Dawson Public Power District’s board of directors voted to approve the 2024 budget at their meeting on November 1. The district is planning for $61 million in expenses, which is about a million dollars less than the projected costs for 2023.

The directors discussed how to pay for planned capital projects. These are permanent additions and upgrades to the district’s power lines and substations. There is an option to use the district’s current cash reserves or to bond for the improvements, which would finance projects over the course of several years.

“We’ve used bonding in the past because it spreads the cost of improvements to more of the customer base who will use the substations and power lines. If you have a 20-year bond, the payments are distributed between today’s ratepayers and any new customers who will benefit from the project throughout the 20-year period,” explains board president Dan Muhlbach of Kearney. “We’re fortunate to have the option to choose either bonding or using cash for these projects. It is a testament to the stability of the district.”

Dawson PPD will begin the 2024 construction projects and the board will decide about potential bonding in the future. Bond rates can vary, which could make financing more or less favorable.

Some 2024 capital projects are carryover items from 2023. Major manufacturer delays have extended projects.

Dawson Public PowerDawson Public Power District’s board of directors voted to approve the 2024 budget at their meeting on November 1. The district is planning for $61 million in expenses, which is about a million dollars less than the projected costs for 2023.The directors discussed how to pay for planned capital projects. These are permanent additions and upgrades to the district’s power lines and substations. There is an option to use the district’s current cash reserves or to bond for the improvements, which would finance projects over the course of several years.“We’ve used bonding in the past because it spreads the cost of improvements to more of the customer base who will use the substations and power lines. If you have a 20-year bond, the payments are distributed between today’s ratepayers and any new customers who will benefit from the project throughout the 20-year period,” explains board president Dan Muhlbach of Kearney. “We’re fortunate to have the option to choose either bonding or using cash for these projects. It is a testament to the stability of the district.”Dawson PPD will begin the 2024 construction projects and the board will decide about potential bonding in the future. Bond rates can vary, which could make financing more or less favorable.Some 2024 capital projects are carryover items from 2023. Major manufacturer delays have extended projects.Other topics included:<ol>
 <li>During the 2023 irrigation season, Nebraska Public Power District signaled Dawson PPD load management control for 99 hours. This is fewer hours than the 2022 season. Irrigation energy sales for 2023 were comparable to kilowatt hours sold in 2021 and 2016.</li><li>In September, the district added $956,000 to the value of capital assets. So far in 2023, a total of $6.57 million has been added to plant. The 2023 improvements have been paid for using margins and cash reserves.</li><li>The annual inventory of materials is underway. Items were counted in October. A full report of the inventory will be provided to the board in December.</li><li>The district is anticipating final information about a Nebraska Department of Transportation project on Highway 83, south of North Platte. Power lines will need to be moved to accommodate the changes.</li><li>General Manager Gwen Kautz reported that a recent NPPD customer meeting included information about the increased interest in economic development projects and technologies that could be used for future power generation.</li><li>Director Joe Jeffrey attended the Nebraska Wind and Solar Conference. Jeffrey summarized a presentation about recycling wind turbine blades.</li>
 </ol>

Dawson PPD discusses budget

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, announced Friday that it will launch a more “intense and expansive” phase of operations against U.S. bases in the region starting next week.

It said the escalation is “in support of our people in Palestine and to avenge the martyrs” in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The group has launched a string of attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks, some of which have injured U.S. personnel. As of Tuesday, the Pentagon said there had been 27 rocket and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria and that the U.S. was deploying an additional 300 troops to the Middle East to bolster those already there.

Meanwhile,&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel for urgent talks with Israeli officials about their escalating war with Hamas in Gaza.

Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Friday for his third trip to Israel since the war began with Hamas’ incursion into Israel on Oct. 7. Blinken will also visit Jordan and may make additional stops in the region before traveling to Asia early next week.

He will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials at a highly charged and sensitive time as Israel intensifies its military operations in Gaza and international criticism of its tactics increases over the large number of civilian casualties.

U.S. President Joe Biden has called for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting in order to arrange the evacuation of dual citizens and foreigners still trapped in Gaza as well as to try to secure the release of more than 240 hostages Hamas is holding and to increase humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

Blinken will again stress Israel’s right to defend itself but will also be making the case for Israel to respect the rules of war as well as consider postwar scenarios for how the territory can be run if and when it succeeds in eradicating Hamas.

For the past week, the U.S. administration has been pushing a two-state resolution to establish a durable and lasting peace, although neither the current Israeli nor Palestinian leaderships have shown interest in such negotiations, which have failed multiple times.

Blinken will also urge Israeli authorities to rein in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by Jewish settlers.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1699005785699.png" alt="U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his arrival in Tel Aviv, Israel Friday, Nov. 3, 2023." />
 <figcaption>U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his arrival in Tel Aviv, Israel Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.</figcaption>
 </figure>BAGHDAD (AP) — The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, announced Friday that it will launch a more “intense and expansive” phase of operations against U.S. bases in the region starting next week.It said the escalation is “in support of our people in Palestine and to avenge the martyrs” in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.The group has launched a string of attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks, some of which have injured U.S. personnel. As of Tuesday, the Pentagon said there had been 27 rocket and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria and that the U.S. was deploying an additional 300 troops to the Middle East to bolster those already there.Meanwhile,&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel for urgent talks with Israeli officials about their escalating war with Hamas in Gaza.Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Friday for his third trip to Israel since the war began with Hamas’ incursion into Israel on Oct. 7. Blinken will also visit Jordan and may make additional stops in the region before traveling to Asia early next week.He will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials at a highly charged and sensitive time as Israel intensifies its military operations in Gaza and international criticism of its tactics increases over the large number of civilian casualties.U.S. President Joe Biden has called for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting in order to arrange the evacuation of dual citizens and foreigners still trapped in Gaza as well as to try to secure the release of more than 240 hostages Hamas is holding and to increase humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.Blinken will again stress Israel’s right to defend itself but will also be making the case for Israel to respect the rules of war as well as consider postwar scenarios for how the territory can be run if and when it succeeds in eradicating Hamas.For the past week, the U.S. administration has been pushing a two-state resolution to establish a durable and lasting peace, although neither the current Israeli nor Palestinian leaderships have shown interest in such negotiations, which have failed multiple times.Blinken will also urge Israeli authorities to rein in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by Jewish settlers.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias expands attacks on U.S. bases 

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sam-bankman-fried">Sam Bankman-Fried’s</a>&nbsp;spectacular rise and fall in the cryptocurrency industry — a journey that included his testimony before Congress, a Super Bowl advertisement and dreams of a future run for president — hit rock bottom Thursday when a New York jury convicted him of fraud for stealing at least $10 billion from customers and investors.

After the month-long trial, jurors rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim during testimony in Manhattan federal court that he never committed fraud or meant to cheat customers before FTX, once the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago.

“Mr. Bankman-Fried. Please rise and face the jury,” Judge Lewis A. Kaplan commanded just before a jury forewoman responded “guilty” seven times to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and three other conspiracy charges, which carry potential penalties adding up to 110 years in prison. Bankman-Fried is likely to face far less than the maximum at a sentencing set for March 28.

As the verdict was read, Bankman-Fried seemed stunned, appearing stone-faced, his hands clasped before him, as his lawyers remained sitting beside him. When he sat down, he looked down for several minutes.

His lawyer, Mark Cohen, later read a statement outside court to say they “respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result.”

“Mr. Bankman Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him,” Cohen said.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who sat in the front row of the spectator section during the verdict, stood before cameras outside the courthouse and said Bankman-Fried “perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history, a multibillion dollar scheme designed to make him the king of crypto.”

“But here’s the thing: The cryptocurrency industry might be new. The players like Sam Bankman-Fried might be new. This kind of fraud, this kind of corruption is as old as time and we have no patience for it,” he said.

He said the case should serve as a warning to every other fraudster who “thinks they're untouchable, that their crimes are too complex,” that they are too powerful to prosecute or can talk their way out of their crimes because “I promise we'll have enough handcuffs for all of them.”

The jury rejected Bankman-Fried insistence during three days of testimony that he never committed fraud or plotted to steal from customers, investors and lenders and didn’t realize his companies were at least $10 billion in debt until October 2022.

After the jury left the room, Bankman-Fried's parents, both Stanford University law professors, moved to the front row behind him. His father put his arm around his wife. As Bankman-Fried was led out of the courtroom, he looked back and nodded toward his mother, who nodded back and then became emotional, wiping her hand over her face after he left the room.

The trial attracted intense interest with its focus on a fraud on a scale not seen since the 2009 prosecution of Bernard Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme over decades cheated thousands of investors out of about $20 billion. Madoff pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 150 years in prison, where he died in 2021.

The prosecution of Bankman-Fried, 31, put a spotlight on the emerging industry of cryptocurrency and a group of young executives in their 20s who lived together in a $30 million luxury apartment in the Bahamas as they dreamed of becoming the most powerful player in a new financial field.

Prosecutors made sure jurors knew that the defendant they saw in court with short hair and a suit was not the man with big messy hair and shorts that became his trademark appearance after he started his cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research, in 2017 and FTX, his cryptocurrency exchange, two years later.

They showed the jury pictures of Bankman-Fried sleeping on a private jet, sitting with a deck of cards and mingling at the Super Bowl with celebrities including the singer Katy Perry. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos called Bankman-Fried someone who liked “celebrity chasing.”

In a closing argument, Cohen said prosecutors were trying to turn “Sam into some sort of villain, some sort of monster.”

“It’s both wrong and unfair, and I hope and believe that you have seen that it’s simply not true,” he said. “According to the government, everything Sam ever touched and said was fraudulent.”

