.“House Republicans must finally do their job and work across the aisle to pass full-year funding bills that deliver for the American people and address urgent domestic and national security priorities by passing the President’s supplemental request,” Jean-Pierre said.Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been under pressure from his right flank to scrap a $1.66 trillion budget price tag he reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier this month for the spending bills. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said the continuing resolution passed Thursday will facilitate that agreement, and urged colleagues to vote against it.“It's Groundhog Day in the House chamber all the time, every day, yet again spending money we don't have,” Roy said.Johnson has insisted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-shutdown-speaker-johnson-freedom-caucus-a9683a7381563499e0ba10987e93fb92">he will stick with the deal</a>, and centrists in the party have stood behind him. They say that changing course now would be going back on his word and would weaken the speaker in future negotiations.Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Americans expect Congress to govern and work in a bipartisan fashion.“Some of my colleagues would see that this government would shut down and don't care how hurtful that would be,” DeLauro said.House Republicans have fought bitterly over budget levels and policy since taking the majority at the start of 2023. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-motion-to-vacate-congress-327e294a39f8de079ef5e4abfb1fa555">ousted by his caucus</a>&nbsp;in October after striking an agreement with Democrats to extend current spending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-mccarthy-congress-republicans-732baaa19c91f981e492fd0e6a76aba8">the first time</a>. Johnson has also come under criticism as he has wrestled with how to appease his members and avoid a government shutdown in an election year.“We just needed a little more time on the calendar to do it and now that’s where we are,” Johnson said Tuesday about the decision to extend federal funding yet again. “We’re not going to get everything we want.”Most House Republicans have so far refrained from saying that Johnson’s job is in danger. But a revolt of even a handful of Republicans could endanger his position in the narrowly divided House.Virginia Rep. Bob Good, one of eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, has been pushing Johnson to reconsider the deal with Schumer.“If your opponent in negotiation knows that you fear the consequence of not reaching an agreement more than they fear the consequence of not reaching an agreement, you will lose every time,” Good said this week.Other Republicans acknowledge Johnson is in a tough spot. “The speaker was dealt with the hand he was dealt,” said Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr, noting the constraints imposed by the party's slim majority.In Thursday afternoon's vote, 107 House Republicans voted to keep federal agencies funded and 106 voted against the measure. To almost lose the majority of his conference underscores the challenges facing the new speaker and signals the difficulty he will have in striking a deal that will not alienate many of his GOP colleagues. They are clamoring for deeper non-defense spending cuts and myriad conservative policy mandates.Meanwhile, 207 Democrats voted for the resolution and only two voted against.The short-term measure comes amid negotiations on a separate spending package that would provide wartime dollars to Ukraine and Israel and strengthen security at the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson is also under pressure from the right not to accept a deal that is any weaker than a House-passed border measure that has no Democratic support.Johnson, Schumer and other congressional leaders and committee heads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-speaker-johnson-border-security-ukraine-government-shutdown-fa505e84f1ffd1767eb01a250a161393">visited the White House</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday to discuss that spending legislation. Johnson used the meeting to push for stronger border security measures while Biden and Democrats detailed Ukraine’s security needs as it continues to fight Russia.Biden has requested a $110 billion package for the wartime spending and border security.___Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Lisa Mascaro and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Only one Neb. lawmaker votes against deal to keep government open

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces on Thursday conducted a fifth strike against Iranian-backed Houthi rebel military sites in Yemen as President Joe Biden acknowledged that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-biden-retaliation-attacks-0804b93372cd5e874a0dd03513fe36a2">the American and British bombardment</a>&nbsp;had yet to stop the militants' attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that have disrupted global shipping.

The latest strikes destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that “were aimed into the southern Red Sea and prepared to launch,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. They were conducted by Navy F/A-18 fighter aircraft, the Pentagon said.

Biden said the U.S. would continue the strikes, even though so far they have not stopped the Houthis from continuing to harass commercial and military vessels.

“When you say working, are they stopping the Houthis, no. Are they going to continue, yes," Biden said in an exchange with reporters before departing the White House for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-north-carolina-internet-election-270a1edc65ebad44cec44baf1f8f4f8b">a domestic policy speech</a>&nbsp;in North Carolina.

Hours after Biden spoke, Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a prerecorded statement that its forces had carried out another missile attack against the Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned cargo ship Chem Ranger. Saree said the attack took place in the Gulf of Aden, the waters just south of Yemen.

Earlier Thursday evening, the British military warned of a new attack on shipping some 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of Yemen, also in the Gulf of Aden. The Pentagon was not immediately able to confirm the strikes but has cautioned that it anticipates the Houthis will continue their attacks.

The continued harassment of the ships has driven the U.S. and international partners to take extraordinary steps to defend them through a joint mission named Operation Prosperity Guardian, in which the consortium is trying to create a protective umbrella for the vessels by intercepting any missiles or drones that target them. It has also led the U.S. and British militaries to take measures to knock out missile sites, radars and air defense systems to try to tamp down the Houthis' ability to attack.

On Wednesday the U.S. military fired another wave of ship- and submarine-launch missile strikes against 14&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-attacks-iran-ships-retaliation-houthis-d770a3fb0fab4c4b72e2459771833e11">Houthi-controlled sites</a>. That same day, the administration put the Houthis back on its list of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/executive-order-13224/">specially designated global terrorists</a>. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing, while also allowing vital humanitarian aid to continue flowing to impoverished Yemenis.

“These strikes will continue for as long as they need to continue,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, adding, “I’m not going to telegraph punches one way or another.”

Despite sanctions and military strikes, including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-biden-retaliation-attacks-0804b93372cd5e874a0dd03513fe36a2">large-scale operation</a>&nbsp;carried out Friday by U.S. and British warships and warplanes that hit more than 60 targets across Yemen, the Houthis keep harassing commercial and military ships. The U.S. has strongly warned Iran to cease providing weapons to the Houthis.

“We never said the Houthis would immediately stop,” the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, said at a briefing, when asked why the strikes have not seemed to stop the Houthis. Since the joint U.S. and British operation got underway last Friday, hitting 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets in that initial round, the Houthis' attacks have been “lower scale,” Singh said.

For months, the Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. They say their attacks aim to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel</a>. But the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.

The attacks have also raised questions as to whether the conflict between Israel and Hamas has already expanded into a wider regional war.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705112808392.png" alt="View of aircraft launch for the attack Jan. 11 -image U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>View of aircraft launch for the attack Jan. 11 -image U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces on Thursday conducted a fifth strike against Iranian-backed Houthi rebel military sites in Yemen as President Joe Biden acknowledged that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-biden-retaliation-attacks-0804b93372cd5e874a0dd03513fe36a2">the American and British bombardment</a>&nbsp;had yet to stop the militants' attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that have disrupted global shipping.The latest strikes destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that “were aimed into the southern Red Sea and prepared to launch,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. They were conducted by Navy F/A-18 fighter aircraft, the Pentagon said.Biden said the U.S. would continue the strikes, even though so far they have not stopped the Houthis from continuing to harass commercial and military vessels.“When you say working, are they stopping the Houthis, no. Are they going to continue, yes," Biden said in an exchange with reporters before departing the White House for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-north-carolina-internet-election-270a1edc65ebad44cec44baf1f8f4f8b">a domestic policy speech</a>&nbsp;in North Carolina.Hours after Biden spoke, Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a prerecorded statement that its forces had carried out another missile attack against the Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned cargo ship Chem Ranger. Saree said the attack took place in the Gulf of Aden, the waters just south of Yemen.Earlier Thursday evening, the British military warned of a new attack on shipping some 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of Yemen, also in the Gulf of Aden. The Pentagon was not immediately able to confirm the strikes but has cautioned that it anticipates the Houthis will continue their attacks.The continued harassment of the ships has driven the U.S. and international partners to take extraordinary steps to defend them through a joint mission named Operation Prosperity Guardian, in which the consortium is trying to create a protective umbrella for the vessels by intercepting any missiles or drones that target them. It has also led the U.S. and British militaries to take measures to knock out missile sites, radars and air defense systems to try to tamp down the Houthis' ability to attack.On Wednesday the U.S. military fired another wave of ship- and submarine-launch missile strikes against 14&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-attacks-iran-ships-retaliation-houthis-d770a3fb0fab4c4b72e2459771833e11">Houthi-controlled sites</a>. That same day, the administration put the Houthis back on its list of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/executive-order-13224/">specially designated global terrorists</a>. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing, while also allowing vital humanitarian aid to continue flowing to impoverished Yemenis.“These strikes will continue for as long as they need to continue,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, adding, “I’m not going to telegraph punches one way or another.”Despite sanctions and military strikes, including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-biden-retaliation-attacks-0804b93372cd5e874a0dd03513fe36a2">large-scale operation</a>&nbsp;carried out Friday by U.S. and British warships and warplanes that hit more than 60 targets across Yemen, the Houthis keep harassing commercial and military ships. The U.S. has strongly warned Iran to cease providing weapons to the Houthis.“We never said the Houthis would immediately stop,” the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, said at a briefing, when asked why the strikes have not seemed to stop the Houthis. Since the joint U.S. and British operation got underway last Friday, hitting 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets in that initial round, the Houthis' attacks have been “lower scale,” Singh said.For months, the Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. They say their attacks aim to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel</a>. But the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.The attacks have also raised questions as to whether the conflict between Israel and Hamas has already expanded into a wider regional war.

