OMAHA, Neb. (AP)— Two Nebraska police officers were wounded and a suspect was killed in a shootout during an attempted burglary, police said.

The Omaha World-Herald reported Omaha Police Chief Todd R. Schmaderer said the two officers responded to a report of a burglary at a storage business around 10:30 p.m. Monday.

Employees let the officers into the building and they exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was killed. Police did not immediately identify the suspect, who was a described as a man in his late 30s.

Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene near the suspect's body, police said.

The officers, who were not immediately identified, were transported to Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha by ambulance and police cruiser. One officer was shot near his knee and may require surgery and the other officer was shot through his upper leg and was expected to be released, the World-Herald reported.

Schmaderer said he spoke to the officers, who were awake and alert after the shooting.

The Nebraska State Patrol and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office were expected to be involved in the investigation. Both officers were wearing body cameras and security video from the storage business was made available for review, the World-Herald reported.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675175106325.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP)— Two Nebraska police officers were wounded and a suspect was killed in a shootout during an attempted burglary, police said.The Omaha World-Herald reported Omaha Police Chief Todd R. Schmaderer said the two officers responded to a report of a burglary at a storage business around 10:30 p.m. Monday.Employees let the officers into the building and they exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was killed. Police did not immediately identify the suspect, who was a described as a man in his late 30s.Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene near the suspect's body, police said.The officers, who were not immediately identified, were transported to Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha by ambulance and police cruiser. One officer was shot near his knee and may require surgery and the other officer was shot through his upper leg and was expected to be released, the World-Herald reported.Schmaderer said he spoke to the officers, who were awake and alert after the shooting.The Nebraska State Patrol and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office were expected to be involved in the investigation. Both officers were wearing body cameras and security video from the storage business was made available for review, the World-Herald reported.

2 Omaha officers wounded, suspect killed in shootout

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared.

The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities.

It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the drawdown of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.

Biden’s announcement comes in a statement opposing resolutions being brought to the floor this week by House Republicans to bring the emergency to an immediate end. House Republicans are also gearing up to launch investigations on the federal government’s response to COVID-19.

Then-President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar first declared&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/2019-nCoV.aspx">a public health emergency on Jan. 31, 2020,</a>&nbsp;and Trump later declared the COVID-19&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-health-83b0c8e168548fd453b0c177dd1f203a">pandemic a national emergenc</a>&nbsp;y that March. The emergencies have been repeatedly extended by Biden since he took office in January 2021, and are set to expire in the coming months. The White House said Biden plans to extend them both briefly to end on May 11.

“An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system — for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Statement of Administration Policy.

More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 3,700 last week.

Congress has already blunted the reach of the public health emergency that had the most direct impact on Americans, as political calls to end the declaration intensified. Lawmakers have refused for months to fulfill the Biden administration’s request for billions more dollars to extend free COVID vaccines and testing. And the $1.7 trillion spending package passed last year and signed into law by Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-covid-304d921beee43d29f1862cd4d6ab5297">put an end to a rule that barred states from kicking people off Medicaid</a>, a move that is expected to see millions of people lose their coverage after April 1.

"In some respects, the Biden administration is catching up to what a lot of people in the country have been experiencing," said Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for health policy at Kaiser Family Foundation. “That said, hundreds of people a day are still dying from COVID.”

Still, some things will change for Americans once the emergency expires, Levitt pointed out.

The costs of COVID-19 vaccines are also expected to skyrocket once the government stops buying them, with Pfizer saying it will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-covid-medicare-1a5d65356ebc7b5bc76524ae99deb55e">charge as much as $130 per dose</a>. Only 15% of Americans have received the recommended, updated booster that has been offered since last fall.

People with private insurance could have some out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, especially if they go to an out-of-network provider, Levitt said. Free at-home&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-cb49a8458f33a698c3a4f3b721835270">COVID tests</a>&nbsp;will also come to an end. And hospitals will not get extra payments for treating COVID patients.

Legislators did extend for another two years telehealth flexibilities that were introduced as COVID-19 hit, leading health care systems around the country to regularly deliver care by smartphone or computer.

The Biden administration had previously considered ending the emergency last year, but held off amid concerns about a potential “winter surge” in cases and to provide adequate time for providers, insurers and patients to prepare for its end.

Officials said the administration would use the next three months to transition the response to conventional methods, warning that an immediate end to the emergency authorities “would sow confusion and chaos into this critical wind-down.”

“To be clear, continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19," the administration said. “They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19.”

Case counts have trended downward after a slight bump over the winter holidays, and are significantly below levels seen over the last two winters — though the number of tests performed for the virus and reported to public health officials has sharply decreased.

On Monday, the World Health Organization said the coronavirus&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-world-organization-pandemics-covid-2ed2d1e268d3be50fa98ff04c2dec989">remains a global health emergency</a>, even as a key advisory panel for the group found the pandemic may be nearing an “inflexion point” where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths. China, for example, reported an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-world-organization-south-korea-china-covid-5a3ba286fc84659b96b319b76bb717a4">unprecedented surge</a>&nbsp;in December after lifting most of its COVID-19 restrictions.

Moments before the White House’s announcement, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., accused the president of unnecessarily extending the public health emergency to take action on issues like forgiving some federal student loan debts.

“The country has largely returned to normal,” Cole said Monday, introducing a Republican-backed bill calling for an end to the health emergency. “Everyday Americans have returned to work and to school with no restrictions on their activities. It is time that the government acknowledges this reality: the pandemic is over.”

The House was scheduled to vote Tuesday on legislation that would terminate the public health emergency.

The bill’s author, Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said he still hopes the House will proceed with a vote. He said he was surprised by the White House move, but thinks the legislation may have played a role in prompting the administration to act.

