<b>Contact:&nbsp;</b>John Keenan, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 402-690-8107,&nbsp;<a href="mailto:john.keenan@unmc.edu" target="_blank">john.keenan@unmc.edu</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

<i>Study author: Tracking emotions in early sobriety could help prevent relapse</i>

OMAHA, Nebraska — A recent study of more than 1,000 people in alcohol treatment found that nearly one in three never escape the crushing anxiety or depression that often accompanies early sobriety — a red flag that may predict relapse and signal the need for more targeted care.

Published in “Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research” this spring, the study tracked weekly anxiety and depression symptoms during the first six weeks of treatment. While most patients saw symptoms ease quickly, researchers identified three distinct recovery paths:

The sustained group was more likely to have severe PTSD symptoms and other mental health diagnoses. Women were more likely than men to fall into the high-symptom depression group, highlighting a possible sex-specific risk.

“Early abstinence is a make-or-break period,” said lead author Jennifer Blackford, PhD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute. “If anxiety or depression doesn’t improve quickly, relapse risk may be much higher. The good news is, we can identify these patterns in the first few weeks and act before it’s too late.”

Alcohol use disorder affects millions of Americans and contributes to more than 140,000 deaths each year. Despite the availability of treatment, over half of patients relapse within a year. By recognizing sustained emotional distress early, clinicians may be able to tailor care — such as adding anxiety-focused psychotherapy or medication — to improve outcomes.

The researchers note that their findings come from de-identified patient data from a large community-based treatment program, making the results directly relevant to real-world clinical settings. They call for future studies to examine relapse rates in each subgroup and the impact of specific interventions.

This work was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757447050560.jpeg" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Sept. 9, 2025</p><p><b>Contact:&nbsp;</b>John Keenan, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 402-690-8107,&nbsp;<a href="mailto:john.keenan@unmc.edu" target="_blank">john.keenan@unmc.edu</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><i>Study author: Tracking emotions in early sobriety could help prevent relapse</i></p><p>OMAHA, Nebraska — A recent study of more than 1,000 people in alcohol treatment found that nearly one in three never escape the crushing anxiety or depression that often accompanies early sobriety — a red flag that may predict relapse and signal the need for more targeted care.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757447262440.jpeg" alt="Jennifer Blackford PhD" />
                        <figcaption>Jennifer Blackford PhD</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Published in “Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research” this spring, the study tracked weekly anxiety and depression symptoms during the first six weeks of treatment. While most patients saw symptoms ease quickly, researchers identified three distinct recovery paths:</p><ul>
                        <li>Low trajectory (70%) — Symptoms started low and resolved rapidly.</li><li>High trajectory (about 25%) — Symptoms started high but improved gradually.</li><li>Sustained trajectory (about 5%) — Symptoms stayed high with little change.</li>
                    </ul><p>The sustained group was more likely to have severe PTSD symptoms and other mental health diagnoses. Women were more likely than men to fall into the high-symptom depression group, highlighting a possible sex-specific risk.</p><p>“Early abstinence is a make-or-break period,” said lead author Jennifer Blackford, PhD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute. “If anxiety or depression doesn’t improve quickly, relapse risk may be much higher. The good news is, we can identify these patterns in the first few weeks and act before it’s too late.”</p><p>Alcohol use disorder affects millions of Americans and contributes to more than 140,000 deaths each year. Despite the availability of treatment, over half of patients relapse within a year. By recognizing sustained emotional distress early, clinicians may be able to tailor care — such as adding anxiety-focused psychotherapy or medication — to improve outcomes.</p><p>The researchers note that their findings come from de-identified patient data from a large community-based treatment program, making the results directly relevant to real-world clinical settings. They call for future studies to examine relapse rates in each subgroup and the impact of specific interventions.</p><p>This work was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.</p>

One in three in alcohol treatment stay in ‘danger zone’ of anxiety and depression – and it may predict relapse

On Thursday morning, the FBI released photos of a person of interest in Charlie Kirk’s shooting investigation. If you can help call&nbsp; &nbsp;1-800-CALL-FBI

<p>On Thursday morning, the FBI released photos of a person of interest in Charlie Kirk’s shooting investigation. If you can help call&nbsp; &nbsp;1-800-CALL-FBI</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are asking for the public&#39;s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. <br>1-800-CALL-FBI<br>Digital media tips: <a href="https://t.co/K7maX81TjJ">https://t.co/K7maX81TjJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/ALuVkTXuDc">pic.twitter.com/ALuVkTXuDc</a></p>&mdash; FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBISaltLakeCity/status/1966169520403525760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

FBI releases images of person of interest in Charlie Kirk assassination

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pay respects at the Pentagon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/September11?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#September11</a> <a href="https://t.co/YCQxPwTdd9">pic.twitter.com/YCQxPwTdd9</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1966156710516535597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">American flag unfurled at the Pentagon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/September11?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#September11</a> <a href="https://t.co/LfRZnhj6jl">pic.twitter.com/LfRZnhj6jl</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1966094979928916467?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/HGH3yQKdO7">https://t.co/HGH3yQKdO7</a></p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1966125485894648215?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> arrive at the Pentagon on the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks <a href="https://t.co/OWMKaYbiFm">pic.twitter.com/OWMKaYbiFm</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1966126089706611011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> stand for the National Anthem alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecWar</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/thejointstaff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thejointstaff</a> Chairman at the Pentagon 9/11 observance ceremony. <a href="https://t.co/9cBaXxPaIZ">pic.twitter.com/9cBaXxPaIZ</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1966126949019038115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rudy Giuliani, Eric Adams, Michael Bloomberg -- 9/11 memorial ceremony NYC <a href="https://t.co/vzp8nK2H6Y">pic.twitter.com/vzp8nK2H6Y</a></p>&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1966119847542272100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> honors the memory of Army Lieutenant Colonel Kip Taylor, a young father who was killed at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.<br><br>Kip&#39;s son, Luke, is now a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/qlmYXdP95t">pic.twitter.com/qlmYXdP95t</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1966143280980312241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">. <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecWar</a> &quot;Twenty-four years ago, Islamist terrorists massacred nearly three thousand innocent American lives in New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania and right here at the Pentagon.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Eii2fqH8JL">pic.twitter.com/Eii2fqH8JL</a></p>&mdash; DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1966138258553024803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">. <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecWar</a> &quot;An entire generation of warriors step forward, willing to pay the ultimate price to exact retribution and secure our country.<br><br>Forged in the crucible of Afghanistan and Iraq, we stood watch in distant lands on dangerous missions, often in retrospect, nebulous missions.… <a href="https://t.co/jjp9e2f20h">pic.twitter.com/jjp9e2f20h</a></p>&mdash; DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1966139296345370630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">. <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@secwar</a> &quot;Here today, we honor those 184 rings of the bell... souls lost at the Pentagon and on Flight 77. <br><br>Even as first responders were grossly outnumbered by the wounded. Many ran toward the chaos.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/K8HBtaM3ty">pic.twitter.com/K8HBtaM3ty</a></p>&mdash; DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1966140291758629333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥US marks 24th anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks

Every September 11, the country stops—if only for a moment—to remember. For some, it’s the ringing of bells at ground zero. For others, it’s a flag hung on the front porch, or a name whispered in prayer. Patriot Day isn’t a day off work or school—it’s a day of carrying memory in the middle of everyday life.