US forces strike rebels again; bombing hasn't stopped ship attacks

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/01/17/preston-love-jr-compares-himself-to-david-in-challenging-a-goliath-named-ricketts/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — Preston Love Jr., a Nebraska Democrat who managed Jesse Jackson’s groundbreaking presidential campaign at the national level in 1984, announced an upstart bid for the U.S. Senate Wednesday using similar language about the challenges ahead.

Love, an 81-year-old neighborhood advocate, civil rights activist and campaign hand, said he knows that many people will view his bid as futile: He is challenging GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts in a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-to-1.

But Love urged a gathering of more than 100 people at the Highlander in North Omaha to find their faith. He described their joint effort as David to Ricketts’ Goliath. He told them to “gather their stones.”&nbsp;

“The people that I’ve been serving … need a giant killer,” he said, to applause. “Just like David. But David was something else that maybe you missed in your studies. He stood up strong and was confident. … I am confident.”

He said he needed his supporters to be just as confident as he is. He said they could work together to protect voting rights, restrict assault weapons, protect a woman’s right to choose an abortion, fight climate change and “advocate for people, not parties.”

Four years ago, Love ran for the Senate under different circumstances: He stepped in as a write-in candidate in 2020 to offer Democrats a backup choice to the Democratic nominee, who had lost the party’s backing partway through the campaign. Love said that in this year’s race, he hopes to help boost Democratic turnout in races up and down the ballot.

He has some experience in that area, having helped organize Black Votes Matter, a group aimed at raising political&nbsp; awareness in North Omaha. He said he wants all Nebraskans to exercise their power to vote.

He mentioned two other races he said he could help Nebraska Democrats win: the presidential race, where the state splits its Electoral College votes by congressional district, and the 2nd District U.S. House race, a swing district with traditionally close contests.&nbsp;

In an interview after announcing, Love said he doesn’t have an easy answer on motivating people in low-turnout communities to vote. He said he and others must work to restore people’s hope in the voting process.

Love said his goal as a senator would be to build bridges between himself and people who don’t live or think like him. He understands that many Nebraskans will disagree with him on issues, but he says they have more in common than not.

He said he knows Nebraskans on both sides of the aisle who don’t like how Ricketts got the job. Ricketts was appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen, his successor as governor, after Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., was hired as the president of the University of Florida and vacated his seat mid-term.

“You can’t just make all that stuff happen and think people don’t see it all, and that everybody just doesn’t care because they love you,” Love said of Ricketts’ appointment.

Ricketts and Pillen have denied that any conspiracy or promise was tied to his January 2023 appointment. Pillen has said he interviewed candidates and picked the best one.&nbsp;

In a statement, the Ricketts campaign said the senator is focused on pushing back on President Joe Biden’s “reckless spending and overregulation.” It said he “looks forward to continuing to serve Nebraskans in the US Senate in 2025.”

Love will face Democrat Todd Newbold of Omaha in the Democratic primary in May. Several Nebraska Democrats in recent days said they did not know Newbold. A Facebook account in his name said he is a Democrat supporting former President Donald Trump.&nbsp;

Ricketts faces Republican John Glen Weaver in May. Weaver, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, lost a 1st District House GOP primary in 2022 to U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb. He has argued Ricketts should be more supportive of Trump.

Ricketts has not endorsed in the 2024 GOP presidential race.

Local political observers, including University of Nebraska at Omaha political scientist Randall Adkins, consider Ricketts the clear frontrunner in the race. Ricketts has been elected twice statewide by nearly 20-point margins, he said.

He also has advantages in name ID, incumbency and fundraising that will be difficult for any candidate to match. But Love, citing a biblical reference, urged Democrats, independents and like-minded Republicans to pick up their stones and fight.

“Anybody can be your senator,” Love said. “It doesn’t have to be special. It might just be a David in your midst.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705604909111.jpeg" alt="U.S. Senate candidate Preston Love Jr. speaks to reporters before announcing his Senate campaign in Omaha on Wednesday. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Senate candidate Preston Love Jr. speaks to reporters before announcing his Senate campaign in Omaha on Wednesday. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Aaron Sanderford<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/01/17/preston-love-jr-compares-himself-to-david-in-challenging-a-goliath-named-ricketts/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — Preston Love Jr., a Nebraska Democrat who managed Jesse Jackson’s groundbreaking presidential campaign at the national level in 1984, announced an upstart bid for the U.S. Senate Wednesday using similar language about the challenges ahead.Love, an 81-year-old neighborhood advocate, civil rights activist and campaign hand, said he knows that many people will view his bid as futile: He is challenging GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts in a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-to-1.But Love urged a gathering of more than 100 people at the Highlander in North Omaha to find their faith. He described their joint effort as David to Ricketts’ Goliath. He told them to “gather their stones.”&nbsp;“The people that I’ve been serving … need a giant killer,” he said, to applause. “Just like David. But David was something else that maybe you missed in your studies. He stood up strong and was confident. … I am confident.”He said he needed his supporters to be just as confident as he is. He said they could work together to protect voting rights, restrict assault weapons, protect a woman’s right to choose an abortion, fight climate change and “advocate for people, not parties.”<h2>Write-in candidate last time</h2>Four years ago, Love ran for the Senate under different circumstances: He stepped in as a write-in candidate in 2020 to offer Democrats a backup choice to the Democratic nominee, who had lost the party’s backing partway through the campaign. Love said that in this year’s race, he hopes to help boost Democratic turnout in races up and down the ballot.He has some experience in that area, having helped organize Black Votes Matter, a group aimed at raising political&nbsp; awareness in North Omaha. He said he wants all Nebraskans to exercise their power to vote.He mentioned two other races he said he could help Nebraska Democrats win: the presidential race, where the state splits its Electoral College votes by congressional district, and the 2nd District U.S. House race, a swing district with traditionally close contests.&nbsp;In an interview after announcing, Love said he doesn’t have an easy answer on motivating people in low-turnout communities to vote. He said he and others must work to restore people’s hope in the voting process.Love said his goal as a senator would be to build bridges between himself and people who don’t live or think like him. He understands that many Nebraskans will disagree with him on issues, but he says they have more in common than not.<h2>Ricketts’ appointment</h2>He said he knows Nebraskans on both sides of the aisle who don’t like how Ricketts got the job. Ricketts was appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen, his successor as governor, after Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., was hired as the president of the University of Florida and vacated his seat mid-term.“You can’t just make all that stuff happen and think people don’t see it all, and that everybody just doesn’t care because they love you,” Love said of Ricketts’ appointment.Ricketts and Pillen have denied that any conspiracy or promise was tied to his January 2023 appointment. Pillen has said he interviewed candidates and picked the best one.&nbsp;In a statement, the Ricketts campaign said the senator is focused on pushing back on President Joe Biden’s “reckless spending and overregulation.” It said he “looks forward to continuing to serve Nebraskans in the US Senate in 2025.”Love will face Democrat Todd Newbold of Omaha in the Democratic primary in May. Several Nebraska Democrats in recent days said they did not know Newbold. A Facebook account in his name said he is a Democrat supporting former President Donald Trump.&nbsp;Ricketts faces Republican John Glen Weaver in May. Weaver, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, lost a 1st District House GOP primary in 2022 to U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb. He has argued Ricketts should be more supportive of Trump.Ricketts has not endorsed in the 2024 GOP presidential race.Local political observers, including University of Nebraska at Omaha political scientist Randall Adkins, consider Ricketts the clear frontrunner in the race. Ricketts has been elected twice statewide by nearly 20-point margins, he said.He also has advantages in name ID, incumbency and fundraising that will be difficult for any candidate to match. But Love, citing a biblical reference, urged Democrats, independents and like-minded Republicans to pick up their stones and fight.“Anybody can be your senator,” Love said. “It doesn’t have to be special. It might just be a David in your midst.”