“I think we should go forward,” he said late Monday as lawmakers returned to the Capitol. “If for some reason they don’t do it on May the 11th, the vehicle is still there for Congress to take back its authority.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675123739115.png" alt="Biden spoke on infrastructure funding in Baltimore Monday-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Biden spoke on infrastructure funding in Baltimore Monday-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared.The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities.It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the drawdown of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.Biden’s announcement comes in a statement opposing resolutions being brought to the floor this week by House Republicans to bring the emergency to an immediate end. House Republicans are also gearing up to launch investigations on the federal government’s response to COVID-19.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Why not now? <a href="https://t.co/XDQMo4IZbQ">https://t.co/XDQMo4IZbQ</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1620191908348964864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Then-President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar first declared&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/2019-nCoV.aspx">a public health emergency on Jan. 31, 2020,</a>&nbsp;and Trump later declared the COVID-19&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-health-83b0c8e168548fd453b0c177dd1f203a">pandemic a national emergenc</a>&nbsp;y that March. The emergencies have been repeatedly extended by Biden since he took office in January 2021, and are set to expire in the coming months. The White House said Biden plans to extend them both briefly to end on May 11.“An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system — for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Statement of Administration Policy.More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 3,700 last week.Congress has already blunted the reach of the public health emergency that had the most direct impact on Americans, as political calls to end the declaration intensified. Lawmakers have refused for months to fulfill the Biden administration’s request for billions more dollars to extend free COVID vaccines and testing. And the $1.7 trillion spending package passed last year and signed into law by Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-covid-304d921beee43d29f1862cd4d6ab5297">put an end to a rule that barred states from kicking people off Medicaid</a>, a move that is expected to see millions of people lose their coverage after April 1."In some respects, the Biden administration is catching up to what a lot of people in the country have been experiencing," said Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for health policy at Kaiser Family Foundation. “That said, hundreds of people a day are still dying from COVID.”Still, some things will change for Americans once the emergency expires, Levitt pointed out.The costs of COVID-19 vaccines are also expected to skyrocket once the government stops buying them, with Pfizer saying it will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-covid-medicare-1a5d65356ebc7b5bc76524ae99deb55e">charge as much as $130 per dose</a>. Only 15% of Americans have received the recommended, updated booster that has been offered since last fall.People with private insurance could have some out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, especially if they go to an out-of-network provider, Levitt said. Free at-home&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-cb49a8458f33a698c3a4f3b721835270">COVID tests</a>&nbsp;will also come to an end. And hospitals will not get extra payments for treating COVID patients.Legislators did extend for another two years telehealth flexibilities that were introduced as COVID-19 hit, leading health care systems around the country to regularly deliver care by smartphone or computer.The Biden administration had previously considered ending the emergency last year, but held off amid concerns about a potential “winter surge” in cases and to provide adequate time for providers, insurers and patients to prepare for its end.Officials said the administration would use the next three months to transition the response to conventional methods, warning that an immediate end to the emergency authorities “would sow confusion and chaos into this critical wind-down.”“To be clear, continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19," the administration said. “They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19.”Case counts have trended downward after a slight bump over the winter holidays, and are significantly below levels seen over the last two winters — though the number of tests performed for the virus and reported to public health officials has sharply decreased.On Monday, the World Health Organization said the coronavirus&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-world-organization-pandemics-covid-2ed2d1e268d3be50fa98ff04c2dec989">remains a global health emergency</a>, even as a key advisory panel for the group found the pandemic may be nearing an “inflexion point” where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths. China, for example, reported an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-world-organization-south-korea-china-covid-5a3ba286fc84659b96b319b76bb717a4">unprecedented surge</a>&nbsp;in December after lifting most of its COVID-19 restrictions.Moments before the White House’s announcement, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., accused the president of unnecessarily extending the public health emergency to take action on issues like forgiving some federal student loan debts.“The country has largely returned to normal,” Cole said Monday, introducing a Republican-backed bill calling for an end to the health emergency. “Everyday Americans have returned to work and to school with no restrictions on their activities. It is time that the government acknowledges this reality: the pandemic is over.”The House was scheduled to vote Tuesday on legislation that would terminate the public health emergency.The bill’s author, Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said he still hopes the House will proceed with a vote. He said he was surprised by the White House move, but thinks the legislation may have played a role in prompting the administration to act.“I think we should go forward,” he said late Monday as lawmakers returned to the Capitol. “If for some reason they don’t do it on May the 11th, the vehicle is still there for Congress to take back its authority.”—\

Biden, House GOP battle over when to end COVID-19 emergency

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/30/she-killed-her-rapist-after-months-of-abuse-advocates-say-kansas-governor-should-set-her-free/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn regrets killing Hal Sasko.

She also regrets moving into his 
Lawrence home, where he repeatedly raped her until she channeled a 
lifetime of trauma into psychotic rupture.

On a January night in 2014, she drugged her captor, zip-tied his limbs and slit his throat.

“That is the moment that my pain and 
suffering spilled over onto many different people, even outside of us 
two,” she said in a phone interview from the women’s prison in Topeka. 
“So that moment, yes, I absolutely regret, and I would never do that 
again.”

A jury convicted Gonzales-McLinn of 
first-degree murder in 2015 without knowing about the months of abuse 
that preceded her grisly crime. Now, her advocates hope to get her out 
of prison by convincing the governor to grant her clemency — a longshot 
attempt to correct what they view as injustice.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sarah-Gonzales-McLinn-Clemency-Application.pdf">The clemency application</a>
 focuses on Sasko’s grooming of her from the age of 14, including the 
financial and psychological traps he used to keep her in bondage. New 
details include the revelation that Sasko, at age 52, had started 
grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death.

Advocates hope her request for 
clemency will elevate public awareness of human trafficking cases so 
that women like Gonzales-McLinn may be better understood by family, 
friends, law enforcement and judges.

“How is it that she can be tried and 
convicted without a jury being fully aware of what was going on in that 
house? How is that not an injustice?” said Dave Ranney, a retired 
journalist who met Gonzales-McLinn as a volunteer for a writing program 
at the women’s prison. “The question isn’t whether she killed him, it’s 
why? And if you don’t know the answer to that, just ask anyone who 
counsels women who find themselves caught up in abusive relationships. 
They can tell you.”

Gonzales-McLinn was sentenced to a 
minimum of 50 years in prison. In 2021, newly elected Douglas County 
District Attorney Suzanne Valdez made a stunning deal. Gonzales-McLinn’s
 sentence was cut in half in exchange for giving up the right to appeal.
 But there is no guarantee a parole board will let her out of prison 
before she dies.

Valdez publicly <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/30/why-a-prosecutor-and-a-defense-attorney-took-an-extraordinary-step-in-a-high-profile-kansas-murder-case/">defended the plea deal</a> but secretly agreed Gonzales-McLinn should be freed.

Interviews, court records, 
confidential police documents, psychological reports, the clemency 
application and other materials obtained by Kansas Reflector provide 
insight into the events surrounding Sasko’s death and the legal 
proceedings that followed.

State corrections officials refused 
to allow an in-person interview with Gonzales-McLinn, citing 
inconvenience for prison staff and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.doc.ks.gov/kdoc-policies/AdultIMPP/chapter-8/08-104d-media-and-public-access.pdf/view">state agency policy</a>
 that only grants reporters access for stories on “appropriate” topics. 
Instead, corrections officials required Gonzales-McLinn to answer 
sensitive questions over the phone while surrounded by other inmates.

This was her first interview with a reporter, and she was nervous to tell her story.

“I’ve never talked about this with 
anyone outside of attorneys and psychologists — like, not even my 
family,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “But I just feel like it’s time, also. I 
feel like it has been just so hard to talk about because it does still 
hold a certain amount of power over me.”