The government relied heavily on the testimony of three former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, his top executives including his former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to explain how Bankman-Fried used Alameda Research to siphon billions of dollars from customer accounts at FTX.

With that money, prosecutors said, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate gained influence and power through investments, contributions, tens of millions of dollars in political contributions, Congressional testimony and a publicity campaign that enlisted celebrities like comedian Larry David and football quarterback Tom Brady.

Ellison, 28, testified that Bankman-Fried directed her while she was chief executive of Alameda Research to commit fraud as he pursued ambitions to lead huge companies, spend money influentially and run for U.S. president someday. She said he thought he had a 5% chance to eventually be U.S. president.

Becoming tearful as she described the collapse of the cryptocurrency empire last November, Ellison said the revelations that caused customers collectively to demand their money back, exposing the fraud, brought a “relief that I didn’t have to lie anymore.”

FTX cofounder Gary Wang, who was FTX’s chief technology officer, revealed in his testimony that Bankman-Fried directed him to insert code into FTX’s operations so that Alameda Research could make unlimited withdrawals from FTX and have a credit line up to $65 billion. Wang said the money came from customers.

Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at FTX, testified that he felt “blindsided and horrified” at the result of the actions of a man he once admired when he saw the extent of the fraud. He said the collapse last November left him suicidal.

Ellison, Wang and Singh all pleaded guilty to fraud charges and testified against Bankman-Fried in the hopes of leniency at sentencing.

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas last December and extradited to the United States, where he was freed on a $250 million personal recognizance bond with electronic monitoring and a requirement that he remain at the home of his parents in Palo Alto, California.

His communications, including hundreds of phone calls with journalists and internet influencers, along with emails and texts, eventually got him in trouble when the judge concluded he was trying to influence prospective trial witnesses and ordered him jailed in August.

During the trial, prosecutors used Bankman-Fried’s public statements, online announcements and his Congressional testimony against him, showing how the entrepreneur repeatedly promised customers that their deposits were safe and secure as late as last Nov. 7 when he tweeted “FTX is fine. Assets are fine” as customers furiously tried to withdraw their money. He deleted the tweet the next day. FTX filed for bankruptcy four days later.

In his closing, Roos mocked Bankman-Fried’s testimony, saying that under questioning from his lawyer, the defendant’s words were “smooth, like it had been rehearsed a bunch of times?”

But under cross examination, “he was a different person,” the prosecutor said. “Suddenly on cross-examination he couldn’t remember a single detail about his company or what he said publicly. It was uncomfortable to hear. He never said he couldn’t recall during his direct examination, but it happened over 140 times during his cross-examination.”

Former federal prosecutors said the quick verdict — after only half a day of deliberation — showed how well the government tried the case.

“The government tried the case as we expected," said Joshua A. Naftalis, a partner at Pallas Partners LLP and a former Manhattan prosecutor. “It was a massive fraud, but that doesn’t mean it had to be a complicated fraud, and I think the jury understood that argument.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680015507609.png" alt=" FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York, Feb. 16, 2023.&nbsp; (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)" />
 <figcaption> FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York, Feb. 16, 2023.&nbsp; (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sam-bankman-fried">Sam Bankman-Fried’s</a>&nbsp;spectacular rise and fall in the cryptocurrency industry — a journey that included his testimony before Congress, a Super Bowl advertisement and dreams of a future run for president — hit rock bottom Thursday when a New York jury convicted him of fraud for stealing at least $10 billion from customers and investors.After the month-long trial, jurors rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim during testimony in Manhattan federal court that he never committed fraud or meant to cheat customers before FTX, once the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago.“Mr. Bankman-Fried. Please rise and face the jury,” Judge Lewis A. Kaplan commanded just before a jury forewoman responded “guilty” seven times to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and three other conspiracy charges, which carry potential penalties adding up to 110 years in prison. Bankman-Fried is likely to face far less than the maximum at a sentencing set for March 28.As the verdict was read, Bankman-Fried seemed stunned, appearing stone-faced, his hands clasped before him, as his lawyers remained sitting beside him. When he sat down, he looked down for several minutes.His lawyer, Mark Cohen, later read a statement outside court to say they “respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result.”“Mr. Bankman Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him,” Cohen said.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who sat in the front row of the spectator section during the verdict, stood before cameras outside the courthouse and said Bankman-Fried “perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history, a multibillion dollar scheme designed to make him the king of crypto.”“But here’s the thing: The cryptocurrency industry might be new. The players like Sam Bankman-Fried might be new. This kind of fraud, this kind of corruption is as old as time and we have no patience for it,” he said.He said the case should serve as a warning to every other fraudster who “thinks they're untouchable, that their crimes are too complex,” that they are too powerful to prosecute or can talk their way out of their crimes because “I promise we'll have enough handcuffs for all of them.”The jury rejected Bankman-Fried insistence during three days of testimony that he never committed fraud or plotted to steal from customers, investors and lenders and didn’t realize his companies were at least $10 billion in debt until October 2022.After the jury left the room, Bankman-Fried's parents, both Stanford University law professors, moved to the front row behind him. His father put his arm around his wife. As Bankman-Fried was led out of the courtroom, he looked back and nodded toward his mother, who nodded back and then became emotional, wiping her hand over her face after he left the room.The trial attracted intense interest with its focus on a fraud on a scale not seen since the 2009 prosecution of Bernard Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme over decades cheated thousands of investors out of about $20 billion. Madoff pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 150 years in prison, where he died in 2021.The prosecution of Bankman-Fried, 31, put a spotlight on the emerging industry of cryptocurrency and a group of young executives in their 20s who lived together in a $30 million luxury apartment in the Bahamas as they dreamed of becoming the most powerful player in a new financial field.Prosecutors made sure jurors knew that the defendant they saw in court with short hair and a suit was not the man with big messy hair and shorts that became his trademark appearance after he started his cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research, in 2017 and FTX, his cryptocurrency exchange, two years later.They showed the jury pictures of Bankman-Fried sleeping on a private jet, sitting with a deck of cards and mingling at the Super Bowl with celebrities including the singer Katy Perry. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos called Bankman-Fried someone who liked “celebrity chasing.”In a closing argument, Cohen said prosecutors were trying to turn “Sam into some sort of villain, some sort of monster.”“It’s both wrong and unfair, and I hope and believe that you have seen that it’s simply not true,” he said. “According to the government, everything Sam ever touched and said was fraudulent.”The government relied heavily on the testimony of three former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, his top executives including his former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to explain how Bankman-Fried used Alameda Research to siphon billions of dollars from customer accounts at FTX.With that money, prosecutors said, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate gained influence and power through investments, contributions, tens of millions of dollars in political contributions, Congressional testimony and a publicity campaign that enlisted celebrities like comedian Larry David and football quarterback Tom Brady.Ellison, 28, testified that Bankman-Fried directed her while she was chief executive of Alameda Research to commit fraud as he pursued ambitions to lead huge companies, spend money influentially and run for U.S. president someday. She said he thought he had a 5% chance to eventually be U.S. president.Becoming tearful as she described the collapse of the cryptocurrency empire last November, Ellison said the revelations that caused customers collectively to demand their money back, exposing the fraud, brought a “relief that I didn’t have to lie anymore.”FTX cofounder Gary Wang, who was FTX’s chief technology officer, revealed in his testimony that Bankman-Fried directed him to insert code into FTX’s operations so that Alameda Research could make unlimited withdrawals from FTX and have a credit line up to $65 billion. Wang said the money came from customers.Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at FTX, testified that he felt “blindsided and horrified” at the result of the actions of a man he once admired when he saw the extent of the fraud. He said the collapse last November left him suicidal.Ellison, Wang and Singh all pleaded guilty to fraud charges and testified against Bankman-Fried in the hopes of leniency at sentencing.Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas last December and extradited to the United States, where he was freed on a $250 million personal recognizance bond with electronic monitoring and a requirement that he remain at the home of his parents in Palo Alto, California.His communications, including hundreds of phone calls with journalists and internet influencers, along with emails and texts, eventually got him in trouble when the judge concluded he was trying to influence prospective trial witnesses and ordered him jailed in August.During the trial, prosecutors used Bankman-Fried’s public statements, online announcements and his Congressional testimony against him, showing how the entrepreneur repeatedly promised customers that their deposits were safe and secure as late as last Nov. 7 when he tweeted “FTX is fine. Assets are fine” as customers furiously tried to withdraw their money. He deleted the tweet the next day. FTX filed for bankruptcy four days later.In his closing, Roos mocked Bankman-Fried’s testimony, saying that under questioning from his lawyer, the defendant’s words were “smooth, like it had been rehearsed a bunch of times?”But under cross examination, “he was a different person,” the prosecutor said. “Suddenly on cross-examination he couldn’t remember a single detail about his company or what he said publicly. It was uncomfortable to hear. He never said he couldn’t recall during his direct examination, but it happened over 140 times during his cross-examination.”Former federal prosecutors said the quick verdict — after only half a day of deliberation — showed how well the government tried the case.“The government tried the case as we expected," said Joshua A. Naftalis, a partner at Pallas Partners LLP and a former Manhattan prosecutor. “It was a massive fraud, but that doesn’t mean it had to be a complicated fraud, and I think the jury understood that argument.”

'King of crypto' guilty of fraud; faces 110-years in prison

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/11/01/nebraska-senators-revisit-what-went-right-and-wrong-with-state-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — With terms such as “directed health measure,” “personal protective equipment” and “quarantine” being spoken at the State Capitol on Wednesday, you’d think the COVID-19 pandemic was still underway.