Across Nebraska this morning, flags fly at half-staff. In small towns and city centers alike, sirens and church bells marked 8:46 a.m.—the moment the first plane struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. For many, the sound echoed not just across the nation’s history, but into personal memory.

What makes this year different, nearly a quarter-century later, is that an entire generation of Americans is growing up with no personal memory of 9/11. College students and young service members now were born after the attacks. For them, Patriot Day is history—something taught, not lived. And yet, across classrooms and communities, the remembrance endures. Teachers light candles, coaches ask for a moment of silence before practice, neighbors line their streets with flags. Memory has become ritual, and ritual has become tradition.

Patriot Day is about more than looking back. It’s about the responsibility to carry forward the lessons of unity, sacrifice, and resilience that came in the days after. It is a reminder that even in the darkest of hours, Americans leaned on each other—firefighters carried strangers down stairwells, volunteers lined up to give blood, and neighbors gathered on porches just to be together.

Two decades on, remembrance has softened from raw grief to a steadier kind of honoring: teaching our children what courage looks like, thanking a first responder, or simply pausing at 8:46 a.m. to take a breath and remember that ordinary people can rise to extraordinary moments.

Patriot Day is not only about the lives lost—it’s about the living promise to never forget. And in the quiet acts of remembrance happening in towns large and small today, that promise is still being kept.

Patriot Day is not a federal holiday. Work continues, schools remain open, life moves forward. But that may be the point. On September 11 each year, remembrance lives in the ordinary moments of daily life—an anthem sung, a bell tolled, a flag unfurled against the wide Nebraska sky.

It’s a reminder that even in the heartland, far from New York or Washington, the memory of 9/11 lives on—not just in history books, but in the ways communities come together, quietly but firmly, to honor the lives lost and the courage found.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757600107946.jpeg" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Every September 11, the country stops—if only for a moment—to remember. For some, it’s the ringing of bells at ground zero. For others, it’s a flag hung on the front porch, or a name whispered in prayer. Patriot Day isn’t a day off work or school—it’s a day of carrying memory in the middle of everyday life.</p><p>Across Nebraska this morning, flags fly at half-staff. In small towns and city centers alike, sirens and church bells marked 8:46 a.m.—the moment the first plane struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. For many, the sound echoed not just across the nation’s history, but into personal memory.</p><p>What makes this year different, nearly a quarter-century later, is that an entire generation of Americans is growing up with no personal memory of 9/11. College students and young service members now were born after the attacks. For them, Patriot Day is history—something taught, not lived. And yet, across classrooms and communities, the remembrance endures. Teachers light candles, coaches ask for a moment of silence before practice, neighbors line their streets with flags. Memory has become ritual, and ritual has become tradition.</p><p>Patriot Day is about more than looking back. It’s about the responsibility to carry forward the lessons of unity, sacrifice, and resilience that came in the days after. It is a reminder that even in the darkest of hours, Americans leaned on each other—firefighters carried strangers down stairwells, volunteers lined up to give blood, and neighbors gathered on porches just to be together.</p><p>Two decades on, remembrance has softened from raw grief to a steadier kind of honoring: teaching our children what courage looks like, thanking a first responder, or simply pausing at 8:46 a.m. to take a breath and remember that ordinary people can rise to extraordinary moments.</p><p>Patriot Day is not only about the lives lost—it’s about the living promise to never forget. And in the quiet acts of remembrance happening in towns large and small today, that promise is still being kept.</p><p>Patriot Day is not a federal holiday. Work continues, schools remain open, life moves forward. But that may be the point. On September 11 each year, remembrance lives in the ordinary moments of daily life—an anthem sung, a bell tolled, a flag unfurled against the wide Nebraska sky.</p><p>It’s a reminder that even in the heartland, far from New York or Washington, the memory of 9/11 lives on—not just in history books, but in the ways communities come together, quietly but firmly, to honor the lives lost and the courage found.</p>

Patriot Day: The Quiet Ways We Remember

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FBI Special Agent In Charge Robert Bohls: &quot;We have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday&#39;s shooting. It is a high powered bolt action rifle.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/OQNPXBSmut">pic.twitter.com/OQNPXBSmut</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1966131586623004918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The FBI has created a digital media tip line seeking information regarding the shooting at Utah Valley University that took place on September 10, 2025: <a href="https://t.co/aNUqciEesp">https://t.co/aNUqciEesp</a></p>&mdash; FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBISaltLakeCity/status/1965906435054694671?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The FBI has created a digital media tip line seeking information regarding the shooting at Utah Valley University that took place on September 10, 2025: <a href="https://t.co/aNUqciEesp">https://t.co/aNUqciEesp</a></p>&mdash; FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBISaltLakeCity/status/1965906435054694671?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 FBI gives update on their work to ID Charlie Kirk's killer 

Nebraska DHHS and Gov. Jim Pillen’s budget team had decided not to renew contract despite legislative funding

By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — State officials will continue to fund Nebraska’s statewide drug disposal program, reversing a midsummer decision not to renew a contract despite legislative funding having been set aside for that purpose.

Lawmakers approved an annual $289,416 appropriation for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to continue contracting for such a program to properly dispose of prescription drugs. It’s the same process that’s been in place for a program the state has at least partially funded since 2015.&nbsp;

But state officials, as of July 1, refused to renew the contract until this week, effectively freezing the funds.

The state restored funding after the Nebraska Examiner asked DHHS about the cut last week and sought more information from the agency and the Governor’s Office, including why the state cut came without legislative approval and whether DHHS had made any other similar administrative cuts.

“This program is money well spent,” said Haley Pertzborn, CEO of the Nebraska Pharmacists Association, which helps oversee and run the program. “We know it’s heavily utilized by Nebraskans, by communities. It’s a program that honestly runs itself for the most part.”

One Hastings pharmacist who has participated in the program since 2016, Katie Trambly, said the state’s decision left her and others in a “holding pattern” and that she was “thrilled” by the reversal.

Trambly said the program had taken a difficult situation for patients who often don’t know what to do with expired or unused medications and made it simpler. She and Pertzborn said the program is particularly helpful to dispose of medications that, if left around, might be targeted for theft or would be particularly toxic to children or pets, including opioids.

Nearly 280,000 pounds of unused medication, or 140 tons, have been disposed of since the program became operational in 2016, according to Amy Holman, project coordinator with the Nebraska Pharmacists Association. That is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-whale#:~:text=Appearance,are%20generally%20larger%20than%20males." target="_blank">roughly the size of a blue whale</a>, the largest animal in the world.

The association has also marketed the program’s success by saying the amount of disposed drugs would weigh as much as 16 male African elephants.