Gonzales-McLinn welcomed the 
invitation from Sasko to move into his Lawrence home after she graduated
 a year early from Topeka High School. She was 17, and he was 50.

They met three years earlier, when 
she went to work for Sasko at his Cicis Pizza branch in Topeka. He 
stayed in touch as she moved on to other jobs.

Sasko knew about her troubled 
relationship with her parents. He knew she had been violently raped by a
 man who left her with scars from cigarette burns. She had attempted 
suicide and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and 
depression.

“When I moved into that house, I had 
no idea what was in store for me,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “I truly did 
think of him as a father figure to me. I just had no idea.”

The supposed sanctuary included unlimited access to marijuana and alcohol. Cocaine and ecstasy also were available.

Sasko charged her rent, and she 
bought her own food. He slowly gained control over “most everything that
 I did,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

After they had lived together for 
about six months, he told Gonzales-McLinn he loved her. She said she 
“shut it down,” but he continued to make unwanted advances. Eventually, 
he demanded sex as a condition for staying with him.

“I was very crushed the first time that happened, and I just felt completely helpless at that point,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

Sasko commandeered her paychecks, 
telling her she owed money for gas, her phone, car repairs and other 
expenses. He threatened to sue her if she left and told her he would 
wreck her credit rating so that she could never get an apartment or buy a
 car. She would be homeless, he warned.

Family and friends later told police 
that Sasko bragged about how “amazing” it was to “have an 18-year-old.” 
But he complained to Gonzales-McLinn that she wasn’t attractive enough.

He paid for her to get a nose job, 
then added the $6,000 cost to the bill she would have to repay before 
she could stop having sex with him.

He told her that men don’t like 
flat-chested women. She needed a curvier body. He wanted her to have 
breast augmentation surgery, but the doctor said she was too young. He 
arranged for her to have buttocks implants instead. She objected but 
felt she had no choice. He added the $10,000 cost to her bill.

Her last paycheck, from Bed Bath &amp; Beyond, was for $265.56.

Gonzales-McLinn later told a 
psychologist that she would drink herself into a semi-conscious state 
when Sasko required sex. If she tried to resist, he held her arms.

“I would get as drunk as I could and just lay there,” she told the psychologist.

She estimated that he raped her two to three times per week for 10 months.

By late December 2013, 
Gonzales-McLinn had broken from reality. She searched Google for such 
phrases as: “Why do I think so differently?”

She texted her sister: “I feel like a caged animal right now, and it’s making me crazy.”

Greg Kelley told police he visited 
his uncle’s house a month or two before the murder and was alarmed to 
find a skinned rabbit in a bowl in the refrigerator.

Gonzales-McLinn had bought the rabbit
 at a local pet store, signed a waiver saying she would care for it, 
then used a knife to kill and skin the animal. She dug the rabbit’s fur 
out of the trash and demonstrated for Kelley how she stuck the knife 
through the rabbit’s neck. She had put thought into the technique.

She did this, she explained, to learn how to “self survive.”

The rabbit was marinating because she planned to cook and eat it the next day.

Kelley thought to himself: “This chick has problems.”

In clinical terms, Gonzales-McLinn 
was suffering from major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, 
substance abuse and dissociative identity disorder — formerly known as 
multiple personalities.

“To a reasonable degree of 
psychological certainty, Ms. Gonzales McLinn suffers from a number of 
serious mental illnesses,” wrote Marilyn Hutchinson, a psychologist who 
spent 17.5 hours evaluating Gonzales-McLinn after the murder.

Sharon Sullivan, a Washburn 
University professor and expert on human trafficking, said it is 
important to understand the neurological impact of sexual abuse. 
“Survival brain” takes over, Sullivan said, and the part of the brain 
that controls decision making goes offline.

In Gonzales-McLinn’s case, Sullivan 
said, her brain wasn’t even fully developed. She was trapped. She didn’t
 know there were options.

“I can’t even imagine having to deal 
with that at 18 years old, with so little experience of the world,” 
Sullivan said. “And this is someone who’s supposed to love her, called 
her his daughter. How f***ing creepy is that?”

Gonzales-McLinn said she couldn’t find a way to cope with the abuse in a way that made her feel better.

“There was a lot of drugs and alcohol
 in that house, and that was the only relief that I felt the whole 
time,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “That is kind of a dark road to go down.”

Hutchinson’s report said 
Gonzales-McLinn had been molested by a neighbor as a child, and the rape
 at age 16 “was extraordinarily traumatic.” She had nightmares of 
killing herself and the rapist. She felt unavoidable humiliation.

Sasko’s abuse compounded the trauma. 
Gonzales-McLinn came to the conclusion she would have to kill herself or
 kill him. A change in antidepressant medication may have affected her 
thinking, Hutchinson noted.

On the morning of Jan. 14, 2014, 
Sasko texted Gonzales-McLinn to apologize for trying to sleep with her 
again. But at 5:15 that night, he sent a text asking her to put beer in 
the refrigerator. She knew if he was drinking, she would be raped.

Gonzales-McLinn killed Sasko shortly 
before midnight. She drove her car to Florida so she could see the ocean
 before her inevitable arrest.

Lawrence police questioned her after 
she was found 11 days later in Everglades National Park. Detective Jamie
 Lawson wanted to know why she used Sasko’s blood to write “FREEDOM” on 
the wall.

“What was you trying to express when you did that?” Lawson asked.

Later, Gonzales-McLinn told Hutchinson that killing Sasko felt like standing in the sun for the first time.

In a closed-door meeting with the 
trial judge in 2015, prosecutor Charles Branson successfully argued that
 it would be inappropriate for the jury to hear about Sasko’s abuse of 
Gonzales-McLinn.

“Details of those allegations would 
not be proper in front of the jury during the guilt phase of the trial 
because they would be simply information that would be used to create 
sympathy for the defendant,” Branson said, according to a transcript of 
the conversation.

Branson considered the abuse to be 
“irrelevant information.” He also didn’t want the abuse to be made 
public because news outlets would write about it.

Defense attorney Carl Cornwell agreed
 to restrictions on the evidence of abuse he could present at trial. 
Instead, he tried to convince jurors that Gonzales-McLinn was too 
mentally unstable to understand her actions.

The jury rejected Cornwell’s 
arguments, which emphasized the “system of Sarah,” a reference to her 
multiple personalities. Prosecutors said she was exaggerating symptoms 
of mental illness.

Gonzales-McLinn didn’t realize she 
might have to spend the rest of her life in prison. She was shocked and 
confused when evidence of Sasko’s abuse wasn’t presented at trial.

“I never had this mentality of, ‘I’m 
just going to get out scot-free, that’s what I’m fighting for, that’s 
what I want.’ But I did always want what was fair,” Gonzales-McLinn 
said. “If you don’t say everything that happened, how can somebody 
decide what’s fair?”

