WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-hur-garland-classified-documents-836b99fe9cbef9ba7d32602f4928efec#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20A%20special,criminal%20charges%20were%20not%20warranted.">avoided criminal charges around his handling of classified documents</a>&nbsp;in part because of his answers during a lengthy interview with the special counsel investigating him. But the sit-down also opened Biden up to fresh scrutiny over his age and memory, and now the public release of a transcript of that discussion is being sought by both Biden allies and critics seeking political advantage.

(click below to watch Biden answer questions about his memory)

The five-hour interview over two days, led by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-robert-hur-special-counsel-biden-d715ffd26adc75f2ba740d1960936a09">special counsel Robert Hur</a>, helped establish that Biden didn’t intend to retain most of the sensitive records from his vice presidency that were found at his home and personal office. But Hur’s report also repeatedly impugned Biden’s memory in a deeply personal way, suggesting, for example, the president couldn’t remember when his own son had died.

The transcript, if released, could provide a fuller picture of the conversation.

The White House has the ultimate say over whether to make public the transcript or audio recording of the interview or to claim executive privilege and keep the interview private. There's precedent for documents related to White House investigations to ultimately become public — but also to be withheld.

A transcript of President Bill Clinton’s 1998 grand jury appearance related to allegations of a sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky was included as part of Independent Counsel Ken Starr’s massive report, which was delivered to the House and subsequently released to the public by Congress following a vote.

The Starr team debated extensively how much to disclose in the report, mindful of the graphic and sensitive nature of the findings, said Robert Bittman, who served as a Starr deputy during the investigation. Recognizing that it was ultimately up to the House to decide what to public public, the team gave “all the information (to Congress) that we had so they can make their own decisions.”

President George W. Bush, on the other hand, invoked executive privilege to block Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003. The move angered Congress.

Bittman said he did not think it was “necessarily a good thing” for investigative reports to be made public. But now that the Hur report has been disclosed, he said, it would be helpful to release the transcript of Biden’s interview “so that people can judge for themselves about whether Hur’s opinions about what President Biden said and what he remembered and what he didn’t remember is justified.”

“If you see that the White House objects to it, it probably suggests that the transcripts are not good for the White House,” Bittman said, “and if they support release of it, then I suspect that that suggests the transcripts are good for the White House or President Biden.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-transition-archives-classified-documents-0962248067aa95ae129287c4b400f999">The White House</a>&nbsp;is weighing whether or not to release it.

Biden's interview text and the audio recording are classified, because they include a discussion of highly sensitive documents. Any potential release could happen either by a decision of the White House or through the Justice Department working to comply with congressional oversight requests. Both would follow nearly identical procedures.

Once a decision to pursue release of the interview was made, the sensitive parts of the document would be sent to the intelligence community to assess what could be declassified and what would need to be redacted. A further review would be warranted to determine if anything discussed about the security of the president’s home might impact protective measures.

Finally, the White House would need to weigh in, with the advice of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, on whether to recommend that Biden invoke executive privilege over what others had cleared for publication.

Though Biden didn’t invoke executive privilege over the full report, the transcript could well be a different story. Among the documents found in Biden’s home were records of deliberations over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b76f5d92b38d429c877564ad9ff9661a">a potential U.S. troop surge during the Afghanistan war</a>&nbsp;and other conversations within the White House — an area that presidents are particularly loath to have publicly discussed.

The interview with Biden was conducted over two days last October, right after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel.</a>

Hur and his deputy, Marc Krickbaum, a former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney from Iowa, asked all of the questions. Biden was joined by White House Counsel Ed Siskel, the counsel’s office investigations leader Richard Sauber and the president's personal lawyer Bob Bauer. Several other individuals from both sides were in the room as well, according to a person familiar with the interviews who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

Separately, House Republicans have reached out to Hur and his representatives on the possibility of Hur testifying before Congress, and he has expressed a willingness to do so, according to two people who were not authorized to speak publicly about the request and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Republicans and Democrats alike are interested in more complete details about what went into the report. Biden and his allies say a full transcript would show the president is mentally sharp and will prove that Hur cherry-picked moments solely to make him seem feeble. Biden’s attorneys raised their concerns to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who nonetheless decided to keep the report as is and made it public.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-memory-classified-documents-election-9a519ea3f9ec514187d10e758c6535ac">Bauer, speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation” over the weekend,</a>&nbsp;offered an anecdote that didn’t make it into the report but that would be in a transcript. He said Hur acknowledged that sometimes he asked imprecise questions — ones that Biden picked apart.

“Now, everybody in the room recognized that was the case, that showed the president was listening carefully and understood precisely what was wrong with those questions," Bauer said. "I didn’t come away from the special counsel’s failure to ask precise questions and think to myself, ‘he has mental acuity problems,’ I just thought he was asking bad questions.”

Republicans, meanwhile, have also requested that the audio of the interviews be made public and want to know more on why Hur chose not to prosecute Biden, particularly when they noted in their report that some evidence showed he held onto and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-ghostwriter-mark-zwonitzer-classified-documents-case-8ad6e560c2eb54e25db149a2d01ad545">shared with a ghostwriter</a>&nbsp;highly classified information.

Hur said in his report that he did find evidence that Biden had willfully mishandled classified records but not enough evidence for a criminal prosecution like the one against former President Donald Trump.

Trump, in addition to being charged with intentionally hoarding top-secret documents after he left office, is also accused of obstructing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-justice-department-maralago-cd3b59e50d33eea942772186111c240e">FBI efforts to get them back and of asking staff to conceal evidence from investigators.</a>

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-trump-special-counsel-b5589ea8f066ede51c8138665f108f7a">Biden and his team, by contrast, alerted law enforcement officials</a>&nbsp;after locating classified records, willingly handed over documents to the government and cooperated with investigators by allowing the FBI to search his properties for any additional files.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707440990814.png" alt="File- President Biden answered questions last week about his age and memory- White House image" />
 <figcaption>File- President Biden answered questions last week about his age and memory- White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-hur-garland-classified-documents-836b99fe9cbef9ba7d32602f4928efec#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20A%20special,criminal%20charges%20were%20not%20warranted.">avoided criminal charges around his handling of classified documents</a>&nbsp;in part because of his answers during a lengthy interview with the special counsel investigating him. But the sit-down also opened Biden up to fresh scrutiny over his age and memory, and now the public release of a transcript of that discussion is being sought by both Biden allies and critics seeking political advantage.(click below to watch Biden answer questions about his memory)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F690627529895091%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=243" 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><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707478982378.png" alt="From the Special Counsel Report" />
 <figcaption>From the Special Counsel Report</figcaption>
 </figure>The five-hour interview over two days, led by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-robert-hur-special-counsel-biden-d715ffd26adc75f2ba740d1960936a09">special counsel Robert Hur</a>, helped establish that Biden didn’t intend to retain most of the sensitive records from his vice presidency that were found at his home and personal office. But Hur’s report also repeatedly impugned Biden’s memory in a deeply personal way, suggesting, for example, the president couldn’t remember when his own son had died.The transcript, if released, could provide a fuller picture of the conversation.The White House has the ultimate say over whether to make public the transcript or audio recording of the interview or to claim executive privilege and keep the interview private. There's precedent for documents related to White House investigations to ultimately become public — but also to be withheld.A transcript of President Bill Clinton’s 1998 grand jury appearance related to allegations of a sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky was included as part of Independent Counsel Ken Starr’s massive report, which was delivered to the House and subsequently released to the public by Congress following a vote.The Starr team debated extensively how much to disclose in the report, mindful of the graphic and sensitive nature of the findings, said Robert Bittman, who served as a Starr deputy during the investigation. Recognizing that it was ultimately up to the House to decide what to public public, the team gave “all the information (to Congress) that we had so they can make their own decisions.”President George W. Bush, on the other hand, invoked executive privilege to block Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003. The move angered Congress.Bittman said he did not think it was “necessarily a good thing” for investigative reports to be made public. But now that the Hur report has been disclosed, he said, it would be helpful to release the transcript of Biden’s interview “so that people can judge for themselves about whether Hur’s opinions about what President Biden said and what he remembered and what he didn’t remember is justified.”“If you see that the White House objects to it, it probably suggests that the transcripts are not good for the White House,” Bittman said, “and if they support release of it, then I suspect that that suggests the transcripts are good for the White House or President Biden.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-transition-archives-classified-documents-0962248067aa95ae129287c4b400f999">The White House</a>&nbsp;is weighing whether or not to release it.Biden's interview text and the audio recording are classified, because they include a discussion of highly sensitive documents. Any potential release could happen either by a decision of the White House or through the Justice Department working to comply with congressional oversight requests. Both would follow nearly identical procedures.Once a decision to pursue release of the interview was made, the sensitive parts of the document would be sent to the intelligence community to assess what could be declassified and what would need to be redacted. A further review would be warranted to determine if anything discussed about the security of the president’s home might impact protective measures.Finally, the White House would need to weigh in, with the advice of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, on whether to recommend that Biden invoke executive privilege over what others had cleared for publication.Though Biden didn’t invoke executive privilege over the full report, the transcript could well be a different story. Among the documents found in Biden’s home were records of deliberations over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b76f5d92b38d429c877564ad9ff9661a">a potential U.S. troop surge during the Afghanistan war</a>&nbsp;and other conversations within the White House — an area that presidents are particularly loath to have publicly discussed.The interview with Biden was conducted over two days last October, right after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel.</a>Hur and his deputy, Marc Krickbaum, a former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney from Iowa, asked all of the questions. Biden was joined by White House Counsel Ed Siskel, the counsel’s office investigations leader Richard Sauber and the president's personal lawyer Bob Bauer. Several other individuals from both sides were in the room as well, according to a person familiar with the interviews who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss them.Separately, House Republicans have reached out to Hur and his representatives on the possibility of Hur testifying before Congress, and he has expressed a willingness to do so, according to two people who were not authorized to speak publicly about the request and spoke on condition of anonymity.Republicans and Democrats alike are interested in more complete details about what went into the report. Biden and his allies say a full transcript would show the president is mentally sharp and will prove that Hur cherry-picked moments solely to make him seem feeble. Biden’s attorneys raised their concerns to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who nonetheless decided to keep the report as is and made it public.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-memory-classified-documents-election-9a519ea3f9ec514187d10e758c6535ac">Bauer, speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation” over the weekend,</a>&nbsp;offered an anecdote that didn’t make it into the report but that would be in a transcript. He said Hur acknowledged that sometimes he asked imprecise questions — ones that Biden picked apart.“Now, everybody in the room recognized that was the case, that showed the president was listening carefully and understood precisely what was wrong with those questions," Bauer said. "I didn’t come away from the special counsel’s failure to ask precise questions and think to myself, ‘he has mental acuity problems,’ I just thought he was asking bad questions.”Republicans, meanwhile, have also requested that the audio of the interviews be made public and want to know more on why Hur chose not to prosecute Biden, particularly when they noted in their report that some evidence showed he held onto and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-ghostwriter-mark-zwonitzer-classified-documents-case-8ad6e560c2eb54e25db149a2d01ad545">shared with a ghostwriter</a>&nbsp;highly classified information.Hur said in his report that he did find evidence that Biden had willfully mishandled classified records but not enough evidence for a criminal prosecution like the one against former President Donald Trump.Trump, in addition to being charged with intentionally hoarding top-secret documents after he left office, is also accused of obstructing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-justice-department-maralago-cd3b59e50d33eea942772186111c240e">FBI efforts to get them back and of asking staff to conceal evidence from investigators.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-trump-special-counsel-b5589ea8f066ede51c8138665f108f7a">Biden and his team, by contrast, alerted law enforcement officials</a>&nbsp;after locating classified records, willingly handed over documents to the government and cooperated with investigators by allowing the FBI to search his properties for any additional files.

