<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/25/strains-on-rural-nebraska-ambulance-services-spur-calls-for-state-help/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Rural Nebraskans who wait longer than their urban peers for ambulances to arrive and then deliver a patient to a hospital told state lawmakers Wednesday that many of their local emergency medical service providers need state help to stay afloat.

The interim study hearing sought by State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams on Legislative Resolution 206 drew testimony from first responders and hospital groups. Many shared steps Nebraska could take to help smaller communities recruit, train and retain more emergency medical responders.

Most Nebraska communities use volunteer fire and rescue squads, but many are struggling to replace older helpers. Additionally, as the rural population ages, calls for service are up, adding pressure to the volunteers who remain.&nbsp;

Dorn said this means farmers and rural employees leave their jobs more often, making it harder to persuade a generation of young people to help. It’s also harder to recruit volunteers from among younger adults who have children at home, busy with activities.

“The issues are systemwide,” Michael Dwyer, a longtime Arlington, Neb., firefighter/EMT testified. “The trends are historic, and the current system of EMS is not sustainable.”&nbsp;

Nebraska is one of three states with the highest rates of rural residents living more than a 25-minute drive from where an ambulance is stationed, according to a national study by the Maine Rural Health Research Center in May. More than 76% of the state’s counties had some residents living at least that far from a station.

Dwyer told State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair that no state has all the answers for providing rural EMS service. However, he said, many states spend more on addressing the issues than Nebraska.

For instance, South Dakota in 2022 earmarked up to $20 million for emergency medical services. This money appears poised to boost rural EMS service, from EMT training to helping smaller communities replace old equipment and access telemedicine.

In an exchange of candor with the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, Dwyer said, “At the risk of pulling the scab off, it just takes money.” However, he said, “This isn’t just math. This is advanced calculus.”&nbsp;

Rural first responders on Wednesday called on the state to pay upfront for training new potential emergency medical responders and medical technicians instead of making them or their volunteer departments seek reimbursement.

Even volunteer EMTs must obtain 160 hours of training over six months, Dorn said. And they need continuing education to be able to maintain licensing. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston wondered whether there might be simple ways to tweak requirements.

Told that national training requirements make it harder to reduce state training requirementst, Riepe, a former hospital administrator, said, “I was hoping you’d say there was some cure-all to all of this.” People in the audience laughed.

Angela Ling of the Nebraska Hospital Association stressed the importance of the state seriously discussing the impact on rural rescue squads of inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements that leave EMS agencies fighting to make up the differences.

“The problem in all locations usually revolves around funding,” Ling said. “Developing or increasing future funding sources will help fix the volunteer/no-pay format that is killing our EMS system.”

The committee heard suggestions about having the state pay to bring emergency medical response trainers closer to the communities where people volunteer instead of requiring distant travel, including using community colleges.

One testifier, Wahoo EMS director Grant Anderson, called on the state to address in state law which levels of government should shoulder what costs of emergency medical services. Wahoo and Ashland provide EMS services beyond the city limits, but only city taxpayers pay the costs beyond what fees cover.

Anderson said he fears that rural residents near communities providing service today at city cost might one day be forced by their local property taxpayers to limit ambulance runs to the city limits, leaving more rural residents at risk.

Nebraska state law requires EMS service as an essential service, but it does not specify which level of government should fund the service.

State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering asked the first responders to research how many volunteers the state is short. Several described the challenge of counting when not every local volunteer on rescue squad rosters remains active.

At last count, one testifier said, Nebraska had 13,000 volunteer firefighters and about 15,000 volunteer EMS providers.&nbsp;

John Bomar of Battle Creek, Neb., Fire and Rescue, said the state has lost 60 EMRs and 60 EMTs over the past five years.

He and others who testified said the state could increase the flexibility of the kinds of care each level of trained emergency medical responder can provide. EMRs, for instance, can’t legally administer an inhaler or check a person’s blood pressure.

Ling, echoing other testifiers, said: “I do not have the solution but hope this is the beginning of a conversation.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1698335281126.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams urges an interim study to address a shortage of volunteers for local ambulance services. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams urges an interim study to address a shortage of volunteers for local ambulance services. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Aaron Sanderford<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/25/strains-on-rural-nebraska-ambulance-services-spur-calls-for-state-help/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Rural Nebraskans who wait longer than their urban peers for ambulances to arrive and then deliver a patient to a hospital told state lawmakers Wednesday that many of their local emergency medical service providers need state help to stay afloat.The interim study hearing sought by State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams on Legislative Resolution 206 drew testimony from first responders and hospital groups. Many shared steps Nebraska could take to help smaller communities recruit, train and retain more emergency medical responders.Most Nebraska communities use volunteer fire and rescue squads, but many are struggling to replace older helpers. Additionally, as the rural population ages, calls for service are up, adding pressure to the volunteers who remain.&nbsp;Dorn said this means farmers and rural employees leave their jobs more often, making it harder to persuade a generation of young people to help. It’s also harder to recruit volunteers from among younger adults who have children at home, busy with activities.“The issues are systemwide,” Michael Dwyer, a longtime Arlington, Neb., firefighter/EMT testified. “The trends are historic, and the current system of EMS is not sustainable.”&nbsp;<h2>Long drives to hospitals</h2>Nebraska is one of three states with the highest rates of rural residents living more than a 25-minute drive from where an ambulance is stationed, according to a national study by the Maine Rural Health Research Center in May. More than 76% of the state’s counties had some residents living at least that far from a station.Dwyer told State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair that no state has all the answers for providing rural EMS service. However, he said, many states spend more on addressing the issues than Nebraska.For instance, South Dakota in 2022 earmarked up to $20 million for emergency medical services. This money appears poised to boost rural EMS service, from EMT training to helping smaller communities replace old equipment and access telemedicine.In an exchange of candor with the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, Dwyer said, “At the risk of pulling the scab off, it just takes money.” However, he said, “This isn’t just math. This is advanced calculus.”&nbsp;<h2>Help wanted</h2>Rural first responders on Wednesday called on the state to pay upfront for training new potential emergency medical responders and medical technicians instead of making them or their volunteer departments seek reimbursement.Even volunteer EMTs must obtain 160 hours of training over six months, Dorn said. And they need continuing education to be able to maintain licensing. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston wondered whether there might be simple ways to tweak requirements.Told that national training requirements make it harder to reduce state training requirementst, Riepe, a former hospital administrator, said, “I was hoping you’d say there was some cure-all to all of this.” People in the audience laughed.Angela Ling of the Nebraska Hospital Association stressed the importance of the state seriously discussing the impact on rural rescue squads of inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements that leave EMS agencies fighting to make up the differences.“The problem in all locations usually revolves around funding,” Ling said. “Developing or increasing future funding sources will help fix the volunteer/no-pay format that is killing our EMS system.”<h2>Training changes</h2>The committee heard suggestions about having the state pay to bring emergency medical response trainers closer to the communities where people volunteer instead of requiring distant travel, including using community colleges.One testifier, Wahoo EMS director Grant Anderson, called on the state to address in state law which levels of government should shoulder what costs of emergency medical services. Wahoo and Ashland provide EMS services beyond the city limits, but only city taxpayers pay the costs beyond what fees cover.Anderson said he fears that rural residents near communities providing service today at city cost might one day be forced by their local property taxpayers to limit ambulance runs to the city limits, leaving more rural residents at risk.Nebraska state law requires EMS service as an essential service, but it does not specify which level of government should fund the service.<h2>More info needed</h2>State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering asked the first responders to research how many volunteers the state is short. Several described the challenge of counting when not every local volunteer on rescue squad rosters remains active.At last count, one testifier said, Nebraska had 13,000 volunteer firefighters and about 15,000 volunteer EMS providers.&nbsp;John Bomar of Battle Creek, Neb., Fire and Rescue, said the state has lost 60 EMRs and 60 EMTs over the past five years.He and others who testified said the state could increase the flexibility of the kinds of care each level of trained emergency medical responder can provide. EMRs, for instance, can’t legally administer an inhaler or check a person’s blood pressure.Ling, echoing other testifiers, said: “I do not have the solution but hope this is the beginning of a conversation.”