Douglas County District Judge Paula 
Martin gave Gonzales-McLinn a Hard 50 sentence, meaning she would have 
to serve at least 50 years before the chance of parole. She would be 
nearly 70 years old by then.

Gonzales-McLinn appealed her sentence
 on the grounds that Cornwell provided ineffective counsel. Meanwhile, 
advocates began to prepare a clemency application — and uncovered 
evidence that wasn’t presented to the jury.

Sasko had downloaded hundreds of 
videos of violent pornography on his phone and visited x-rated websites 
that featured children, teens and bestiality. At least 20 times, he 
visited websites that featured men fondling or having sex with women who
 appeared to be sleeping.

Police found a camera and flash 
drives on a desk in Sasko’s bedroom. A detective said images found on 
the flash drives demonstrated that Sasko and Gonzales-McLinn were 
friends who spent time together. Advocates weren’t allowed to view the 
files.

Confidential police reports revealed 
Sasko was grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death. Their mother
 was furious at the attention and gifts he provided them, including 
cash, gas, clothes, subwoofers for their car, and an unsolicited 
envelope of marijuana. When the mother blocked his number on their 
phones, he bought them new phones. If they ever wanted to run away, he 
told the girls, they could move in with him.

Megan Stuke, executive director of 
The Willow, a domestic violence center in Lawrence, said the concepts of
 “grooming” and “human trafficking” are frequently misunderstood.

“Somebody gets you in a relationship,
 provides you with creature comforts or covering your needs, so that 
then you don’t have any other options but to do what they want — to 
maintain your housing, finance, maybe it’s an addiction that they’ve 
helped you create,” Stuke said. “People can be trafficked by their 
parents. People are trafficked by their boyfriends. It’s not necessarily
 the big ring of bad guys moving people around.”

Valdez, the Douglas County district 
attorney, knew about the abuse when she reached a plea deal in May 2021 
with defense attorney Jonathan Sternberg that would require 
Gonzales-McLinn to spend at least 25 years in prison.

Before his client would drop her appeal, the defense attorney made one last request.

“Can you also confirm that should the
 settlement agreement be accepted by the judge, you personally intend to
 support Sarah obtaining clemency from the Governor when it becomes 
politically appropriate for both you and the Governor?” Sternberg wrote 
in an email. “I know we also discussed that, too, and Sarah wanted me to
 ask you that.”

Valdez declined to comment for this story, but she and Sternberg defended the plea deal in <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/30/why-a-prosecutor-and-a-defense-attorney-took-an-extraordinary-step-in-a-high-profile-kansas-murder-case/">a column published by Kansas Reflector</a>.

“There is a difference between 
zealous advocacy and zealotry,” they wrote. “Zealous advocacy relies on 
facts that are supported by testimony, evidence and arguments that can 
be admitted in a court of law. Zealotry relies almost solely on zeal.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/07/15/why-the-mother-of-a-woman-who-killed-her-rapist-isnt-happy-with-an-extraordinary-settlement/">Michelle Gonzales responded</a>
 on behalf of her daughter’s advocates: “Valdez and Sternberg may find 
legal comfort in knowing that a young woman who killed her rapist will 
spend at least 25 years in prison. We do not.”

Gonzales-McLinn said her unwanted 
buttocks implants are a constant reminder of the physical and emotional 
pain Sasko inflicted on her.

Shortly after she arrived at prison, she asked to have them removed.

“They were all just curious,” 
Gonzales-McLinn said. “I remember one nurse went and called another 
nurse in and they both touched me.”

The state denied her the medical procedure.

“Yeah, it would be ideal if all of 
the nurses would, you know, follow HIPAA and keep your medical stuff 
private, but they don’t,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “And they told a lot of 
people — a lot of officers, a lot of inmates. That was just very 
traumatic.”

She recently renewed her request to remove the implants and is awaiting an answer.

Advocates, including Ranney, Sullivan
 and Stuke, compiled a lengthy review of her case, with supporting 
documentation, as part of the clemency application they filed in 
December with the Prisoner Review Board. Advocates hired Hutchinson, the
 psychologist, to conduct a new evaluation.

“It is with a great deal of 
psychological certainty that I opine that Sarah Gonzales McLinn has 
achieved rehabilitation and is very capable of maintaining a crime-free 
and productive life,” Hutchinson wrote in a new report.

The board, through a process outlined
 in state law, will gather input from Valdez and Sasko’s family, and 
make a recommendation to Gov. Laura Kelly.

Kelly has <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/24/kansas-governor-grants-clemency-to-8-embracing-political-risk-in-rare-use-of-power/">granted clemency to eight individuals</a>
 through an initiative that reviewed nonviolent drug crimes. Her office 
declined to answer questions for this story about whether that 
initiative is ongoing, or whether consideration should be given to 
someone who suffered sexual abuse.

Stuke said Gonzales-McLinn was acting in self-defense when she killed Sasko.

“When you meet Sarah, it is so clear 
that she is not a vicious killer,” Stuke said. “She is not someone who 
is a danger to society at this point. She was in a particular situation 
with what felt to her like no options.”

Prison has given Gonzales-McLinn a chance to heal.

In a “weird way,” she said, being 
locked up was a relief. She took the time to think about what happened. 
She would write letters to God as a way of trying to process her shame.

She killed her rapist after months of abuse. Advocates she should be freed

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the beloved sitcom "Laverne &amp; Shirley," has died, her family said Monday.

Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis.

"The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed," the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”

Williams worked with some of Hollywood's most elite directors in a film career that preceded her full-time move to television, appearing in George Cukor's 1972 “Travels With My Aunt,” George Lucas' 1973 “American Graffiti” and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" from 1974.

But she was by far best known for “Laverne &amp; Shirley," the “Happy Days” spinoff that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983 that in its prime was among the most popular shows on TV.

Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshall's more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.

“They were beloved characters,” Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.

DeFazio was quick-tempered and defensive; Feeney was naive and trusting. The actors drew upon their own lives for plot inspiration.

“We’d make up a list at the start of each season of what talents we had,” Marshall told the AP in 2002. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. I did tap dance.”

Williams told The Associated Press in 2013 that she and Marshall had “very different personalities” but tales of the two clashing during the making of the show were “a bit overblown.”

The series was the rare network hit about working-class characters, with its self-empowering opening song: “Give us any chance, we’ll take it, read us any rule, we’ll break it."

That opening would become as popular as the show itself. Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” as they skipped along together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia.

Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-ca-state-wire-entertainment-penny-marshall-9b816e06aab5410ab0578ee33fc39dc8">died in 2018</a>.