🎥Will the White House release transcript of Biden's special counsel interview?

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Despite a month of U.S.-led airstrikes,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-attacks-iran-ships-retaliation-houthis-d770a3fb0fab4c4b72e2459771833e11">Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels</a>&nbsp;remain capable of launching significant attacks. This week, they seriously damaged a ship in a crucial strait and downed an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars.

The continued assaults by the Houthis on shipping through the crucial Red Sea corridor — the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — against the backdrop of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip</a>&nbsp;underscore the challenges in trying to stop the guerrilla-style attacks they have used to hold onto Yemen's capital and much of the war-ravaged country's north since 2014.

The campaign has boosted the rebels' standing in the Arab world,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-middle-east-sanaa-houthis-religion-5e62561f8070441412ed52d222c950e3">despite their human rights abuses</a>&nbsp;in a yearslong stalemated war with several of America's allies in the region. Analysts warn that the longer the Houthis' attacks go on, the greater the risk that disruptions to international shipping will begin to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-houthi-attacks-shipping-inflation-124d5445bec8ce6864112e3095646308">weigh on the global economy</a>.

On Monday, both the Houthis and Western officials acknowledged one of the most serious attacks on shipping launched by the rebels. The Houthis targeted the Belize-flagged bulk carrier Rubymar with two anti-ship ballistic missiles, and one struck the vessel, the U.S. military's Central Command said.

The Rubymar, which reported problems with its propulsion in November, apparently became inoperable, forcing her crew to abandon the vessel.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed on Monday night that the Rubymar sank. However, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Rubymar still afloat at 2 p.m. local time Tuesday just north of the Bab el-Mandeb. A large oil slick trailed the vessel.

The Rubymar attack marked one of a few direct, serious hits by the Houthi rebels on shipping. In late January, another direct hit set&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-red-sea-israel-hamas-war-attacks-f36fc8911e069a5b4dbc4d9e67f31e50">a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker ablaze</a>&nbsp;for hours.

Meanwhile, the Houthis early Tuesday released footage of what they described as a surface-to-air missile bringing down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone off the coast of Hodeida, a Yemeni port city they hold on the Red Sea. The footage included a video of men dragging pieces of debris from the water onto a beach.

Images of the debris, which included writing in English and what seemed to be electrical equipment, appeared to correspond to known pieces of the Reaper, usually used in attack missions and surveillance flights. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told journalists in a briefing the Houthis shot down the drone.

In November, the Pentagon acknowledged the loss of an MQ-9, also shot down by the rebels over the Red Sea.

Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least four drones to shootdowns by the rebels — in 2017, 2019 and this year.

Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed an attack on the Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned bulk carrier full of grain bound for Aden, Yemen, carrying grain from Argentina. Central Command said the carrier “has delivered humanitarian aid to Yemen 11 times in the past five years” as the country remains on the edge of famine amid the war there.

The rebels separately claimed an attack on the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Navis Fortuna, a ship that had been broadcasting its destination as Italy with an “all Chinese” crew to avoid being targeted. Private security firm Ambrey reported that the vessel sustained minor damage in a drone attack.

The U.S. shot down 10 bomb-carrying Houthi drones, as well as a cruise missile heading toward the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Laboon over the last day, Central Command said Tuesday. The U.S. military also conducted strikes targeting a Houthi surface-to-air missile launcher and a drone prior to its launch.

The Houthis acknowledged the drone attacks and claimed other assaults not immediately acknowledged by the West.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. Those vessels have included&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-ship-missile-houthi-rebels-attack-bab-elmandeb-strait-999b911c916f9266c07a6d29cc020e9e">at least one with cargo for Iran</a>, the Houthis' main benefactor.

The European Union has launched its own campaign to protect shipping, with member France saying on Tuesday that it shot down two Houthi drones overnight in the Red Sea.

So far, no U.S. sailor or pilot has been wounded by the Houthis since America launched its airstrikes targeting the rebels in January. However, the U.S. continues to lose drones worth tens of millions of dollars and fire million-dollar cruise missiles to counter the Houthis, who are using far cheaper weapons that experts believe largely have been supplied by Iran.

Based on U.S. military statements, American and allied forces have destroyed at least 73 missiles of different types before they were launched, as well as 17 drones, 13 bomb-laden drone boats and one underwater explosive drone over their monthlong campaign, according to an AP tally. Those figures don't include the initial Jan. 11 joint U.S.-U.K. strikes that began the campaign. The American military also has shot down dozens of missiles and drones already airborne since November.

The Houthis haven't offered much information regarding their losses, though they've acknowledged at least 22 of their fighters have been killed in the American-led strikes. Insurgent forces including the Houthis and allied tribes in Yemen number around 20,000 fighters, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. They can operate in small units away from military bases, making targeting them more difficult.

The Houthis may view the costs as balanced by their sudden fame within an Arab world enraged by the killing of women and civilians by Israel in Gaza.

In the past, others — including the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden — have used the Palestinians' plight to justify their “actions and garner support,” wrote Fatima Abo Alasrar, a scholar at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

“It legitimizes the Houthis’ actions in the eyes of those who sympathize with the Palestinian cause, distracts from the more immediate issues associated with the Yemen conflict and the failures of Houthi governance, and potentially broadens the base of their support beyond Yemen’s borders,” Alasrar added.

If the Houthi attacks continue, it could force the U.S. to intensify and widen its counterattacks across an already volatile Mideast.

“Without a cease-fire in Gaza, the Houthis could be tempted to further escalate against U.S. interests in the Red Sea and in the region,” wrote Eleonora Ardemagni, a fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies.