Strains on rural Nebraska ambulance services spur calls for state help

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Maine’s governor says 18 people were killed and 13 were injured in shootings in Maine. Gov. Janet Mills made the remarks at a press conference Thursday.

A man shot and killed the victims at a bowling alley and restaurant in Lewiston and then fled into the night, sparking a massive search by hundreds of officers while frightened residents stayed locked in their homes Thursday under a shelter-in-place advisory.

Mills said the shooting suspect, Robert Card, is considered armed and dangerous, warns people not to approach him.

A police bulletin identified Card, 40, as a person of interest in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-shooting-what-we-know-40e373f7f2f0e0fb012ad4b26f4b78cd">the attack in Lewiston that sent panicked bowlers scrambling</a>&nbsp;behind pins, into corners and a back room when shots rang out around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Card was described as a firearms instructor believed to be in the U.S. Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.

The document, circulated to law enforcement officials, said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide details about his treatment or condition but said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base. A telephone number listed for Card in public records was not in service.

Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said the bowling alley shooting happened first.

Earlier, Lewiston Police said that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away. A number of parents and children were at Sparetime as part of a children's bowling league.

One bowler, who identified himself only as Brandon, said he heard about 10 shots, thinking the first was a balloon popping.

“I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon — he was holding a weapon — I just booked it,” he told The Associated Press.

Brandon said he scrambled down the length of the alley, sliding into the pin area and climbing up to hide in the machinery.

“I was putting on my bowling shoes when when it started. I’ve been barefoot for five hours,” he said.

The bowling alley is home to traditional tenpin bowling as well as candlepin, a variant of bowling found in New England. It’s located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) north of the Bates College campus, on the outskirts of downtown. The alley has a small bar and is popular for local bowling leagues and children’s parties.

Wednesday was “industry night” at Schemengees Bar and Grille, with 25% discounts offered to customers who work in the bar or restaurant industry.

“In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason,” the business posted online, saying “great people in this community” were lost.

After the shooting, police, many armed with rifles, took up positions while the city descended into eerie quiet — punctuated by occasional sirens — as people hunkered down at home. Schools as far away as Kennebunk, more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Lewiston, closed out of caution on Thursday. And schools and public buildings were closed in Portland, the state’s largest city.

Bates and Bowdoin colleges canceled classes, as did the Gorham and Portland campuses of the University of Southern Maine.

Diana Florence said her son, a sophomore at Bates College, stayed in his dorm with his roommate with the blinds closed. Her daughter is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was locked down twice last month, once when a professor was killed and again two weeks later when a man brandished a gun in the student union building.

“I could not believe it – that this is happening again. It’s happening to my son after it just happened to my daughter,” she said in a phone interview Thursday.

Ten-year-old Zoey Levesque, who was at the bowling alley with her mother, told WMTW-TV she was grazed by a bullet.

“It’s scary,” she said. “I had never thought I’d grow up and get a bullet in my leg. And it’s just like, why? Why do people do this?”

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect on its Facebook page that showed the shooter walking into an establishment with a weapon raised to his shoulder.

Two law enforcement officials told the AP that at least 16 people were killed and the toll was expected to rise. However, Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, declined to provide a specific estimate at a news conference.

It's the 36th&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mass-killings-united-states-list-8eea3427796229eb127e052b3c66c691">mass killing</a>&nbsp;in the United States this year, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/18/mass-killings-database-us-events-since-2006/9705311002/">database</a>&nbsp;maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

The two law enforcement officials said dozens of people also had been wounded. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

On its website, Central Maine Medical Center said staff were “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and were coordinating with area hospitals to take in patients. The hospital was locked down and police, some armed with rifles, stood by the entrances.

Meanwhile, hospitals as far away as Portland, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the south, were on alert to potentially receive victims.

Lewiston, the second largest city in Maine with a population of 37,000, emerged as a major center for African immigration into Maine. The Somali population, which numbers in the thousands, has changed the demographics of the once overwhelmingly white mill city into one of the most diverse in northern New England.

A shelter-in-place advisory was issued Wednesday night for Androscoggin County. That included the community of Lisbon, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away, after a “vehicle of interest” was found there, authorities said. It was extended Thursday to Bowdoin, which is in Sagadahoc County.

Mills earlier released a statement echoing instructions for people to shelter. President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Mills and the state's Senate and House members, offering “full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack,” a White House statement said.

Wednesday's death toll was staggering for a state that in 2022 had 29 homicides the entire year.

Author Stephen King responded to the shootings Thursday morning in a pair of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The shootings occurred less than 50 miles from where I live. I went to high school in Lisbon. It’s the rapid-fire killing machines, people. This is madness in the name of freedom. Stop electing apologists for murder,” he wrote.

Maine doesn't require permits to carry guns, and the state has a longstanding culture of gun ownership that is tied to its traditions of hunting and sport shooting.

Florence, of New York, said she and her son at Bates College spoke and texted late into the night, and that he was shaken up but OK. Meanwhile, she was left angry.

“I think this is about our laws, frankly. That we cannot seem to pass any sort of sensible gun laws or attack mental health in the way we should,” she said. “And our kids are paying the price. And even if they’re not killed or injured, the trauma that is going to linger long past the semester is palpable.”

Some recent attempts by gun control advocates to tighten the state’s gun laws have failed. Proposals to require background checks for private gun sales and create a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases failed earlier this year. Proposals that focused on school security and banning bump stocks failed in 2019.

State residents have also voted down some attempts to tighten gun laws in Maine. A proposal to require background checks for gun sales failed in a 2016 public vote.

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A man shot and killed at least 16 people at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Maine and then fled into the night, sparking a massive search by hundreds of officers while frightened residents stayed locked in their homes Thursday under a shelter-in-place advisory.

A police bulletin identified Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-shooting-what-we-know-40e373f7f2f0e0fb012ad4b26f4b78cd">the attack in Lewiston that sent panicked bowlers scrambling</a>&nbsp;behind pins, into corners and a back room when shots rang out around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Card was described as a firearms instructor believed to be in the U.S. Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.

Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away. A number of parents and children were at Sparetime as part of a children's bowling league.

Ten-year-old Zoey Levesque, who was there with her mother, told WMTW-TV she was grazed by a bullet.

Brandon said he scrambled down the length of the alley, sliding into the pin area and climbing up to hide in the machinery. He was among a busload of survivors who were driven to a middle school in the neighboring city of Auburn to be reunited with family and friends.

Melinda Small, the owner of the Legends Sports Bar and Grill, said her staff immediately locked their doors and moved all 25 customers and employees away from the doors after a customer reported hearing about the shooting at the bowling alley less than a quarter-mile away. Soon, the police flooded the roadway and a police officer eventually escorted everyone out of the building.