Preston Love Jr. compares campaign to David in challenging a Goliath named Ricketts

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Police officials who responded to the deadly Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting waited far too long to confront the gunman, acted with “no urgency” in establishing a command post and communicated inaccurate information to grieving families, according to a Justice Department report released Thursday that identifies “cascading failures” in law enforcement's handling of the massacre.

<a href="https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourcecenter/content.ashx/cops-r1141-pub.pdf">Click here to read </a>the 600 page report

<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24366914-uvalde-report">The Justice Department report,</a>&nbsp;the most comprehensive federal accounting of the maligned police response to the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School, catalogs a sweeping array of training, communication, leadership and technology problems that federal officials say contributed to the crisis lasting far longer than necessary. All the while, the report says, terrified students inside the classrooms called 911 and agonized parents begged officers to go in.

“Had law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in active shooter situations and gone right after the shooter and stopped him, lives would have been saved and people would have survived,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday at a news conference in Uvalde after Justice Department officials briefed family members on their findings. The Uvalde victims, he said, "deserved better."

Even for a mass shooting that has already been the subject of intense scrutiny and in-depth examinations — an earlier report by Texas lawmakers, for instance, faulted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-texas-education-violence-school-31aa135678f8118ed96d893ea77cf8ea">law enforcement at every level</a>&nbsp;with failing “to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety" — the nearly 600-page Justice Department report adds to the public understanding of how officers failed to stop an attack that killed 19 children and two staff members.

The flawed initial response was compounded in the following days by an ineptitude that added to family members' anguish, according to the report. One family member spent hours pulling glass out of an injured son's body because the surviving children were not screened for medical problems.

A county district attorney told families that they would need to wait for autopsy reports before death notifications were made, prompting some to yell: “What, our kids are dead? No, no!” Untrained hospital staff told family members that their loved ones had died, while in other cases, families were incorrectly told that a child had survived when they had not. At one point, an official told waiting families that another bus of survivors was coming, but that was untrue.

“Mirroring the failures of the law enforcement response, state and local agencies failed to coordinate, leading to inaccurate and incomplete information being provided to anxious family and community members and the public,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.

The problems began almost immediately with a flawed assumption by officers at the scene that the shooter was barricaded, or otherwise contained, even as he continued to fire shots. That “mindset permeated throughout much of the incident response" as police, rather than rushing inside the classrooms to end the carnage, waited more than an hour to confront the gunman in what the report called a costly “lack of urgency.”

The gunman, Salvador Ramos, was killed roughly 77 minutes after police arrived on the scene, when a tactical team finally went into the classroom to take him down.

“An active shooter with access to victims should never be considered and treated as a barricaded subject,” the report says, with the word “never” emphasized in italics.

In other errors, the report says, police acted with “no urgency” in establishing a command center at the school, creating confusion among police about who was in charge. The then-school district police chief, Pete Arredondo, discarded his radios on arrival because he deemed them unnecessary. Though he tried to communicate by phone with officers in the school hallway, “unfortunately, on multiple occasions, he directed officers intending to gain entry into the classrooms to stop, because he appeared to determine that other victims should first be removed from nearby classrooms to prevent further injury.”

Uvalde, a community of more than 15,000 about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio, continues to struggle with the trauma left by the killings and remains divided on the issue of accountability. Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell has said she’s still considering whether to bring criminal charges.

Asked about the report and the possibility of charges Thursday, President Joe Biden said he was briefed by his staff “but I don’t know that there’s any criminal liability.”

In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott initially praised the officers’ courage, saying the reason the shooting was "not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do" and that they had been brave in "running toward gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives.

But that narrative crumbled under scrutiny, as a report from a panel of state lawmakers and investigations by journalists laid bare how a mass of officers went in and out of the school with weapons drawn but didn’t enter the classroom where the shooting was taking place.

“The actions of the responding officers, combined with the ‘heroic’ storyline that started with (a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety) and continued the next day during the Governor’s and director’s news conference, dealt a serious blow to public confidence in local and state law enforcement,” the report states.

The city of Uvalde said in a statement that it had requested and fully cooperated with the federal investigation and had “already implemented changes in leadership, new personnel, new training, and new equipment.”

The report intentionally omits the identity of the gunman or any explanation of a possible motive. But it does include page-long remembrances of each of the victims, including 10-year-old Jose Flores Jr., who loved cars and the Houston Astros, and Amerie Jo Garza, who on the morning of the shooting had celebrated her appointment to the honor roll.

And it highlights anguished and panicked quotes from a 911 call by students trapped in the classroom — “Help!” “Help!” “Help!” “I don't want to die. My teacher is dead” — experiencing “unimaginable horror” while officers stood just outside in the hallway.

“I hope that the failures end today,” said Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter Lexi Rubio was killed in the shooting. “My child, our children are named in this report because they are dead.” Of the officers who failed that day, she added: "They should be named.”

Velma Lisa Duran, whose sister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-shootings-texas-education-dd7031b2ce60283a3769ebdb669fa5d2">Irma Garcia</a>&nbsp;was one of the teachers killed, said before the release of the report that she was daunted by the prospect of reliving the circumstances of her sister’s death and what she really wanted was criminal charges.

“A report doesn’t matter when there are no consequences for actions that are so vile and murderous and evil,” said Duran. “What do you want us to do with another report? ... Bring it to court,” she said.

The federal review was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-school-shooting-justice-department-reviewing-response-ed6ea4160d723c2a25cde1c909d31fa7">launched</a>&nbsp;just days after the shooting. Since then, how police respond to mass shootings around the country has come under closer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lewiston-maine-shooting-warning-signs-robert-card-e154aac79b4f9d42a5381c20cd6618dd">scrutiny</a>.