For Washington, “deterrence options” are getting narrower, she added.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1701652753204.png" alt="File photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Despite a month of U.S.-led airstrikes,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-attacks-iran-ships-retaliation-houthis-d770a3fb0fab4c4b72e2459771833e11">Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels</a>&nbsp;remain capable of launching significant attacks. This week, they seriously damaged a ship in a crucial strait and downed an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars.The continued assaults by the Houthis on shipping through the crucial Red Sea corridor — the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — against the backdrop of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip</a>&nbsp;underscore the challenges in trying to stop the guerrilla-style attacks they have used to hold onto Yemen's capital and much of the war-ravaged country's north since 2014.The campaign has boosted the rebels' standing in the Arab world,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-middle-east-sanaa-houthis-religion-5e62561f8070441412ed52d222c950e3">despite their human rights abuses</a>&nbsp;in a yearslong stalemated war with several of America's allies in the region. Analysts warn that the longer the Houthis' attacks go on, the greater the risk that disruptions to international shipping will begin to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-houthi-attacks-shipping-inflation-124d5445bec8ce6864112e3095646308">weigh on the global economy</a>.On Monday, both the Houthis and Western officials acknowledged one of the most serious attacks on shipping launched by the rebels. The Houthis targeted the Belize-flagged bulk carrier Rubymar with two anti-ship ballistic missiles, and one struck the vessel, the U.S. military's Central Command said.The Rubymar, which reported problems with its propulsion in November, apparently became inoperable, forcing her crew to abandon the vessel.Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed on Monday night that the Rubymar sank. However, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Rubymar still afloat at 2 p.m. local time Tuesday just north of the Bab el-Mandeb. A large oil slick trailed the vessel.The Rubymar attack marked one of a few direct, serious hits by the Houthi rebels on shipping. In late January, another direct hit set&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-red-sea-israel-hamas-war-attacks-f36fc8911e069a5b4dbc4d9e67f31e50">a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker ablaze</a>&nbsp;for hours.Meanwhile, the Houthis early Tuesday released footage of what they described as a surface-to-air missile bringing down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone off the coast of Hodeida, a Yemeni port city they hold on the Red Sea. The footage included a video of men dragging pieces of debris from the water onto a beach.Images of the debris, which included writing in English and what seemed to be electrical equipment, appeared to correspond to known pieces of the Reaper, usually used in attack missions and surveillance flights. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told journalists in a briefing the Houthis shot down the drone.In November, the Pentagon acknowledged the loss of an MQ-9, also shot down by the rebels over the Red Sea.Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least four drones to shootdowns by the rebels — in 2017, 2019 and this year.Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed an attack on the Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned bulk carrier full of grain bound for Aden, Yemen, carrying grain from Argentina. Central Command said the carrier “has delivered humanitarian aid to Yemen 11 times in the past five years” as the country remains on the edge of famine amid the war there.The rebels separately claimed an attack on the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Navis Fortuna, a ship that had been broadcasting its destination as Italy with an “all Chinese” crew to avoid being targeted. Private security firm Ambrey reported that the vessel sustained minor damage in a drone attack.The U.S. shot down 10 bomb-carrying Houthi drones, as well as a cruise missile heading toward the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Laboon over the last day, Central Command said Tuesday. The U.S. military also conducted strikes targeting a Houthi surface-to-air missile launcher and a drone prior to its launch.The Houthis acknowledged the drone attacks and claimed other assaults not immediately acknowledged by the West.Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe. Those vessels have included&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-ship-missile-houthi-rebels-attack-bab-elmandeb-strait-999b911c916f9266c07a6d29cc020e9e">at least one with cargo for Iran</a>, the Houthis' main benefactor.The European Union has launched its own campaign to protect shipping, with member France saying on Tuesday that it shot down two Houthi drones overnight in the Red Sea.So far, no U.S. sailor or pilot has been wounded by the Houthis since America launched its airstrikes targeting the rebels in January. However, the U.S. continues to lose drones worth tens of millions of dollars and fire million-dollar cruise missiles to counter the Houthis, who are using far cheaper weapons that experts believe largely have been supplied by Iran.Based on U.S. military statements, American and allied forces have destroyed at least 73 missiles of different types before they were launched, as well as 17 drones, 13 bomb-laden drone boats and one underwater explosive drone over their monthlong campaign, according to an AP tally. Those figures don't include the initial Jan. 11 joint U.S.-U.K. strikes that began the campaign. The American military also has shot down dozens of missiles and drones already airborne since November.The Houthis haven't offered much information regarding their losses, though they've acknowledged at least 22 of their fighters have been killed in the American-led strikes. Insurgent forces including the Houthis and allied tribes in Yemen number around 20,000 fighters, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. They can operate in small units away from military bases, making targeting them more difficult.The Houthis may view the costs as balanced by their sudden fame within an Arab world enraged by the killing of women and civilians by Israel in Gaza.In the past, others — including the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden — have used the Palestinians' plight to justify their “actions and garner support,” wrote Fatima Abo Alasrar, a scholar at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.“It legitimizes the Houthis’ actions in the eyes of those who sympathize with the Palestinian cause, distracts from the more immediate issues associated with the Yemen conflict and the failures of Houthi governance, and potentially broadens the base of their support beyond Yemen’s borders,” Alasrar added.If the Houthi attacks continue, it could force the U.S. to intensify and widen its counterattacks across an already volatile Mideast.“Without a cease-fire in Gaza, the Houthis could be tempted to further escalate against U.S. interests in the Red Sea and in the region,” wrote Eleonora Ardemagni, a fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies.For Washington, “deterrence options” are getting narrower, she added.

Pentagon admits Iran-back rebels downed U.S. drone worth millions of dollars

NEW YORK (AP) — A curious criminal case involving&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hotel-california-lyrics-manuscript-trial-eagles-henley-973e74e795416821e6f022895b47b78e">handwritten lyrics to the classic rock megahit “Hotel California”</a>&nbsp;and other Eagles favorites is going to trial in a New York courtroom, with opening statements set for Wednesday.

The three defendants, all well-established in the collectibles world, are accused of scheming to thwart Eagles co-founder Don Henley’s efforts to reclaim the allegedly ill-gotten documents.

The trial concerns more than 80 pages of drafts of the words to songs from the “Hotel California” album, the 1976 release that stands today as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3c0b39a1bb5b4e44aafe2c4e05a4b67f">third-biggest selling disc ever</a>&nbsp;in the U.S.

Rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and various other charges. Their lawyers have said the case “alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals.”

The documents include lyrics-in-development for “Life in the Fast Lane,” “New Kid in Town” and, of course, “Hotel California,” the more than six-minute-long, somewhat mysterious musical tale of the goings-on at an inviting, decadent but ultimately dark place where “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

If scorned by some as an overexposed artifact of the '70s, the Grammy-winning song is still a touchstone on classic rock radio and many personal playlists. The entertainment data company Luminate counted over 220 million streams and 136,000 radio plays of “Hotel California” in the U.S. last year.

The case was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-new-york-california-290e31743f028951408a4a80a681f880">brought in 2022</a>, a decade after some of the pages began popping up for auction and Henley took notice — and took umbrage. He bought back a bit of the material for $8,500 but also reported the documents stolen, according to court filings.

At the time, the lyrics sheets were in the hands of Kosinski and Inciardi, who had bought them from Horowitz. He had purchased them in 2005 from Ed Sanders, a writer and 1960s counterculture figure who worked with the Eagles on a band biography that was shelved in the early '80s.

Sanders, who also co-founded the avant-garde rock group the Fugs, isn't charged in the case and hasn't responded to a message seeking comment about it.

Sanders told Horowitz in 2005 that Henley's assistant had mailed along any documents he wanted for the biography, though the writer worried that Henley “might conceivably be upset” if they were sold, according to emails recounted in the indictment.

But once Henley's lawyers began asking questions, Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinski started maneuvering to gin up and disseminate a legally viable ownership history for the manuscripts, Manhattan prosecutors say.

According to the indictment, Inciardi and Horowitz floated evolving accounts of how Sanders obtained the documents. The explanations ranged over the next five years from Sanders finding them abandoned in a backstage dressing room to the writer getting them from Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-music-8169f05ac21d43dda4b1c1dd8b065e28">died in 2016</a>.

Emails show some input and assent from Sanders, but he also apparently objected at least to the backstage-salvage story. In messages that didn't include him, Horowitz wrote about getting Sanders' “'explanation' shaped into a communication" and giving him “gentle handling” and assurances “that he's not going to the can,” the indictment says.

The defendants' lawyers have said that Sanders had legal possession of the documents, and so did the men who bought them from him. Defense attorneys have indicated they plan to question how clearly Henley remembers his dealings with Sanders and the lyric sheets at a time when the rock star was living life in the fast lane himself.

NEW YORK (AP) — In the mid-1970s, the Eagles were working on a spooky, cryptic new song.

On a lined yellow pad, Don Henley, with input from band co-founder Glenn Frey, jotted thoughts about “a dark desert highway" and “a lovely place” with a luxurious surface and ominous undertones. And something on ice, perhaps caviar or Taittinger — or pink Champagne?

The song, “Hotel California,” became one of rock's most indelible singles. And nearly a half-century later, those handwritten pages of lyrics-in-the-making have become the center of an unusual criminal trial set to open Wednesday.

Rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski are charged with conspiring to own and try to sell manuscripts of “Hotel California” and other Eagles hits without the right to do so.

The three have pleaded not guilty, and their lawyers have said the men committed no crime with the papers, which they acquired via a writer who'd worked with the Eagles. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office says the defendants connived to obscure the documents’ disputed ownership, despite knowing that Henley said the pages were stolen.

Clashes over valuable collectibles abound, but criminal trials like this are rare. Many fights are resolved in private, in lawsuits or with agreements to return the items.

“If you can avoid a prosecution by handing over the thing, most people just hand it over," said Travis McDade, a University of Illinois law professor who studies rare document disputes.

Of course, the case of the Eagles manuscripts is distinctive in other ways, too.

The prosecutors' star witness is indeed that: Henley is expected to testify between Eagles tour stops. The non-jury trial could offer a peek into the band's creative process and life in the fast lane of '70s stardom.

At issue are over 80 pages of draft lyrics from the blockbuster 1976 “Hotel California” album, including words to the chart-topping, Grammy-winning title cut. It features one of classic rock's most recognizable riffs, best-known solos and most oft-quoted — arguably overquoted — lines: “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

Henley&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/don-henley-the-eagles-glenn-frey-kennedy-center-honor-hotel-california/">has said</a>&nbsp;the song is about “the dark underbelly of the American dream."

It still was streamed over 220 million times and got 136,000 radio spins last year in the U.S. alone, according to the entertainment data company Luminate. The “Hotel California” album&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3c0b39a1bb5b4e44aafe2c4e05a4b67f">has sold 26 million copies nationwide</a>&nbsp;over the years, bested only by an Eagles' greatest hits disc and Michael Jackson's “Thriller.”

The pages also include lyrics from songs including “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town.” Eagles manager Irving Azoff has called the documents “irreplaceable pieces of musical history.”

Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinki are charged with conspiracy to possess stolen property and various other offenses.

They’re not charged with actually stealing documents. Nor is anyone else, but prosecutors will still have to establish that the documents were stolen. The defense maintains that's not true.

Much turns on the Eagles' interactions with Ed Sanders, a writer who also co-founded the 1960s counterculture rock band the Fugs. He worked in the late ‘70s and early ’80s on an authorized Eagles biography that was never published.

Sanders isn’t charged in the case. A phone message seeking comment was left for him.

He sold the pages to Horowitz, who then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski.

Horowitz has handled huge rare book and archive deals, and he's been entangled in some ownership spats before. One involved papers linked to "Gone With the Wind″ author Margaret Mitchell. It was settled.

Inciardi worked on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1638d88917dd46f2a1a915ed35f70b09">notable exhibitions</a>&nbsp;for the Cleveland-based Rock Hall of Fame. Kosinski has been a principal in Gotta Have It! Collectibles, known for auctioning celebrities’ personal possessions — so personal that Madonna&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/e97e69c287624787b094ed2a161489a1">unsuccessfully sued</a>&nbsp;to try to stop a sale that included her latex briefs.

Henley told a grand jury he never gave the biographer the lyrics, according to court filings from Kosinski's lawyers. But defense lawyers have signaled that they plan to probe Henley’s memory of the time.

“We believe that Mr. Henley voluntarily provided the lyrics to Mr. Sanders,” attorney Scott Edelman said in court last week.

Sanders told Horowitz in 2005 that while working on the Eagles book, he was sent whatever papers he wanted from Henley’s home in Malibu, California, according to the indictment.

Then Kosinski’s business offered some pages at auction in 2012. Henley’s attorneys came knocking. And Horowitz, Inciardi and Sanders, in varying combinations, began batting around alternate versions of the manuscripts’ provenance, the indictment says.

In one story, Sanders found the pages discarded in a backstage dressing room. In others, he got them from a stage assistant or while amassing “a lot of material related to the Eagles from different people." In yet another, he obtained them from Frey — an account that “would make this go away once and for all," Horowitz suggested in 2017. Frey had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-music-8169f05ac21d43dda4b1c1dd8b065e28">died the year before</a>.

“He merely needs gentle handling and reassurance that he's not going to the can,” Horowitz emailed Inciardi during a 2012 exchange about getting Sanders' “‘explanation’ shaped into a communication” to auctioneers, the indictment says.

Sanders supplied or signed off on some of the varying explanations, according to the indictment, and it’s unclear what he may have conveyed verbally. But he apparently rejected at least the dressing-room tale.

Kosinki forwarded one explanation, approved by Sanders, to Henley's lawyer. Kosinski also assured Sotheby's auction house that the musician had “no claim” to the documents and asked to keep potential bidders in the dark about Henley's complaints, the indictment says.

Sotheby's listed the “Hotel California” song lyrics in a 2016 auction but withdrew them after learning the ownership was in question. Sotheby's isn't charged in the case and declined to comment.

Henley bought some draft lyrics privately from Gotta Have It! for $8,500 in 2012, when he also began filing police reports, according to court filings.

Defense lawyers claim Henley found starstruck prosecutors to take up his cause instead of pursuing a civil suit himself.

The DA's office worked closely with Henley's legal team, and an investigator even yearned for backstage passes for an Eagles show — until a prosecutor said the idea was “completely inappropriate,” Kosinki's lawyers said in court papers.