“I am honestly in a state of shock. I am blessed that my team responded quickly and everyone is safe,” Small said. “But at the same time, my heart is broken for this area and for what everyone is dealing with. I just feel numb.”

Many businesses decided to close Thursday. Central Maine Healthcare said it was closing all physician offices in Lewiston and six surrounding communities. All elective surgery was canceled at Central Maine Medical Center.

Two law enforcement officials told the AP that at least 16 people were killed and the toll was expected to rise. However, Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, declined to provide a specific estimate at a news conference, calling it a “fluid situation.” State police planned to hold a midmorning news conference Thursday.

A shelter-in-place advisory was issued Wednesday night for Androscoggin County. That included the community of Lisbon, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away, after a “vehicle of interest” was found there, authorities said. It was extended Thursday to Bowdoin, which is in Sagadachoc County.

Gov. Janet Mills released a statement echoing instructions for people to shelter. President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Mills and the state's Senate and House members, offering “full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack,” a White House statement said.

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A man shot and killed at least 16 people at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday and then fled into the night, sparking a massive search by hundreds of officers while frightened residents stayed locked in their homes.

A police bulletin identified Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest in the attack that sent panicked bowlers scrambling behind pins when shots rang out around 7 p.m. Card was described as a firearms instructor believed to be in the Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.

Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away.

Melinda Small, the owner of Legends Sports Bar and Grill, said her staff immediately locked their doors and moved all 25 customers and employees away from the doors after a customer reported hearing about the shooting at the bowling alley less than a quarter-mile away. Soon, the police flooded the roadway and a police officer eventually escorted everyone out of the building.

After the shooting, police, many armed with rifles, took up positions while the city descended into eerie quiet — punctuated by occasional sirens — as people hunkered down at home. Schools were closed Thursday in Lewiston, Lisbon and Auburn, as well as municipal offices in Lewiston.

Two law enforcement officials told The AP that at least 16 people were killed and the toll was expected to rise. However, Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, declined to provide a specific estimate at a news conference, calling it a “fluid situation.” State police planned to hold a mid-morning news conference Thursday.

An order for residents and business owners to stay inside and off the streets of the city of 37,000 was extended Wednesday night from Lewiston to Lisbon, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away, after a “vehicle of interest” was found there, authorities said.

Gov. Janet Mills released a statement echoing instructions for people to shelter. She said she had been briefed on the situation and will remain in close contact with public safety officials.

President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Mills and the state's Senate and House members, offering “full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack,” a White House statement said.

Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, said he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors” and was monitoring the situation. King’s office said the senator would be headed directly home to Maine on the first flight possible.

Local schools will be closed Thursday and people should shelter in place or seek safety, Superintendent Jake Langlais said, adding: “Stay close to your loved ones. Embrace them."

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — At least 10 people were killed Wednesday in shootings in Lewiston, Maine, and the death toll is expected to rise, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

Governor: 18 killed, 13 injured in Maine mass shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-fire-alarm-jamaal-bowman-house-bc9c1cca01fa918999621e0f7eb27165">triggering a fire alarm as lawmakers scrambled to pass a funding bill</a>&nbsp;before a government shutdown deadline in September.

He is expected to plead guilty, formally apologize and pay a $1,000 fine. The false fire alarm charge would then be dropped if he successfully completes 3 months of probation.

The alarm forced the evacuation of a House office building for over an hour. The New York lawmaker has acknowledged pulling the alarm and said it was a mistake. He was in a rush to go to vote, tried to go through a door that was unexpectedly closed and wrongly thought pulling the fire alarm lever would help him open it, he said.

At the time of the evacuation, House Democrats were working to delay a vote on a funding bill to keep federal agencies open. They had said they needed time to review a bill that Republicans abruptly released to avoid a shutdown. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-mccarthy-congress-republicans-732baaa19c91f981e492fd0e6a76aba8">funding package was ultimately approved</a>&nbsp;with most Republicans and almost all Democrats, including Bowman, supporting the bill.

Republicans criticized Bowman after the alarm, and on Wednesday introduced a motion to censure him. Rep. Bryan Steil, the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, referred the case to Capitol police. He called Bowman’s explanation an “excuse."

He pointed out that Bowman passed several police officers after pulling the alarm without alerting them about it. Bowman, for his part, has said he was urgently trying to get to the vote and said Republicans would “attempt to distract everyone” with the case.

Prosecutors said Bowman was “treated like anyone else who violates the law” and has agreed to pay the maximum fine, according to a spokesperson for the District of Columbia attorney general’s office.

Bowman told police at the time he didn’t mean to disrupt any congressional proceeding, according to court documents. He said he didn’t immediately tell anyone about the alarm going off because he was in a hurry to vote.

Under an agreement with the D.C. attorney general, the charge will be withdrawn in three months if the congressman provides a formal apology to Capitol police and pays a $1,000 fine.

Bowman said he was grateful for the quick resolution in the case, and looking forward to putting it behind him. “I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped," he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696253301965.png" alt="Rep. Jamal Bowman pulling the alarm photo U.S. Capitol Police" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Jamal Bowman pulling the alarm photo U.S. Capitol Police</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-fire-alarm-jamaal-bowman-house-bc9c1cca01fa918999621e0f7eb27165">triggering a fire alarm as lawmakers scrambled to pass a funding bill</a>&nbsp;before a government shutdown deadline in September.He is expected to plead guilty, formally apologize and pay a $1,000 fine. The false fire alarm charge would then be dropped if he successfully completes 3 months of probation.The alarm forced the evacuation of a House office building for over an hour. The New York lawmaker has acknowledged pulling the alarm and said it was a mistake. He was in a rush to go to vote, tried to go through a door that was unexpectedly closed and wrongly thought pulling the fire alarm lever would help him open it, he said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Headed back home this morning. Wonder if I need to pull this red alarm thingy to get out the Russell Senate Office building…? <a href="https://t.co/9d7gKTABsJ">pic.twitter.com/9d7gKTABsJ</a>&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1708463092080705986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>At the time of the evacuation, House Democrats were working to delay a vote on a funding bill to keep federal agencies open. They had said they needed time to review a bill that Republicans abruptly released to avoid a shutdown. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-mccarthy-congress-republicans-732baaa19c91f981e492fd0e6a76aba8">funding package was ultimately approved</a>&nbsp;with most Republicans and almost all Democrats, including Bowman, supporting the bill.Republicans criticized Bowman after the alarm, and on Wednesday introduced a motion to censure him. Rep. Bryan Steil, the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, referred the case to Capitol police. He called Bowman’s explanation an “excuse."He pointed out that Bowman passed several police officers after pulling the alarm without alerting them about it. Bowman, for his part, has said he was urgently trying to get to the vote and said Republicans would “attempt to distract everyone” with the case.Prosecutors said Bowman was “treated like anyone else who violates the law” and has agreed to pay the maximum fine, according to a spokesperson for the District of Columbia attorney general’s office.Bowman told police at the time he didn’t mean to disrupt any congressional proceeding, according to court documents. He said he didn’t immediately tell anyone about the alarm going off because he was in a hurry to vote.Under an agreement with the D.C. attorney general, the charge will be withdrawn in three months if the congressman provides a formal apology to Capitol police and pays a $1,000 fine.Bowman said he was grateful for the quick resolution in the case, and looking forward to putting it behind him. “I am responsible for activating a fire alarm, I will be paying the fine issued, and look forward to these charges being ultimately dropped," he said.