Actor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/rosariodawson/status/1620228431224135682">Rosario Dawson</a>&nbsp;shared a video of the opening theme on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Singing this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies,” Dawson tweeted. “Absolute gems. United again… Rest in Paradise Cindy Williams.”

The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirley's oddball hangers-on Lenny and Squiggy.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-michael-mckean-1da7248de5f4bf06d7e2fe19d79e9a31">Lander died in 2020</a>.

McKean paid tribute to Williams on Twitter with a memory from the production.

“Backstage, Season 1: I’m offstage waiting for a cue. The script’s been a tough one, so we’re giving it 110% and the audience is having a great time,” McKean tweeted. “Cindy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: ‘Show’s cookin’!’ Amen. Thank you, Cindy.”

As ratings dropped in the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for work at a department store.

In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. When her demands weren’t met, she walked off the set, and filed a lawsuit against its production company. She appeared infrequently during the final season.

Williams was born one of two sisters in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles in 1947. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and a major in theater arts at LA City College.

Her acting career began with small roles in television starting in 1969, with appearances on “Room 222,” “Nanny and the Professor” and ”Love, American Style."

Her part in Lucas' “American Graffiti” would become a defining role. The film was a forerunner to a nostalgia boom for the 1950s and early 1960s that would follow. “Happy Days," starring her “American Graffiti” co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearance as dates of Henry Winkler's Fonzie before they got their own show.

Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” a role that went to Carrie Fisher.

In the past three decades, Williams made guest appearances on dozens of TV series including “7th Heaven,” “8 Simple Rules” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in a “Laverne &amp; Shirley” tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series “Sam and Cat.”

Last year, Williams appeared in a one-woman stage show full of stories from her career, “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/2022/01/14/cindy-williams-brings-her-one-woman-show-annenberg-theater/6513323001/">Me, Myself and Shirley</a>," at a theater in Palm Springs, California, near her home in Desert Hot Springs.

Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. Hudson was father to her two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the beloved sitcom "Laverne &amp; Shirley," has died, her family said Monday.Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis."The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed," the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”Williams worked with some of Hollywood's most elite directors in a film career that preceded her full-time move to television, appearing in George Cukor's 1972 “Travels With My Aunt,” George Lucas' 1973 “American Graffiti” and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" from 1974.But she was by far best known for “Laverne &amp; Shirley," the “Happy Days” spinoff that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983 that in its prime was among the most popular shows on TV.Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshall's more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.“They were beloved characters,” Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.DeFazio was quick-tempered and defensive; Feeney was naive and trusting. The actors drew upon their own lives for plot inspiration.“We’d make up a list at the start of each season of what talents we had,” Marshall told the AP in 2002. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. I did tap dance.”Williams told The Associated Press in 2013 that she and Marshall had “very different personalities” but tales of the two clashing during the making of the show were “a bit overblown.”The series was the rare network hit about working-class characters, with its self-empowering opening song: “Give us any chance, we’ll take it, read us any rule, we’ll break it."That opening would become as popular as the show itself. Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” as they skipped along together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia.Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-ca-state-wire-entertainment-penny-marshall-9b816e06aab5410ab0578ee33fc39dc8">died in 2018</a>.Actor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/rosariodawson/status/1620228431224135682">Rosario Dawson</a>&nbsp;shared a video of the opening theme on Twitter on Tuesday.“Singing this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies,” Dawson tweeted. “Absolute gems. United again… Rest in Paradise Cindy Williams.”The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirley's oddball hangers-on Lenny and Squiggy.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-michael-mckean-1da7248de5f4bf06d7e2fe19d79e9a31">Lander died in 2020</a>.McKean paid tribute to Williams on Twitter with a memory from the production.“Backstage, Season 1: I’m offstage waiting for a cue. The script’s been a tough one, so we’re giving it 110% and the audience is having a great time,” McKean tweeted. “Cindy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: ‘Show’s cookin’!’ Amen. Thank you, Cindy.”As ratings dropped in the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for work at a department store.In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. When her demands weren’t met, she walked off the set, and filed a lawsuit against its production company. She appeared infrequently during the final season.Williams was born one of two sisters in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles in 1947. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and a major in theater arts at LA City College.Her acting career began with small roles in television starting in 1969, with appearances on “Room 222,” “Nanny and the Professor” and ”Love, American Style."Her part in Lucas' “American Graffiti” would become a defining role. The film was a forerunner to a nostalgia boom for the 1950s and early 1960s that would follow. “Happy Days," starring her “American Graffiti” co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearance as dates of Henry Winkler's Fonzie before they got their own show.Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” a role that went to Carrie Fisher.In the past three decades, Williams made guest appearances on dozens of TV series including “7th Heaven,” “8 Simple Rules” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in a “Laverne &amp; Shirley” tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series “Sam and Cat.”Last year, Williams appeared in a one-woman stage show full of stories from her career, “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/2022/01/14/cindy-williams-brings-her-one-woman-show-annenberg-theater/6513323001/">Me, Myself and Shirley</a>," at a theater in Palm Springs, California, near her home in Desert Hot Springs.Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. Hudson was father to her two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.___

Laverne & Shirley' actor Cindy Williams dies at 75

WASHINGTON —The only thing stopping millions of Americans from receiving the Biden Administration’s one-time student debt relief is a lawsuit brought by Republican officials and special interests, according to Biden. On Saturday, he said on social media, "It's simple: our Administration is confident that our student debt relief program is fully legal. And we're not backing down that easy."

New data comes as elected officials and special interests actively block many of their own constituents from getting relief, according to a statement from the White House.

On Friday, the Biden administration released new data showing the number of people in each state who applied for student debt relief or were automatically eligible for relief.&nbsp;228,000 in Kansas applied for and were deemed automatically eligible.&nbsp;

These borrowers could be benefitting from the Administration’s program right now were it not for lawsuits brought by elected officials and special interests, according to the Biden Administration.

In August, President Biden announced his Administration’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year. The Administration’s program aimed to protect borrowers most at risk of delinquency or default as a result of hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic when the payment pause ends.

In the less than four weeks that the application was available, 26 million people either applied for debt relief or had already provided sufficient information to the Department of Education (Department) to be deemed eligible for relief. Over 16 million of those borrowers’ applications were fully approved by the Department and sent to loan servicers. However, in November of last year– less than a month after the application was first released – the Department was required to stop accepting applications as a result of lawsuits brought by opponents of the program. Loan servicers were thus prevented from discharging any debt.