Instead, a panel of state lawmakers called on nine health care associated officials to look back and explain what went right, and wrong, with Nebraska’s response to the pandemic, which killed 5,068 people in the state, according to a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/nebraska-covid-cases.html">&nbsp;New York Times count in March.</a>

During a hearing that lasted more than four hours, representatives of the state’s nurses, doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and health and disaster response departments recounted the state’s scramble to avoid the spread of the highly contagious disease, obtain masks and other protective gear amid fierce competition and avoid a stampede of infected people overwhelming hospitals across the state.

“The pandemic was new to all of us,” said Dr. John Trapp, the president of the Nebraska Medical Association. “Every day was a challenge.”

“We were building a plane while we were flying it,” said Charity Menefee, the director of the public health division of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

The interim study was sought by State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, the chairman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, who has introduced bills to block the state and businesses from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations.

Hansen said he called the hearing so that if “COVID 2.0” comes, the state is better prepared and has learned from the pandemic, which began in early 2020 and was declared over in March by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I think we did a lot right, but I hope there’s room for improvement,”Hansen said.

“I know a lot of people are tired of even saying the word ‘COVID-19,’ and we hope that it’s in our rear-view mirror,” he added. “But I also don’t want to lose all the things we’ve learned if it happens again.”

Generally, those testifying said Nebraska fared well in blunting the spread of COVID-19, did a good job in communicating why people needed to avoid crowds and wear masks and avoided some of the stricter shutdowns and mandates adopted in other states.

Some lauded then-Gov. Pete Ricketts for prioritizing hospital capacity, and many said that allowing local officials to make decisions about controlling COVID worked best.

The pandemic opened the way for increased use of “telemedicine” and Zoom meetings, testifiers added.

On the down side, they said the pandemic exacerbated nursing shortages and exposed a wider lac kof places, due to staff shortages, to transfer patients who no longer needed hospitalization. They said officials may have moved too slowly to help the most vulnerable populations — the aged and those working in essential industries such as meatpacking.

“There were a lot of vulnerable people who were not given the access they needed,” said Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh.

Linda Hardy, a registered nurse and president of the Nebraska Nurses Association, said the number of nurses working in the state decreased by 9.5% from 2018-19 to 2020-21.

The “crisis,” she said, was caused in large part by the “baby boomer” generation nurses retiring and by burnout caused by staff shortages and mandatory overtime.

“It is the responsibility of the nursing profession with our Nebraska legislators to find solutions to address this problem,” Hardy told the committee.

Angela Ling, who became “incident commander” for DHHS’s response to COVID, said it was expensive to hire Nomi Health to set up the “Test Nebraska” program — nearly $69 million in five no-bid contracts,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/nebraska-auditor-finds-issues-with-nomi-health-testnebraska-contract/article_aad687fb-3028-507f-98f5-6f075b0b2a66.html?mode=nowapp">according to the Omaha World-Herald)</a>&nbsp;.

But Ling said it allowed all Nebraskans to get free COVID tests and set up “strike teams” that went into state facilities and nursing homes to do testing there.

“Without this platform, Nebraskans wouldn’t have had the opportunity to test and make the best decisions for their families regarding work and engaging with others,” she said.

But Ling added that it was “terrifying” when she was unable to find an available bed at a more advanced hospital — even after calling all facilities in Nebraska and adjoining states — for a critically ill patient who needed to transfer out of a rural hospital.

The logjam was relieved, she said, when the state set up “alternative care sites” at the end of 2021 for patients discharging from hospitals and awaiting placement at long-term care facilities. That freed up beds for critically ill patients from rural areas.

Ling urged future leaders to “think outside the box” to solve problems, adding that Nebraska was possibly the only state that tried alternative care sites.

Hansen asked nearly every testifier if there were steps lawmakers could take to make the jobs faced by doctors and nurses less burdensome. One consistent response was less paperwork.

A survey by the Nebraska Nurses Association in 2020 also found that 19% of respondents felt that higher pay was needed.

Jeremy Nordquist, of the Nebraska Hospital Association, said the association’s polling indicated that three out of 10 health care workers are considering leaving the profession.

In addition, 41% of the state’s hospitals are operating in the red, Nordquist said, due to necessary increases in pay, increased supply costs and the need to hire more “traveling” nurses — nurses who cost up to $200 an hour during the peak of the pandemic — to fill vacant posts.

Scottsbluff Sen. Brian Hardin said the recent pandemic “flipped the paradigm” of how to handle contagious disease. Instead of quarantining the sick, he said, “the healthy” were quarantined.

“Will patients become prisoners in hospitals, in nursing homes?” the senator asked, using the example of patients dying from COVID who were isolated from their families.

“The evidence is there. We took risks that were unnecessary,” Hardin said.

Dr. Trapp said that those were difficult decisions but that the first duty of physicians is to “keep our patients safe.”

While such separation was “not desirable,” there was not an abundance of protective gear for families to wear, he said, adding that keeping people away from an infected patient “absolutely” kept other people safe.

A representative of the state’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities said that such facilities tried many creative ways to keep residents in touch with families, including computer tablets, window visits and even cloaking family members in plastic gear so they could hug a loved one.

Hardin also asked, whether the vaccines were effective.

“No question in my mind vaccines were effective,” the doctor answered. “It saved lives, probably millions of lives.”

Earlier, Hardin asked whether some drugs were still on the “naughty list,” such as ivermectin, a medicine used most frequently to treat roundworm and other parasites in horses.

Trapp said that he does not prescribe that medicine for “off label” uses and that there’s no proof it works for COVID, though he acknowledged that some doctors will prescribe it.

The doctor added that the mask mandate adopted in Lincoln allowed the state’s second-largest city to have one of the lowest death rates from COVID.

Hansen cited a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD006207/ARI_do-physical-measures-such-hand-washing-or-wearing-masks-stop-or-slow-down-spread-respiratory-viruses">January report by the Cochrane</a>&nbsp;research institute, saying it concluded, after looking at 78 different studies, that wearing masks was ineffective. The report stated that there was “uncertainty” about whether masks worked.

Cochrane has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review">since posted a clarification, however, saying</a>&nbsp;it was “inaccurate and misleading” to conclude that masks don’t work.

“It would be accurate to say that the review examined whether interventions to promote mask wearing help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses, and that the results were inconclusive,” the institute stated.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1698953178316.jpeg" alt=" State Sens. Brian Hardin, left, and Ben Hansen listen as the head of the Nebraska Nurses Association, Linda Hardy, testifies Wednesday. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> State Sens. Brian Hardin, left, and Ben Hansen listen as the head of the Nebraska Nurses Association, Linda Hardy, testifies Wednesday. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/11/01/nebraska-senators-revisit-what-went-right-and-wrong-with-state-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — With terms such as “directed health measure,” “personal protective equipment” and “quarantine” being spoken at the State Capitol on Wednesday, you’d think the COVID-19 pandemic was still underway.Instead, a panel of state lawmakers called on nine health care associated officials to look back and explain what went right, and wrong, with Nebraska’s response to the pandemic, which killed 5,068 people in the state, according to a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/nebraska-covid-cases.html">&nbsp;New York Times count in March.</a>During a hearing that lasted more than four hours, representatives of the state’s nurses, doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and health and disaster response departments recounted the state’s scramble to avoid the spread of the highly contagious disease, obtain masks and other protective gear amid fierce competition and avoid a stampede of infected people overwhelming hospitals across the state.“The pandemic was new to all of us,” said Dr. John Trapp, the president of the Nebraska Medical Association. “Every day was a challenge.”“We were building a plane while we were flying it,” said Charity Menefee, the director of the public health division of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.The interim study was sought by State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, the chairman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, who has introduced bills to block the state and businesses from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations.Hansen said he called the hearing so that if “COVID 2.0” comes, the state is better prepared and has learned from the pandemic, which began in early 2020 and was declared over in March by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<h2>‘Did a lot right’</h2>“I think we did a lot right, but I hope there’s room for improvement,”Hansen said.“I know a lot of people are tired of even saying the word ‘COVID-19,’ and we hope that it’s in our rear-view mirror,” he added. “But I also don’t want to lose all the things we’ve learned if it happens again.”Generally, those testifying said Nebraska fared well in blunting the spread of COVID-19, did a good job in communicating why people needed to avoid crowds and wear masks and avoided some of the stricter shutdowns and mandates adopted in other states.Some lauded then-Gov. Pete Ricketts for prioritizing hospital capacity, and many said that allowing local officials to make decisions about controlling COVID worked best.The pandemic opened the way for increased use of “telemedicine” and Zoom meetings, testifiers added.<h2>‘Vulnerable’ populations needed more</h2>On the down side, they said the pandemic exacerbated nursing shortages and exposed a wider lac kof places, due to staff shortages, to transfer patients who no longer needed hospitalization. They said officials may have moved too slowly to help the most vulnerable populations — the aged and those working in essential industries such as meatpacking.“There were a lot of vulnerable people who were not given the access they needed,” said Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh.Linda Hardy, a registered nurse and president of the Nebraska Nurses Association, said the number of nurses working in the state decreased by 9.5% from 2018-19 to 2020-21.The “crisis,” she said, was caused in large part by the “baby boomer” generation nurses retiring and by burnout caused by staff shortages and mandatory overtime.“It is the responsibility of the nursing profession with our Nebraska legislators to find solutions to address this problem,” Hardy told the committee.<h2>Test Nebraska was expensive, but worked</h2>Angela Ling, who became “incident commander” for DHHS’s response to COVID, said it was expensive to hire Nomi Health to set up the “Test Nebraska” program — nearly $69 million in five no-bid contracts,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/nebraska-auditor-finds-issues-with-nomi-health-testnebraska-contract/article_aad687fb-3028-507f-98f5-6f075b0b2a66.html?mode=nowapp">according to the Omaha World-Herald)</a>&nbsp;.But Ling said it allowed all Nebraskans to get free COVID tests and set up “strike teams” that went into state facilities and nursing homes to do testing there.“Without this platform, Nebraskans wouldn’t have had the opportunity to test and make the best decisions for their families regarding work and engaging with others,” she said.But Ling added that it was “terrifying” when she was unable to find an available bed at a more advanced hospital — even after calling all facilities in Nebraska and adjoining states — for a critically ill patient who needed to transfer out of a rural hospital.The logjam was relieved, she said, when the state set up “alternative care sites” at the end of 2021 for patients discharging from hospitals and awaiting placement at long-term care facilities. That freed up beds for critically ill patients from rural areas.<h2>‘Think outside the box’</h2>Ling urged future leaders to “think outside the box” to solve problems, adding that Nebraska was possibly the only state that tried alternative care sites.Hansen asked nearly every testifier if there were steps lawmakers could take to make the jobs faced by doctors and nurses less burdensome. One consistent response was less paperwork.A survey by the Nebraska Nurses Association in 2020 also found that 19% of respondents felt that higher pay was needed.Jeremy Nordquist, of the Nebraska Hospital Association, said the association’s polling indicated that three out of 10 health care workers are considering leaving the profession.In addition, 41% of the state’s hospitals are operating in the red, Nordquist said, due to necessary increases in pay, increased supply costs and the need to hire more “traveling” nurses — nurses who cost up to $200 an hour during the peak of the pandemic — to fill vacant posts.Scottsbluff Sen. Brian Hardin said the recent pandemic “flipped the paradigm” of how to handle contagious disease. Instead of quarantining the sick, he said, “the healthy” were quarantined.“Will patients become prisoners in hospitals, in nursing homes?” the senator asked, using the example of patients dying from COVID who were isolated from their families.“The evidence is there. We took risks that were unnecessary,” Hardin said.Dr. Trapp said that those were difficult decisions but that the first duty of physicians is to “keep our patients safe.”While such separation was “not desirable,” there was not an abundance of protective gear for families to wear, he said, adding that keeping people away from an infected patient “absolutely” kept other people safe.A representative of the state’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities said that such facilities tried many creative ways to keep residents in touch with families, including computer tablets, window visits and even cloaking family members in plastic gear so they could hug a loved one.<h2>Were vaccines effective?</h2>Hardin also asked, whether the vaccines were effective.“No question in my mind vaccines were effective,” the doctor answered. “It saved lives, probably millions of lives.”Earlier, Hardin asked whether some drugs were still on the “naughty list,” such as ivermectin, a medicine used most frequently to treat roundworm and other parasites in horses.Trapp said that he does not prescribe that medicine for “off label” uses and that there’s no proof it works for COVID, though he acknowledged that some doctors will prescribe it.The doctor added that the mask mandate adopted in Lincoln allowed the state’s second-largest city to have one of the lowest death rates from COVID.Hansen cited a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD006207/ARI_do-physical-measures-such-hand-washing-or-wearing-masks-stop-or-slow-down-spread-respiratory-viruses">January report by the Cochrane</a>&nbsp;research institute, saying it concluded, after looking at 78 different studies, that wearing masks was ineffective. The report stated that there was “uncertainty” about whether masks worked.Cochrane has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review">since posted a clarification, however, saying</a>&nbsp;it was “inaccurate and misleading” to conclude that masks don’t work.“It would be accurate to say that the review examined whether interventions to promote mask wearing help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses, and that the results were inconclusive,” the institute stated.