Prosecutors have rebuffed questions about their motivations as “a conspiracy theory rather than a legal defense.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708429319229.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — A curious criminal case involving&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hotel-california-lyrics-manuscript-trial-eagles-henley-973e74e795416821e6f022895b47b78e">handwritten lyrics to the classic rock megahit “Hotel California”</a>&nbsp;and other Eagles favorites is going to trial in a New York courtroom, with opening statements set for Wednesday.The three defendants, all well-established in the collectibles world, are accused of scheming to thwart Eagles co-founder Don Henley’s efforts to reclaim the allegedly ill-gotten documents.The trial concerns more than 80 pages of drafts of the words to songs from the “Hotel California” album, the 1976 release that stands today as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3c0b39a1bb5b4e44aafe2c4e05a4b67f">third-biggest selling disc ever</a>&nbsp;in the U.S.Rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and various other charges. Their lawyers have said the case “alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals.”The documents include lyrics-in-development for “Life in the Fast Lane,” “New Kid in Town” and, of course, “Hotel California,” the more than six-minute-long, somewhat mysterious musical tale of the goings-on at an inviting, decadent but ultimately dark place where “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”If scorned by some as an overexposed artifact of the '70s, the Grammy-winning song is still a touchstone on classic rock radio and many personal playlists. The entertainment data company Luminate counted over 220 million streams and 136,000 radio plays of “Hotel California” in the U.S. last year.The case was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-new-york-california-290e31743f028951408a4a80a681f880">brought in 2022</a>, a decade after some of the pages began popping up for auction and Henley took notice — and took umbrage. He bought back a bit of the material for $8,500 but also reported the documents stolen, according to court filings.At the time, the lyrics sheets were in the hands of Kosinski and Inciardi, who had bought them from Horowitz. He had purchased them in 2005 from Ed Sanders, a writer and 1960s counterculture figure who worked with the Eagles on a band biography that was shelved in the early '80s.Sanders, who also co-founded the avant-garde rock group the Fugs, isn't charged in the case and hasn't responded to a message seeking comment about it.Sanders told Horowitz in 2005 that Henley's assistant had mailed along any documents he wanted for the biography, though the writer worried that Henley “might conceivably be upset” if they were sold, according to emails recounted in the indictment.But once Henley's lawyers began asking questions, Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinski started maneuvering to gin up and disseminate a legally viable ownership history for the manuscripts, Manhattan prosecutors say.According to the indictment, Inciardi and Horowitz floated evolving accounts of how Sanders obtained the documents. The explanations ranged over the next five years from Sanders finding them abandoned in a backstage dressing room to the writer getting them from Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-music-8169f05ac21d43dda4b1c1dd8b065e28">died in 2016</a>.Emails show some input and assent from Sanders, but he also apparently objected at least to the backstage-salvage story. In messages that didn't include him, Horowitz wrote about getting Sanders' “'explanation' shaped into a communication" and giving him “gentle handling” and assurances “that he's not going to the can,” the indictment says.The defendants' lawyers have said that Sanders had legal possession of the documents, and so did the men who bought them from him. Defense attorneys have indicated they plan to question how clearly Henley remembers his dealings with Sanders and the lyric sheets at a time when the rock star was living life in the fast lane himself.---------------------NEW YORK (AP) — In the mid-1970s, the Eagles were working on a spooky, cryptic new song.On a lined yellow pad, Don Henley, with input from band co-founder Glenn Frey, jotted thoughts about “a dark desert highway" and “a lovely place” with a luxurious surface and ominous undertones. And something on ice, perhaps caviar or Taittinger — or pink Champagne?The song, “Hotel California,” became one of rock's most indelible singles. And nearly a half-century later, those handwritten pages of lyrics-in-the-making have become the center of an unusual criminal trial set to open Wednesday.Rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski are charged with conspiring to own and try to sell manuscripts of “Hotel California” and other Eagles hits without the right to do so.The three have pleaded not guilty, and their lawyers have said the men committed no crime with the papers, which they acquired via a writer who'd worked with the Eagles. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office says the defendants connived to obscure the documents’ disputed ownership, despite knowing that Henley said the pages were stolen.Clashes over valuable collectibles abound, but criminal trials like this are rare. Many fights are resolved in private, in lawsuits or with agreements to return the items.“If you can avoid a prosecution by handing over the thing, most people just hand it over," said Travis McDade, a University of Illinois law professor who studies rare document disputes.Of course, the case of the Eagles manuscripts is distinctive in other ways, too.The prosecutors' star witness is indeed that: Henley is expected to testify between Eagles tour stops. The non-jury trial could offer a peek into the band's creative process and life in the fast lane of '70s stardom.At issue are over 80 pages of draft lyrics from the blockbuster 1976 “Hotel California” album, including words to the chart-topping, Grammy-winning title cut. It features one of classic rock's most recognizable riffs, best-known solos and most oft-quoted — arguably overquoted — lines: “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”Henley&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/don-henley-the-eagles-glenn-frey-kennedy-center-honor-hotel-california/">has said</a>&nbsp;the song is about “the dark underbelly of the American dream."It still was streamed over 220 million times and got 136,000 radio spins last year in the U.S. alone, according to the entertainment data company Luminate. The “Hotel California” album&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3c0b39a1bb5b4e44aafe2c4e05a4b67f">has sold 26 million copies nationwide</a>&nbsp;over the years, bested only by an Eagles' greatest hits disc and Michael Jackson's “Thriller.”The pages also include lyrics from songs including “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town.” Eagles manager Irving Azoff has called the documents “irreplaceable pieces of musical history.”Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinki are charged with conspiracy to possess stolen property and various other offenses.They’re not charged with actually stealing documents. Nor is anyone else, but prosecutors will still have to establish that the documents were stolen. The defense maintains that's not true.Much turns on the Eagles' interactions with Ed Sanders, a writer who also co-founded the 1960s counterculture rock band the Fugs. He worked in the late ‘70s and early ’80s on an authorized Eagles biography that was never published.Sanders isn’t charged in the case. A phone message seeking comment was left for him.He sold the pages to Horowitz, who then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski.Horowitz has handled huge rare book and archive deals, and he's been entangled in some ownership spats before. One involved papers linked to "Gone With the Wind″ author Margaret Mitchell. It was settled.Inciardi worked on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1638d88917dd46f2a1a915ed35f70b09">notable exhibitions</a>&nbsp;for the Cleveland-based Rock Hall of Fame. Kosinski has been a principal in Gotta Have It! Collectibles, known for auctioning celebrities’ personal possessions — so personal that Madonna&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/e97e69c287624787b094ed2a161489a1">unsuccessfully sued</a>&nbsp;to try to stop a sale that included her latex briefs.Henley told a grand jury he never gave the biographer the lyrics, according to court filings from Kosinski's lawyers. But defense lawyers have signaled that they plan to probe Henley’s memory of the time.“We believe that Mr. Henley voluntarily provided the lyrics to Mr. Sanders,” attorney Scott Edelman said in court last week.Sanders told Horowitz in 2005 that while working on the Eagles book, he was sent whatever papers he wanted from Henley’s home in Malibu, California, according to the indictment.Then Kosinski’s business offered some pages at auction in 2012. Henley’s attorneys came knocking. And Horowitz, Inciardi and Sanders, in varying combinations, began batting around alternate versions of the manuscripts’ provenance, the indictment says.In one story, Sanders found the pages discarded in a backstage dressing room. In others, he got them from a stage assistant or while amassing “a lot of material related to the Eagles from different people." In yet another, he obtained them from Frey — an account that “would make this go away once and for all," Horowitz suggested in 2017. Frey had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-music-8169f05ac21d43dda4b1c1dd8b065e28">died the year before</a>.“He merely needs gentle handling and reassurance that he's not going to the can,” Horowitz emailed Inciardi during a 2012 exchange about getting Sanders' “‘explanation’ shaped into a communication” to auctioneers, the indictment says.Sanders supplied or signed off on some of the varying explanations, according to the indictment, and it’s unclear what he may have conveyed verbally. But he apparently rejected at least the dressing-room tale.Kosinki forwarded one explanation, approved by Sanders, to Henley's lawyer. Kosinski also assured Sotheby's auction house that the musician had “no claim” to the documents and asked to keep potential bidders in the dark about Henley's complaints, the indictment says.Sotheby's listed the “Hotel California” song lyrics in a 2016 auction but withdrew them after learning the ownership was in question. Sotheby's isn't charged in the case and declined to comment.Henley bought some draft lyrics privately from Gotta Have It! for $8,500 in 2012, when he also began filing police reports, according to court filings.Defense lawyers claim Henley found starstruck prosecutors to take up his cause instead of pursuing a civil suit himself.The DA's office worked closely with Henley's legal team, and an investigator even yearned for backstage passes for an Eagles show — until a prosecutor said the idea was “completely inappropriate,” Kosinki's lawyers said in court papers.Prosecutors have rebuffed questions about their motivations as “a conspiracy theory rather than a legal defense.”

Criminal case over handwritten lyrics to 'Hotel California' goes to trial

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a decision critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatment in the state.

<a href="https://publicportal-api.alappeals.gov/courts/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/cms/case/343D203A-B13D-463A-8176-C46E3AE4F695/docketentrydocuments/E3D95592-3CBE-4384-AFA6-063D4595AA1D">The decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases</a>&nbsp;brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices, citing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/9169e683e92f452d8ac34e6d7d9c7d05">anti-abortion language</a>&nbsp;in the Alabama Constitution, ruled that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child "applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”

"Unborn children are ‘children’ ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in Friday's majority ruling by the all-Republican court.

Mitchell said the court had previously ruled that fetuses killed while a woman is pregnant are covered under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act and nothing excludes “extrauterine children from the Act’s coverage.”

The ruling brought a rush of warnings about the potential impact on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, which had previously been considered property by the courts.

“This ruling is stating that a fertilized egg, which is a clump of cells, is now a person. It really puts into question, the practice of IVF,” Barbara Collura, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, told The Associated Press Tuesday. The group called the decision a "terrifying development for the 1-in-6 people impacted by infertility" who need in-vitro fertilization.

She said it raises questions for providers and patients, including if they can freeze future embryos created during fertility treatment or if patients could ever donate or destroy unused embryos.

Sean Tipton, a spokesman with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said at least one Alabama fertility clinic has been instructed by their affiliated hospital to pause IVF treatment in the immediate wake of the decision.

Dr. Paula Amato, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said a decision to treat frozen fertilized egg as the legal equivalent of a child or gestating fetus could limit the availability of modern health care.

“By insisting that these very different biological entities are legally equivalent, the best state-of-the-art fertility care will be made unavailable to the people of Alabama. No health care provider will be willing to provide treatments if those treatments may lead to civil or criminal charges,” Amato said.

Gabby Goidel, 26, who is pursuing IVF treatment in Alabama after three miscarriages, said the court ruling came down on the same day she began daily injections ahead of egg retrieval.

“It just kind of took me by by storm. It was like all I could think about and it was just a very stressful thing to hear. I immediately messaged my clinic and asked if this could potentially halt us. They said we have to take it one day at a time," Goidel said.

She said her clinic is continuing to provide treatment for now, but said it will let her know if they have to change course.

Goidel said she turned to IVF and preimplantation genetic testing after the multiple miscarriages related to genetic issues.

"Without IVF, I would have to probably go through several more miscarriages before I even had an option of having a baby that is my own," she said.

The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos, some of which were implanted and resulted in healthy births. The couples paid to keep others frozen in a storage facility at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. A patient in 2020 wandered into the area and removed several embryos, dropping them on the floor and "killing them,” the ruling said.

The justices ruled that wrongful death lawsuits by the couples could proceed. The clinic and hospital that are defendants in the case could ask the court to reconsider its decision.

Michael Upchurch, a lawyer for the fertility clinic in the lawsuit, Center for Reproductive Medicine, said they are “evaluating the consequences of the decision and have no further comment at this time.”

A pro-life group cheered the decision. “Each person, from the tiniest embryo to an elder nearing the end of his life, has incalculable value that deserves and is guaranteed legal protection," Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action said in a statement.

Chief Justice Tom Parker issued a concurring opinion in which he quoted the Bible in discussing the meaning of the phrase “the sanctity of unborn life” in the Alabama Constitution.

“Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory," Parker said.

Justice Greg Cook, who filed the only full dissent to the majority opinion, said the 1872 law did not define “minor child" and was being stretched from the original intent to cover frozen embryos.