Overall, more than 40 million borrowers would qualify for the Biden Administration’s debt relief program. Nearly 90% of the benefits of the relief going to out-of-school borrowers would go to those earning less than $75,000 per year. Millions of those borrowers could be experiencing the benefits of that relief today – were it not for lawsuits brought on by elected officials in some of their own states. For more information, visit StudentAid.gov/debtrelief.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/27/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-releases-new-data-showing-26-million-people-in-all-50-states-applied-or-were-automatically-eligible-for-one-time-student-debt-relief/">Click here to see</a> a full breakdown of how many people applied for debt relief and whose applications were approved by the Department before the Administration was blocked from discharging debt, rounded to the nearest thousand.

WASHINGTON —The only thing stopping millions of Americans from receiving the Biden Administration’s one-time student debt relief is a lawsuit brought by Republican officials and special interests, according to Biden. On Saturday, he said on social media, "It's simple: our Administration is confident that our student debt relief program is fully legal. And we're not backing down that easy."New data comes as elected officials and special interests actively block many of their own constituents from getting relief, according to a statement from the White House.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Extra breathing room for millions of Americans is on hold because of lawsuits brought by opponents of this Administration’s student debt relief plan. We are continuing to fight to deliver relief to tens of millions of eligible borrowers. <a href="https://t.co/COoBN9s8vR">pic.twitter.com/COoBN9s8vR</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1619417542698700801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On Friday, the Biden administration released new data showing the number of people in each state who applied for student debt relief or were automatically eligible for relief.&nbsp;228,000 in Kansas applied for and were deemed automatically eligible.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674936435362.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>These borrowers could be benefitting from the Administration’s program right now were it not for lawsuits brought by elected officials and special interests, according to the Biden Administration.In August, President Biden announced his Administration’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year. The Administration’s program aimed to protect borrowers most at risk of delinquency or default as a result of hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic when the payment pause ends.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our student debt relief plan would allow more than 40 million Americans to breathe easier, getting folks who need it up to $20,000 in relief. Republican officials are standing in the way. This Administration doesn&#39;t back down that easy–we&#39;re fighting back in the Supreme Court.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1614345261609848833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the less than four weeks that the application was available, 26 million people either applied for debt relief or had already provided sufficient information to the Department of Education (Department) to be deemed eligible for relief. Over 16 million of those borrowers’ applications were fully approved by the Department and sent to loan servicers. However, in November of last year– less than a month after the application was first released – the Department was required to stop accepting applications as a result of lawsuits brought by opponents of the program. Loan servicers were thus prevented from discharging any debt.Overall, more than 40 million borrowers would qualify for the Biden Administration’s debt relief program. Nearly 90% of the benefits of the relief going to out-of-school borrowers would go to those earning less than $75,000 per year. Millions of those borrowers could be experiencing the benefits of that relief today – were it not for lawsuits brought on by elected officials in some of their own states. For more information, visit StudentAid.gov/debtrelief.<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/27/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-releases-new-data-showing-26-million-people-in-all-50-states-applied-or-were-automatically-eligible-for-one-time-student-debt-relief/">Click here to see</a> a full breakdown of how many people applied for debt relief and whose applications were approved by the Department before the Administration was blocked from discharging debt, rounded to the nearest thousand.

Report: 154,000 in Neb. applied for, were eligible for student debt relief

Following an incident in which three children, ages 5 years, 1 year, and 7 months, were kidnapped during the theft of a car, the Grand Island Police Department has investigated the circumstances in which those children were in the car.

That investigation found no negligent behavior on behalf of the parents, who are victims in this case.   The parents loaded the children in the running vehicle due to the cold, and engaged in very brief conversation with neighbors, at which time the suspects took opportunity to steal the running vehicle.  These circumstances were corroborated by video evidence.  

The children have all been treated and released, and reunited with their family, while the suspects remain in the custody of the Hall County Jail at this time.  

The safety of our community, and the most vulnerable of them, our children, was the foremost consideration throughout this case, and we are thankful the outcome was not worse given the circumstances caused by the suspects.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Three young children were being treated for frostbite in Nebraska Sunday after police said two suspects stole an SUV while they were inside.

Around 3 a.m. Sunday, when temperatures were around 0 degrees, a man reported that his 2012 Chevrolet Traverse had been stolen with his three children inside, said Grand Island Police. An 18-year-old man and 17-year-old boy were arrested with the SUV before authorities found the 5-year-old and 1-year-old around 5 a.m. inside a second vehicle that had been reported stolen in Kearney.

About half an hour later, the infant was found on the front porch of a farmhouse in Hall County. All three children had suspected hypothermia and frostbite.

The Traverse was involved in a police pursuit before officers knew about the children. Eventually, investigators tracked the Traverse to a rural area of neighboring Buffalo County, and arrested the suspects.

The teens are facing an assortment of charges including kidnapping and intentional child abuse.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669218291069.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Update from Grand Island PoliceFollowing an incident in which three children, ages 5 years, 1 year, and 7 months, were kidnapped during the theft of a car, the Grand Island Police Department has investigated the circumstances in which those children were in the car.That investigation found no negligent behavior on behalf of the parents, who are victims in this case. The parents loaded the children in the running vehicle due to the cold, and engaged in very brief conversation with neighbors, at which time the suspects took opportunity to steal the running vehicle. These circumstances were corroborated by video evidence. The children have all been treated and released, and reunited with their family, while the suspects remain in the custody of the Hall County Jail at this time. The safety of our community, and the most vulnerable of them, our children, was the foremost consideration throughout this case, and we are thankful the outcome was not worse given the circumstances caused by the suspects.GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Three young children were being treated for frostbite in Nebraska Sunday after police said two suspects stole an SUV while they were inside.Around 3 a.m. Sunday, when temperatures were around 0 degrees, a man reported that his 2012 Chevrolet Traverse had been stolen with his three children inside, said Grand Island Police. An 18-year-old man and 17-year-old boy were arrested with the SUV before authorities found the 5-year-old and 1-year-old around 5 a.m. inside a second vehicle that had been reported stolen in Kearney.About half an hour later, the infant was found on the front porch of a farmhouse in Hall County. All three children had suspected hypothermia and frostbite.The Traverse was involved in a police pursuit before officers knew about the children. Eventually, investigators tracked the Traverse to a rural area of neighboring Buffalo County, and arrested the suspects.The teens are facing an assortment of charges including kidnapping and intentional child abuse.

Parents of kids taken during Neb. carjacking found not negligent 

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/30/proposal-slammed-to-transfer-14-million-from-environmental-trust-to-water-fund/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Deep inside Gov. Jim Pillen’s budget proposal is a plan to 
divert $14 million from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to a state 
agency’s water resources fund, a transfer condemned as a “mockery” of 
the intent of the Trust.

W. Don Nelson, a former official who served three Nebraska governors,
 said Thursday that the Trust was created to aid environmental projects,
 not as the “governor’s piggy bank.”

“It wasn’t intend to be an ATM for a 
legislative committee. It wasn’t created to take pressure off the 
general fund or allow a governor to cut taxes,” Nelson said.