Nebraska senators revisit what went right, and wrong, with state response to the COVID-19 pandemic

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/last-new-beatles-song-e7b3a349b0e1e58b8668e98ba2d9cd0b">final Beatles recording</a>&nbsp;is here.

Titled “Now and Then,” the almost impossible-to-believe track is four minutes and eight seconds of the first and only original Beatles recording of the 21st century. There's a countdown, then acoustic guitar strumming and piano bleed into the unmistakable vocal tone of John Lennon in the song's introduction: “I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you.”

More than four decades since Lennon's murder and two since George Harrison's death, the very last Beatles song has been released as a double A-side single with “Love Me Do,” the band's 1962 debut single.

“Now and Then” comes from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goldradiouk.com/artists/the-beatles/free-bird-real-love-anthology/">same batch of unreleased demos</a>&nbsp;written by Lennon in the 1970s, which were given to his former bandmates by Yoko Ono. They used the tape to construct the songs “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” released in the mid-1990s. But there were technical limitations to finishing “Now and Then.”

On Wednesday, a short film titled “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song” was released, detailing the creation of the track. On the original tape, Lennon's voice was hidden; the piano was “hard to hear,” as Paul McCartney describes it. “And in those days, of course, we didn't have the technology to do the separation.”

That changed in 2022, when the band — now a duo — was able to utilize the same technical restoration methods that separated the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-peter-jackson-e81542a42c74446ad837075140777d65">Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series</a>, “The Beatles: Get Back.” And so, they were able to isolate Lennon's voice from the original cassette and complete “Now and Then” using machine learning.

When the song was first&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/beatles-artificial-intelligence-record-paul-mccartney-2dc3d8c818e12b708d4e9409cb7dc856">announced in June</a>, McCartney described artificial intelligence technology as “kind of scary but exciting,” adding: “We will just have to see where that leads.”

"To still be working on Beatles' music in 2023 — wow,” he said in “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song.” “We're actually messing around with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles would've been very interested in.”

“The rumors were that we just made it up,” Ringo Starr&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/beatles-ringo-starr-interview-rewind-forward-6fc5236cb2a316775fe0723712fc3e41">told The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;of Lennon’s contributions to the forthcoming track in September. “Like we would do that anyway.”

“This is the last track, ever, that you’ll get the four Beatles on the track. John, Paul, George, and Ringo,” he continued.

McCartney and Starr built the track from Lennon's demo, adding guitar parts George Harrison wrote in the 1995 sessions and a slide guitar solo in his signature style. McCartney and Starr tracked their bass and drum contributions. A string arrangement was written with the help of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2006/11/25/son-of-beatles-producer-mixes-matches-to-create-new-hits/30284217007/">Giles Martin</a>, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin — a clever recall to the classic ambitiousness of “Strawberry Fields,” or “Yesterday,” or “I Am the Walrus.” Those musicians couldn’t be told they were contributing to the last ever Beatles track, so McCartney played it off like a solo endeavor.

On Friday, an official music video for “Now and Then,” directed by Jackson, will premiere on the Beatles' YouTube channel. It was created using footage McCartney and Starr took of themselves performing, 14 hours of “long forgotten film shot during the 1995 recording sessions, including several hours of Paul, George and Ringo working on ‘Now and Then,’” Jackson said in a statement.

It also uses previously unseen home movie footage provided by Lennon's son Sean and Olivia Harrison, George's wife, and “a few precious seconds of The Beatles performing in their leather suits, the earliest known film of The Beatles and never seen before,” provided by Pete Best, the band's original drummer.

“The result is pretty nutty and provided the video with much needed balance between the sad and the funny,” said Jackson.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/last-new-beatles-song-e7b3a349b0e1e58b8668e98ba2d9cd0b">final Beatles recording</a>&nbsp;is here.Titled “Now and Then,” the almost impossible-to-believe track is four minutes and eight seconds of the first and only original Beatles recording of the 21st century. There's a countdown, then acoustic guitar strumming and piano bleed into the unmistakable vocal tone of John Lennon in the song's introduction: “I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you.”<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AW55J2zE3N4?si=vfDah_w3XhXcpsvs&amp;start=2" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>More than four decades since Lennon's murder and two since George Harrison's death, the very last Beatles song has been released as a double A-side single with “Love Me Do,” the band's 1962 debut single.“Now and Then” comes from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goldradiouk.com/artists/the-beatles/free-bird-real-love-anthology/">same batch of unreleased demos</a>&nbsp;written by Lennon in the 1970s, which were given to his former bandmates by Yoko Ono. They used the tape to construct the songs “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” released in the mid-1990s. But there were technical limitations to finishing “Now and Then.”On Wednesday, a short film titled “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song” was released, detailing the creation of the track. On the original tape, Lennon's voice was hidden; the piano was “hard to hear,” as Paul McCartney describes it. “And in those days, of course, we didn't have the technology to do the separation.”That changed in 2022, when the band — now a duo — was able to utilize the same technical restoration methods that separated the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-peter-jackson-e81542a42c74446ad837075140777d65">Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series</a>, “The Beatles: Get Back.” And so, they were able to isolate Lennon's voice from the original cassette and complete “Now and Then” using machine learning.When the song was first&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/beatles-artificial-intelligence-record-paul-mccartney-2dc3d8c818e12b708d4e9409cb7dc856">announced in June</a>, McCartney described artificial intelligence technology as “kind of scary but exciting,” adding: “We will just have to see where that leads.”"To still be working on Beatles' music in 2023 — wow,” he said in “The Beatles — Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song.” “We're actually messing around with state-of-the-art technology, which is something the Beatles would've been very interested in.”“The rumors were that we just made it up,” Ringo Starr&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/beatles-ringo-starr-interview-rewind-forward-6fc5236cb2a316775fe0723712fc3e41">told The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;of Lennon’s contributions to the forthcoming track in September. “Like we would do that anyway.”“This is the last track, ever, that you’ll get the four Beatles on the track. John, Paul, George, and Ringo,” he continued.McCartney and Starr built the track from Lennon's demo, adding guitar parts George Harrison wrote in the 1995 sessions and a slide guitar solo in his signature style. McCartney and Starr tracked their bass and drum contributions. A string arrangement was written with the help of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2006/11/25/son-of-beatles-producer-mixes-matches-to-create-new-hits/30284217007/">Giles Martin</a>, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin — a clever recall to the classic ambitiousness of “Strawberry Fields,” or “Yesterday,” or “I Am the Walrus.” Those musicians couldn’t be told they were contributing to the last ever Beatles track, so McCartney played it off like a solo endeavor.On Friday, an official music video for “Now and Then,” directed by Jackson, will premiere on the Beatles' YouTube channel. It was created using footage McCartney and Starr took of themselves performing, 14 hours of “long forgotten film shot during the 1995 recording sessions, including several hours of Paul, George and Ringo working on ‘Now and Then,’” Jackson said in a statement.It also uses previously unseen home movie footage provided by Lennon's son Sean and Olivia Harrison, George's wife, and “a few precious seconds of The Beatles performing in their leather suits, the earliest known film of The Beatles and never seen before,” provided by Pete Best, the band's original drummer.“The result is pretty nutty and provided the video with much needed balance between the sad and the funny,” said Jackson.