The families of some of the Uvalde victims have blasted police as cowards and demanded resignations. At least five officers have lost their jobs, including two Department of Public Safety officers and the on-site commander, Arredondo.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705594680900.png" alt="Photo U.S. Department of Justicd" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Department of Justicd</figcaption>
 </figure>UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Police officials who responded to the deadly Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting waited far too long to confront the gunman, acted with “no urgency” in establishing a command post and communicated inaccurate information to grieving families, according to a Justice Department report released Thursday that identifies “cascading failures” in law enforcement's handling of the massacre.<a href="https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourcecenter/content.ashx/cops-r1141-pub.pdf">Click here to read </a>the 600 page report<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24366914-uvalde-report">The Justice Department report,</a>&nbsp;the most comprehensive federal accounting of the maligned police response to the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School, catalogs a sweeping array of training, communication, leadership and technology problems that federal officials say contributed to the crisis lasting far longer than necessary. All the while, the report says, terrified students inside the classrooms called 911 and agonized parents begged officers to go in.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Attorney General Merrick Garland: &quot;Within minutes of arriving inside the school, officials on scene transitioned from treating the scene as an active shooter situation to treating the shooter as a barricaded subject. This was the most significant failure.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/wt392AWJsW">pic.twitter.com/wt392AWJsW</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1748095943851806971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Had law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in active shooter situations and gone right after the shooter and stopped him, lives would have been saved and people would have survived,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday at a news conference in Uvalde after Justice Department officials briefed family members on their findings. The Uvalde victims, he said, "deserved better."Even for a mass shooting that has already been the subject of intense scrutiny and in-depth examinations — an earlier report by Texas lawmakers, for instance, faulted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-texas-education-violence-school-31aa135678f8118ed96d893ea77cf8ea">law enforcement at every level</a>&nbsp;with failing “to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety" — the nearly 600-page Justice Department report adds to the public understanding of how officers failed to stop an attack that killed 19 children and two staff members.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Attorney General Merrick Garland: &quot;The chaos and confusion that defined the law enforcement response while the shooter remained a threat also defined the aftermath...Some families were told that their family members had survived, when they had not.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XUebqxTIa7">pic.twitter.com/XUebqxTIa7</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1748085414022332585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The flawed initial response was compounded in the following days by an ineptitude that added to family members' anguish, according to the report. One family member spent hours pulling glass out of an injured son's body because the surviving children were not screened for medical problems.A county district attorney told families that they would need to wait for autopsy reports before death notifications were made, prompting some to yell: “What, our kids are dead? No, no!” Untrained hospital staff told family members that their loved ones had died, while in other cases, families were incorrectly told that a child had survived when they had not. At one point, an official told waiting families that another bus of survivors was coming, but that was untrue.“Mirroring the failures of the law enforcement response, state and local agencies failed to coordinate, leading to inaccurate and incomplete information being provided to anxious family and community members and the public,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.The problems began almost immediately with a flawed assumption by officers at the scene that the shooter was barricaded, or otherwise contained, even as he continued to fire shots. That “mindset permeated throughout much of the incident response" as police, rather than rushing inside the classrooms to end the carnage, waited more than an hour to confront the gunman in what the report called a costly “lack of urgency.”The gunman, Salvador Ramos, was killed roughly 77 minutes after police arrived on the scene, when a tactical team finally went into the classroom to take him down.“An active shooter with access to victims should never be considered and treated as a barricaded subject,” the report says, with the word “never” emphasized in italics.In other errors, the report says, police acted with “no urgency” in establishing a command center at the school, creating confusion among police about who was in charge. The then-school district police chief, Pete Arredondo, discarded his radios on arrival because he deemed them unnecessary. Though he tried to communicate by phone with officers in the school hallway, “unfortunately, on multiple occasions, he directed officers intending to gain entry into the classrooms to stop, because he appeared to determine that other victims should first be removed from nearby classrooms to prevent further injury.”Uvalde, a community of more than 15,000 about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio, continues to struggle with the trauma left by the killings and remains divided on the issue of accountability. Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell has said she’s still considering whether to bring criminal charges.Asked about the report and the possibility of charges Thursday, President Joe Biden said he was briefed by his staff “but I don’t know that there’s any criminal liability.”In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott initially praised the officers’ courage, saying the reason the shooting was "not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do" and that they had been brave in "running toward gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives.But that narrative crumbled under scrutiny, as a report from a panel of state lawmakers and investigations by journalists laid bare how a mass of officers went in and out of the school with weapons drawn but didn’t enter the classroom where the shooting was taking place.“The actions of the responding officers, combined with the ‘heroic’ storyline that started with (a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety) and continued the next day during the Governor’s and director’s news conference, dealt a serious blow to public confidence in local and state law enforcement,” the report states.The city of Uvalde said in a statement that it had requested and fully cooperated with the federal investigation and had “already implemented changes in leadership, new personnel, new training, and new equipment.”The report intentionally omits the identity of the gunman or any explanation of a possible motive. But it does include page-long remembrances of each of the victims, including 10-year-old Jose Flores Jr., who loved cars and the Houston Astros, and Amerie Jo Garza, who on the morning of the shooting had celebrated her appointment to the honor roll.And it highlights anguished and panicked quotes from a 911 call by students trapped in the classroom — “Help!” “Help!” “Help!” “I don't want to die. My teacher is dead” — experiencing “unimaginable horror” while officers stood just outside in the hallway.“I hope that the failures end today,” said Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter Lexi Rubio was killed in the shooting. “My child, our children are named in this report because they are dead.” Of the officers who failed that day, she added: "They should be named.”Velma Lisa Duran, whose sister&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-shootings-texas-education-dd7031b2ce60283a3769ebdb669fa5d2">Irma Garcia</a>&nbsp;was one of the teachers killed, said before the release of the report that she was daunted by the prospect of reliving the circumstances of her sister’s death and what she really wanted was criminal charges.“A report doesn’t matter when there are no consequences for actions that are so vile and murderous and evil,” said Duran. “What do you want us to do with another report? ... Bring it to court,” she said.The federal review was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-school-shooting-justice-department-reviewing-response-ed6ea4160d723c2a25cde1c909d31fa7">launched</a>&nbsp;just days after the shooting. Since then, how police respond to mass shootings around the country has come under closer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lewiston-maine-shooting-warning-signs-robert-card-e154aac79b4f9d42a5381c20cd6618dd">scrutiny</a>.The families of some of the Uvalde victims have blasted police as cowards and demanded resignations. At least five officers have lost their jobs, including two Department of Public Safety officers and the on-site commander, Arredondo.

🎥Read new revelations in DOJ report on Uvalde school shooting

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying the remaining 20% of the Pilot truck stop business it does not already own from the Haslam family, the two announced on Tuesday.

Berkshire confirmed it now owns all of Pilot Travel Centers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The sale follows the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/haslam-warren-buffett-pilot-truck-stops-berkshire-hathaway-10abae4ac96c3d0466d2fc7e8c4c805c">settlement of a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;earlier this month that pitted Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam against Buffett’s Berkshire over the Pilot stake's value.

Berkshire purchased an initial 38.6% stake in PTC in 2017 for $2.76 billion. The two sides agreed at that time that Berkshire would take control of PTC by acquiring an additional 41.4% interest in January 2023. The price tag for that control purchase was roughly $8.2 billion.

The 2017 agreements also gave Pilot Corp. an annual 60-day opportunity, beginning Jan. 1 this year, to sell its remaining 20% interest in PTC to Berkshire. The sale price would be calculated using PTC’s earnings in the prior year.

With the first sale deadline approaching, however, the two sides accused each other of trying to manipulate the company’s financial records in order to affect the price Berkshire would have to pay for the Haslam family’s remaining 20% stake in the truck-stop chain.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying the remaining 20% of the Pilot truck stop business it does not already own from the Haslam family, the two announced on Tuesday.Berkshire confirmed it now owns all of Pilot Travel Centers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The sale follows the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/haslam-warren-buffett-pilot-truck-stops-berkshire-hathaway-10abae4ac96c3d0466d2fc7e8c4c805c">settlement of a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;earlier this month that pitted Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam against Buffett’s Berkshire over the Pilot stake's value.Berkshire purchased an initial 38.6% stake in PTC in 2017 for $2.76 billion. The two sides agreed at that time that Berkshire would take control of PTC by acquiring an additional 41.4% interest in January 2023. The price tag for that control purchase was roughly $8.2 billion.The 2017 agreements also gave Pilot Corp. an annual 60-day opportunity, beginning Jan. 1 this year, to sell its remaining 20% interest in PTC to Berkshire. The sale price would be calculated using PTC’s earnings in the prior year.With the first sale deadline approaching, however, the two sides accused each other of trying to manipulate the company’s financial records in order to affect the price Berkshire would have to pay for the Haslam family’s remaining 20% stake in the truck-stop chain.

Berkshire Hathaway buys remaining 20% stake in Pilot Travel from Haslam family for undisclosed sum

LINCOLN, NE –&nbsp;Today, Governor Pillen gave his annual State of the State address. The full address is below:

“President Kelly, Speaker Arch, and members of the 108th&nbsp;Nebraska Legislature. Family, friends, and distinguished guests. My fellow Nebraskans.

Over the past 11 days, Nebraska experienced historically brutal winter weather. Subzero temperatures, back-to-back blizzards, and unrelenting winds paralyzed much of our state, stranding hundreds of travelers, preventing farmers and ranchers from reaching their farms and feeding their animals, shuttering businesses, challenging our power grid, and threatening safety and commerce for thousands.

To meet this emergency, Nebraskans helped Nebraskans, just as they have done countless times before. State troopers, sheriff’s deputies, police officers, other first responders, and snow fighters from across the state moved swiftly to rescue those trapped by the storms, clear roads, and dig out our communities and agriculture. These brave men and women represent the best and the backbone of our state public servants who rush into the storm and into harm’s way to help their neighbors. It is because of them and because of the resilience of the toughest, hardest-working people in this land that the state of our state is as strong as ever.

In the balcony today are Nebraska State Patrol Sergeant Jesse Pfeifer, Air National Guard Major Dave Strom, and Department of Transportation District Operations Manager and Snow Fighter Tim Koenig. We thank them for their tireless service to Nebraska, and I ask you to join me in recognizing them as representatives of all of Nebraska’s law enforcement, first responders, National Guard, and highway workers.

We must never forget the reality of the hazards these public servants face every day. This past year, Nebraska lost two of our DOT highway workers in the line of duty. Their names were Mark Wells and Dave Schwartz, and I ask you all to join me in a moment of silence to honor their memories. Thank you.

One year ago, I stood before you in this magnificent Chamber and pledged to be Governor of all Nebraskans and to build relationships with&nbsp;all&nbsp;of their representatives. It has been my honor to do so. We did not agree on every issue. God forbid we ever do.

But we certainly agreed that our kids are our future, and we never ever give up on our kids. United by those principles, together in 2023 we accomplished much for Nebraska’s future. We took major steps to make sure the state meets its school funding promises to every kid in every district by investing 1 billion dollars into the Education Future Fund to support K-12 education. This included a critical step forward in foundation aid of 1500 dollars per student and overdue increases in special education funding. We invested in our workforce by guaranteeing state-funding for our dynamic community college system to help increase access to trade school degrees.

And we passed the Opportunity Scholarships Act, which will ensure that needy students from every corner of our state have a chance at a good education at a school that will be the best fit for them. To no one's surprise the success of this program is obvious, with thousands of Nebraska kids already expressing interest in the program. Several are with us today, including Opportunity Scholarship recipients Nyah Bell from Omaha and Destiny Curtis from Norfolk. Please join me in welcoming these students to their State Capitol. Sadly, union bosses and politicians are trying to rip these scholarships away from kids like Nyah and Destiny. I will fight to protect what we worked so hard to pass last year and call upon this body to do the same.