Congressman charged, to pay fine for pulling Capitol fire alarm

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union said Wednesday it has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford that could be a breakthrough toward ending the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers.

The four-year deal, which still has to be approved by 57,000 union members at the company, could bring a close to the union’s series of strikes at targeted factories run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis.

The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers, although no other agreements were announced.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

The United Auto Workers union is expected to announce a tentative contract agreement with Ford Wednesday night that could be a breakthrough toward ending the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers.

Two people with knowledge of the bargaining said the company and union are working on the final details of the contract and could announce it Wednesday evening in a video appearance with UAW President Shawn Fain. The people asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about the bargaining.

Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available, but both sides have been discussing a four-year contract. It would have to be approved by 57,000 union members at Ford.

The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers.

The people said the union made a counter-offer to Ford that proposes a 25% general wage increase over the life of a new contract and said that negotiations on Tuesday extended well into Wednesday. Previously Ford, Stellantis and General Motors had all offered 23% pay increases.

A Ford deal would include cost-of-living pay increases that could lift the total pay raises above 30%, said the people. In addition, workers would still receive annual profit-sharing checks.

Typically, during past auto strikes, a UAW deal with one automaker has led the other companies to match it with their own settlements.

One of the people said there also was progress in the union’s talks with GM. But it was unclear whether any of the automakers had accepted the UAW’s counter-offer of 25% pay increases over four years.

The progress in the negotiations came after the union this week walked out at three factories that produce highly profitable&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/general-motors-strike-united-auto-workers-uaw-f16005a7b20a6f1772947957854d1017">pickup trucks and SUVs,</a>&nbsp;adding them to the list of plants already on strike in a strategy to intensify pressure on the companies.

On Tuesday, about 5,000 workers at GM’s assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, walked out, halting production of truck-based SUVs that are huge profit makers for the company. A day earlier, the UAW’s president,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/auto-workers-strike-union-uaw-shawn-fain-0e3e71f44f075fda066f499bb2165b48">Shawn Fain</a>, had added 6,800 employees at Stellantis’ Ram pickup plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Two weeks ago the union struck Ford’s largest and most profitable factory, the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, where 8,700 workers make heavy-duty F-Series pickups and two large SUVs.

In all, about 46,000 workers have walked out at factories owned by the three companies in a series of targeted strikes that began Sept. 15. About 32% of the union’s 146,000 members at the automakers are now on strike and getting by on $500 per week in strike pay. The automakers have been laying off workers at other plants as parts shortages have cascaded through their manufacturing systems.

Todd Dunn, president of the UAW local at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant, said he was told by people within the union's leadership that the company is nearing an agreement.

“I've heard they are moving the needle as aggressively as possible,” Dunn said in an interview Wednesday. “It's very positive.”

The prospect of a breakthrough, he said, has raised the spirits of workers who are willing to stay out on strike to reach a deal despite hardships for some.

Dunn said he thinks the strike at his plant had nudged Ford along in the talks and could help yield the best contract he's seen in 29 years with the company.

Neither the companies nor the union would comment on the talks Wednesday. The union’s counter-offer of a 25% wage increase over four years was reported earlier by Bloomberg News and the trade publication Automotive News.

One key issue is whether to extend the national UAW contract to 11 U.S. electric vehicle battery factories. This would essentially ensure that workers there would be represented by the union.

All but one of these plants are joint ventures with South Korean battery makers. GM has agreed to this, but the other companies have balked, saying their joint venture partners must also agree.

GM CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday that the offer to bring the battery plants into the master union agreement was still open but that they would have to meet what she called “benchmark economics and also operating flexibility.”

Having union representation at the battery factories is a vital issue for the union because these plants will house many of the jobs of the future as the industry&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/auto-workers-battery-plants-strike-contract-3e5b9a970cdf9b0de9c79fcebe315694">transitions away from gasoline vehicles</a>. Workers who now make engines and transmissions at all three companies will need places to work as their plants are phased out.

All three companies have said they don’t want to absorb labor costs that are so high that they would force price increases and make their vehicles more expensive than those made by nonunion companies such as Tesla and Toyota.

A study this month by Moody's Investor Service found that annual labor costs could rise by $1.1 billion for Stellantis, $1.2 billion for GM and $1.4 billion for Ford in the fourth year of the contract. The study assumed a 20% increase in hourly labor costs.

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union said Wednesday it has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford that could be a breakthrough toward ending the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers.Click below to watch the announcement)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fuaw.union%2Fvideos%2F256949587348063%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=1" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>The four-year deal, which still has to be approved by 57,000 union members at the company, could bring a close to the union’s series of strikes at targeted factories run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis.The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers, although no other agreements were announced.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.The United Auto Workers union is expected to announce a tentative contract agreement with Ford Wednesday night that could be a breakthrough toward ending the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers.Two people with knowledge of the bargaining said the company and union are working on the final details of the contract and could announce it Wednesday evening in a video appearance with UAW President Shawn Fain. The people asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about the bargaining.Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available, but both sides have been discussing a four-year contract. It would have to be approved by 57,000 union members at Ford.The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers.The people said the union made a counter-offer to Ford that proposes a 25% general wage increase over the life of a new contract and said that negotiations on Tuesday extended well into Wednesday. Previously Ford, Stellantis and General Motors had all offered 23% pay increases.A Ford deal would include cost-of-living pay increases that could lift the total pay raises above 30%, said the people. In addition, workers would still receive annual profit-sharing checks.Typically, during past auto strikes, a UAW deal with one automaker has led the other companies to match it with their own settlements.One of the people said there also was progress in the union’s talks with GM. But it was unclear whether any of the automakers had accepted the UAW’s counter-offer of 25% pay increases over four years.The progress in the negotiations came after the union this week walked out at three factories that produce highly profitable&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/general-motors-strike-united-auto-workers-uaw-f16005a7b20a6f1772947957854d1017">pickup trucks and SUVs,</a>&nbsp;adding them to the list of plants already on strike in a strategy to intensify pressure on the companies.On Tuesday, about 5,000 workers at GM’s assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, walked out, halting production of truck-based SUVs that are huge profit makers for the company. A day earlier, the UAW’s president,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/auto-workers-strike-union-uaw-shawn-fain-0e3e71f44f075fda066f499bb2165b48">Shawn Fain</a>, had added 6,800 employees at Stellantis’ Ram pickup plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan.Two weeks ago the union struck Ford’s largest and most profitable factory, the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, where 8,700 workers make heavy-duty F-Series pickups and two large SUVs.In all, about 46,000 workers have walked out at factories owned by the three companies in a series of targeted strikes that began Sept. 15. About 32% of the union’s 146,000 members at the automakers are now on strike and getting by on $500 per week in strike pay. The automakers have been laying off workers at other plants as parts shortages have cascaded through their manufacturing systems.Todd Dunn, president of the UAW local at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant, said he was told by people within the union's leadership that the company is nearing an agreement.“I've heard they are moving the needle as aggressively as possible,” Dunn said in an interview Wednesday. “It's very positive.”The prospect of a breakthrough, he said, has raised the spirits of workers who are willing to stay out on strike to reach a deal despite hardships for some.Dunn said he thinks the strike at his plant had nudged Ford along in the talks and could help yield the best contract he's seen in 29 years with the company.Neither the companies nor the union would comment on the talks Wednesday. The union’s counter-offer of a 25% wage increase over four years was reported earlier by Bloomberg News and the trade publication Automotive News.One key issue is whether to extend the national UAW contract to 11 U.S. electric vehicle battery factories. This would essentially ensure that workers there would be represented by the union.All but one of these plants are joint ventures with South Korean battery makers. GM has agreed to this, but the other companies have balked, saying their joint venture partners must also agree.GM CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday that the offer to bring the battery plants into the master union agreement was still open but that they would have to meet what she called “benchmark economics and also operating flexibility.”Having union representation at the battery factories is a vital issue for the union because these plants will house many of the jobs of the future as the industry&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/auto-workers-battery-plants-strike-contract-3e5b9a970cdf9b0de9c79fcebe315694">transitions away from gasoline vehicles</a>. Workers who now make engines and transmissions at all three companies will need places to work as their plants are phased out.All three companies have said they don’t want to absorb labor costs that are so high that they would force price increases and make their vehicles more expensive than those made by nonunion companies such as Tesla and Toyota.A study this month by Moody's Investor Service found that annual labor costs could rise by $1.1 billion for Stellantis, $1.2 billion for GM and $1.4 billion for Ford in the fourth year of the contract. The study assumed a 20% increase in hourly labor costs.