🎧  Listen to the last new Beatles song 'Now and Then'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a nearly $14.5 billion military aid package Thursday for Israel, a muscular U.S. response to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-1-2023-7016eb9ebd6a7852c0ed71bc97f14d92">war with Hamas</a>&nbsp;but also a partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson that poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>.

In a departure from norms, Johnson's package required that the emergency aid be offset with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/irs-debt-ceiling-budget-x-date-yellen-fe538fd8371cdf647400a27e6d56a9fb">cuts in government spending elsewhere</a>. That tack established the new House GOP's conservative leadership, but it also turned what would typically be a bipartisan vote into one dividing Democrats and Republicans. Biden has said he would veto the bill, which was approved 226-196, with 12 Democrats joining most Republicans on a largely party-line vote.

Johnson, R-La., said the Republican package would provide Israel with the assistance needed to defend itself, free hostages held by Hamas and eradicate the militant Palestinian group, accomplishing "all of this while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of the federal government.”

Democrats said that approach would only delay help for Israel. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has warned that the “stunningly unserious” bill has no chances in the Senate.

The first substantial legislative effort in Congress to support Israel in the war falls far short of Biden's request for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-ukraine-israel-budget-3762a0bdf00653e3c8a38175d3c3d3cb">nearly $106 billion</a>&nbsp;that would also back Ukraine as it fights Russia, along with U.S. efforts to counter China and address security at the border with Mexico.

It is also Johnson's first big test as House speaker as the Republican majority tries to get back to work after the month of turmoil since ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker. Johnson has said he will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mike-johnson-israel-ukraine-immigration-gop-agenda-e4054f12f83cfaa09044aa3d087396a8">turn next to aid for Ukraine along with U.S. border security</a>, preferring to address Biden's requests separately as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-funding-zelenskyy-mccarthy-9bced4d9a8c16ae5bf148f640b6f2c31">GOP lawmakers increasingly oppose</a>&nbsp;aiding Kyiv.

The White House's veto warning said Johnson's approach “fails to meet the urgency of the moment” and would set a dangerous precedent by requiring emergency funds to come from cuts elsewhere.

While the amount for Israel in the House bill is similar to what Biden sought, the White House said the Republican plan's failure to include humanitarian assistance for Gaza is a “grave mistake” as the crisis deepens.

Biden on Wednesday called for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-biden-ceasefire-422ed95081e5fe224dd9f0ed7920c4e8">a pause in the war</a>&nbsp;to allow for relief efforts.

"This bill would break with the normal, bipartisan approach to providing emergency national security assistance," the White House wrote in its statement of administration policy on the legislation. It said the GOP stance "would have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead."

It was unclear before voting Thursday how many Democrats would join with Republicans. The White House had been directly appealing to lawmakers, particularly calling Jewish Democrats, urging them to reject the bill.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti and other senior White House staff have been engaging House Democrats, said a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.

But the vote was difficult for some lawmakers, particularly Democrats who wanted to support Israel and may have trouble explaining the trade-off to constituents, especially as the large AIPAC lobby and other groups encouraged passage. In all, two Republicans opposed the bill.

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill, who voted against the package, said: “It was one of the hardest things I've had to do.”

To pay for the bill, House Republicans have attached provisions that would cut billions from the IRS that Democrats approved last year and Biden signed into law as a way to go after tax cheats. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says doing that would end up costing the federal government a net $12.5 billion because of lost revenue from tax collections.

Republicans scoffed at that assessment, but the independent budget office is historically seen as a trusted referee.

Backers said the package would provide support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, procurement of advanced weaponry and other military needs, and help with protection and evacuations of U.S. citizens. CBO pegged the overall package at about $14.3 billion for Israel.

As the floor debate got underway, Democrats pleaded for Republicans to restore the humanitarian aid Biden requested and decried the politicization of typically widely bipartisan Israel support.

“Republicans are leveraging the excruciating pain of an international crisis to help rich people who cheat on their taxes and big corporations who regularly dodge their taxes,” said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee.

Rep. Dan Goldman of New York described hiding in a stairwell with his wife and children while visiting Israel as rockets fired in what he called the most horrific attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

Nevertheless, Goldman said he opposed the Republican-led bill as a “shameful effort” to turn the situation in Israel and the Jewish people into a political weapon.

“Support for Israel may be a political game for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle," the Democrat said. "But this is personal for us Jews and it is existential for the one Jewish nation in the world that is a safe haven from the rising tide of antisemitism around the globe.”

The Republicans have been attacking Democrats who raise questions about Israel's war tactics as antisemitic. The House tried to censure the only Palestinian-American lawmaker in Congress,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-house-censure-resolution-greene-tlaib-48d109c21c11f8df80053d15ff7b77b7">Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.</a>, over remarks she made. The censure measure failed.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said he was "so thankful there is no humanitarian aid," which he argued could fall into the hands of Hamas.

In the Democratic-controlled Senate, Schumer made clear that the House bill would be rejected.

“The Senate will not take up the House GOP's deeply flawed proposal, and instead we'll work on our own bipartisan emergency aid package" that includes money for Israel and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian assistance for Gaza and efforts to confront China.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is balancing the need to support his GOP allies in the House while also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-aid-biden-congress-republicans-political-blame-7e9137b32a7bcebd8fcdd99a4775ff74">fighting to keep the aid package</a>&nbsp;more in line with Biden's broader request, believing all the issues are linked and demand U.S. attention.

McConnell said the aid for Ukraine was “not charity” but was necessary to bolster a Western ally against Russia.

In other action Thursday, the House overwhelmingly approved a Republican-led resolution that focused on college campus activism over the Israel-Hamas war. The nonbinding resolution would condemn support of Hamas, Hezbollah and terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1698936640397.png" alt="House Speaker Mike Johnson-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Mike Johnson-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a nearly $14.5 billion military aid package Thursday for Israel, a muscular U.S. response to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-11-1-2023-7016eb9ebd6a7852c0ed71bc97f14d92">war with Hamas</a>&nbsp;but also a partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson that poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">House Republicans just PASSED the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Ac. In the People’s House, Republicans stand unequivocally with our great ally Israel. <a href="https://t.co/e2ExlWpZGT">pic.twitter.com/e2ExlWpZGT</a>&mdash; House Republicans (@HouseGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/HouseGOP/status/1720198651778101295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In a departure from norms, Johnson's package required that the emergency aid be offset with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/irs-debt-ceiling-budget-x-date-yellen-fe538fd8371cdf647400a27e6d56a9fb">cuts in government spending elsewhere</a>. That tack established the new House GOP's conservative leadership, but it also turned what would typically be a bipartisan vote into one dividing Democrats and Republicans. Biden has said he would veto the bill, which was approved 226-196, with 12 Democrats joining most Republicans on a largely party-line vote.Johnson, R-La., said the Republican package would provide Israel with the assistance needed to defend itself, free hostages held by Hamas and eradicate the militant Palestinian group, accomplishing "all of this while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of the federal government.”Democrats said that approach would only delay help for Israel. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has warned that the “stunningly unserious” bill has no chances in the Senate.The first substantial legislative effort in Congress to support Israel in the war falls far short of Biden's request for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-ukraine-israel-budget-3762a0bdf00653e3c8a38175d3c3d3cb">nearly $106 billion</a>&nbsp;that would also back Ukraine as it fights Russia, along with U.S. efforts to counter China and address security at the border with Mexico.It is also Johnson's first big test as House speaker as the Republican majority tries to get back to work after the month of turmoil since ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker. Johnson has said he will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mike-johnson-israel-ukraine-immigration-gop-agenda-e4054f12f83cfaa09044aa3d087396a8">turn next to aid for Ukraine along with U.S. border security</a>, preferring to address Biden's requests separately as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-funding-zelenskyy-mccarthy-9bced4d9a8c16ae5bf148f640b6f2c31">GOP lawmakers increasingly oppose</a>&nbsp;aiding Kyiv.The White House's veto warning said Johnson's approach “fails to meet the urgency of the moment” and would set a dangerous precedent by requiring emergency funds to come from cuts elsewhere.While the amount for Israel in the House bill is similar to what Biden sought, the White House said the Republican plan's failure to include humanitarian assistance for Gaza is a “grave mistake” as the crisis deepens.Biden on Wednesday called for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-biden-ceasefire-422ed95081e5fe224dd9f0ed7920c4e8">a pause in the war</a>&nbsp;to allow for relief efforts."This bill would break with the normal, bipartisan approach to providing emergency national security assistance," the White House wrote in its statement of administration policy on the legislation. It said the GOP stance "would have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead."It was unclear before voting Thursday how many Democrats would join with Republicans. The White House had been directly appealing to lawmakers, particularly calling Jewish Democrats, urging them to reject the bill.White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti and other senior White House staff have been engaging House Democrats, said a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.But the vote was difficult for some lawmakers, particularly Democrats who wanted to support Israel and may have trouble explaining the trade-off to constituents, especially as the large AIPAC lobby and other groups encouraged passage. In all, two Republicans opposed the bill.Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill, who voted against the package, said: “It was one of the hardest things I've had to do.”To pay for the bill, House Republicans have attached provisions that would cut billions from the IRS that Democrats approved last year and Biden signed into law as a way to go after tax cheats. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says doing that would end up costing the federal government a net $12.5 billion because of lost revenue from tax collections.Republicans scoffed at that assessment, but the independent budget office is historically seen as a trusted referee.Backers said the package would provide support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, procurement of advanced weaponry and other military needs, and help with protection and evacuations of U.S. citizens. CBO pegged the overall package at about $14.3 billion for Israel.As the floor debate got underway, Democrats pleaded for Republicans to restore the humanitarian aid Biden requested and decried the politicization of typically widely bipartisan Israel support.“Republicans are leveraging the excruciating pain of an international crisis to help rich people who cheat on their taxes and big corporations who regularly dodge their taxes,” said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee.Rep. Dan Goldman of New York described hiding in a stairwell with his wife and children while visiting Israel as rockets fired in what he called the most horrific attack on Jews since the Holocaust.Nevertheless, Goldman said he opposed the Republican-led bill as a “shameful effort” to turn the situation in Israel and the Jewish people into a political weapon.“Support for Israel may be a political game for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle," the Democrat said. "But this is personal for us Jews and it is existential for the one Jewish nation in the world that is a safe haven from the rising tide of antisemitism around the globe.”The Republicans have been attacking Democrats who raise questions about Israel's war tactics as antisemitic. The House tried to censure the only Palestinian-American lawmaker in Congress,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-house-censure-resolution-greene-tlaib-48d109c21c11f8df80053d15ff7b77b7">Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.</a>, over remarks she made. The censure measure failed.Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said he was "so thankful there is no humanitarian aid," which he argued could fall into the hands of Hamas.In the Democratic-controlled Senate, Schumer made clear that the House bill would be rejected.“The Senate will not take up the House GOP's deeply flawed proposal, and instead we'll work on our own bipartisan emergency aid package" that includes money for Israel and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian assistance for Gaza and efforts to confront China.Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is balancing the need to support his GOP allies in the House while also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-aid-biden-congress-republicans-political-blame-7e9137b32a7bcebd8fcdd99a4775ff74">fighting to keep the aid package</a>&nbsp;more in line with Biden's broader request, believing all the issues are linked and demand U.S. attention.McConnell said the aid for Ukraine was “not charity” but was necessary to bolster a Western ally against Russia.In other action Thursday, the House overwhelmingly approved a Republican-led resolution that focused on college campus activism over the Israel-Hamas war. The nonbinding resolution would condemn support of Hamas, Hezbollah and terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education.___