Officials with the Friends of the Environmental Trust and the Sierra 
Club of Nebraska also slammed the idea, questioning whether the recent 
disapproval of several grant requests by the Trust cleared the way for 
the transfer, and if the fund shift was legal.

“There were a lot of proposals this year that deserved the Trust’s 
funds and didn’t get a fair shake,” said Sandy Scofield, a former state 
senator now with the Friends group. Scofield said that while funds have 
been questionably “siphoned” from the Trust in the past, this proposal 
was “more brazen.”

Lee Will, the state budget administrator under Gov. Jim Pillen, 
rejected the idea that any “conspiracy” to deny grants so that Trust 
funds — which come from the state lottery — could be used to finance tax
 cuts proposed by the governor.

Will pointed out that the state has a $1.9 billion fund surplus that 
is allowing the tax reductions, so the $14 million being transferred 
from the Trust was inconsequential.

He said that with more than $19 million in unexpended funds held by 
the Trust, it seemed like a “good fit” to transfer the money to the 
State Water Resources Cash fund, which has a similar goal as the Trust 
to help natural resources.

The transfer is the latest in a string of controversies involving the
 Trust, which was created three decades ago to grant out about half of 
the proceeds of the Nebraska Lottery.

The Trust board, consisting almost entirely of gubernatorial 
appointees, distributes about $20 million a year in grants to 
organizations for wildlife habitat, recycling programs, conservation 
efforts and environmental-related research.

But in the past two years, the Trust board has declined to grant out 
all of its funds, breaking with past practices that saw almost all of 
its lottery allocation handed out each year.

The Trust board also <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/10/25/state-environmental-trust-gets-earful-about-high-number-of-disqualified-grants/">began deeming dozens of grant requests ineligible,</a> including <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/03/03/alliance-recycling-program-among-those-who-question-snubs-for-state-environmental-grants/">grants that had been found “eligible” and had been awarded funds in the past.</a>

Earlier this month, the Trust board rejected about half of the 2022 
grant requests that had been determined to be eligible for funds, <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/10/nebraska-environmental-trust-awards-11-3-million-in-grants-hopes-reforms-reduce-confusion/">approving only $11.3 million in grants</a> out of the $20 million it had to expend.

Al Davis, a former state senator and a lobbyist for the Sierra Club 
of Nebraska, questioned whether the board has been building up a surplus
 of money so it could be transferred and used for a big water project, 
such as the Perkins County Canal or the big sandpit lake proposed 
between Omaha and Lincoln.

&nbsp;“That’s just inappropriate,” Davis said.

Karl Elmshaeuser, the executive director of the Environmental Trust 
since December 2021, rejected the idea that grant money was being 
purposely withheld so it could be shifted.

A spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, which 
administers the water cash fund, said Friday there were “no plans” to 
use the funds for the canal.

Jesse Bradley, the DNR’s deputy director, said the Water Resources 
Cash Fund currently holds about $28 million but has $39 million in 
“current or planned commitments,” meaning it needs more money.

Mark Quandahl of Omaha, the current chairman of the 14-member Trust 
board, did not return messages seeking comment Friday about why so many 
Trust grants have been rejected in recent years.

At the <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/10/nebraska-environmental-trust-awards-11-3-million-in-grants-hopes-reforms-reduce-confusion/">board’s meeting earlier this month,</a>
 Quandahl said the best grant proposals were funded. Another board 
member, Rod Christen of Steinauer, said one grant request of $70,000 was
 nearly rejected over the definition of the term “regulatory,” saying 
that grants were reviewed keenly over whether board members were 
“crossing our T’s, dotting our I’s.”

Critics of the Trust board’s recent actions question whether funds 
granted to a constitutionally created entity can be transferred to a 
state agency.

Nelson, the former gubernatorial aide who was involved in setting up 
the Trust, said he is considering a lawsuit against the Trust for this 
“legislative meddling.”

“It really makes a mockery of the 
term ‘trust,’ ” he said. The term, Nelson said, means that funds in a 
trust are “hands off” to others.

“I think it’s time to gin up some 
more litigation to see if we can settle the Legislature and the governor
 down, and get back to the true intent of when the Trust was created 30 
years ago,” he said.

Nelson has successfully sued the Trust before. In 2020, he and another critic of the Trust board<a target="_blank" href="https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-nebraska-environmental-trusts-1-8-million-grant-for-ethanol-pumps/article_ea2ab52e-8a13-5da8-98f4-7c1ce6a7ee33.html"> went to court</a>
 to block a controversial grant swap that took funds from conservation 
projects and gave them to an ethanol pump project. The ethanol grant was
 later withdrawn, and a judge agreed that the Trust had not followed 
proper procedures in its vote.

This isn’t the first time the Environmental Trust’s funds have been 
tapped by state agencies. Over the past decade, $3.3 million a year has 
been allocated to the Water Resources Cash Fund. But that was after the 
Department of Natural Resources applied for grants that were approved by
 the Trust. The State Legislature, which created the cash fund, also 
allocated a matching amount of state general funds.

Critics of the current fund transfer maintain that the DNR should 
continue to apply, and compete, for grant funds, not sidestep that 
process by taking the funds directly through the state budget.

The intent of the cash fund, according to state statutes, is to 
“enhance streamflows, to recharge ground water, or to support wildlife 
habitat” in certain river basins. The Trust was created to “conserve, 
enhance and restore the natural environments of Nebraska.”