The Nebraska program allows people to drop off no longer needed prescription drugs at a participating local pharmacy at no cost to the person dropping off. Meds are then forwarded to Texas to be incinerated.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nebraskameds.org/who-we-are" target="_blank">Nebraska MEDS Coalition</a>, which consists of community and state partners, including DHHS and the Nebraska State Patrol, helped establish the program in 2016. The effort formed in response to studies by the U.S. Geological Survey and others finding traces of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in U.S. drinking water supplies.

The program has also helped get opioids out of Nebraska homes, with DHHS&nbsp;<a href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Make-Every-Day-a-Drug-Take-Back-Day-in-Nebraska-04282022.aspx" target="_blank">marketing the program</a>&nbsp;as “every day can be a take-back day in Nebraska.”

In addition to state dollars, the&nbsp;<a href="https://environmentaltrust.nebraska.gov/about/" target="_blank">Nebraska Environmental Trust</a>&nbsp;has awarded the program an additional $400,000 annual grant that requires a portion of matching funds. The Trust is funded by Nebraska Lottery proceeds with a goal of funding projects that “conserve, enhance and restore the natural environments of Nebraska.”

DHHS and state budget officials denied the association’s attempt to renew the contract when the new fiscal year began in July and informed the association of the decision in early August, one month into the fiscal year.&nbsp;That decision inadvertently cut off the Environmental Trust funds, too.

“Drug disposal program costs should be funded by the pharmaceutical and health care industries, not by taxpayers,” Laura Strimple, a spokesperson for Gov. Jim Pillen, had told the Nebraska Examiner. “The decision to not spend the appropriation was made after a review of the contract in consideration of an extension beyond the original term.”

Another reason state officials cited for not renewing the contract was the loss of access to federal funding for the program, despite the association having no record of using federal funds.

Pertzborn said her team had been proactive in trying to see what would be needed for a contract extension as early as January or February, partly because of the program’s daily use.

Pillen had not targeted the funding for elimination in his&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/01/15/gov-pillen-proposes-his-answer-to-432-million-projected-budget-shortfall/">latest budget recommendations</a>&nbsp;and did not mention it as a possible cut while lawmakers worked to close a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/05/06/what-to-expect-as-debate-on-nebraskas-2025-27-budget-begins/">multi-hundred-million-dollar budget shortfall</a>.&nbsp;

Pertzborn said DHHS officials also had repeatedly indicated to her organization that an expected contract renewal was “all good,” so pharmacists continued the program as normal in July.

About a month later, though, in early August, DHHS informed the association that the state budget administrator had denied the contract renewal, leaving Pertzborn and company “alarmed.”

Pertzborn said the association was not “at all” in a position to take on the immediate costs and worked with a network of 270 pharmacies to communicate that pharmacists could no longer order supplies to collect new medications and send them to Texas.

It also meant a pause in a contract between the pharmacists’ association and the local poison control center, which had operated an associated phone line as part of the program.

“You have to stop everything,” Pertzborn told pharmacies. “Use what you have, and we’ll provide you more information as we can.”

The DHHS notification to the association regarding the contract denial said there was a possible appeals process, yet Pertzborn said when her team inquired about how to do so, they learned there was no such process. She said her team was still waiting for documentation that the program had utilized federal funding, too.

Over the 10-year lifespan of the program, state lawmakers appropriated nearly $3 million from Nebraska taxpayers.&nbsp;

DHHS said it used federal funding to replace — not complement — state funding, such as through a targeted opioid drug disposal grant, a state opioid response drug disposal grant and a public health block grant.

A DHHS spokesperson said a total of $100,000 in federal funding had been used&nbsp;over the program’s existence&nbsp;to offset state funding. That federal investment amounts to about 3% of the state investment.

“I understand we have things to cut, I totally understand where they’re coming from,” Pertzborn said. “But I don’t understand cutting something that is so heavily utilized and that is doing a giant service to Nebraska.”

In response to Examiner questions, Strimple confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the state would, following engagement with stakeholders and policymakers, work to extend the contract for this fiscal year, through June 30, 2026.

“This extension will allow for further legislative consideration of this program,” Strimple said.

The move puts the program in the hot seat for the 2026 legislative session as lawmakers are set to address another projected budget shortfall in the middle of a two-year budgeting cycle. Without a change in law, the program would still have at least some dedicated funding through June 30, 2027.

Neither DHHS nor Strimple answered whether the Pillen administration had cut other programs administratively since lawmakers passed the 2025-27 budget in May.

Trambly, director of pharmacy for B&amp;R Stores Inc., which includes Russ’s Market and Super Saver, now oversees 15 pharmacies, including 12 in Nebraska.&nbsp;

She explained that before the statewide program began, no pharmacy she had worked for had a solid system to dispose of such medications in a healthy way for the community.

Twice-a-year drug take-back programs through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dea.gov/takebackday" target="_blank">U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration</a>&nbsp;are helpful, Trambly said. But, she said, that’s “if you catch wind that it’s happening and have the availability to get there that day.”&nbsp;

Pertzborn said the DEA take-back program is also not active in every county and likely misses many Nebraskans. With a daily program, Pertzborn and Tambly said, patients can come at any time a participating pharmacy is open.

“There’s no gray area, it’s black and white. We can take these medications back,” Trambly said.

Trambly said that while she can’t speak to groundwater impacts, she can reflect as a mom of three children on the risk of medications like hormones, narcotics or chemotherapy drugs ending up in the state’s soil or water.

“I’m just really uncomfortable knowing that we wouldn’t be doing anything to prevent that from happening,” Trambly said.

Pertzborn and Trambly said the program also helps grieving families who are sometimes left with medications after a loved one dies. One pharmacy once collected a full trash bag of medicines from one family in such a case, Pertzborn said.

“It makes a world of difference to them and has just been great to be able to provide that to those people,” Trambly said.

Multiple lawmakers the Examiner contacted said they weren’t necessarily opposed to the executive branch’s suggestion that pharmaceutical companies pay all or part of the bill. But many said the decision needed to be hashed out, including in the legislative budgeting process.

State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward was among lawmakers hoping funding could be restored, citing groundwater concerns. She said she was happy to later learn funding would be reestablished.

“As far as who pays for it, that can be discussed, and I’m open to looking for other sources of funding,” Hughes said in a text.

Hughes had successfully worked with the Nebraska Pharmacists Association and Pillen’s team to establish a prescription drug donation program for unexpired medications with&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/19/all-systems-go-medicine-now-flows-in-nebraska-iowa-prescription-drug-donation-program/">Iowa’s SafeNetRx nonprofit</a>. That program launched July 1 despite its own&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/funding-restored-for-nebraska-iowa-prescription-drug-donation-program-partnership/">budgetary problems</a>&nbsp;this spring.

The drug disposal and donation programs will both be funded this year, Strimple said.

State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, chair of the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee, said his understanding was that the state had replaced federal funding and that state funding was supposed to be temporary. He noted that it’s unusual for state dollars to replace federal dollars, but in this case, the reverse had happened.