House OKs $14.5 billion in military aid for Israel; Biden vows to veto

WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Bank reported this week that oil prices could be pushed into “uncharted waters” if&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-10-27-2023-af48f964636c8a2836e02e78ff01ec4c">the violence between Israel and Hamas</a>&nbsp;intensifies, which could result in increased food prices worldwide.

The World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook found that while the effects on oil prices should be limited if the conflict doesn’t widen, the outlook "would darken quickly if the conflict were to escalate."

The attack on Israel by the militant organization Hamas and the ensuing Israel military operation against Hamas have raised fears of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hospital-jordan-egypt-protests-590f24d154fb3cb256ec1707ec78b816">a wider Mideast conflict</a>.

And the threat of escalation looms. Israeli tanks and infantry&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-10-29-2023-de1a7d660ba2f6d80b3d7aeaae5bb0f3">pushed into Gaza over the weekend</a>&nbsp;as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” in the war. Hamas officials have called for more&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-ghazi-hamad-israel-gaza-hezbollah-iran-ee10f09cf1ffe34ab68cff7987b49f53">regional assistance from allies</a>, including Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The World Bank report simulates three scenarios for the global oil supply in the event of a small, medium or large disruption.

Effects should be limited if the conflict doesn’t widen in a “small disruption” scenario — as oil prices are expected to decline to an average of $81 a barrel next year, the World Bank estimates.

But during a “medium disruption” — equivalent to the disruptions experienced during the Iraq war — the global oil supply would decline by 3 million to 5 million barrels per day, driving oil prices up possibly by 35%.

In a “large disruption” scenario — comparable to the Arab oil embargo of 1973 — the global oil supply would shrink by 6 million to 8 million barrels per day and prices could go up by 56% to 75%, or $140 to $157 a barrel, according to the report.

Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s chief economist, said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already had disruptive effects on the global economy “that persist to this day.”

"If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades — not just from the war in Ukraine but also from the Middle East,” Gill said.

Ayhan Kose, the World Bank’s deputy chief economist, said higher oil prices will inevitably result in higher food prices.

“If a severe oil price shock materializes, it would push up food price inflation that has already been elevated in many developing countries" as a result of Russia's Ukraine invasion, Kose said. “An escalation of the latest conflict would intensify food insecurity, not only within the region but also across the world."

Overall, oil prices have risen about 6% since the start of the conflict. And gold — a commodity that tends to rise in periods of conflict — has increased roughly 8%, according to the World Bank.

Some analysts are skeptical that the U.S. would experience massive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-oil-iran-biden-sanctions-fefaf577359e2b4920d6d0035f763d22">oil shortages</a>, since U.S. oil production is at an all-time high.

At a Bloomberg event on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Biden administration was monitoring the economic consequences of Israel’s war against Hamas carefully.

“So far, we have not yet seen much that has global consequences,” she said, but if the war spreads “of course there could be more meaningful consequences.”

International Energy Agency Executive Director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/energy-renewables-climate-war-oil-7b0cf535f33a3b33a2bfd8a462850ff4">Fatih Birol</a>&nbsp;said between Russia's invasion and the latest violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, “no one can convince me that oil and gas are safe and secure energy choices for countries or consumers."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Bank reported this week that oil prices could be pushed into “uncharted waters” if&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-10-27-2023-af48f964636c8a2836e02e78ff01ec4c">the violence between Israel and Hamas</a>&nbsp;intensifies, which could result in increased food prices worldwide.The World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook found that while the effects on oil prices should be limited if the conflict doesn’t widen, the outlook "would darken quickly if the conflict were to escalate."The attack on Israel by the militant organization Hamas and the ensuing Israel military operation against Hamas have raised fears of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hospital-jordan-egypt-protests-590f24d154fb3cb256ec1707ec78b816">a wider Mideast conflict</a>.And the threat of escalation looms. Israeli tanks and infantry&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-10-29-2023-de1a7d660ba2f6d80b3d7aeaae5bb0f3">pushed into Gaza over the weekend</a>&nbsp;as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” in the war. Hamas officials have called for more&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-ghazi-hamad-israel-gaza-hezbollah-iran-ee10f09cf1ffe34ab68cff7987b49f53">regional assistance from allies</a>, including Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.The World Bank report simulates three scenarios for the global oil supply in the event of a small, medium or large disruption.Effects should be limited if the conflict doesn’t widen in a “small disruption” scenario — as oil prices are expected to decline to an average of $81 a barrel next year, the World Bank estimates.But during a “medium disruption” — equivalent to the disruptions experienced during the Iraq war — the global oil supply would decline by 3 million to 5 million barrels per day, driving oil prices up possibly by 35%.In a “large disruption” scenario — comparable to the Arab oil embargo of 1973 — the global oil supply would shrink by 6 million to 8 million barrels per day and prices could go up by 56% to 75%, or $140 to $157 a barrel, according to the report.Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s chief economist, said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already had disruptive effects on the global economy “that persist to this day.”"If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades — not just from the war in Ukraine but also from the Middle East,” Gill said.Ayhan Kose, the World Bank’s deputy chief economist, said higher oil prices will inevitably result in higher food prices.“If a severe oil price shock materializes, it would push up food price inflation that has already been elevated in many developing countries" as a result of Russia's Ukraine invasion, Kose said. “An escalation of the latest conflict would intensify food insecurity, not only within the region but also across the world."Overall, oil prices have risen about 6% since the start of the conflict. And gold — a commodity that tends to rise in periods of conflict — has increased roughly 8%, according to the World Bank.Some analysts are skeptical that the U.S. would experience massive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-oil-iran-biden-sanctions-fefaf577359e2b4920d6d0035f763d22">oil shortages</a>, since U.S. oil production is at an all-time high.At a Bloomberg event on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Biden administration was monitoring the economic consequences of Israel’s war against Hamas carefully.“So far, we have not yet seen much that has global consequences,” she said, but if the war spreads “of course there could be more meaningful consequences.”International Energy Agency Executive Director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/energy-renewables-climate-war-oil-7b0cf535f33a3b33a2bfd8a462850ff4">Fatih Birol</a>&nbsp;said between Russia's invasion and the latest violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, “no one can convince me that oil and gas are safe and secure energy choices for countries or consumers."

Oil prices could reach 'uncharted waters' if the Israel-Hamas war escalates

LINCOLN, NE&nbsp;– Gov. Pillen and Gov. Reynolds of Iowa led a letter, joined by 13 other Republican governors, directing President Joe Biden to reconsider the CMS proposed one-size-fits-all long-term care staffing requirements’ rule that will force many long-term care facilities to close and erode health care access for some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

“As governors, we are committed to protecting the health and safety of all our citizens, including those in nursing homes in our states. On September 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new regulations for long-term care facilities that impose unnecessary, one-size-fits-all staff requirements. If adopted, CMS’s proposed regulations will force many long-term care facilities in our communities to close, eroding access to healthcare for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

“America’s long-term care industry is facing a full-fledged workforce crisis, hitting lows not seen since 1994. Between February 2020 and December 2022, facilities lost more than 200,000 workers, and industry observers view long-term care as among the hardest hit sectors in healthcare that has still not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Such challenges are especially acute in rural areas. Despite this, the CMS requirements would force over 80% of facilities nationwide to hire more staff at a time when workers, particularly RNs, have never been scarcer.