Last year included major achievements in other areas, too. We took a big first step toward addressing mental health challenges with the unanimous creation of certified community behavioral health clinics. 2023 was a groundbreaking year for fiscal conservatism, too. We agreed that state government was spending too much and taxing its people too much. We tightened our belts and passed a historic fiscal conservative budget with only 2 percent growth. We agreed that taxing our seniors’ social security is not the Nebraska way and ended it. We finally made our income tax codes competitive with our neighbors by reducing income tax rates to 3.99 percent by 2027.

Agriculture is the heart and soul of Nebraska’s economy, and we made big investments in its future and infrastructure. We supported value-added agriculture by increasing consumer ethanol access. We created and strengthened the Nebraska Broadband Office, which will leverage once-in-a-generation resources to ensure rural Nebraska businesses and farms can connect to a global economy. And we created the financing tools needed to finally finish our statewide expressway system.

We defended the unborn by restricting abortions beyond 12 weeks. We will continue to embrace life here in Nebraska with the launch of a yearlong “Culture of Life and Love Initiative” It will provide resources to expecting moms, especially those in crisis and who need support more than ever. Much work remains to be done, but this Legislature should be proud of its investments in Nebraska’s future. Thank you.

We Nebraskans are a people grounded in values: faith, family, freedom, life, and love. We are a place of rich opportunity and one of the safest places to live in the world to raise a family. We have the gift of belief. Among our greatest strengths is that we believe we can compete with anyone, anywhere in the world and we can.

Blessed with these traits, our economy can weather any storm and emerge stronger. Our economic diversity is at the foundation of this resilience. If agriculture slows, our manufacturers keep Nebraskans at work, and vice versa.

Our banking sector much of which is family-owned and deeply familiar with the businesses and farming operations it serves provides the stability and liquidity needed for growth.

Because of sound, prudent regulation and a low tax burden, Nebraska has become an insurance capital, attracting strong companies, creating thousands of jobs, and an industry that ranks in the top 3 nationally.

Our public university system has world-class healthcare and biosecurity assets, which attract patients and experts from across the globe.

We are a sophisticated national security hub, hosting STRATCOM at Offutt Air Force Base and providing the nuclear deterrence necessary to secure a troubled world.

To support and grow these incredible economic assets, among our chief goals in state government must be to get government out of the way, reduce regulations and bureaucratic hurdles, and empower people and businesses to thrive. In our administration, we call this Operation: Clean Out the Closets, in which we try to identify every statutory or regulatory mandate that adds needless costs to healthcare, education, senior care, and businesses of all kinds. We can do much in the executive branch, but we must partner with you to complete this task and to stay vigilant against new costly mandates. Together we can get government out of the way and focused again on its core functions: public safety, education, and infrastructure.

This legislative session, though short, holds great promise and opportunity for our state. There is a tremendous amount of the people’s work we must accomplish to make this a better, safer, and stronger place for every Nebraska kid, family, business, and farm. If we are thoughtful, principled, and keep the interests of all Nebraskans before us, I have no doubt this can be one of the most impactful legislative sessions in our history.

First and foremost, the most important economic issue we face is out of control property taxes. This crisis is not new. It has been hurting Nebraska farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and businesses for most of our lifetimes. High property taxes hurt every Nebraskan in every part of our state and must be fixed NOW. Property taxes are so out of whack, you don’t even need to own property to be impacted. They are the most regressive tax government imposes on its people. Fixed income Nebraskans who have lived, worked, and raised families here now face the prospect of being forced out of their homes due to out-of-control property taxes. That is unacceptable, but you have several proposals before you to fix it.

Senator Linehan has introduced a hard cap on local spending, which can be overridden only by a vote of the people. This measure is critical, as only a hard cap will force local government to finally curb spending.

Senator Dover has a bill that will repurpose existing credits so all property taxpayers can benefit from this relief, not just those with the best accountants. His bill will also add one billion dollars in new property tax credits. Critically, all of these credits will be front-loaded so that property taxpayers will see them directly on their property tax statements instead of having to go through an onerous process to claim them through their income taxes months later.

Through hard work, collaboration, and setting politics aside, we must find the revenue to support this property tax relief. Senators von Gillern, Kauth, Meyer, Murman, Albrecht, and Linehan have offered several bills to close several tax loopholes created for special interests at the expense of the middle class.

We have examined over 500 agency cash funds and will transfer 274 million dollars to support property tax relief. Oh, and by the way, even after that transfer, we still have a total of 2.49 billion dollars in those cash funds. And that’s not even counting the 1.25 billion dollars in our general and cash reserve fund. It is not the job of government to hoard cash and we must give it back to the people.

We must lower our overall tax burden, widen our tax base, and end the era of special interest tax breaks. Tax policy must benefit our state as a whole, not whoever has the best lobbyist. With these changes Nebraskans’ property tax bill will be cut by 40 percent this year. I know there is the will, good faith, knowledge, and ability in this chamber to solve it, and I pledge to work with you as long as it takes to get this done.

Nebraska government remains too big at every level. Since my inauguration, we have been relentless in searching for efficiencies, cutting costs, ending bloated contracts, and working to meet the performance improvement targets this Legislature set out for us last session. We must do more, however, including by structurally reducing the excessive number of boards and commissions that have built up in Nebraska government over the years. At last count, we have over two hundred state boards and commissions, many of which are redundant or oversee activities that can be eliminated. Senator Brewer has introduced a measure that would eliminate forty-eight—or twenty percent—of our boards and commissions. I urge the Legislature to make the most of this opportunity to shrink unnecessary government.

For over a century, Nebraska has been the land of opportunity for newcomers. For years, we have used income tax abatement as our main tool to incentivize companies to come to Nebraska. This has yielded many success stories and thousands of good, well-paying careers for hard-working Nebraskans. But we must make sure we are not giving our topsoil away by giving incentives to foreign companies who view Nebraska merely as a conduit for cheap electricity, free water, and cheap labor.

We must align our economic incentives to strengthen not only value-adding new businesses, but also Nebraska-owned, Nebraska-led businesses which have been building our economy for generations.

That is why I am working with Senator Linehan to reform our current incentive package to make Nebraska's incentives competitive in the manufacturing sector for Nebraska-grown companies. While we want to create and incentivize great careers in Nebraska, we must focus more on recruiting people to The Good Life. We must retool our incentives to be people focused.

One priority, brought by Senator Brewer, will be strengthening the ranks of our great Nebraska National Guard by exempting its members from state income tax. While significant, this is the least we can do to honor them for all they do for our state and nation. Thank you, Colonel Brewer, for your own service and commitment to our armed forces.

We will incentivize new Nebraskans to join our private workforce, too. Senator Ballard has introduced an innovative bill that will give Nebraska businesses credit for bringing new residents to our state. Passing this bill will be another investment in our future workforce. But we must recognize that investing in the twenty-first century workforce is different from what we’ve done before. No longer can we focus tax breaks on companies that are takers, not givers, and that do not share our values.

With input from our working group that focused on workforce development over the past six months, we have come forward with proposals in childcare &amp; early childhood education, housing, and general education.

I have partnered with Senator Bostar on Legislation to create a Micro-Center network. This will allow local communities and businesses to get creative with existing space and resources to meet their childcare needs.

To build the housing we need for our workforce, we should invest an additional 25 million dollars into the Rural Workforce Housing Fund. All across rural Nebraska, the demand for workforce housing is so great that homes are sold before the doors are even hung. But it’s not just a rural Nebraska issue. Housing affordability and availability is an issue in our cities too. Part of the shared problem is local overregulation of affordable housing. That is why I am partnering with Senator Lowe on lowering the regulatory burden for affordable housing. A recent UNO study showed that regulation as a component of construction is over 40 thousand dollars higher here than the national average. This is simply unacceptable and makes no sense. We must cut the red tape and make homes affordable in Nebraska.

I am partnering with Senator Walz to break down the barriers for potential teachers to enter the workforce. I ask this question all the time, “who are the top three people that impacted your life the most?” I guarantee if we took the time for each of you to answer, all 49 of you would have a teacher or a coach in your answer. I tell you what, if I would have known and understood the impact a coach can have I would have been a coach. It is one of society’s most important professions. That is why we must allow for reciprocity for teachers coming from another state and simplify how to apply for and receive a teaching certificate. That way more Nebraskans can easily choose this honorable profession.

Finally, I am working with Senator Linehan to change our incentive credits to direct them toward housing, childcare, and early childhood education for Nebraskans.