🎥Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford; breakthrough toward ending strike

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Police in Norfolk, Nebraska, have identified a man whose body was found inside an apartment building chimney, but they're still not sure about the circumstances that led to his death.

The victim was 29-year-old Zachariah Andrews of Norfolk, the&nbsp;<a href="https://norfolkdailynews.com/news/body-found-in-chimney-identified-as-29-year-old-norfolk-man/article_9c769b60-735b-11ee-bb01-13dcddb5e8c1.html">Norfolk Daily News</a>&nbsp;reported Wednesday. His body was found Oct. 19.

Police Capt. Michael Bauer said Andrews was identified by scars, marks, tattoos and an identification card found with his body.

Andrews was last seen alive on Sept. 15. Police received a call on Sept. 16 from a tenant of the apartment building who said he heard a man yelling for help. By the time officers arrived, the yelling had stopped, and officers couldn't locate anyone.

On Sept. 20, a parking warning was placed on Andrews’ vehicle that was parked nearby. A missing-person report was taken on Oct. 3, Bauer said.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Police in Norfolk, Nebraska, have identified a man whose body was found inside an apartment building chimney, but they're still not sure about the circumstances that led to his death.The victim was 29-year-old Zachariah Andrews of Norfolk, the&nbsp;<a href="https://norfolkdailynews.com/news/body-found-in-chimney-identified-as-29-year-old-norfolk-man/article_9c769b60-735b-11ee-bb01-13dcddb5e8c1.html">Norfolk Daily News</a>&nbsp;reported Wednesday. His body was found Oct. 19.Police Capt. Michael Bauer said Andrews was identified by scars, marks, tattoos and an identification card found with his body.Andrews was last seen alive on Sept. 15. Police received a call on Sept. 16 from a tenant of the apartment building who said he heard a man yelling for help. By the time officers arrived, the yelling had stopped, and officers couldn't locate anyone.On Sept. 20, a parking warning was placed on Andrews’ vehicle that was parked nearby. A missing-person report was taken on Oct. 3, Bauer said.

Police identify man found dead in Nebraska apartment building chimney

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/24/changing-valuation-of-farmland-to-income-producing-capability-is-the-wrong-approach-prof-says/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Adopting a new system of valuing agricultural land in Nebraska based on its income-producing capability was panned Tuesday as a possible solution to the state’s traditionally high property taxes.

John Anderson, an economics professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said that adopting a “use/value” approach in valuing ag land — as advocated by Gov. Jim Pillen in the 2023 legislative session — doesn’t result in a significant change compared to the current market-value approach except near big cities.

“That difference shrinks as you move away from the perimeter of a city,” Anderson said. “By the time you’re 20 miles away, there’s virtually no difference between use value and market value.”

“So, if you think this is a silver bullet in agricultural areas … you’re dreaming,” he said.

His comments came during a panel discussion on property tax “opportunities and solutions” during the fall symposium of the OpenSky Policy Institute, a Lincoln-based think tank that analyzes state tax and spending policies.

Tuesday’s discussion comes as a “working group” formed by Pillen has held three meetings already in exploring ways to “reduce the burden of insurmountable valuation growth in recent years.”

Nebraska&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-ag-land-values-at-record-high-increasing-14-during-the-past-year/#:~:text=LINCOLN%20%E2%80%94%20Prices%20for%20Nebraska%20farmland,was%20%243%2C835%20as%20of%20Feb.">farmland is projected to increase 14%</a>&nbsp;this year, while the Nebraska Department of Revenue recently&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/revenue.nebraska.gov/files/doc/pad/research/statewide_equalization/Compare%20ctl-abs%202022-2023%20%25change%204-5-2023%20Final.pdf">reported a 16% increase</a>&nbsp;in the valuation of residential property over the past year.

The working group, which includes state senators and representatives of local government, business and farm groups, is expected to meet at least two more times in hopes to crafting a proposal for the 2024 legislative session.

One member of that group, State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, said working group members were sworn to secrecy about what’s being proposed at this point. But she said Pillen is leaving “no rock unturned” in seeking a solution to recent steep increases in valuations of residential and ag property that have homeowners and farm owners howling.

“I’m very surprised at the angles he’s exploring,” Albrecht said of Pillen. “But he says we’ll walk out with a plan after five meetings.”

State lawmakers and governors have grappled for years with the state’s high property taxes, including adopting and increasing state credits to offset the local payments and, this year, increasing state aid to K-12 schools.

During the 2023 session, Pillen proposed to switch from a system of valuing ag land on its market value to one based on its production capability — as is done in Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas. But it&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/03/pillen-plan-to-shift-valuation-of-ag-land-gets-static-even-from-farm-groups/">failed to get out of the starting gate,</a>&nbsp;even with farm groups.

The failure was one of the few Pillen had in his first year as governor.

Anderson, who has studied tax policies across the country, said Nebraska is a “reasonably high” property tax state, in the “second tier” behind states like New Jersey and Connecticut.

While it’s difficult to rank states on property taxes since they are levied locally and can vary across a state, Forbes magazine recently ranked Nebraska as having the eighth highest “median” property tax. Meanwhile, the business-oriented Tax Foundation placed the Cornhusker state No. 11 in the property tax component of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/ranking-property-taxes-2023/">its annual “Business Tax Climate” report.</a>

Seward Sen. Jana Hughes, who moderated the property tax discussion, joked that no solutions were reached Tuesday.

But there were some interesting observations:

— Capping increases in property valuation, as is done in several states, is problematic, according to one panelist, Cathy Lang, a former state property tax administrator and currently head of the Nebraska Business Development Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Lang said that, for example, a cap of 3% would help one property owner who saw their land valuation increase by 8% but wouldn’t help a neighbor whose property valuation went up only 2.5%. Over time, Lang added, those disparities in valuation would widen, resulting in an unfair tax burden.

—Anderson said one problem with trying to determine the income-producing capability of a plot of farm or ranch land is that there are so many variables. It’s not simple, he said, and several “games” can be played with such a formula.