“In short, Republican governors are pulling multiple levers to ensure these facilities have the staff they need to care for their vulnerable residents. In contrast, your proposed rule treats this complex, deep-rooted problem as something to be solved with a simple wave of the bureaucratic wand. This is not only unrealistic, but it also threatens to unravel the work we have done, while harming the seniors, elderly, and disabled it’s designed to help. We urge you to reconsider your commitment to unfunded mandates and instead enter into a genuine state-federal dialogue on how best to serve residents of long-term care facilities in our states.”

Additional signatories include Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

Below is the full copy of the letter.

LINCOLN, NE&nbsp;– Gov. Pillen and Gov. Reynolds of Iowa led a letter, joined by 13 other Republican governors, directing President Joe Biden to reconsider the CMS proposed one-size-fits-all long-term care staffing requirements’ rule that will force many long-term care facilities to close and erode health care access for some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.The letter reads as:“As governors, we are committed to protecting the health and safety of all our citizens, including those in nursing homes in our states. On September 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new regulations for long-term care facilities that impose unnecessary, one-size-fits-all staff requirements. If adopted, CMS’s proposed regulations will force many long-term care facilities in our communities to close, eroding access to healthcare for some of our most vulnerable citizens.[…]“America’s long-term care industry is facing a full-fledged workforce crisis, hitting lows not seen since 1994. Between February 2020 and December 2022, facilities lost more than 200,000 workers, and industry observers view long-term care as among the hardest hit sectors in healthcare that has still not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Such challenges are especially acute in rural areas. Despite this, the CMS requirements would force over 80% of facilities nationwide to hire more staff at a time when workers, particularly RNs, have never been scarcer.[…]“In short, Republican governors are pulling multiple levers to ensure these facilities have the staff they need to care for their vulnerable residents. In contrast, your proposed rule treats this complex, deep-rooted problem as something to be solved with a simple wave of the bureaucratic wand. This is not only unrealistic, but it also threatens to unravel the work we have done, while harming the seniors, elderly, and disabled it’s designed to help. We urge you to reconsider your commitment to unfunded mandates and instead enter into a genuine state-federal dialogue on how best to serve residents of long-term care facilities in our states.”Additional signatories include Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.Below is the full copy of the letter.<figure>
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Gov. Reynolds and Gov. Pillen Lead Letter Calling on Biden to Reconsider the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Long-Term Care Staffing Rule

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration is developing a national strategy to combat Islamophobia as the White House faces skepticism from many Muslim Americans for its staunch support of Israel's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-gaza-war-news-10-31-2023-54ab6bd7f6861be86266770c245827e1">military assault</a>&nbsp;on Hamas in Gaza.

Plans for the initiative, which the White House billed as the first of its kind, were announced Wednesday. It is meant to bring together lawmakers, advocacy groups and other community leaders with the administration in order to “counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms,” the White House said.

“Moving forward, the President, Vice President, and our entire Administration will continue working to ensure every American has the freedom to live their lives in safety and without fear for how they pray, what they believe, and who they are,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement announcing the strategy.

The White House originally was expected to announce its plans to develop the strategy last week when Biden met with Muslim leaders, but that was delayed, according to three people familiar with the matter. Two said the delay was due partly to concerns from Muslim Americans that the administration lacked credibility on the issue given its robust backing of Israel’s military, whose strikes against Hamas militants have killed thousands of civilians in Gaza. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the White House plans.

The launch of the anti-Islamophobia effort has been anticipated for months after the administration in May&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-antisemitism-strategy-jews-emhoff-da066698d55dc1e0d75722db9a3def3b">released a national strategy to combat antisemitism</a>&nbsp;that made passing reference to countering hatred against Muslims.

The new initiative is expected to take months to formalize, following a similar process to the plan to counter antisemitism that involved various government agencies. White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons said Wednesday that the interagency group's “next step is to release a strategy on Islamophobia.” She did not offer details on a timeline for the effort.

Incidences of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate have skyrocketed in the United States and abroad since the surprise Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel that killed more than 1,400 people and saw hundreds taken hostage, and Israel's response in Gaza, where it has pledged to use force to “destroy” Hamas. One of the most prominent attacks in the U.S. was the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/muslim-boy-killed-chicago-landlord-will-county-5135dea218326d6e639a996564d9369e">killing of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume</a>&nbsp;and the wounding of his mother in an attack in Illinois that prosecutors allege was driven by Islamophobia.

“This horrific act of hate has no place in America and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are," Biden said afterward.

There had been widespread agreement among Muslim Americans on the need for a national strategy to counter Islamophobia, according to a fourth person familiar with the matter, who added that the Israel-Hamas war has made the timing of the White House announcement more complicated. The person, who was also not authorized to speak publicly about the internal deliberations, said the administration wants to keep the two issues separate, while some prominent Muslim American groups see them as interrelated.

Administration officials, during the meeting with a small group of faith leaders last week, indicated things were "in the works” for an anti-Islamophobia strategy, said Rami Nashashibi, the founder of the Inner City Muslim Action Network in Chicago and a participant in that session.

Nashashibi said he believed such an effort would be “dead on arrival” with the Muslim community until the president and administration officials forcefully condemn members of the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who have openly called for the eradication of Palestinians from Gaza and until the administration more aggressively calls out hate crimes targeting Muslims and Arab Americans.

He and other leaders also want Biden to apologize, or at least publicly clarify, his recent comments in which he said he had “no confidence” in the Palestinian death count from Israel’s retaliatory strikes, because the data comes from the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

The United Nations and other international institutions and experts, as well as Palestinian authorities in the West Bank — rivals of Hamas — say the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Gaza ministry</a>&nbsp;has long made a good-faith effort to account for the dead under the most difficult conditions. In previous wars, the ministry’s counts have held up to U.N. scrutiny, independent investigations and even Israel’s tallies.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that the administration is “not taking the Ministry of Health at face value” but he acknowledged there have been “many thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza” in the conflict.

Nashashibi also said the White House strategy could land flat at a moment when many Muslim Americans feel that advocacy stands for Palestinian self-determination is being unfairly lumped in with those espousing antisemitism and backing of extremists.

“That conflating is in great part contributing to an atmosphere where we could see even more deadly results and more targeting,” he said. Nashashibi added, “The White House does not have the credibility to roll out an Islamophobia strategy at this moment without publicly addressing the points we explicitly raised with the president during our meeting.”

Asked if the White House had a credibility issue, Simons, the spokeswoman, said the administration would continue its outreach efforts.

“We know that communities are feeling the pain of what’s going on overseas and in a deeply personal way,” Simons said. "And so we’re going to continue to speak to these different communities underscore the work we’re doing to get aid into Gaza and the conditions we’re trying to set up to support a humanitarian pause.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1697761193913.png" alt="The White House originally was expected to announce its plans to develop the strategy last week when Biden met with Muslim leaders, but that was delayed,-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>The White House originally was expected to announce its plans to develop the strategy last week when Biden met with Muslim leaders, but that was delayed,-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration is developing a national strategy to combat Islamophobia as the White House faces skepticism from many Muslim Americans for its staunch support of Israel's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-gaza-war-news-10-31-2023-54ab6bd7f6861be86266770c245827e1">military assault</a>&nbsp;on Hamas in Gaza.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to combating hate and discrimination in all its forms here in America. <a href="https://t.co/A4JAp6z0Zr">pic.twitter.com/A4JAp6z0Zr</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1719859363215548578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Plans for the initiative, which the White House billed as the first of its kind, were announced Wednesday. It is meant to bring together lawmakers, advocacy groups and other community leaders with the administration in order to “counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms,” the White House said.“Moving forward, the President, Vice President, and our entire Administration will continue working to ensure every American has the freedom to live their lives in safety and without fear for how they pray, what they believe, and who they are,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement announcing the strategy.The White House originally was expected to announce its plans to develop the strategy last week when Biden met with Muslim leaders, but that was delayed, according to three people familiar with the matter. Two said the delay was due partly to concerns from Muslim Americans that the administration lacked credibility on the issue given its robust backing of Israel’s military, whose strikes against Hamas militants have killed thousands of civilians in Gaza. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the White House plans.The launch of the anti-Islamophobia effort has been anticipated for months after the administration in May&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-antisemitism-strategy-jews-emhoff-da066698d55dc1e0d75722db9a3def3b">released a national strategy to combat antisemitism</a>&nbsp;that made passing reference to countering hatred against Muslims.The new initiative is expected to take months to formalize, following a similar process to the plan to counter antisemitism that involved various government agencies. White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons said Wednesday that the interagency group's “next step is to release a strategy on Islamophobia.” She did not offer details on a timeline for the effort.Incidences of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate have skyrocketed in the United States and abroad since the surprise Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel that killed more than 1,400 people and saw hundreds taken hostage, and Israel's response in Gaza, where it has pledged to use force to “destroy” Hamas. One of the most prominent attacks in the U.S. was the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/muslim-boy-killed-chicago-landlord-will-county-5135dea218326d6e639a996564d9369e">killing of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume</a>&nbsp;and the wounding of his mother in an attack in Illinois that prosecutors allege was driven by Islamophobia.“This horrific act of hate has no place in America and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are," Biden said afterward.There had been widespread agreement among Muslim Americans on the need for a national strategy to counter Islamophobia, according to a fourth person familiar with the matter, who added that the Israel-Hamas war has made the timing of the White House announcement more complicated. The person, who was also not authorized to speak publicly about the internal deliberations, said the administration wants to keep the two issues separate, while some prominent Muslim American groups see them as interrelated.Administration officials, during the meeting with a small group of faith leaders last week, indicated things were "in the works” for an anti-Islamophobia strategy, said Rami Nashashibi, the founder of the Inner City Muslim Action Network in Chicago and a participant in that session.Nashashibi said he believed such an effort would be “dead on arrival” with the Muslim community until the president and administration officials forcefully condemn members of the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who have openly called for the eradication of Palestinians from Gaza and until the administration more aggressively calls out hate crimes targeting Muslims and Arab Americans.He and other leaders also want Biden to apologize, or at least publicly clarify, his recent comments in which he said he had “no confidence” in the Palestinian death count from Israel’s retaliatory strikes, because the data comes from the Hamas-run Health Ministry.The United Nations and other international institutions and experts, as well as Palestinian authorities in the West Bank — rivals of Hamas — say the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">Gaza ministry</a>&nbsp;has long made a good-faith effort to account for the dead under the most difficult conditions. In previous wars, the ministry’s counts have held up to U.N. scrutiny, independent investigations and even Israel’s tallies.White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that the administration is “not taking the Ministry of Health at face value” but he acknowledged there have been “many thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza” in the conflict.Nashashibi also said the White House strategy could land flat at a moment when many Muslim Americans feel that advocacy stands for Palestinian self-determination is being unfairly lumped in with those espousing antisemitism and backing of extremists.“That conflating is in great part contributing to an atmosphere where we could see even more deadly results and more targeting,” he said. Nashashibi added, “The White House does not have the credibility to roll out an Islamophobia strategy at this moment without publicly addressing the points we explicitly raised with the president during our meeting.”Asked if the White House had a credibility issue, Simons, the spokeswoman, said the administration would continue its outreach efforts.“We know that communities are feeling the pain of what’s going on overseas and in a deeply personal way,” Simons said. "And so we’re going to continue to speak to these different communities underscore the work we’re doing to get aid into Gaza and the conditions we’re trying to set up to support a humanitarian pause.”