Like Pillen’s team, Clements said he thought pharmaceutical companies profiting from the drugs could contribute to their disposal, similar to how tobacco companies help fund some tobacco prevention programs.

“‘Big Pharma’ could contribute, and they would get some good public relations where they have some negative right now,” Clements said.

While future funding remains an unanswered question, Trambly, Pertzborn and Holman said they are thrilled with the contract reconsideration.

“We are open to any conversations about funding sources and are happy to look at ways that we can adjust the budget for this program going forward,” Holman said Wednesday. “But I think everyone can now see that it is a very important program in Nebraska that people care about and has been very successful for 10 years now.”

<h2>Nebraska DHHS and Gov. Jim Pillen’s budget team had decided not to renew contract despite legislative funding</h2><p>By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a></p><p>LINCOLN — State officials will continue to fund Nebraska’s statewide drug disposal program, reversing a midsummer decision not to renew a contract despite legislative funding having been set aside for that purpose.</p><p>Lawmakers approved an annual $289,416 appropriation for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to continue contracting for such a program to properly dispose of prescription drugs. It’s the same process that’s been in place for a program the state has at least partially funded since 2015.&nbsp;</p><p>But state officials, as of July 1, refused to renew the contract until this week, effectively freezing the funds.</p><p>The state restored funding after the Nebraska Examiner asked DHHS about the cut last week and sought more information from the agency and the Governor’s Office, including why the state cut came without legislative approval and whether DHHS had made any other similar administrative cuts.</p><p>“This program is money well spent,” said Haley Pertzborn, CEO of the Nebraska Pharmacists Association, which helps oversee and run the program. “We know it’s heavily utilized by Nebraskans, by communities. It’s a program that honestly runs itself for the most part.”</p><h2>Elephant in the room</h2><p>One Hastings pharmacist who has participated in the program since 2016, Katie Trambly, said the state’s decision left her and others in a “holding pattern” and that she was “thrilled” by the reversal.</p><p>Trambly said the program had taken a difficult situation for patients who often don’t know what to do with expired or unused medications and made it simpler. She and Pertzborn said the program is particularly helpful to dispose of medications that, if left around, might be targeted for theft or would be particularly toxic to children or pets, including opioids.</p><p>Nearly 280,000 pounds of unused medication, or 140 tons, have been disposed of since the program became operational in 2016, according to Amy Holman, project coordinator with the Nebraska Pharmacists Association. That is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-whale#:~:text=Appearance,are%20generally%20larger%20than%20males." target="_blank">roughly the size of a blue whale</a>, the largest animal in the world.</p><p>The association has also marketed the program’s success by saying the amount of disposed drugs would weigh as much as 16 male African elephants.</p><p>The Nebraska program allows people to drop off no longer needed prescription drugs at a participating local pharmacy at no cost to the person dropping off. Meds are then forwarded to Texas to be incinerated.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757595889920.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>A hiccup in the program</h2><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nebraskameds.org/who-we-are" target="_blank">Nebraska MEDS Coalition</a>, which consists of community and state partners, including DHHS and the Nebraska State Patrol, helped establish the program in 2016. The effort formed in response to studies by the U.S. Geological Survey and others finding traces of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in U.S. drinking water supplies.</p><p>The program has also helped get opioids out of Nebraska homes, with DHHS&nbsp;<a href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Make-Every-Day-a-Drug-Take-Back-Day-in-Nebraska-04282022.aspx" target="_blank">marketing the program</a>&nbsp;as “every day can be a take-back day in Nebraska.”</p><p>In addition to state dollars, the&nbsp;<a href="https://environmentaltrust.nebraska.gov/about/" target="_blank">Nebraska Environmental Trust</a>&nbsp;has awarded the program an additional $400,000 annual grant that requires a portion of matching funds. The Trust is funded by Nebraska Lottery proceeds with a goal of funding projects that “conserve, enhance and restore the natural environments of Nebraska.”</p><p>DHHS and state budget officials denied the association’s attempt to renew the contract when the new fiscal year began in July and informed the association of the decision in early August, one month into the fiscal year.&nbsp;That decision inadvertently cut off the Environmental Trust funds, too.</p><p>“Drug disposal program costs should be funded by the pharmaceutical and health care industries, not by taxpayers,” Laura Strimple, a spokesperson for Gov. Jim Pillen, had told the Nebraska Examiner. “The decision to not spend the appropriation was made after a review of the contract in consideration of an extension beyond the original term.”</p><p>Another reason state officials cited for not renewing the contract was the loss of access to federal funding for the program, despite the association having no record of using federal funds.</p><h2>‘You have to stop everything’</h2><p>Pertzborn said her team had been proactive in trying to see what would be needed for a contract extension as early as January or February, partly because of the program’s daily use.</p><p>Pillen had not targeted the funding for elimination in his&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/01/15/gov-pillen-proposes-his-answer-to-432-million-projected-budget-shortfall/">latest budget recommendations</a>&nbsp;and did not mention it as a possible cut while lawmakers worked to close a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/05/06/what-to-expect-as-debate-on-nebraskas-2025-27-budget-begins/">multi-hundred-million-dollar budget shortfall</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Pertzborn said DHHS officials also had repeatedly indicated to her organization that an expected contract renewal was “all good,” so pharmacists continued the program as normal in July.</p><p>About a month later, though, in early August, DHHS informed the association that the state budget administrator had denied the contract renewal, leaving Pertzborn and company “alarmed.”</p><p>Pertzborn said the association was not “at all” in a position to take on the immediate costs and worked with a network of 270 pharmacies to communicate that pharmacists could no longer order supplies to collect new medications and send them to Texas.</p><p>It also meant a pause in a contract between the pharmacists’ association and the local poison control center, which had operated an associated phone line as part of the program.</p><p>“You have to stop everything,” Pertzborn told pharmacies. “Use what you have, and we’ll provide you more information as we can.”</p><p>The DHHS notification to the association regarding the contract denial said there was a possible appeals process, yet Pertzborn said when her team inquired about how to do so, they learned there was no such process. She said her team was still waiting for documentation that the program had utilized federal funding, too.</p><h2>Funding restored, contract reconsidered</h2><p>Over the 10-year lifespan of the program, state lawmakers appropriated nearly $3 million from Nebraska taxpayers.&nbsp;</p><p>DHHS said it used federal funding to replace — not complement — state funding, such as through a targeted opioid drug disposal grant, a state opioid response drug disposal grant and a public health block grant.</p><p>A DHHS spokesperson said a total of $100,000 in federal funding had been used&nbsp;over the program’s existence&nbsp;to offset state funding. That federal investment amounts to about 3% of the state investment.</p><p>“I understand we have things to cut, I totally understand where they’re coming from,” Pertzborn said. “But I don’t understand cutting something that is so heavily utilized and that is doing a giant service to Nebraska.”</p><p>In response to Examiner questions, Strimple confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the state would, following engagement with stakeholders and policymakers, work to extend the contract for this fiscal year, through June 30, 2026.</p><p>“This extension will allow for further legislative consideration of this program,” Strimple said.</p><p>The move puts the program in the hot seat for the 2026 legislative session as lawmakers are set to address another projected budget shortfall in the middle of a two-year budgeting cycle. Without a change in law, the program would still have at least some dedicated funding through June 30, 2027.</p><p>Neither DHHS nor Strimple answered whether the Pillen administration had cut other programs administratively since lawmakers passed the 2025-27 budget in May.</p><h2>‘A world of difference’</h2><p>Trambly, director of pharmacy for B&amp;R Stores Inc., which includes Russ’s Market and Super Saver, now oversees 15 pharmacies, including 12 in Nebraska.&nbsp;</p><p>She explained that before the statewide program began, no pharmacy she had worked for had a solid system to dispose of such medications in a healthy way for the community.</p><p>Twice-a-year drug take-back programs through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dea.gov/takebackday" target="_blank">U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration</a>&nbsp;are helpful, Trambly said. But, she said, that’s “if you catch wind that it’s happening and have the availability to get there that day.”&nbsp;</p><p>Pertzborn said the DEA take-back program is also not active in every county and likely misses many Nebraskans. With a daily program, Pertzborn and Tambly said, patients can come at any time a participating pharmacy is open.</p><p>“There’s no gray area, it’s black and white. We can take these medications back,” Trambly said.</p><p>Trambly said that while she can’t speak to groundwater impacts, she can reflect as a mom of three children on the risk of medications like hormones, narcotics or chemotherapy drugs ending up in the state’s soil or water.</p><p>“I’m just really uncomfortable knowing that we wouldn’t be doing anything to prevent that from happening,” Trambly said.</p><p>Pertzborn and Trambly said the program also helps grieving families who are sometimes left with medications after a loved one dies. One pharmacy once collected a full trash bag of medicines from one family in such a case, Pertzborn said.</p><p>“It makes a world of difference to them and has just been great to be able to provide that to those people,” Trambly said.</p><h2>Future funding</h2><p>Multiple lawmakers the Examiner contacted said they weren’t necessarily opposed to the executive branch’s suggestion that pharmaceutical companies pay all or part of the bill. But many said the decision needed to be hashed out, including in the legislative budgeting process.</p><p>State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward was among lawmakers hoping funding could be restored, citing groundwater concerns. She said she was happy to later learn funding would be reestablished.</p><p>“As far as who pays for it, that can be discussed, and I’m open to looking for other sources of funding,” Hughes said in a text.</p><p>Hughes had successfully worked with the Nebraska Pharmacists Association and Pillen’s team to establish a prescription drug donation program for unexpired medications with&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/19/all-systems-go-medicine-now-flows-in-nebraska-iowa-prescription-drug-donation-program/">Iowa’s SafeNetRx nonprofit</a>. That program launched July 1 despite its own&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/funding-restored-for-nebraska-iowa-prescription-drug-donation-program-partnership/">budgetary problems</a>&nbsp;this spring.</p><p>The drug disposal and donation programs will both be funded this year, Strimple said.</p><p>State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, chair of the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee, said his understanding was that the state had replaced federal funding and that state funding was supposed to be temporary. He noted that it’s unusual for state dollars to replace federal dollars, but in this case, the reverse had happened.</p><p>Like Pillen’s team, Clements said he thought pharmaceutical companies profiting from the drugs could contribute to their disposal, similar to how tobacco companies help fund some tobacco prevention programs.</p><p>“‘Big Pharma’ could contribute, and they would get some good public relations where they have some negative right now,” Clements said.</p><p>While future funding remains an unanswered question, Trambly, Pertzborn and Holman said they are thrilled with the contract reconsideration.</p><p>“We are open to any conversations about funding sources and are happy to look at ways that we can adjust the budget for this program going forward,” Holman said Wednesday. “But I think everyone can now see that it is a very important program in Nebraska that people care about and has been very successful for 10 years now.”</p>