— A simpler way to reduce taxes on ag land in the face of steep increases in valuation, the professor said, would be to reduce the percentage of valuation that is considered for tax purposes. Ag land was once valued based on 80% of its market value, but that was reduced,and now stands at 75%.

That percentage could be reduced to 70% or lower, Anderson said, adding that it would be a “political” decision.

— &nbsp;In Iowa, several approaches have been tried to reduce property taxes, including a 3% cap on valuation growth, said Mike Owen, of Common Good Iowa, which was described as an OpenSky-like watchdog in the Hawkeye State.&nbsp;“We’re a giant petri dish,” Owen said.

— Lang said an important goal in tax policy should be to “keep it simple” and to assure that landowners have the opportunity to protest their valuation if they feel it’s unfair.

A bigger issue confronting state government, she said, is to decide which taxes — state or local — finance certain governmental services.

For instance, Lang said, there was discussion about having the state pay all teacher salaries as a way to finance that portion of K-12 education via state sales and income taxes rather than with local property taxes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1698260835468.jpeg" alt="A combine, grain cart and semi work through a dusty soybean field north of Ashland in October 2023. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>A combine, grain cart and semi work through a dusty soybean field north of Ashland in October 2023. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/24/changing-valuation-of-farmland-to-income-producing-capability-is-the-wrong-approach-prof-says/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Adopting a new system of valuing agricultural land in Nebraska based on its income-producing capability was panned Tuesday as a possible solution to the state’s traditionally high property taxes.John Anderson, an economics professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said that adopting a “use/value” approach in valuing ag land — as advocated by Gov. Jim Pillen in the 2023 legislative session — doesn’t result in a significant change compared to the current market-value approach except near big cities.“That difference shrinks as you move away from the perimeter of a city,” Anderson said. “By the time you’re 20 miles away, there’s virtually no difference between use value and market value.”“So, if you think this is a silver bullet in agricultural areas … you’re dreaming,” he said.His comments came during a panel discussion on property tax “opportunities and solutions” during the fall symposium of the OpenSky Policy Institute, a Lincoln-based think tank that analyzes state tax and spending policies.Tuesday’s discussion comes as a “working group” formed by Pillen has held three meetings already in exploring ways to “reduce the burden of insurmountable valuation growth in recent years.”Nebraska&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-ag-land-values-at-record-high-increasing-14-during-the-past-year/#:~:text=LINCOLN%20%E2%80%94%20Prices%20for%20Nebraska%20farmland,was%20%243%2C835%20as%20of%20Feb.">farmland is projected to increase 14%</a>&nbsp;this year, while the Nebraska Department of Revenue recently&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/revenue.nebraska.gov/files/doc/pad/research/statewide_equalization/Compare%20ctl-abs%202022-2023%20%25change%204-5-2023%20Final.pdf">reported a 16% increase</a>&nbsp;in the valuation of residential property over the past year.<h2>‘No rock unturned’</h2>The working group, which includes state senators and representatives of local government, business and farm groups, is expected to meet at least two more times in hopes to crafting a proposal for the 2024 legislative session.One member of that group, State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, said working group members were sworn to secrecy about what’s being proposed at this point. But she said Pillen is leaving “no rock unturned” in seeking a solution to recent steep increases in valuations of residential and ag property that have homeowners and farm owners howling.“I’m very surprised at the angles he’s exploring,” Albrecht said of Pillen. “But he says we’ll walk out with a plan after five meetings.”State lawmakers and governors have grappled for years with the state’s high property taxes, including adopting and increasing state credits to offset the local payments and, this year, increasing state aid to K-12 schools.<h2>Pillen plan failed</h2>During the 2023 session, Pillen proposed to switch from a system of valuing ag land on its market value to one based on its production capability — as is done in Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas. But it&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/03/pillen-plan-to-shift-valuation-of-ag-land-gets-static-even-from-farm-groups/">failed to get out of the starting gate,</a>&nbsp;even with farm groups.The failure was one of the few Pillen had in his first year as governor.Anderson, who has studied tax policies across the country, said Nebraska is a “reasonably high” property tax state, in the “second tier” behind states like New Jersey and Connecticut.While it’s difficult to rank states on property taxes since they are levied locally and can vary across a state, Forbes magazine recently ranked Nebraska as having the eighth highest “median” property tax. Meanwhile, the business-oriented Tax Foundation placed the Cornhusker state No. 11 in the property tax component of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/ranking-property-taxes-2023/">its annual “Business Tax Climate” report.</a>Seward Sen. Jana Hughes, who moderated the property tax discussion, joked that no solutions were reached Tuesday.<h2>Capping increases ‘problematic’</h2>But there were some interesting observations:— Capping increases in property valuation, as is done in several states, is problematic, according to one panelist, Cathy Lang, a former state property tax administrator and currently head of the Nebraska Business Development Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.Lang said that, for example, a cap of 3% would help one property owner who saw their land valuation increase by 8% but wouldn’t help a neighbor whose property valuation went up only 2.5%. Over time, Lang added, those disparities in valuation would widen, resulting in an unfair tax burden.—Anderson said one problem with trying to determine the income-producing capability of a plot of farm or ranch land is that there are so many variables. It’s not simple, he said, and several “games” can be played with such a formula.— A simpler way to reduce taxes on ag land in the face of steep increases in valuation, the professor said, would be to reduce the percentage of valuation that is considered for tax purposes. Ag land was once valued based on 80% of its market value, but that was reduced,and now stands at 75%.That percentage could be reduced to 70% or lower, Anderson said, adding that it would be a “political” decision.— &nbsp;In Iowa, several approaches have been tried to reduce property taxes, including a 3% cap on valuation growth, said Mike Owen, of Common Good Iowa, which was described as an OpenSky-like watchdog in the Hawkeye State.&nbsp;“We’re a giant petri dish,” Owen said.— Lang said an important goal in tax policy should be to “keep it simple” and to assure that landowners have the opportunity to protest their valuation if they feel it’s unfair.A bigger issue confronting state government, she said, is to decide which taxes — state or local — finance certain governmental services.For instance, Lang said, there was discussion about having the state pay all teacher salaries as a way to finance that portion of K-12 education via state sales and income taxes rather than with local property taxes.

Changing valuation of farmland to income-producing capability is the wrong approach, prof says

SEWARD, Neb. (AP) — A suspect holding a gun was fatally shot by Nebraska deputies after a lengthy chase, authorities said.

The shooting happened Monday afternoon in Seward County. Names of the person killed and the deputies involved have not been released.

The Seward County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Tuesday that deputies tried to stop a vehicle traveling west on Interstate 80, but the vehicle spun around, going east in the westbound lanes for a time before crossing into the eastbound lanes.

The release said deputies chased the vehicle for 7 miles. When the chase ended, deputies told both people in the vehicle to get out. The sheriff's office said the passenger exited but the driver refused and deputies “saw a weapon in the driver's hand.”

The suspect was shot and died at the scene.

The Nebraska State Patrol's Special Investigations Team is investigating.