Outside this building, state government must do more collectively to align our institutions of higher education to meet the workforce needs of tomorrow. I look forward to partnering with our University of Nebraska, State College system, and Community College System to launch the One Nebraska initiative, which will eliminate needless duplication and inefficient competition between state-supported schools. Along with finally harmonizing and strengthening our Regents Scholarship program, we will make sure that our higher education keeps our best and brightest here and trains them to lead Nebraska into the future. These efforts will stop the brain drain, welcome new Nebraskans, and will help businesses, ranchers and farmers thrive.

Speaking of attracting people to Nebraska, it’s tough to do that with nonsense slogans like we’re “not for everyone.” We must bring our economic development, people recruitment, and tourism promotion work back under the same leadership, so that they can be better coordinated and run at less administrative expense to the taxpayers. Senator McDonnell has a carryover bill from last session that would correct a decade-old mistake of separating tourism from economic development. I urge you to pass this bill so we can again tell the world that The Good Life is for everyone.

Nebraska has become a Mecca for women’s athletics, with our women’s sports drawing tremendous inspiration and excitement and our female athletes becoming superstars. Supporting our women athletes takes more than just buying tickets and watching games, though—it also means protecting them in the arena and in the locker room. Simply put, I don’t want my granddaughter to bear the fundamental unfairness of competing against a boy. And I certainly don’t want her to suffer the indignity of showering next to a boy. And that goes both ways—our boys shouldn’t be sharing showers with girls. This is commonsense stuff that the overwhelming majority of Nebraskans support. Senator Kauth’s Sports and Spaces Act, also carried over from last year, reflects that common sense. I believe in sports, I believe in women’s sports, and I believe in protecting women athletes, and I urge you to pass LB575.

We have also included in our budget proposal funding that will enable us to take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime federal resources designed to develop the new bioeconomy here in Nebraska. This diverse area of economic activity encompasses everything from sustainable aviation fuel to plastics, nylon, acrylics, and amino acids—all sourced from corn and soybeans and able to made here in Nebraska. Nebraska is uniquely well-equipped to be the leader in the new bioeconomy. Blessed with constantly renewed water resources that are not only a natural buffer against drought but also enable us to grow crops more sustainably than anywhere else, we already produce the building blocks of the new bioeconomy. This will provide more value for our agricultural products, more research and innovation, and more wealth right here.

We are the envy of the Nation when it comes to our people, our safety, our energy independence, and our food security. Center to it all is our pot of gold the Ogallala Aquifer one of the few truly sustainable aquifers in the western hemisphere. Our water is the key to value-added agriculture the ability to raise more crops per acre while using less energy. Looking ahead, even beyond this session, it is critical that we strengthen our water laws to guarantee this priceless resource is not diverted to solve water management failures in other parts of the country. We must invest to incentivize ag producers to use less water to raise more. Better measurement tools, more use of technology, and more innovation will enable us to use less water while irrigating more crops right here in Nebraska.

With our water being the envy of the world, we cannot allow adversarial foreign interests the ability to take it. That is why I am partnering with Senator DeKay to modernize Nebraska’s laws on land ownership to prohibit purchases by adversaries. This bill would tighten up those restrictions and provide a clear directive for enforcement. Additionally, the bill rescinds exemptions for foreign ownership, such as foreign oil, gas and mineral development in the state. The world is not the same place as it was in the 1950s, when these laws were last reviewed. It is imperative to keep enemies of our country from owning land in our state, especially near sensitive military installations.

I am also partnering with Senator Bostar to ban enemies like China, North Korea, and Iran from bidding on any public contract that deals with security related items like IT, communication networks, and infrastructure.

As I close, I want to share with you one of the most incredible moments I experienced during my first year as your Governor. Early last year, I was privileged to be the first Governor to join a conference of Nebraska’s tribal leaders in South Sioux City. While there, one of the tribal elders shared with me what his grandfather taught him: that whenever his community’s leaders gather to make important decisions for their people’s future, they are guided by the knowledge that their actions have an impact for seven generations. That is incredibly powerful and has remained with me ever since. &nbsp;It has come to guide my own public service and I hope you find meaning in it, too. It has been roughly seven generations since Nebraska was founded. Those pioneers poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this land, not only for themselves but for their kids, grandkids, and generations to come. Their hard work, grit, sacrifice, and optimism is reflected in our people today.

As we do the people’s business in the days, weeks, and months ahead, we should never forget that we are working for future generations of Nebraskans, so that they may inherit the same safe, strong, and prosperous Nebraska that we enjoy today. If we look beyond localized interests and set politics aside, and instead put the best interests of Nebraska as our sole guiding principle, I have no doubt that we can win for our agriculture, our businesses, our taxpayers, our kids, and our future. Together we can.

Speaking of having an impact for seven generations thank you to this body for partnering with us to launch a five-million-dollar investment in mentoring organizations across the state, because while not every kid needs a mentor, every kid deserves one. The lifetime benefits of mentoring cannot be overstated. And that is why I am so honored that we are joined today by one of my own mentors, and a dedicated public servant of Nebraska himself, Coach Tom Osborne. Coach has been a leader in creating mentoring opportunities for thousands of kids and he is an inspiration to us all. Will you join me in recognizing Coach Osborne and everything he has done for Nebraska.

Thank you for your friendship and partnership in service of the people we collectively represent. It goes without saying, none of us could answer our calls to serve without the support of our families. I am certainly grateful for the love and support of my own family, including our First Lady, Suzanne, who is here with us today. And thanks to you and your families for the sacrifices you and they make for your public service to Nebraska.&nbsp;

Governor Pillen 2024 State of State Address

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/01/16/nebraska-911-outages-spark-bills-aimed-at-shoring-things-up/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Multiple outages of 911 systems in Nebraska from cut lines and power failures prompt new legislation demanding faster deployment of next-generation upgrades and clearer accountability when service providers fall short.

Legislative Bills 1255 and 1256, offered by State Sens. John Fredrickson and Wendy DeBoer, both of Omaha, would accomplish both of those tasks.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB1255.pdf">LB 1255</a>&nbsp;would accelerate the years-long transitioning of Nebraska to next-generation 911.

<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB1256.pdf">LB 1256</a>&nbsp;would require 911 outages to be reported to the Nebraska Public Service Commission and require a public hearing after major outages that explores the reasons behind troubles with a backbone of the state’s emergency response systems.

David Sankey, the PSC’s director of 911 oversight, did not immediately reply to messages Tuesday seeking comment on the bills. He has testified that merging old and new technologies during the transition to a more modern 911 system contributes to outages.

Both senators have said they are responding to months of scattered Nebraska 911 outages in August, September, November and most recently this month in southeast Nebraska. Telephone service providers have mostly blamed cable cuts.

In one instance, a severed water line damaged the power supply for Lincoln’s Windstream provider, killing power and eventually stressing and overcoming a backup generator. Critics of the 911 outages and response to them have said the risk to public safety is real.

Fredrickson’s bill would clarify that the PSC has regulatory authority over 911, new and old. It would set a six-month goal and a one-year deadline to finish the transition to data-rich 911, requiring companies to notify the state of any delays.&nbsp;

“One of the issues we saw in the outages was that the legacy and next-gen systems were not compatible for seamless redundancy,” Fredrickson said Tuesday. “Next-gen increases redundancy and resiliency.”&nbsp;

DeBoer’s bill would define a 911 outage as a “significant degradation in the ability of an end user to establish and maintain a channel of communications services as a result of failure or degradation in the performance” of a service network.

It would require service providers to file the same reports to the PSC that they file to the Federal Communications Commission on 911 outages. It gives the Public Service Commission 90 days from the first outage report being received to hold a public hearing.

Her goal, she said, is to shorten the time it takes the PSC to gather reliable information from the telecommunications companies so that regulators and state lawmakers can respond more quickly to system problems and outages.

“The Public Service Commission is charged with looking into these,” DeBoer said. “They ought to have the information to look into these. We’re making sure they have the same access FCC has, because they’re the ones who have to take corrective action.”&nbsp;

But, she said, she wants to make sure Nebraskans know they can still trust the state’s 911 system. It is already “strong and resilient,” she said. DeBoer said she and Fredrickson want to make it “stronger and more resilient.”