“No court — anywhere in the country — has reached the conclusion the main opinion reaches," he wrote, adding the ruling “almost certainly ends the creation of frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama.”

The Alabama Supreme Court decision partly hinged on anti-abortion language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018, stating it is the "policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child.”

Supporters at the time said it would have no impact unless states gained more control over abortion access. States gained control of abortion access in 2022.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Alabama decision reflected the consequences of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and blamed Republican elected officials from blocking access to reproductive and emergency care to women.

“This president and this vice president will continue to fight to protect access to reproductive health care and call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law for all women in every state,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a decision critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatment in the state.<a href="https://publicportal-api.alappeals.gov/courts/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/cms/case/343D203A-B13D-463A-8176-C46E3AE4F695/docketentrydocuments/E3D95592-3CBE-4384-AFA6-063D4595AA1D">The decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases</a>&nbsp;brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices, citing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/9169e683e92f452d8ac34e6d7d9c7d05">anti-abortion language</a>&nbsp;in the Alabama Constitution, ruled that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child "applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”"Unborn children are ‘children’ ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in Friday's majority ruling by the all-Republican court.Mitchell said the court had previously ruled that fetuses killed while a woman is pregnant are covered under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act and nothing excludes “extrauterine children from the Act’s coverage.”The ruling brought a rush of warnings about the potential impact on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, which had previously been considered property by the courts.“This ruling is stating that a fertilized egg, which is a clump of cells, is now a person. It really puts into question, the practice of IVF,” Barbara Collura, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, told The Associated Press Tuesday. The group called the decision a "terrifying development for the 1-in-6 people impacted by infertility" who need in-vitro fertilization.She said it raises questions for providers and patients, including if they can freeze future embryos created during fertility treatment or if patients could ever donate or destroy unused embryos.Sean Tipton, a spokesman with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said at least one Alabama fertility clinic has been instructed by their affiliated hospital to pause IVF treatment in the immediate wake of the decision.Dr. Paula Amato, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said a decision to treat frozen fertilized egg as the legal equivalent of a child or gestating fetus could limit the availability of modern health care.“By insisting that these very different biological entities are legally equivalent, the best state-of-the-art fertility care will be made unavailable to the people of Alabama. No health care provider will be willing to provide treatments if those treatments may lead to civil or criminal charges,” Amato said.Gabby Goidel, 26, who is pursuing IVF treatment in Alabama after three miscarriages, said the court ruling came down on the same day she began daily injections ahead of egg retrieval.“It just kind of took me by by storm. It was like all I could think about and it was just a very stressful thing to hear. I immediately messaged my clinic and asked if this could potentially halt us. They said we have to take it one day at a time," Goidel said.She said her clinic is continuing to provide treatment for now, but said it will let her know if they have to change course.Goidel said she turned to IVF and preimplantation genetic testing after the multiple miscarriages related to genetic issues."Without IVF, I would have to probably go through several more miscarriages before I even had an option of having a baby that is my own," she said.The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos, some of which were implanted and resulted in healthy births. The couples paid to keep others frozen in a storage facility at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. A patient in 2020 wandered into the area and removed several embryos, dropping them on the floor and "killing them,” the ruling said.The justices ruled that wrongful death lawsuits by the couples could proceed. The clinic and hospital that are defendants in the case could ask the court to reconsider its decision.Michael Upchurch, a lawyer for the fertility clinic in the lawsuit, Center for Reproductive Medicine, said they are “evaluating the consequences of the decision and have no further comment at this time.”A pro-life group cheered the decision. “Each person, from the tiniest embryo to an elder nearing the end of his life, has incalculable value that deserves and is guaranteed legal protection," Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action said in a statement.Chief Justice Tom Parker issued a concurring opinion in which he quoted the Bible in discussing the meaning of the phrase “the sanctity of unborn life” in the Alabama Constitution.“Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory," Parker said.Justice Greg Cook, who filed the only full dissent to the majority opinion, said the 1872 law did not define “minor child" and was being stretched from the original intent to cover frozen embryos.“No court — anywhere in the country — has reached the conclusion the main opinion reaches," he wrote, adding the ruling “almost certainly ends the creation of frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama.”The Alabama Supreme Court decision partly hinged on anti-abortion language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018, stating it is the "policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child.”Supporters at the time said it would have no impact unless states gained more control over abortion access. States gained control of abortion access in 2022.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Alabama decision reflected the consequences of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and blamed Republican elected officials from blocking access to reproductive and emergency care to women.“This president and this vice president will continue to fight to protect access to reproductive health care and call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law for all women in every state,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One.___

Future of IVF at stake: AL judge rules frozen embryos are people

The 2024 Nebraska Book Awards program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB) and Nebraska Library Commission, will recognize and honor books that are written by Nebraska authors, published by Nebraska publishers, set in Nebraska, or relate to Nebraska.

Books published in 2023, as indicated by the copyright date, are eligible for nomination. They must be professionally published, have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and be bound. Books may be entered in one or more of the following categories: Nonfiction, Fiction, Children/Young Adult, Cover/Design/Illustration, and Poetry. 

Winners in each category will be invited to participate as featured authors at the October 12th, 2024, Nebraska Celebration of Books in Lincoln. The event will culminate in an awards ceremony for the authors, publishers, and their families, where winning books will be displayed, and authors will have the opportunity to read from and sign their books.

The entry fee is $40 per book and per category entered.&nbsp;Deadline for entries is May 31, 2024. For more information, including entry forms, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/nebookawards.html" target="_blank">http://www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/nebookawards.html</a>

Books may be entered in one of two ways, either complete the&nbsp;<a href="http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/bookawardsform.asp" target="_blank">Online Entry Form</a>&nbsp;and submit payment through PayPal, then mail three copies of the book to the below address. Or, mail the&nbsp;<a href="http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/docs/BookAwardsEntryForm2024.pdf" target="_blank">Entry Form</a>&nbsp;[pdf], three copies of the book, and the entry fee via a check made out to the Nebraska Center for the Book to the below address.

NCB Book Awards Competitionc/o Nebraska Library CommissionThe Atrium1200 N Street, Suite 120Lincoln, NE 68508-2023

The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars. Together we build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the national Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Nebraska Library Commission.

As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”

Tessa TerryThe 2024 Nebraska Book Awards program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB) and Nebraska Library Commission, will recognize and honor books that are written by Nebraska authors, published by Nebraska publishers, set in Nebraska, or relate to Nebraska.Books published in 2023, as indicated by the copyright date, are eligible for nomination. They must be professionally published, have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and be bound. Books may be entered in one or more of the following categories: Nonfiction, Fiction, Children/Young Adult, Cover/Design/Illustration, and Poetry. Winners in each category will be invited to participate as featured authors at the October 12th, 2024, Nebraska Celebration of Books in Lincoln. The event will culminate in an awards ceremony for the authors, publishers, and their families, where winning books will be displayed, and authors will have the opportunity to read from and sign their books.The entry fee is $40 per book and per category entered.&nbsp;Deadline for entries is May 31, 2024. For more information, including entry forms, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/nebookawards.html" target="_blank">http://www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/nebookawards.html</a>Books may be entered in one of two ways, either complete the&nbsp;<a href="http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/bookawardsform.asp" target="_blank">Online Entry Form</a>&nbsp;and submit payment through PayPal, then mail three copies of the book to the below address. Or, mail the&nbsp;<a href="http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/docs/BookAwardsEntryForm2024.pdf" target="_blank">Entry Form</a>&nbsp;[pdf], three copies of the book, and the entry fee via a check made out to the Nebraska Center for the Book to the below address.NCB Book Awards Competitionc/o Nebraska Library CommissionThe Atrium1200 N Street, Suite 120Lincoln, NE 68508-2023The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars. Together we build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the national Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Nebraska Library Commission.As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”

Nominate Books Now for the 2024 Nebraska Book Awards

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/19/new-polling-finds-70-support-for-legalizing-medical-cannabis/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — New polling found that 70% of respondents are ready to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska and that a majority of those responding want to approve a novel alternative to property, sales and income taxes.

The poll, conducted for Neilan Strategy Group, mirrors polling done by a group seeking to place the medical cannabis issue on the 2024 ballot. The Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said their polling in 2022 showed that 80% of registered voters were in favor of legalization.

“Nebraskans are clearly ready to legalize medical marijuana,” said Perre Neilan of Neilan Strategy Group.

Crista Eggers of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said Monday that she’s not surprised “whatsoever” by the poll results in that it mirrors what they’ve seen in recent years.

“Nebraskans are obviously ready to legalize medicinal cannabis,” she said.

This year marks the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/after-eight-years-of-failed-efforts-advocates-for-legalizing-medical-cannabis-try-again-in-the-legislature/">third time the medical marijuana group</a>&nbsp;has tried to get the issue before voters, after failing to find favor with the issue in the Nebraska Legislature.