SEWARD, Neb. (AP) — A suspect holding a gun was fatally shot by Nebraska deputies after a lengthy chase, authorities said.The shooting happened Monday afternoon in Seward County. Names of the person killed and the deputies involved have not been released.The Seward County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Tuesday that deputies tried to stop a vehicle traveling west on Interstate 80, but the vehicle spun around, going east in the westbound lanes for a time before crossing into the eastbound lanes.The release said deputies chased the vehicle for 7 miles. When the chase ended, deputies told both people in the vehicle to get out. The sheriff's office said the passenger exited but the driver refused and deputies “saw a weapon in the driver's hand.”The suspect was shot and died at the scene.The Nebraska State Patrol's Special Investigations Team is investigating.

Suspect killed after confrontation with deputies in Seward County

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was called to the witness stand and then fined $10,000 on Wednesday after a judge concluded that the former president had violated a limited gag order in his civil fraud trial. It was the second time in less than a week that Trump was penalized for his out-of-court comments.

Before imposing the latest fine, Judge Arthur Engoron summoned Trump from the defense table to testify about his comment to reporters hours earlier about “a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside” the judge.

Trump and his lawyers said that comment was about witness Michael Cohen, a former Trump law, and not about the clerk. Trump told the judge from the witness stand that his remark about partisans was aimed at “you and Cohen.”

But Trump did not conceal his frustration with the clerk. “I think she’s very biased against us, I think we’ve made that clear,” Trump said.

Engoron on Oct. 3 had ordered all participants in the trial not to comment publicly about his staff, a restriction issued after a Trump social media post maligning the clerk.

The judge had ordered Trump to take down that post and Trump did, which the former president noted in court Wednesday. But that post had lingered on his campaign website for weeks, prompting a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-contempt-new-york-ce593e3ee07d95bb6ec7e2de23f47dc9">$5,000 fine</a>&nbsp;for Trump last Friday.

Three of Trump’s attorneys objected to the $10,000 fine and they reiterated Trump's claim that the clerk was biased.

Earlier Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">Michael Cohen</a>&nbsp;returned to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-michael-cohen-fraud-new-york-8e49619e3f5ebb6931e6947c4dabda87">the witness stand</a>&nbsp;as the defense team tried to undermine the credibility and question the motives of his onetime personal attorney turned adversary.

With Trump at the defense table, his lawyer Alina Habba confronted Cohen with comments he had made praising Trump, before turning on him when Cohen's legal problems started in 2018.

Habba tried to suggest that Cohen had angled unsuccessfully for a job in Trump’s White House — Cohen insisted he never sought one — and asked whether he had “significant animosity" toward Trump.

“Do I have animosity toward him? Yes I do,” Cohen replied.

“You have made a career out of publicly attacking President Trump, haven’t you?” Habba asked.

After a long pause, Cohen said, “Yes.”

Cohen worked as Trump’s lawyer and fixer for many years, before Cohen’s 2018 federal prosecution, guilty pleas and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8b9d39ea54374ae296a9a8401bf58cb8">prison sentence</a>&nbsp;for tax evasion, making false statements on a bank loan application, lying to Congress and making illegal contributions to Trump’s campaign. The contributions were in the form of payouts to women who said they had extramarital sexual encounters with Trump, who said the women’s stories were false.

Cohen is now a key witness in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil case against Trump. James alleges that Trump habitually&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-explainer-judge-business-empire-5e37f1468bd8ef63fff2e284886e3b8c">exaggerated the value of his real estate holdings</a>&nbsp;on financial documents that helped him get loans and insurance and make deals.

Trump denies any wrongdoing and says James, a Democrat, is targeting the leading Republican presidential candidate in 2024 for partisan reasons.

During his first day of testimony Tuesday, Cohen said he and key executives at Trump's company worked to inflate the estimated values of their employer's holdings so documents given to banks and others would match a net worth that Trump had set “arbitrarily.”

In cross-examining Cohen, Habba emphasized his federal criminal convictions and worked to portray him as a liar, especially after he said Tuesday he had lied when he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and loan application lies. Cohen asserted that he did not really commit those crimes and he sought to portray his conduct as a matter of omissions and failure to correct paperwork.

Habba returned to those themes Wednesday, underscoring that Cohen had admitted in open court to lying under oath in a federal courthouse next door.

Outside court, Trump said the trial was “very unfair” and a “pure political witch hunt.” Nonetheless, he said, “We’re happy with the way it’s going.”

“We have the facts on our side,” Trump said. He's expected to testify later in the trial but meanwhile has voluntarily attended several days of the proceedings.

Cohen is also expected to be an important prosecution witness in a criminal trial scheduled for next spring in which Trump is accused of falsifying business records. That case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1698261736155.png" alt="-Former President Donald Trump during a break in his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Wednesday in New York. -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>-Former President Donald Trump during a break in his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Wednesday in New York. -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was called to the witness stand and then fined $10,000 on Wednesday after a judge concluded that the former president had violated a limited gag order in his civil fraud trial. It was the second time in less than a week that Trump was penalized for his out-of-court comments.Before imposing the latest fine, Judge Arthur Engoron summoned Trump from the defense table to testify about his comment to reporters hours earlier about “a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside” the judge.Trump and his lawyers said that comment was about witness Michael Cohen, a former Trump law, and not about the clerk. Trump told the judge from the witness stand that his remark about partisans was aimed at “you and Cohen.”But Trump did not conceal his frustration with the clerk. “I think she’s very biased against us, I think we’ve made that clear,” Trump said.Engoron on Oct. 3 had ordered all participants in the trial not to comment publicly about his staff, a restriction issued after a Trump social media post maligning the clerk.The judge had ordered Trump to take down that post and Trump did, which the former president noted in court Wednesday. But that post had lingered on his campaign website for weeks, prompting a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-contempt-new-york-ce593e3ee07d95bb6ec7e2de23f47dc9">$5,000 fine</a>&nbsp;for Trump last Friday.Three of Trump’s attorneys objected to the $10,000 fine and they reiterated Trump's claim that the clerk was biased.Earlier Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">Michael Cohen</a>&nbsp;returned to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-michael-cohen-fraud-new-york-8e49619e3f5ebb6931e6947c4dabda87">the witness stand</a>&nbsp;as the defense team tried to undermine the credibility and question the motives of his onetime personal attorney turned adversary.With Trump at the defense table, his lawyer Alina Habba confronted Cohen with comments he had made praising Trump, before turning on him when Cohen's legal problems started in 2018.Habba tried to suggest that Cohen had angled unsuccessfully for a job in Trump’s White House — Cohen insisted he never sought one — and asked whether he had “significant animosity" toward Trump.“Do I have animosity toward him? Yes I do,” Cohen replied.“You have made a career out of publicly attacking President Trump, haven’t you?” Habba asked.After a long pause, Cohen said, “Yes.”Cohen worked as Trump’s lawyer and fixer for many years, before Cohen’s 2018 federal prosecution, guilty pleas and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8b9d39ea54374ae296a9a8401bf58cb8">prison sentence</a>&nbsp;for tax evasion, making false statements on a bank loan application, lying to Congress and making illegal contributions to Trump’s campaign. The contributions were in the form of payouts to women who said they had extramarital sexual encounters with Trump, who said the women’s stories were false.Cohen is now a key witness in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil case against Trump. James alleges that Trump habitually&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-explainer-judge-business-empire-5e37f1468bd8ef63fff2e284886e3b8c">exaggerated the value of his real estate holdings</a>&nbsp;on financial documents that helped him get loans and insurance and make deals.Trump denies any wrongdoing and says James, a Democrat, is targeting the leading Republican presidential candidate in 2024 for partisan reasons.During his first day of testimony Tuesday, Cohen said he and key executives at Trump's company worked to inflate the estimated values of their employer's holdings so documents given to banks and others would match a net worth that Trump had set “arbitrarily.”In cross-examining Cohen, Habba emphasized his federal criminal convictions and worked to portray him as a liar, especially after he said Tuesday he had lied when he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and loan application lies. Cohen asserted that he did not really commit those crimes and he sought to portray his conduct as a matter of omissions and failure to correct paperwork.Habba returned to those themes Wednesday, underscoring that Cohen had admitted in open court to lying under oath in a federal courthouse next door.Outside court, Trump said the trial was “very unfair” and a “pure political witch hunt.” Nonetheless, he said, “We’re happy with the way it’s going.”“We have the facts on our side,” Trump said. He's expected to testify later in the trial but meanwhile has voluntarily attended several days of the proceedings.Cohen is also expected to be an important prosecution witness in a criminal trial scheduled for next spring in which Trump is accused of falsifying business records. That case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington.___