Funding restored to Nebraska drug disposal program after midsummer cuts

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump shares a message on the assassination of Charlie Kirk.<br><br>“I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived &amp; died. The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law &amp; the patriotic devotion &amp; love of God.” <a href="https://t.co/3fBSgs4Zxa">pic.twitter.com/3fBSgs4Zxa</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1965946655188070750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥President Trump's message on the assassination of Charlie Kirk

OREM, Utah — Authorities said Thursday that a person of interest in the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk is now in custody, marking a significant development in the investigation.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the update on social media, confirming that the individual suspected of killing Kirk—who was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University—is being held by law enforcement. No further details about the person's identity or potential motive were released.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox also confirmed the apprehension of a person of interest in a live press conference.&nbsp;

"Let me make this crystal clear right now. To whoever did this,"&nbsp;Cox said of the active investigation. "We will find you. We will try you. And we will hold you accountable to the furthest account of the law."&nbsp;

On the verge of tears, Gov. Cox said "I don't care what his politics are. I care that he was an American."

Earlier reports had created confusion after UVA officials initially stated a suspect was in custody and later retracted that claim.&nbsp;

Beau Mason&nbsp;Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety  backed the initial arrest, stating the person taken in custody was not the shooter, but was booked for Obstruction of Justice. 

Now, Patel’s announcement clarifies that someone connected to the shooting is indeed detained.

Kirk, 31, was killed around 12:10 p.m. Wednesday when he was shot in the neck during a Q&amp;A session at his “American Comeback Tour” event on campus. Campus video showed the moment of the shooting amid screams, and authorities believe the shot came from a rooftop approximately 200 yards away.

University officials quickly locked down the campus, canceled classes, and began screening attendees. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies—including the FBI, ATF, UVU Police, Orem Police, and Utah Department of Public Safety—launched the investigation.

Kirk was rushed to a local hospital but died from his injuries later that day. President Donald Trump announced his death on social media, calling him “legendary,” and flags were ordered lowered to half-staff in his honor.

The arrest of a person of interest is expected to bring new clarity to the incident. However, officials have not confirmed whether the individual will face charges. The investigation remains active.