In 2020, the group collected more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but the Nebraska Supreme Court disqualified it, ruling that the initiative language violated the constitutional requirement that such matters contain only a single subject.

Two years ago, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/08/22/medical-marijuana-petitions-fail-to-qualify-for-november-ballot/">fell short</a>&nbsp;of gathering the necessary signatures after a major financial backer of the petition drive died. This year, the group is<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/medical-marijuana-advocates-file-petition-to-place-issue-on-2024-ballot/">&nbsp;circulating two petitions.</a>

To qualify for the ballot, an initiative seeking a law change must gather the signatures of about 86,000 registered voters and get signers from at least 5% of voters from 38 of state’s 93 counties.

Eggers said that as of Monday, her organization had gathered more than 32,000 signatures and believes it has already qualified in 24 counties, which is “much farther ahead” than in 2020 or 2022.

“We’re very excited about where we’re at,” she said. “This time, we’re going to get it done or it is not going to happen.”

Also seeking a spot on the 2024 ballot is a proposed constitutional amendment to enact the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/11/20/backers-of-consumption-tax-ballot-initiative-seek-funds-to-finance-paid-circulators/">EPIC Option Consumption Tax</a>, which would replace all state sales and income taxes along with local property taxes. Because it is a proposal to amend the Nebraska Constitution, that drive will need more than 124,000 valid signatures, as well as qualifying in 38 counties.

Of the respondents to the Neilan poll, 54% supported the EPIC tax, with 30% “definitely” in support of it.

That prompted Neilan to say that “is not a strong position.”

“Ballot issues tend to only lose support when the opposition starts spending money to educate voters,” he said.

The EPIC tax is opposed by many Nebraska business groups, which have labeled the idea “dangerous” and “too good to be true.”

State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, a leading proponent of the consumption tax, said Neilan is misreading the tea leaves.

Erdman said Nebraskans who have come to EPIC tax meetings have been solidly in favor of it.

They understand, he said, that “unless we make a dramatic change” in state taxes, they will continue to see efforts that just “decrease the increase” instead of actually providing a tax break.

Erdman added that he has seen very little support in his western Nebraska district for Gov. Jim Pillen’s property tax relief plan, which involves raising sales taxes and removing tax exemptions for things like farm machinery repairs.

“That plan is a pipe dream,” the senator said.

The poll was conducted by Data Targeting Inc. of Gainesville, Florida. The group polled 2,198 likely general election voters on Feb. 7-9. Cell phone and landline calls were used, as well as texts. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1%.

Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/19/new-polling-finds-70-support-for-legalizing-medical-cannabis/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — New polling found that 70% of respondents are ready to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska and that a majority of those responding want to approve a novel alternative to property, sales and income taxes.The poll, conducted for Neilan Strategy Group, mirrors polling done by a group seeking to place the medical cannabis issue on the 2024 ballot. The Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said their polling in 2022 showed that 80% of registered voters were in favor of legalization.“Nebraskans are clearly ready to legalize medical marijuana,” said Perre Neilan of Neilan Strategy Group.Crista Eggers of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said Monday that she’s not surprised “whatsoever” by the poll results in that it mirrors what they’ve seen in recent years.“Nebraskans are obviously ready to legalize medicinal cannabis,” she said.This year marks the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/after-eight-years-of-failed-efforts-advocates-for-legalizing-medical-cannabis-try-again-in-the-legislature/">third time the medical marijuana group</a>&nbsp;has tried to get the issue before voters, after failing to find favor with the issue in the Nebraska Legislature.In 2020, the group collected more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but the Nebraska Supreme Court disqualified it, ruling that the initiative language violated the constitutional requirement that such matters contain only a single subject.Two years ago, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/08/22/medical-marijuana-petitions-fail-to-qualify-for-november-ballot/">fell short</a>&nbsp;of gathering the necessary signatures after a major financial backer of the petition drive died. This year, the group is<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/medical-marijuana-advocates-file-petition-to-place-issue-on-2024-ballot/">&nbsp;circulating two petitions.</a>To qualify for the ballot, an initiative seeking a law change must gather the signatures of about 86,000 registered voters and get signers from at least 5% of voters from 38 of state’s 93 counties.Eggers said that as of Monday, her organization had gathered more than 32,000 signatures and believes it has already qualified in 24 counties, which is “much farther ahead” than in 2020 or 2022.“We’re very excited about where we’re at,” she said. “This time, we’re going to get it done or it is not going to happen.”Also seeking a spot on the 2024 ballot is a proposed constitutional amendment to enact the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/11/20/backers-of-consumption-tax-ballot-initiative-seek-funds-to-finance-paid-circulators/">EPIC Option Consumption Tax</a>, which would replace all state sales and income taxes along with local property taxes. Because it is a proposal to amend the Nebraska Constitution, that drive will need more than 124,000 valid signatures, as well as qualifying in 38 counties.Of the respondents to the Neilan poll, 54% supported the EPIC tax, with 30% “definitely” in support of it.That prompted Neilan to say that “is not a strong position.”“Ballot issues tend to only lose support when the opposition starts spending money to educate voters,” he said.The EPIC tax is opposed by many Nebraska business groups, which have labeled the idea “dangerous” and “too good to be true.”State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, a leading proponent of the consumption tax, said Neilan is misreading the tea leaves.Erdman said Nebraskans who have come to EPIC tax meetings have been solidly in favor of it.They understand, he said, that “unless we make a dramatic change” in state taxes, they will continue to see efforts that just “decrease the increase” instead of actually providing a tax break.Erdman added that he has seen very little support in his western Nebraska district for Gov. Jim Pillen’s property tax relief plan, which involves raising sales taxes and removing tax exemptions for things like farm machinery repairs.“That plan is a pipe dream,” the senator said.The poll was conducted by Data Targeting Inc. of Gainesville, Florida. The group polled 2,198 likely general election voters on Feb. 7-9. Cell phone and landline calls were used, as well as texts. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1%.

New polling finds 70% support for legalizing medical cannabis

FEBRUARY 20, 2024 (BLOOMFIELD, NEB.)&nbsp;&nbsp;— The Nebraska State Patrol, with assistance from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Bloomfield Police Department, is investigating a double-homicide that occurred this morning in Bloomfield, Nebraska.

Additional details on the deceased are being withheld while officials work to make family notifications. The scene is secure. Multiple persons of interest have been detained as part of the investigation. Law enforcement believes there is no ongoing threat to the public.

NSP crime scene investigators are on scene and troopers are posted around town to ensure community safety. Additional details will be released when possible.

Cody ThomasNebraska State PatrolFEBRUARY 20, 2024 (BLOOMFIELD, NEB.)&nbsp;&nbsp;— The Nebraska State Patrol, with assistance from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Bloomfield Police Department, is investigating a double-homicide that occurred this morning in Bloomfield, Nebraska.Additional details on the deceased are being withheld while officials work to make family notifications. The scene is secure. Multiple persons of interest have been detained as part of the investigation. Law enforcement believes there is no ongoing threat to the public.NSP crime scene investigators are on scene and troopers are posted around town to ensure community safety. Additional details will be released when possible.The investigation is ongoing.

NSP Investigating Double-Homicide in Bloomfield   

Lincoln, NE ‐ February 20, 2024 ‐ One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 5 ticket for the Friday, February 16 drawing is holding a ticket worth $80,000.

The Nebraska Lottery has confirmed that one ticket sold for Friday's Nebraska Pick 5 draw matched all five winning numbers for the $80,000 jackpot. The ticket was sold at Pump &amp; Pantry #42, 1235 Allen Dr, in Grand Island. The winning numbers from Friday's Nebraska Pick 5 draw were 10, 15, 16, 18, 33. Players are encouraged to check their tickets at any Nebraska Lottery retailer, online at&nbsp;<a href="http://nelottery.com/" target="_blank">nelottery.com</a>, or by calling the Lottery office at 402-471-6100.

Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at Lottery headquarters in Lincoln. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website,&nbsp;<a href="http://nelottery.com/" target="_blank">nelottery.com</a>, or by calling 800-587-5200.

Nebraska Pick 5 is Nebraska's unique Lottery game: all the proceeds from Nebraska Pick 5 stay in Nebraska, and all the winning tickets are sold in Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery Lotto game retailers. The odds of winning the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot, which starts at $50,000 and grows by $10,000 each drawing that it is not won, are 1 in 658,008. The overall odds of winning any Nebraska Pick 5 prize which has drawings seven nights a week, are 1 in 9.2.

The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $965 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery's beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.