White House announces strategy to combat Islamophobia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-santos-federal-charges-updates-33667a0900271e5002459ab748d8fdc8">George Santos</a>&nbsp;easily survived a vote Wednesday to expel him from the House as most Republicans and 31 Democrats opted to withhold punishment while both his criminal trial and a House Ethics Committee investigation proceed.

The effort to kick Santos out of the House was led by his fellow New York Republicans, who are anxious to distance themselves from a colleague infamous for fabricating his life story and accused of stealing from donors, lying to Congress and receiving unemployment benefits he did not deserve.

But the resolution failed to gain the required two-thirds vote. Supporters could not even gain a simple majority, with the final vote being 179 for expulsion and 213 against. All three GOP members of the Nebraska&nbsp; congressional delegation voted against the measure.

To succeed, numerous Republican lawmakers would have had to break ranks with newly elected Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/johnson-house-speaker-trump-elected-ed9fd1d574eafb6373e667e110a0f989">Mike Johnson</a>, who has said Santos should get his day in court. Johnson, R-La., also recently told Fox News that if Congress is going to expel members because they are charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing, “that's a problem.”

Some Democrats also voiced concerns about getting ahead of the Ethics Committee, which issued a rare memo the day before, citing the depth of its investigation with some 40 witnesses contacted and the issuance of 37 subpoenas. It also said the next steps of the committee's investigation would be announced by Nov. 17.

“I feel like due process is still alive. I feel like there's enough colleagues on both sides of the aisle here who understand that,” Santos said after the vote.

Congress has rarely resorted to the most extreme punishment at its disposal. The House has expelled only five members in its history — three during the Civil War and two after their convictions on public corruption charges. It would be groundbreaking for the House to kick out Santos before his case in federal court is resolved.

Some Republicans, however, said they had seen enough of Santos. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said he believes in due process, but also thinks Santos misrepresented himself to New York voters and they never would have elected him if they had “known the true George Santos.”

“We don’t need the Santos charade all the way through the 2024 election cycle. I think the Congress needs to take action now," Womack said.

The House floor debate over whether to expel Santos was undertaken strictly by members of the New York congressional delegation. On one side, Republican Reps. Anthony D'Esposito, Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler laid out their case for expelling Santos.

“Mr. Santos is a stain on this institution and not fit to serve his constituents in the House of Representatives," D'Esposito said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1698940132260.png" alt="“I feel like due process is still alive. I feel like there's enough colleagues on both sides of the aisle here who understand that,” Santos said after the vote.-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>“I feel like due process is still alive. I feel like there's enough colleagues on both sides of the aisle here who understand that,” Santos said after the vote.-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-santos-federal-charges-updates-33667a0900271e5002459ab748d8fdc8">George Santos</a>&nbsp;easily survived a vote Wednesday to expel him from the House as most Republicans and 31 Democrats opted to withhold punishment while both his criminal trial and a House Ethics Committee investigation proceed.The effort to kick Santos out of the House was led by his fellow New York Republicans, who are anxious to distance themselves from a colleague infamous for fabricating his life story and accused of stealing from donors, lying to Congress and receiving unemployment benefits he did not deserve.But the resolution failed to gain the required two-thirds vote. Supporters could not even gain a simple majority, with the final vote being 179 for expulsion and 213 against. All three GOP members of the Nebraska&nbsp; congressional delegation voted against the measure.To succeed, numerous Republican lawmakers would have had to break ranks with newly elected Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/johnson-house-speaker-trump-elected-ed9fd1d574eafb6373e667e110a0f989">Mike Johnson</a>, who has said Santos should get his day in court. Johnson, R-La., also recently told Fox News that if Congress is going to expel members because they are charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing, “that's a problem.”Some Democrats also voiced concerns about getting ahead of the Ethics Committee, which issued a rare memo the day before, citing the depth of its investigation with some 40 witnesses contacted and the issuance of 37 subpoenas. It also said the next steps of the committee's investigation would be announced by Nov. 17.“I feel like due process is still alive. I feel like there's enough colleagues on both sides of the aisle here who understand that,” Santos said after the vote.Congress has rarely resorted to the most extreme punishment at its disposal. The House has expelled only five members in its history — three during the Civil War and two after their convictions on public corruption charges. It would be groundbreaking for the House to kick out Santos before his case in federal court is resolved.Some Republicans, however, said they had seen enough of Santos. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said he believes in due process, but also thinks Santos misrepresented himself to New York voters and they never would have elected him if they had “known the true George Santos.”“We don’t need the Santos charade all the way through the 2024 election cycle. I think the Congress needs to take action now," Womack said.The House floor debate over whether to expel Santos was undertaken strictly by members of the New York congressional delegation. On one side, Republican Reps. Anthony D'Esposito, Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler laid out their case for expelling Santos.“Mr. Santos is a stain on this institution and not fit to serve his constituents in the House of Representatives," D'Esposito said.On the other side was Santos, who appealed to lawmakers to hold off on expulsion, saying that passing judgment without due process would engender mistrust.“I'm fighting tooth and nail to clear my name in front of the entire world," Santos said. “It hasn't been easy, but I'm fighting by God's grace.”The only Democratic lawmaker to speak during the debate was Rep. Dan Goldman. He said Santos should have been expelled in May when Democrats brought an expulsion resolution, and the only reason the New York Republicans were leading the effort now was because Santos “hangs like an albatross around the necks of every single Republican from New York.”“They don’t care any more about integrity or morality or the reputation of this institution than they did in May when they voted to protect Mr. Santos," Goldman said. "They just care about their reelection in one year when they know that their support for George Santos is going to be a problem.”The New York Republicans laid out in their expulsion resolution the array of charges Santos is facing in federal court, saying the charges indicated Santos engaged in serious financial fraud throughout his 2022 campaign for the House. The resolution said he deceived voters regarding his biography and is “not fit to serve his constituents as United States Representative.”“Mr. Santos has said expelling him before he is formally charged and found guilty would create a new precedent in this body, one that could have negative consequences for generations," LaLota said. "Respectfully, Mr. Speaker, I disagree. The consequences and precedents of not expelling him for his lies and fraud has the potential to do far more damage to this institution.”In May, Republicans under then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-santos-congress-vote-expel-ethics-caed2b1fce3ebb86c87929f2de9fc03e">sidestepped the Democratic-led effort</a>&nbsp;to expel Santos. While 204 Democrats voted against a motion to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee, House Republicans stood unified behind the effort that delayed action on Santos’ conduct.Johnson, who took the speaker's gavel last week, made it clear he would prefer not to oust Santos at this point, despite the many charges against the congressman, as Johnson struggles to control a very slim majority.“He’s only been charged. He hasn’t been found guilty of anything. We have due process in America," said GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who opposed the expulsion resolution.Democrats were also more divided than they were during the previous expulsion effort against Santos.“Neither the Ethics Committee nor the courts have finished adjudicating this,” tweeted Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who voted against expulsion. “In this country, one is presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. No exceptions.”Rep. Marc Molinaro, a New York Republican who supported the expulsion effort, said the delegation would likely raise it again once the Ethics Committee releases the findings of its investigation.“I suspect the report is going to come public soon, and it’s going to be clear that he should be removed from Congress,” he said.Santos faces 23 charges in federal court. His trial has been scheduled for September next year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-santos-federal-charges-updates-33667a0900271e5002459ab748d8fdc8">He has pleaded not guilty</a>&nbsp;to those charges.Also on Wednesday evening, the House voted to reject an effort to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Democrats called off an effort to censure Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.