<p>OREM, Utah — Authorities said Thursday that a person of interest in the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk is now in custody, marking a significant development in the investigation.</p><p>FBI Director Kash Patel announced the update on social media, confirming that the individual suspected of killing Kirk—who was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University—is being held by law enforcement. No further details about the person's identity or potential motive were released.</p><p>Utah Governor Spencer Cox also confirmed the apprehension of a person of interest in a live press conference.&nbsp;</p><p>"Let me make this crystal clear right now. To whoever did this,"&nbsp;Cox said of the active investigation. "We will find you. We will try you. And we will hold you accountable to the furthest account of the law."&nbsp;</p><p>On the verge of tears, Gov. Cox said "I don't care what his politics are. I care that he was an American."</p><p>Earlier reports had created confusion after UVA officials initially stated a suspect was in custody and later retracted that claim.&nbsp;</p><p>Beau Mason&nbsp;Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety  backed the initial arrest, stating the person taken in custody was not the shooter, but was booked for Obstruction of Justice. </p><p>Now, Patel’s announcement clarifies that someone connected to the shooting is indeed detained.</p><p>Kirk, 31, was killed around 12:10 p.m. Wednesday when he was shot in the neck during a Q&amp;A session at his “American Comeback Tour” event on campus. Campus video showed the moment of the shooting amid screams, and authorities believe the shot came from a rooftop approximately 200 yards away.</p><p>University officials quickly locked down the campus, canceled classes, and began screening attendees. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies—including the FBI, ATF, UVU Police, Orem Police, and Utah Department of Public Safety—launched the investigation.</p><p>Kirk was rushed to a local hospital but died from his injuries later that day. President Donald Trump announced his death on social media, calling him “legendary,” and flags were ordered lowered to half-staff in his honor.</p><p>The arrest of a person of interest is expected to bring new clarity to the incident. However, officials have not confirmed whether the individual will face charges. The investigation remains active.</p>

Details Begin to Emerge in Assassination of Turning Point USA Founder

By:<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/author/katie-mckellar/">Katie McKellar</a><br><a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/">Utah News Dispatch</a>

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced.&nbsp;

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115181934991844419" target="_blank">wrote on Truth Social</a>. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

Videos circulating on social media show students scattering after a popping sound is heard, Kirk appears to be impacted by something, and begins bleeding from his neck. Witnesses say he was answering a question about gang violence and shootings in the moment he was shot.&nbsp;

In a statement, Utah Valley University confirmed Kirk had been shot at about 12:20 p.m. while speaking to the crowd.

Police are investigating and the campus has been closed for the rest of the day.

Adelaide Condie, an 18-year-old Utah Valley University student, was standing on a trash can trying to see Kirk as he answered a question about gun violence when he was hit.

“All of a sudden he got shot … It looked like it was to the chest from where I was, but people are saying it was to the neck … then he went down,” said Condie as she was leaving campus. “Everyone started running, then we all got on lockdown.”&nbsp;

The university initially reported a suspect was in custody, but reports later indicated the individual had been released.

Shooting follows No Kings protest shooting, national political violence

The shooting on the college campus in Orem, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, follows violence this summer in Utah and beyond. In July,&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/14/gunshots-break-out-in-slc-utah-during-no-kings-protest-police-urge-protesters-to-disperse/">shots rang out</a>&nbsp;as more than 10,000 people marched in Salt Lake City as part of the “No Kings” protest of the Trump administration and its policies.

A self-designated “volunteer peacekeeper” fired with a handgun after seeing a man with an AR-15-style rifle, winging him in the side and striking a protester walking by in the head.&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/17/beloved-utah-fashion-designers-friends-remember-his-life-and-his-last-moments/">Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo</a>, a fashion designer and fixture of the Polynesian community in Utah, died from the wound.

On the same day in Wisconsin, Minnesota House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman was&nbsp;<a href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/06/14/minnesota-house-democratic-leader-dead-after-politically-motivated-assassination/" target="_blank">assassinated in her home</a>, along with her husband, Mark Hortman. Police say the accused gunman,&nbsp;<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/07/15/federal-grand-jury-indicts-vance-boelter/" target="_blank">Vance Boelter</a>, disguised himself as a police officer. Boelter is also charged with shooting Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, both of whom survived, in their Champlin home.&nbsp;

Kirk is the founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://tpusa.com/" target="_blank">Turning Point USA</a>, an organization that advocates for conservative politics in educational institutions, and a close ally of the president. He is a widely known internet personality who takes his signature “prove me wrong” debates to college campuses.

His Utah visit wasn’t without controversy. In a&nbsp;<a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a>, students at Utah State University, where Kirk was scheduled to make a second appearance in the state on Sept. 30, said Kirk’s polarizing rhetoric is at odds with the inclusive atmosphere they want to preserve on campus. The petition had more than 6,800 signatures.

FBI Director Kash Patel posted on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1965851035467132940" target="_blank">X</a>&nbsp;that the FBI is “closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.”&nbsp;

“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation,” Patel said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In a statement&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SpencerJCox" target="_blank">posted to social media</a>, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he was being briefed by law enforcement “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk,” and will continue to share updates.&nbsp;

“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life,” Cox wrote. “Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”&nbsp;

On Capitol Hill, dozens of congressional Republicans offered prayers for Kirk, with whom many GOP members have personal relationships.

U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, paused the panel’s consideration of a bill and held a moment of silence after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene informed the committee of the shooting.

Vice President JD Vance offered his own statement of support on X.

“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” he wrote.

<i>Utah News Dispatch journalists McKenzie Romero, Kyle Dunphey and Alixel Cabrera, and States Newsroom reporter Jacob Fischler contributed to this story.</i>

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757541376269.png" alt="Charlie Kirk -image courtesy CSPAN" />
                        <figcaption>Charlie Kirk -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/author/katie-mckellar/">Katie McKellar</a><br><a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/">Utah News Dispatch</a></p><p>Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115181934991844419" target="_blank">wrote on Truth Social</a>. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”</p><p>Videos circulating on social media show students scattering after a popping sound is heard, Kirk appears to be impacted by something, and begins bleeding from his neck. Witnesses say he was answering a question about gang violence and shootings in the moment he was shot.&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement, Utah Valley University confirmed Kirk had been shot at about 12:20 p.m. while speaking to the crowd.</p><p>Police are investigating and the campus has been closed for the rest of the day.</p><p>Adelaide Condie, an 18-year-old Utah Valley University student, was standing on a trash can trying to see Kirk as he answered a question about gun violence when he was hit.</p><p>“All of a sudden he got shot … It looked like it was to the chest from where I was, but people are saying it was to the neck … then he went down,” said Condie as she was leaving campus. “Everyone started running, then we all got on lockdown.”&nbsp;</p><p>The university initially reported a suspect was in custody, but reports later indicated the individual had been released.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757541335583.png" alt="Police respond to the scene of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, who was speaking during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)" />
                        <figcaption>Police respond to the scene of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, who was speaking during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Shooting follows No Kings protest shooting, national political violence</h2><p>The shooting on the college campus in Orem, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, follows violence this summer in Utah and beyond. In July,&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/14/gunshots-break-out-in-slc-utah-during-no-kings-protest-police-urge-protesters-to-disperse/">shots rang out</a>&nbsp;as more than 10,000 people marched in Salt Lake City as part of the “No Kings” protest of the Trump administration and its policies.</p><p>A self-designated “volunteer peacekeeper” fired with a handgun after seeing a man with an AR-15-style rifle, winging him in the side and striking a protester walking by in the head.&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/17/beloved-utah-fashion-designers-friends-remember-his-life-and-his-last-moments/">Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo</a>, a fashion designer and fixture of the Polynesian community in Utah, died from the wound.</p><p>On the same day in Wisconsin, Minnesota House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman was&nbsp;<a href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/06/14/minnesota-house-democratic-leader-dead-after-politically-motivated-assassination/" target="_blank">assassinated in her home</a>, along with her husband, Mark Hortman. Police say the accused gunman,&nbsp;<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/07/15/federal-grand-jury-indicts-vance-boelter/" target="_blank">Vance Boelter</a>, disguised himself as a police officer. Boelter is also charged with shooting Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, both of whom survived, in their Champlin home.&nbsp;</p><h2>Kirk’s visit to Utah drew criticism</h2><p>Kirk is the founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://tpusa.com/" target="_blank">Turning Point USA</a>, an organization that advocates for conservative politics in educational institutions, and a close ally of the president. He is a widely known internet personality who takes his signature “prove me wrong” debates to college campuses.</p><p>His Utah visit wasn’t without controversy. In a&nbsp;<a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a>, students at Utah State University, where Kirk was scheduled to make a second appearance in the state on Sept. 30, said Kirk’s polarizing rhetoric is at odds with the inclusive atmosphere they want to preserve on campus. The petition had more than 6,800 signatures.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757541297936.png" alt="The Utah Valley University courtyard where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot is pictured in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)" />
                        <figcaption>The Utah Valley University courtyard where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot is pictured in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Concern for Kirk flows in</h2><p>FBI Director Kash Patel posted on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1965851035467132940" target="_blank">X</a>&nbsp;that the FBI is “closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation,” Patel said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SpencerJCox" target="_blank">posted to social media</a>, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he was being briefed by law enforcement “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk,” and will continue to share updates.&nbsp;</p><p>“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life,” Cox wrote. “Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”&nbsp;</p><p>On Capitol Hill, dozens of congressional Republicans offered prayers for Kirk, with whom many GOP members have personal relationships.</p><p>U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, paused the panel’s consideration of a bill and held a moment of silence after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene informed the committee of the shooting.</p><p>Vice President JD Vance offered his own statement of support on X.</p><p>“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” he wrote.</p><p><i>Utah News Dispatch journalists McKenzie Romero, Kyle Dunphey and Alixel Cabrera, and States Newsroom reporter Jacob Fischler contributed to this story.</i></p>