Neil WatsonNebraska LotteryLincoln, NE ‐ February 20, 2024 ‐ One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 5 ticket for the Friday, February 16 drawing is holding a ticket worth $80,000.The Nebraska Lottery has confirmed that one ticket sold for Friday's Nebraska Pick 5 draw matched all five winning numbers for the $80,000 jackpot. The ticket was sold at Pump &amp; Pantry #42, 1235 Allen Dr, in Grand Island. The winning numbers from Friday's Nebraska Pick 5 draw were 10, 15, 16, 18, 33. Players are encouraged to check their tickets at any Nebraska Lottery retailer, online at&nbsp;<a href="http://nelottery.com/" target="_blank">nelottery.com</a>, or by calling the Lottery office at 402-471-6100.Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at Lottery headquarters in Lincoln. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website,&nbsp;<a href="http://nelottery.com/" target="_blank">nelottery.com</a>, or by calling 800-587-5200.Nebraska Pick 5 is Nebraska's unique Lottery game: all the proceeds from Nebraska Pick 5 stay in Nebraska, and all the winning tickets are sold in Nebraska at Nebraska Lottery Lotto game retailers. The odds of winning the Nebraska Pick 5 jackpot, which starts at $50,000 and grows by $10,000 each drawing that it is not won, are 1 in 658,008. The overall odds of winning any Nebraska Pick 5 prize which has drawings seven nights a week, are 1 in 9.2.The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $965 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery's beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.

$80,000 Nebraska Pick 5 Winning Ticket Sold in Grand Island

NEW YORK (AP) — Capital One Financial said it will buy Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, in a deal that would bring together two of the nation's credit card companies as well as potentially shake up the payments industry, which is largely dominated by Visa and Mastercard.

Under the terms of the all-stock transaction, Discover Financial shareholders will receive Capital One shares valued at nearly $140. That's a significant premium to the $110.49 that Discover shares closed at Friday.

The deal marries two of the largest credit card companies that aren't banks first, like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, with the notable exception of American Express. It also brings together two companies whose customers are largely similar: often Americans who are looking for cash back or modest travel rewards, compared to the premium credit cards dominated by AmEx, Citi and Chase.

“This marketplace that’s dominated by the big players is going to shrink a little bit more now,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit card analyst at LendingTree.

It also will give Discover's payment network a major credit card partner in a way that could make the payment network a major competitor once again. The U.S. credit card industry is dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly with AmEx being a distance third place and Discover an even more distant fourth place. It's unclear whether Capitol One will adopt the Discover payment system or may set up a payment network that allows parallel use of Discover and a second payment network like Visa.

"Our acquisition of Discover is a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies,” said Richard Fairbank, the chairman and CEO of Capital One, in a statement.

With its purchase of Discover, Capital One is betting that Americans’ will continue to increasingly use their credit cards and keep balances on those accounts to collect interest. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Americans held $1.13 trillion on their credit cards, and aggregate household debt balances increased by $212 billion, up 1.2%, according to the latest data from the New York Federal Reserve.

As they run up their card balances, consumers are also paying higher interest rates. The average interest rate on a bank credit card is roughly 21.5%, the highest it’s been since the Federal Reserve started tracking the data in 1994.

Capital One has long has a business model looking for customers who will keep a balance on their cards, aiming for customers with lower credit scores than American Express or even Discover.

At the same time, the two lenders have had to boost their reserves against the possibility of rising borrower defaults. After battling&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-rates-economy-biden-federal-reserve-539b662f32a3cea4a514407ae4389174">inflation</a>&nbsp;for more than two years, many lower- and middle-income Americans have run through their savings and are increasingly running up their credit card balances and taking on personal loans.

The additional reserves have weighed on both banks’ profits. Last year, Capital One’s net income available to common shareholders slumped 35% versus 2022, as its provisions for loan losses soared 78% to $10.4 billion. Discover’s full-year profit sank 33.6% versus its 2022 results as its provisions for credit losses more than doubled to $6.02 billion.

Discover’s customers are carrying $102 billion in balances on their credit cards, up 13% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the charge-off rates and 30-day delinquency rates have climbed.

Beyond boosting bank deposits and loan accounts, the acquisition would give Capital One access to the Discover payment processing network. While smaller than industry giants Visa and Mastercard, the Discover network will enable Capital One to get revenue from fees charged for every merchant transaction that runs on the network.

Discover has been operating under heightened scrutiny from regulators. Last summer, the company disclosed that beginning around mid-2007, it incorrectly classified certain card accounts into its highest merchant pricing tiers. The company also received an unrelated consent order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation over its customer compliance management.

Analysts at Citigroup say the regulatory issues may have prompted the sale.

“We are surprised that DFS would sell, but suppose that its regulatory challenges such as its recent October FDIC consent order and the card product misclassification issue may have opened the door for the board to consider strategic alternatives that it may not have in the past,” wrote analysts Arren Cyganovich and Kaili Wang in a note to clients.

It's unclear whether the deal will pass regulatory scrutiny. Nearly every bank issues a credit card to customers but few companies are credit card companies first, and banks second. Both Discover — which was long ago the Sears Card — and Capital One started off as credit card companies that expanded into other financial offerings like checking and savings accounts.

Consumer groups are expected to put heavy pressure on the Biden Administration to make sure the deal is good for consumers as well as shareholders.

“The deal also poses massive anti-trust concerns, given the vertical integration of Capital One’s credit card lending with Discover’s credit card network,” said Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708395738700.png" alt="Image courtesy Capitol One" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy Capitol One</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Capital One Financial said it will buy Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, in a deal that would bring together two of the nation's credit card companies as well as potentially shake up the payments industry, which is largely dominated by Visa and Mastercard.Under the terms of the all-stock transaction, Discover Financial shareholders will receive Capital One shares valued at nearly $140. That's a significant premium to the $110.49 that Discover shares closed at Friday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708426424767.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The deal marries two of the largest credit card companies that aren't banks first, like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, with the notable exception of American Express. It also brings together two companies whose customers are largely similar: often Americans who are looking for cash back or modest travel rewards, compared to the premium credit cards dominated by AmEx, Citi and Chase.“This marketplace that’s dominated by the big players is going to shrink a little bit more now,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit card analyst at LendingTree.It also will give Discover's payment network a major credit card partner in a way that could make the payment network a major competitor once again. The U.S. credit card industry is dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly with AmEx being a distance third place and Discover an even more distant fourth place. It's unclear whether Capitol One will adopt the Discover payment system or may set up a payment network that allows parallel use of Discover and a second payment network like Visa.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708395916016.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>"Our acquisition of Discover is a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies,” said Richard Fairbank, the chairman and CEO of Capital One, in a statement.With its purchase of Discover, Capital One is betting that Americans’ will continue to increasingly use their credit cards and keep balances on those accounts to collect interest. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Americans held $1.13 trillion on their credit cards, and aggregate household debt balances increased by $212 billion, up 1.2%, according to the latest data from the New York Federal Reserve.As they run up their card balances, consumers are also paying higher interest rates. The average interest rate on a bank credit card is roughly 21.5%, the highest it’s been since the Federal Reserve started tracking the data in 1994.Capital One has long has a business model looking for customers who will keep a balance on their cards, aiming for customers with lower credit scores than American Express or even Discover.At the same time, the two lenders have had to boost their reserves against the possibility of rising borrower defaults. After battling&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-rates-economy-biden-federal-reserve-539b662f32a3cea4a514407ae4389174">inflation</a>&nbsp;for more than two years, many lower- and middle-income Americans have run through their savings and are increasingly running up their credit card balances and taking on personal loans.The additional reserves have weighed on both banks’ profits. Last year, Capital One’s net income available to common shareholders slumped 35% versus 2022, as its provisions for loan losses soared 78% to $10.4 billion. Discover’s full-year profit sank 33.6% versus its 2022 results as its provisions for credit losses more than doubled to $6.02 billion.Discover’s customers are carrying $102 billion in balances on their credit cards, up 13% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the charge-off rates and 30-day delinquency rates have climbed.Beyond boosting bank deposits and loan accounts, the acquisition would give Capital One access to the Discover payment processing network. While smaller than industry giants Visa and Mastercard, the Discover network will enable Capital One to get revenue from fees charged for every merchant transaction that runs on the network.Discover has been operating under heightened scrutiny from regulators. Last summer, the company disclosed that beginning around mid-2007, it incorrectly classified certain card accounts into its highest merchant pricing tiers. The company also received an unrelated consent order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation over its customer compliance management.Analysts at Citigroup say the regulatory issues may have prompted the sale.“We are surprised that DFS would sell, but suppose that its regulatory challenges such as its recent October FDIC consent order and the card product misclassification issue may have opened the door for the board to consider strategic alternatives that it may not have in the past,” wrote analysts Arren Cyganovich and Kaili Wang in a note to clients.It's unclear whether the deal will pass regulatory scrutiny. Nearly every bank issues a credit card to customers but few companies are credit card companies first, and banks second. Both Discover — which was long ago the Sears Card — and Capital One started off as credit card companies that expanded into other financial offerings like checking and savings accounts.Consumer groups are expected to put heavy pressure on the Biden Administration to make sure the deal is good for consumers as well as shareholders.“The deal also poses massive anti-trust concerns, given the vertical integration of Capital One’s credit card lending with Discover’s credit card network,” said Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.