Nebraska Examiner Senior Reporter Paul Hammel contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705596315539.jpeg" alt="State Sens. John Fredrickson and Wendy DeBoer, both of Omaha, submit a pair of bills meant to address recent issues with 911 service in Nebraska. (Courtesy of Sen. Fredrickson’s office)" />
 <figcaption>State Sens. John Fredrickson and Wendy DeBoer, both of Omaha, submit a pair of bills meant to address recent issues with 911 service in Nebraska. (Courtesy of Sen. Fredrickson’s office)</figcaption>
 </figure>Aaron Sanderford<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/01/16/nebraska-911-outages-spark-bills-aimed-at-shoring-things-up/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Multiple outages of 911 systems in Nebraska from cut lines and power failures prompt new legislation demanding faster deployment of next-generation upgrades and clearer accountability when service providers fall short.Legislative Bills 1255 and 1256, offered by State Sens. John Fredrickson and Wendy DeBoer, both of Omaha, would accomplish both of those tasks.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB1255.pdf">LB 1255</a>&nbsp;would accelerate the years-long transitioning of Nebraska to next-generation 911.<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Intro/LB1256.pdf">LB 1256</a>&nbsp;would require 911 outages to be reported to the Nebraska Public Service Commission and require a public hearing after major outages that explores the reasons behind troubles with a backbone of the state’s emergency response systems.David Sankey, the PSC’s director of 911 oversight, did not immediately reply to messages Tuesday seeking comment on the bills. He has testified that merging old and new technologies during the transition to a more modern 911 system contributes to outages.<h2>Risk to public safety</h2>Both senators have said they are responding to months of scattered Nebraska 911 outages in August, September, November and most recently this month in southeast Nebraska. Telephone service providers have mostly blamed cable cuts.In one instance, a severed water line damaged the power supply for Lincoln’s Windstream provider, killing power and eventually stressing and overcoming a backup generator. Critics of the 911 outages and response to them have said the risk to public safety is real.Fredrickson’s bill would clarify that the PSC has regulatory authority over 911, new and old. It would set a six-month goal and a one-year deadline to finish the transition to data-rich 911, requiring companies to notify the state of any delays.&nbsp;“One of the issues we saw in the outages was that the legacy and next-gen systems were not compatible for seamless redundancy,” Fredrickson said Tuesday. “Next-gen increases redundancy and resiliency.”&nbsp;DeBoer’s bill would define a 911 outage as a “significant degradation in the ability of an end user to establish and maintain a channel of communications services as a result of failure or degradation in the performance” of a service network.It would require service providers to file the same reports to the PSC that they file to the Federal Communications Commission on 911 outages. It gives the Public Service Commission 90 days from the first outage report being received to hold a public hearing.Her goal, she said, is to shorten the time it takes the PSC to gather reliable information from the telecommunications companies so that regulators and state lawmakers can respond more quickly to system problems and outages.<h2>PSC needs access</h2>“The Public Service Commission is charged with looking into these,” DeBoer said. “They ought to have the information to look into these. We’re making sure they have the same access FCC has, because they’re the ones who have to take corrective action.”&nbsp;But, she said, she wants to make sure Nebraskans know they can still trust the state’s 911 system. It is already “strong and resilient,” she said. DeBoer said she and Fredrickson want to make it “stronger and more resilient.”Other bills of note:<ul>
 <li>Bills were introduced on behalf of Gov. Jim Pillen seeking to strengthen existing laws prohibiting foreign persons or foreign-owned companies from owning agricultural land in Nebraska and requesting a study of what impact a conflict in the Pacific between China and the U.S. would have on state supply chains.</li><li>A proposal by Elmwood Sen. Rob Clements would devote $1.5 million in cash reserve funds toward development of a planned&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/03/18/unused-gallery-on-fifth-floor-of-nebraska-capitol-eyed-as-aa-visitors-center-and-museum/">visitors center and museum</a>&nbsp;on the fifth floor of the State Capitol Rotunda. The space has gone unused in recent years.&nbsp;</li><li>LB 1218 from Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar would impose an excise tax of 3 cents per kilowatt hour on the electricity dispensed at a commercial electric vehicle charging station.</li><li>Bills introduced by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne would appropriate $225,000 to evaluate rehabilitating the Mayhew Cabin site in Nebraska City and require the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to consult with the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska about the proposed Standing Bear museum.</li><li>Blair Sen. Ben Hansen’s LB 1247 would allow the public to hunt on state “school” land by purchasing an “access stamp” costing not less than $25 for residents and $50 for nonresidents.</li><li>LB 1248, offered by Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauth, would eliminate sales tax exemptions for soft drinks, cand and drugs made from hemp.</li>
 </ul>Nebraska Examiner Senior Reporter Paul Hammel contributed to this report.

Nebraska 911 outages spark bills aimed at shoring things up

WASHINGTON (AP) —A year ago, pro-life activists from across the U.S. gathered for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-florida-state-government-kentucky-6ed9dbcdaae33312f1425ea38b681a7e">their annual March for Life</a>&nbsp;with reason to celebrate: It was their first march since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court</a>, seven months earlier, had overturned the nationwide right to abortion.

At this year’s march, on Friday, the mood will be very different — reflecting formidable challenges that lie ahead in this election year.

“We have undeniable evidence of victory — lives being saved,” said John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life. “But there is also a realization of the significant hurdles that our movement has right now in the public conversation.”

Participants at the march in Washington will salute the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-exception-lawsuit-legislature-confusion-b2808df90937e96887aa4e1f9c565771">14 states enforcing bans</a>&nbsp;on abortion throughout pregnancy. They will proclaim that thousands of babies have been born who otherwise might have been aborted, even as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-count-dobbs-ruling-states-3acdfba421b9f4a5ea0003de6c67260b">studies show</a>&nbsp;the total number of abortions provided in the U.S. rose slightly in the year after that enforcement began.

Moreover, anti-abortion leaders know that their side has a seven-state losing streak in votes on abortion-related ballot measures. Even in red states such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-amendment-election-2023-fe3e06747b616507d8ca21ea26485270">Ohio</a>, Kansas and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>, the outcomes favored keeping abortion access legal.

In this year’s election, several more states are expected to have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-measure-2024-state-vote-e7d635835dc3a440789ad87787553ec1">abortion-rights ballot measures</a>, and Democratic candidates in many races, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">President Joe Biden</a>, will be highlighting their support for abortion access.

“We have been around for more than 50 years, and I don’t know of any year that was easy,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee.

“But it definitely got harder after Dobbs,” she added. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Tobias was referring to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June 2022, overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

The key consequence of Dobbs was to return decision-making on abortion policy to individual states. Some Democratic-governed states — such as California,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-new-york-doctor-protection-shield-161fc73174a04f68e93c4312b3b21ea0">New York</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-health-new-jersey-state-government-006f9a1182946397c9e79342ad80c778">New Jersey</a>&nbsp;— have strengthened protections for abortion access. Roughly 20 states with Republican-controlled legislatures have either banned abortion or sought to impose new restrictions.

After Dobbs, “I didn’t want anyone to get the false sense that we were at the end of our work,” said Brent Leatherwood, an abortion opponent who heads the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy wing.

“We’ve gone from a focal point at the federal level to 50 different focal points,” he said. “It may be another 50 years before we truly establish a culture of life, where preborn lives are saved and mothers are supported.”

Even the current claims of lives being saved due to the Dobbs decision are subject to question. While abortions have decreased to nearly zero in states with total bans, they have increased elsewhere – notably in states such as Illinois, Florida and New Mexico, which are near those with more restrictions.

Anti-abortion leaders are keenly aware that their opponents in the abortion debate depict the wave of state bans as an infringement on women’s rights and a potential danger to their health.

Thus the theme of this year’s March for Life strives to convey support for women facing unexpected pregnancies: “Pro Life: With Every Woman, For Every Child.”

“&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-business-health-nashville-personal-taxes-fffa6f6f86e6eaa448b8ea89087a1c46">Pregnancy care centers</a>&nbsp;and maternity homes are the very backbone of our movement,” March for Life president Jeanne Mancini wrote in a recent opinion piece.

She and her allies have encouraged states to offer support programs for new mothers in need — helping them find housing, jobs and health insurance.

Among the scheduled speakers at the march is Jean Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. Davis says a similar center in New Hampshire helped her break free several years ago after she became pregnant while ensnared in a sex-trafficking operation.

Other scheduled speakers include House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.

Mancini said last year’s march drew tens of thousands of people; she’s hoping this year’s march will be bigger.

The participants, she said, will be in a “persevering mood.”

J.J. Straight, part of an American Civil Liberties Union team working to protect and broaden abortion access, says her side also feels determined, especially in light of the recent ballot-measure results.

“We’ve seen a tremendous pushback to the anti-abortion agenda,” she said. “There’s a huge coalition of folks, regardless of their party and other demographics, who absolutely draw the line at this kind interference in their health care.”