Charlie Kirk dies after shooting at Utah Valley University

OREM, Utah&nbsp; —&nbsp;President Donald Trump announced today that conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after being shot during an event in Utah.

 Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, sending students scrambling for cover and prompting a massive law enforcement response.

Kirk, 31, was hit in the neck just after noon during a <a href="https://tpusa.com/">Turning Point USA</a> event in the school’s Sorensen Center courtyard. He had been answering a question from a student at a “Prove Me Wrong” debate table when a single shot rang out.

Witnesses said Kirk grabbed his neck and collapsed as blood became visible. “It was one shot, aimed directly at him,” said former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was on campus and saw the shooting unfold.

Video from the event showed students screaming, diving for the ground, and rushing away from the courtyard.&nbsp;

Campus officials initially reported that a suspect had been taken into custody but later walked back that statement. Police said the person detained was not the shooter, who remains at large. Authorities believe the shot came from about 200 yards away, fired from a nearby building.

Kirk was rushed by security to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition and ultimately died.

The university immediately placed the campus on lockdown, canceled classes and events for the rest of the day, and advised students to either shelter in place or evacuate with police guidance.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined local officers in the investigation.

National leaders from both parties condemned the violence. Former President Donald Trump called Kirk “a great guy from top to bottom” and urged Americans to pray for him. Vice President J.D. Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father,” while Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries said political violence must not be tolerated.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the shooting “disgusting, vile and reprehensible.”

Kirk, a close Trump ally, co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and is known for hosting provocative debates on college campuses. Wednesday’s event was part of his “American Comeback Tour,” which features his signature “Prove Me Wrong” sessions with students.

Kirk has long been an outspoken supporter of the Second Amendment, often arguing that armed citizens are essential to protecting freedom and deterring government overreach. Through Turning Point USA and his media platforms, he has opposed new gun restrictions and aligned himself with groups that advocate expansive gun rights.

Just before the shot that fatally killed Kirk, he was fielding questions about mass shootings and gun violence.&nbsp;

"Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" an audience member asked. Kirk responded with a simple, "too many."&nbsp;

The follow up question: "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?"&nbsp;

"Counting or not counting gang violence?" Kirk asked in clarification.

Kirk was noted as going limp in his chair.&nbsp;

Utah Valley University said counseling resources will be available to students and staff in the coming days.

Close friend of Kirk and political commentator, Brilyn Hollyhand said in an interview with Fox News "I want viewers to remember Charlie as a family man... Who took still took the time to turn his phone off on Sundays. To go to church with his kids. To go to church with his wife. And those are who people are thinking of right now. His amazing wife Erica, his two young children. What do you say to them now? Do you say that dad went to speak at a college campus, a place of free expression and he never came home?"&nbsp;

 Hollyhand drove home that Kirk always opened his talks with "if we disagree please come to the front of the line." He believes this person who disagreed with him could have solved everything just by talking and Kirk would still be here.&nbsp;

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757536658284.jpeg" alt="Charlie Kirk 2025" />
                        <figcaption>Charlie Kirk 2025</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>OREM, Utah&nbsp; —&nbsp;President Donald Trump announced today that conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after being shot during an event in Utah.</p><div><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115181934991844419/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><script src="https://truthsocial.com/embed.js" async="async"></script></div><p> Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, sending students scrambling for cover and prompting a massive law enforcement response.</p><p>Kirk, 31, was hit in the neck just after noon during a <a href="https://tpusa.com/">Turning Point USA</a> event in the school’s Sorensen Center courtyard. He had been answering a question from a student at a “Prove Me Wrong” debate table when a single shot rang out.</p><p>Witnesses said Kirk grabbed his neck and collapsed as blood became visible. “It was one shot, aimed directly at him,” said former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was on campus and saw the shooting unfold.</p><p>Video from the event showed students screaming, diving for the ground, and rushing away from the courtyard.&nbsp;</p><p>Campus officials initially reported that a suspect had been taken into custody but later walked back that statement. Police said the person detained was not the shooter, who remains at large. Authorities believe the shot came from about 200 yards away, fired from a nearby building.</p><p>Kirk was rushed by security to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition and ultimately died.</p><p>The university immediately placed the campus on lockdown, canceled classes and events for the rest of the day, and advised students to either shelter in place or evacuate with police guidance.</p><p>The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined local officers in the investigation.</p><div><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115181549363103818/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><script src="https://truthsocial.com/embed.js" async="async"></script></div><p>National leaders from both parties condemned the violence. Former President Donald Trump called Kirk “a great guy from top to bottom” and urged Americans to pray for him. Vice President J.D. Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father,” while Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries said political violence must not be tolerated.</p><p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the shooting “disgusting, vile and reprehensible.”</p><p>Kirk, a close Trump ally, co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and is known for hosting provocative debates on college campuses. Wednesday’s event was part of his “American Comeback Tour,” which features his signature “Prove Me Wrong” sessions with students.</p><p>Kirk has long been an outspoken supporter of the Second Amendment, often arguing that armed citizens are essential to protecting freedom and deterring government overreach. Through Turning Point USA and his media platforms, he has opposed new gun restrictions and aligned himself with groups that advocate expansive gun rights.</p><p>Just before the shot that fatally killed Kirk, he was fielding questions about mass shootings and gun violence.&nbsp;</p><p>"Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" an audience member asked. Kirk responded with a simple, "too many."&nbsp;</p><p>The follow up question: "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?"&nbsp;</p><p>"Counting or not counting gang violence?" Kirk asked in clarification.</p><p>A single shot then rung out. </p><p>Kirk was noted as going limp in his chair.&nbsp;</p><p>Utah Valley University said counseling resources will be available to students and staff in the coming days.</p><p>Close friend of Kirk and political commentator, Brilyn Hollyhand said in an interview with Fox News "I want viewers to remember Charlie as a family man... Who took still took the time to turn his phone off on Sundays. To go to church with his kids. To go to church with his wife. And those are who people are thinking of right now. His amazing wife Erica, his two young children. What do you say to them now? Do you say that dad went to speak at a college campus, a place of free expression and he never came home?"&nbsp;</p><p> Hollyhand drove home that Kirk always opened his talks with "if we disagree please come to the front of the line." He believes this person who disagreed with him could have solved everything just by talking and Kirk would still be here.&nbsp;</p>