One big difference, however, is that only the state’s natural 
resources districts can obtain funds from the DNR’s Water Resources Cash
 Fund, while Environmental Trust grants can be given to nonprofits and 
all sorts of governmental entities, including NRDs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675096888996.png" alt="The Nebraska Environmental Trust, headquartered in Lincoln, awards about $20 million a year in grants to help the state’s environment. (Courtesy of the Nebraska Environmental Trust)" />
 <figcaption>The Nebraska Environmental Trust, headquartered in Lincoln, awards about $20 million a year in grants to help the state’s environment. (Courtesy of the Nebraska Environmental Trust)</figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/30/proposal-slammed-to-transfer-14-million-from-environmental-trust-to-water-fund/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Deep inside Gov. Jim Pillen’s budget proposal is a plan to 
divert $14 million from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to a state 
agency’s water resources fund, a transfer condemned as a “mockery” of 
the intent of the Trust.W. Don Nelson, a former official who served three Nebraska governors,
 said Thursday that the Trust was created to aid environmental projects,
 not as the “governor’s piggy bank.”“It wasn’t intend to be an ATM for a 
legislative committee. It wasn’t created to take pressure off the 
general fund or allow a governor to cut taxes,” Nelson said.Officials with the Friends of the Environmental Trust and the Sierra 
Club of Nebraska also slammed the idea, questioning whether the recent 
disapproval of several grant requests by the Trust cleared the way for 
the transfer, and if the fund shift was legal.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675096950914.jpeg" alt="Sandy Scofield, president of Friends of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, speaks before the Trust board concerning its grants application process at its Jan. 10 meeting. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Sandy Scofield, president of Friends of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, speaks before the Trust board concerning its grants application process at its Jan. 10 meeting. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>“There were a lot of proposals this year that deserved the Trust’s 
funds and didn’t get a fair shake,” said Sandy Scofield, a former state 
senator now with the Friends group. Scofield said that while funds have 
been questionably “siphoned” from the Trust in the past, this proposal 
was “more brazen.”<h2>No ‘conspiracy’</h2>Lee Will, the state budget administrator under Gov. Jim Pillen, 
rejected the idea that any “conspiracy” to deny grants so that Trust 
funds — which come from the state lottery — could be used to finance tax
 cuts proposed by the governor.Will pointed out that the state has a $1.9 billion fund surplus that 
is allowing the tax reductions, so the $14 million being transferred 
from the Trust was inconsequential.He said that with more than $19 million in unexpended funds held by 
the Trust, it seemed like a “good fit” to transfer the money to the 
State Water Resources Cash fund, which has a similar goal as the Trust 
to help natural resources.The transfer is the latest in a string of controversies involving the
 Trust, which was created three decades ago to grant out about half of 
the proceeds of the Nebraska Lottery.The Trust board, consisting almost entirely of gubernatorial 
appointees, distributes about $20 million a year in grants to 
organizations for wildlife habitat, recycling programs, conservation 
efforts and environmental-related research.<h2>More grants rejected, deemed ineligible</h2>But in the past two years, the Trust board has declined to grant out 
all of its funds, breaking with past practices that saw almost all of 
its lottery allocation handed out each year.The Trust board also <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/10/25/state-environmental-trust-gets-earful-about-high-number-of-disqualified-grants/">began deeming dozens of grant requests ineligible,</a> including <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/03/03/alliance-recycling-program-among-those-who-question-snubs-for-state-environmental-grants/">grants that had been found “eligible” and had been awarded funds in the past.</a>Earlier this month, the Trust board rejected about half of the 2022 
grant requests that had been determined to be eligible for funds, <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/10/nebraska-environmental-trust-awards-11-3-million-in-grants-hopes-reforms-reduce-confusion/">approving only $11.3 million in grants</a> out of the $20 million it had to expend.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675096990764.jpeg" alt="The Perkins County Canal was first envisioned in the 1890s but the idea was resurrected last year by former Gov. Pete Ricketts. State officials say there are no plans to use funds transferred from the Environmental Trust for the $600 million canal project. (Courtesy of the Perkins County Historical Society)" />
 <figcaption>The Perkins County Canal was first envisioned in the 1890s but the idea was resurrected last year by former Gov. Pete Ricketts. State officials say there are no plans to use funds transferred from the Environmental Trust for the $600 million canal project. (Courtesy of the Perkins County Historical Society)</figcaption>
 </figure>Al Davis, a former state senator and a lobbyist for the Sierra Club 
of Nebraska, questioned whether the board has been building up a surplus
 of money so it could be transferred and used for a big water project, 
such as the Perkins County Canal or the big sandpit lake proposed 
between Omaha and Lincoln.&nbsp;“That’s just inappropriate,” Davis said.Karl Elmshaeuser, the executive director of the Environmental Trust 
since December 2021, rejected the idea that grant money was being 
purposely withheld so it could be shifted.A spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, which 
administers the water cash fund, said Friday there were “no plans” to 
use the funds for the canal.Jesse Bradley, the DNR’s deputy director, said the Water Resources 
Cash Fund currently holds about $28 million but has $39 million in 
“current or planned commitments,” meaning it needs more money.Mark Quandahl of Omaha, the current chairman of the 14-member Trust 
board, did not return messages seeking comment Friday about why so many 
Trust grants have been rejected in recent years.<h2>‘Dotting our I’s’</h2>At the <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/10/nebraska-environmental-trust-awards-11-3-million-in-grants-hopes-reforms-reduce-confusion/">board’s meeting earlier this month,</a>
 Quandahl said the best grant proposals were funded. Another board 
member, Rod Christen of Steinauer, said one grant request of $70,000 was
 nearly rejected over the definition of the term “regulatory,” saying 
that grants were reviewed keenly over whether board members were 
“crossing our T’s, dotting our I’s.”Critics of the Trust board’s recent actions question whether funds 
granted to a constitutionally created entity can be transferred to a 
state agency.Nelson, the former gubernatorial aide who was involved in setting up 
the Trust, said he is considering a lawsuit against the Trust for this 
“legislative meddling.”“It really makes a mockery of the 
term ‘trust,’ ” he said. The term, Nelson said, means that funds in a 
trust are “hands off” to others.“I think it’s time to gin up some 
more litigation to see if we can settle the Legislature and the governor
 down, and get back to the true intent of when the Trust was created 30 
years ago,” he said.Nelson has successfully sued the Trust before. In 2020, he and another critic of the Trust board<a target="_blank" href="https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-nebraska-environmental-trusts-1-8-million-grant-for-ethanol-pumps/article_ea2ab52e-8a13-5da8-98f4-7c1ce6a7ee33.html"> went to court</a>
 to block a controversial grant swap that took funds from conservation 
projects and gave them to an ethanol pump project. The ethanol grant was
 later withdrawn, and a judge agreed that the Trust had not followed 
proper procedures in its vote.<h2>Only NRDs could access transferred funds</h2>This isn’t the first time the Environmental Trust’s funds have been 
tapped by state agencies. Over the past decade, $3.3 million a year has 
been allocated to the Water Resources Cash Fund. But that was after the 
Department of Natural Resources applied for grants that were approved by
 the Trust. The State Legislature, which created the cash fund, also 
allocated a matching amount of state general funds.Critics of the current fund transfer maintain that the DNR should 
continue to apply, and compete, for grant funds, not sidestep that 
process by taking the funds directly through the state budget.The intent of the cash fund, according to state statutes, is to 
“enhance streamflows, to recharge ground water, or to support wildlife 
habitat” in certain river basins. The Trust was created to “conserve, 
enhance and restore the natural environments of Nebraska.”One big difference, however, is that only the state’s natural 
resources districts can obtain funds from the DNR’s Water Resources Cash
 Fund, while Environmental Trust grants can be given to nonprofits and 
all sorts of governmental entities, including NRDs.According to DNR’s 2022 annual report on the water fund, about $4.4 
million was spent during 2021-22 for NRD projects concerning groundwater
 recharge, streamflow augmentation and improving irrigation canals.