Trump fined $10,000 over a comment he made outside court 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-republicans-emmer-mccarthy-c7ddb6abf4c7322f9fc44fdaa07791fc">House speaker</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority.

When called for his vote, Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann shouted, "I like Mike!" The GOP members of the House roared with approval.

Johnson, 51, of Louisiana, swept through on the first ballot with support from all Republicans anxious to put the past weeks of tumult behind and get on with the business of governing. He was quickly sworn into office.

“We are ready to get to work again,” he said after taking the gavel.

To the American people watching he said, “Our mission here is to serve you well and to restore the people’s faith in this House.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1698250303541.png" alt="New House Speaker Mike Johnson -photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>New House Speaker Mike Johnson -photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-republicans-emmer-mccarthy-c7ddb6abf4c7322f9fc44fdaa07791fc">House speaker</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority.When called for his vote, Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann shouted, "I like Mike!" The GOP members of the House roared with approval.Johnson, 51, of Louisiana, swept through on the first ballot with support from all Republicans anxious to put the past weeks of tumult behind and get on with the business of governing. He was quickly sworn into office.“We are ready to get to work again,” he said after taking the gavel.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Congratulations Speaker Mike Johnson! Mike is a God-fearing father of four and a dedicated public servant. As the House GOP Vice Chair and member of the Judiciary Committee, he has fought to defend our Constitutional rights, hold the Biden administration accountable, and… <a href="https://t.co/iLwpHIcr62">pic.twitter.com/iLwpHIcr62</a>&mdash; Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLaTurner/status/1717253014254158322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>To the American people watching he said, “Our mission here is to serve you well and to restore the people’s faith in this House.”A lower-ranked member of the House GOP leadership team, Johnson emerged as the fourth Republican nominee in what had become an almost absurd cycle of political infighting since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-motion-to-vacate-congress-327e294a39f8de079ef5e4abfb1fa555">Kevin McCarthy's ouster</a>&nbsp;as GOP factions jockeyed for power. While not the party's top choice for the gavel, the deeply religious and even-keeled Johnson has few foes and an important GOP backer: Donald Trump.“I think he’s gonna be a fantastic speaker,” Trump said Wednesday at the New York courthouse where the former president, who is now the Republican front-runner for president in 2024, is on trial over a lawsuit alleging business fraud.Three weeks on without a House speaker, the Republicans have been wasting their majority status — a maddening embarrassment to some, democracy in action to others, but not at all how the House is expected to function.Far-right members had refused to accept a more traditional speaker, and moderate conservatives didn't want a hard-liner. While Johnson had no opponents during a private party roll call late Tuesday, some two dozen Republicans did not vote,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kevin-mccarthy-republican-lawmakers-house-opponents-33c7d984964916f29d548b5b1dfe508b">more than enough</a>&nbsp;to sink his nomination.But when GOP Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik rose to introduce Johnson's name Wednesday as their nominee, Republicans jumped to their feet for a standing ovation.“House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson will never give up,” she said.Democrats again nominated their leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, criticizing Johnson as an architect of Trump's legal effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.With Republicans controlling the House only 221-212 over Democrats, Johnson could afford just a few detractors to win the gavel. He won 220-209, with a few absences.Jeffries said House Democrats will work with Republicans whenever possible for the “good of the country.”Overnight the endorsements for Johnson started pouring in, including from failed speaker hopefuls. Rep. Jim Jordan, the hard-charging Judiciary Committee chairman, gave his support, as did Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the fellow Louisiana congressman, who stood behind Johnson after he won the nomination.“Mike! Mike! Mike!” lawmakers chanted at a press conference after the late-night internal vote, surrounding Johnson and posing for selfies in a show of support.Anxious and exhausted, Republican lawmakers are desperately trying to move on.Johnson's rise comes after a tumultuous month, capped by a head-spinning Tuesday that within a span of a few hours saw one candidate, Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-us-republican-party-thomas-emmer-united-states-house-of-representatives-hockey-744b602f30285f3398da09d1489f37dd">Tom Emmer</a>, the GOP Whip, nominated and then quickly withdraw when it became clear he would be the third candidate unable to secure enough support from GOP colleagues after Trump bashed his nomination.“He wasn’t MAGA,” said Trump, referring to his Make America Great Again campaign slogan.Attention quickly turned to Johnson. A lawyer specializing in constitutional issues, Johnson had rallied Republicans around Trump’s legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results.Elevating Johnson to speaker gives Louisianians two high-ranking GOP leaders, putting him above Scalise, who was rejected by hard-liners in his own bid as speaker.Johnson is affable and well liked, with a fiery belief system, and colleagues swiftly started giving him their support.“Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system,” Johnson said after winning the nomination. “We’re going to restore your trust in what we do here.”Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led a small band of hard-liners to engineer McCarthy's ouster at the start of the month, posted on social media that “Mike Johnson won’t be the Speaker the Swamp wants but, he is the Speaker America needs.”Republicans have been flailing all month, unable to conduct routine business as they fight amongst themselves with daunting challenges ahead.The federal government risks&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">a shutdown</a>&nbsp;in a matter of weeks if Congress fails to pass funding legislation by a Nov. 17 deadline to keep services and offices running. More immediately, President Biden has asked Congress to provide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-ukraine-israel-budget-3762a0bdf00653e3c8a38175d3c3d3cb">$105 billion in aid</a>&nbsp;— to help Israel and Ukraine amid their wars and to shore up the U.S. border with Mexico. Federal aviation and farming programs face expiration without action.Many hard-liners have been resisting a leader who voted for the budget deal that McCarthy struck with Biden earlier this year, which set federal spending levels that far-right Republicans don't agree with and now want to undo. They are pursuing steeper cuts to federal programs and services with next month's funding deadline.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said she wanted assurances the candidates would pursue impeachment inquiries into Biden and other top Cabinet officials.During the turmoil, the House was led by a speaker pro tempore,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-interim-congress-north-carolina-15b8b6cc20afa9d8f18d84765d776736">Rep. Patrick McHenry</a>, R-N.C., the bow tie-wearing chairman of the Financial Services Committee. His main job was to elect a more permanent speaker.Some Republicans — and Democrats — wanted to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-powers-mchenry-875bebd218096a5252840cd8f52cc137">give McHenry more power</a>&nbsp;to get on with the routine business of governing. But McHenry, the first person to be in the position that was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as an emergency measure, declined to back those overtures. He, too, received a standing ovation.___