Among the reasons for uncertainty for all parties in the debate is the inconsistent way that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-exception-lawsuit-legislature-confusion-b2808df90937e96887aa4e1f9c565771">federal and state courts</a>&nbsp;have adjudicated abortion-related cases. There have been numerous legal challenges to the various state laws banning or restricting abortion, some failing and others succeeding at least temporarily.

There’s a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-exceptions-lawsuit-82611bda29112775247d8e7adbc0a81b">pending lawsuit</a>&nbsp;in Texas filed by women who say the state’s abortion ban forced them to continue pregnancies despite serious risk to their health.

In an even higher profile Texas case,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-ban-7d865cdfd75bdc6b2f4186f4d1e6e8bd">Kate Cox</a>, a mother of two, sought an abortion after learning the baby she was carrying had a fatal genetic condition. Her request for an exemption from Texas’ ban — one of the country’s strictest — was denied by the state Supreme Court, and Cox left Texas to seek an abortion elsewhere.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705585012650.png" alt="Photo courtesy SBA Pro-Life America" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy SBA Pro-Life America</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —A year ago, pro-life activists from across the U.S. gathered for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-florida-state-government-kentucky-6ed9dbcdaae33312f1425ea38b681a7e">their annual March for Life</a>&nbsp;with reason to celebrate: It was their first march since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">Supreme Court</a>, seven months earlier, had overturned the nationwide right to abortion.At this year’s march, on Friday, the mood will be very different — reflecting formidable challenges that lie ahead in this election year.“We have undeniable evidence of victory — lives being saved,” said John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life. “But there is also a realization of the significant hurdles that our movement has right now in the public conversation.”Participants at the march in Washington will salute the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-exception-lawsuit-legislature-confusion-b2808df90937e96887aa4e1f9c565771">14 states enforcing bans</a>&nbsp;on abortion throughout pregnancy. They will proclaim that thousands of babies have been born who otherwise might have been aborted, even as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-count-dobbs-ruling-states-3acdfba421b9f4a5ea0003de6c67260b">studies show</a>&nbsp;the total number of abortions provided in the U.S. rose slightly in the year after that enforcement began.Moreover, anti-abortion leaders know that their side has a seven-state losing streak in votes on abortion-related ballot measures. Even in red states such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-amendment-election-2023-fe3e06747b616507d8ca21ea26485270">Ohio</a>, Kansas and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>, the outcomes favored keeping abortion access legal.In this year’s election, several more states are expected to have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-measure-2024-state-vote-e7d635835dc3a440789ad87787553ec1">abortion-rights ballot measures</a>, and Democratic candidates in many races, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-kamala-harris-abortion-c634452da5e103913982e1cc5a0cae78">President Joe Biden</a>, will be highlighting their support for abortion access.“We have been around for more than 50 years, and I don’t know of any year that was easy,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee.“But it definitely got harder after Dobbs,” she added. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”Tobias was referring to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June 2022, overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.The key consequence of Dobbs was to return decision-making on abortion policy to individual states. Some Democratic-governed states — such as California,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-new-york-doctor-protection-shield-161fc73174a04f68e93c4312b3b21ea0">New York</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-health-new-jersey-state-government-006f9a1182946397c9e79342ad80c778">New Jersey</a>&nbsp;— have strengthened protections for abortion access. Roughly 20 states with Republican-controlled legislatures have either banned abortion or sought to impose new restrictions.After Dobbs, “I didn’t want anyone to get the false sense that we were at the end of our work,” said Brent Leatherwood, an abortion opponent who heads the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy wing.“We’ve gone from a focal point at the federal level to 50 different focal points,” he said. “It may be another 50 years before we truly establish a culture of life, where preborn lives are saved and mothers are supported.”Even the current claims of lives being saved due to the Dobbs decision are subject to question. While abortions have decreased to nearly zero in states with total bans, they have increased elsewhere – notably in states such as Illinois, Florida and New Mexico, which are near those with more restrictions.Anti-abortion leaders are keenly aware that their opponents in the abortion debate depict the wave of state bans as an infringement on women’s rights and a potential danger to their health.Thus the theme of this year’s March for Life strives to convey support for women facing unexpected pregnancies: “Pro Life: With Every Woman, For Every Child.”“&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-business-health-nashville-personal-taxes-fffa6f6f86e6eaa448b8ea89087a1c46">Pregnancy care centers</a>&nbsp;and maternity homes are the very backbone of our movement,” March for Life president Jeanne Mancini wrote in a recent opinion piece.She and her allies have encouraged states to offer support programs for new mothers in need — helping them find housing, jobs and health insurance.Among the scheduled speakers at the march is Jean Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. Davis says a similar center in New Hampshire helped her break free several years ago after she became pregnant while ensnared in a sex-trafficking operation.Other scheduled speakers include House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.Mancini said last year’s march drew tens of thousands of people; she’s hoping this year’s march will be bigger.The participants, she said, will be in a “persevering mood.”J.J. Straight, part of an American Civil Liberties Union team working to protect and broaden abortion access, says her side also feels determined, especially in light of the recent ballot-measure results.“We’ve seen a tremendous pushback to the anti-abortion agenda,” she said. “There’s a huge coalition of folks, regardless of their party and other demographics, who absolutely draw the line at this kind interference in their health care.”Among the reasons for uncertainty for all parties in the debate is the inconsistent way that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-exception-lawsuit-legislature-confusion-b2808df90937e96887aa4e1f9c565771">federal and state courts</a>&nbsp;have adjudicated abortion-related cases. There have been numerous legal challenges to the various state laws banning or restricting abortion, some failing and others succeeding at least temporarily.There’s a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-exceptions-lawsuit-82611bda29112775247d8e7adbc0a81b">pending lawsuit</a>&nbsp;in Texas filed by women who say the state’s abortion ban forced them to continue pregnancies despite serious risk to their health.In an even higher profile Texas case,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-ban-7d865cdfd75bdc6b2f4186f4d1e6e8bd">Kate Cox</a>, a mother of two, sought an abortion after learning the baby she was carrying had a fatal genetic condition. Her request for an exemption from Texas’ ban — one of the country’s strictest — was denied by the state Supreme Court, and Cox left Texas to seek an abortion elsewhere.For abortion-rights activists, Cox’s case was a powerful illustration of how abortion bans could be dangerous for women with pregnancy complications.“Never in our history have we had such overwhelming reaction to any case,” said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “We got phone calls, emails, snail-mail. Over and over, people talked about her with awe, her courage in going public.”Seago, the Texas Right to Life president, defended Texas’ abortion ban. He said the Cox case and the pending lawsuit simply underscored the need for Texas health authorities to clarify what doctors are and aren’t allowed to do in dealing with problem pregnancies.Carol Tobias acknowledged there can be difficult pregnancies.“But I don’t think hard circumstances should be used to establish state laws,” she said. In such cases, she added, “the doctors have two patients. They need to take care of both of them to best of their ability.”All the new bans make an exception to allow abortion if deemed necessary to save the life of the mother. There are divides within the anti-abortion movement over additional exceptions — for example, in cases of rape and incest, or when severe fetal abnormalities are diagnosed.Other divisions have surfaced over who should be criminalized by the new laws.Among leading anti-abortion activists, there’s a general consensus that women should not be prosecuted for seeking or obtaining an abortion. But there is support for criminal penalties against doctors and others who help people get an abortion; some states, including Texas and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/idaho-abortion-trafficking-travel-ban-270a403d7b4a5e99e566433556614728">Idaho</a>, seek to deter people from traveling out of state to get abortions or obtaining abortion pills by mail.Dr. Jamila Perritt, an abortion-rights supporter who is president of Physicians for Reproductive Health, worries that abortion opponents in states with bans will criminalize people who seek abortions outside the formal medical system.“The impact of their campaign has been devastating — and it will get worse,” she said. “I’m worried about many more people being arrested and prosecuted.”One of the biggest unknowns, heading toward to Election Day on Nov. 5, is how power in Washington will be divided between the two major parties.Abortion-rights supporters fear a Republican sweep of Congress and the White House might trigger a bid to impose a federal abortion ban. Conversely, some abortion opponents — including Chris Smith — fear a Democratic sweep might lead to a law overriding the state abortion bans that are now in effect.Such legislation — as modeled in the unsuccessful&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-bills-house-vote-fc24d99f184d7aeec4926a6520311da5">Women’s Health Protection Act</a>&nbsp;of 2021-22 — would be “an existential threat,” Smith said.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-inflation-us-supreme-court-health-7ea4f8fa597c97042503d856a082ef94">Sen. Lindsay Graham</a>, R-S.C., has introduced a bill proposing to ban most abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of gestation. SBA Pro-Life America, a prominent anti-abortion group, supports the bill, according to its state policy director, Katie Glenn Daniel. But the measure has vehement critics on both sides of the abortion divide.