UPDATED: Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk fatally shot during Utah Valley University event; suspect not in custody

<i>Press Release: </i><a href="https://sandhillsenergy.com/blog/bsh-kilgore-files-lawsuit-to-defend-property-rights-in-cherry-county-nebraska/"><i>Sandhills Energy</i></a>

BSH Kilgore announced today it has filed a lawsuit in Cherry County District Court to defend its property rights concerning their Kilgore wind energy project. This action comes after the Cherry County Board of Adjustment voted to uphold the Cherry County Zoning Administrator’s “report” of non-compliance regarding BSH Kilgore’s valid conditional use permit.

“While we would much rather work collaboratively with Cherry County, the Board of Adjustment has, unfortunately, left us with no alternative,” says Michael Knapp, BSH Kilgore’s Senior Vice President of Operations. “Exercise of our conditional use permit is a fundamental property right, and the Board of Adjustment has acted to revoke this right without basis in law. The fact that the council members did not take the time to state reasons for their votes, until after they voted, further underscores the procedural deficiencies.”

BSH Kilgore has consistently maintained its compliance with all permit conditions. In October 2024, BSH Kilgore presented documentation to the Cherry County Board of Commissioners demonstrating its compliance with all 12 conditions of approval, which the County Board did not dispute at the time. Construction of the wind farm has been delayed by ongoing litigation, and the 44 months of prior litigation likewise “equitably tolled” all development deadlines—a fact expressly acknowledged on the record by the County’s own counsel.

“BSH Kilgore has already invested years of development on this project, and we anticipate years yet to complete it, particularly given the prior litigation,” Knapp continued. “We are well within the conditional use permit timeframes and our rights to continue with the project. We reiterate that the claims made in the zoning letter do not reflect the facts or the official permitting record.”

The legal action follows a 3-2 vote by the Board of Adjustment to affirm the Zoning Administrator’s findings. BSH Kilgore previously highlighted that the Zoning Administrator failed to contact them prior to issuing the initial letter, and that the Administrator’s assertions were “factually inaccurate and unsupported by the public record.” BSH Kilgore’s legal counsel had previously requested that the Zoning Administrator provide the sources and reasoning behind her findings, which appeared to misstate and misquote actual permit conditions.

“Property rights still matter in Cherry County, Nebraska, and we will defend those rights as necessary,” concluded Knapp. “By formally filing a lawsuit with the Cherry County District Court, we intend to safeguard our conditional use permit and the property rights it guarantees.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757531382595.jpeg" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p><i>Press Release: </i><a href="https://sandhillsenergy.com/blog/bsh-kilgore-files-lawsuit-to-defend-property-rights-in-cherry-county-nebraska/"><i>Sandhills Energy</i></a></p><p>KILGORE, NEBRASKA – September 10, 2025</p><p>BSH Kilgore announced today it has filed a lawsuit in Cherry County District Court to defend its property rights concerning their Kilgore wind energy project. This action comes after the Cherry County Board of Adjustment voted to uphold the Cherry County Zoning Administrator’s “report” of non-compliance regarding BSH Kilgore’s valid conditional use permit.</p><p>“While we would much rather work collaboratively with Cherry County, the Board of Adjustment has, unfortunately, left us with no alternative,” says Michael Knapp, BSH Kilgore’s Senior Vice President of Operations. “Exercise of our conditional use permit is a fundamental property right, and the Board of Adjustment has acted to revoke this right without basis in law. The fact that the council members did not take the time to state reasons for their votes, until after they voted, further underscores the procedural deficiencies.”</p><p>BSH Kilgore has consistently maintained its compliance with all permit conditions. In October 2024, BSH Kilgore presented documentation to the Cherry County Board of Commissioners demonstrating its compliance with all 12 conditions of approval, which the County Board did not dispute at the time. Construction of the wind farm has been delayed by ongoing litigation, and the 44 months of prior litigation likewise “equitably tolled” all development deadlines—a fact expressly acknowledged on the record by the County’s own counsel.</p><p>“BSH Kilgore has already invested years of development on this project, and we anticipate years yet to complete it, particularly given the prior litigation,” Knapp continued. “We are well within the conditional use permit timeframes and our rights to continue with the project. We reiterate that the claims made in the zoning letter do not reflect the facts or the official permitting record.”</p><p>The legal action follows a 3-2 vote by the Board of Adjustment to affirm the Zoning Administrator’s findings. BSH Kilgore previously highlighted that the Zoning Administrator failed to contact them prior to issuing the initial letter, and that the Administrator’s assertions were “factually inaccurate and unsupported by the public record.” BSH Kilgore’s legal counsel had previously requested that the Zoning Administrator provide the sources and reasoning behind her findings, which appeared to misstate and misquote actual permit conditions.</p><p>“Property rights still matter in Cherry County, Nebraska, and we will defend those rights as necessary,” concluded Knapp. “By formally filing a lawsuit with the Cherry County District Court, we intend to safeguard our conditional use permit and the property rights it guarantees.”</p>

BSH Kilgore Files Lawsuit to Defend Property Rights in Cherry County, Nebraska

WASHINGTON­—Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) delivered opening remarks at Tuesday’s hearing titled “<a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/restoring-public-trust-through-uap-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection/">Restoring Public Trust Through UFO/UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection</a>.”

In her opening statement, Task Force Chairwoman Luna highlighted the lack of transparency from the federal government and intelligence communities on the research and disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Task Force Chairwoman Luna also reiterated the importance of addressing threats to U.S. national security by (UFOs or now known as UAPs and the need for the federal government to acknowledge them.

Read the Congresswoman's full statement below:

Good morning, and welcome to this hearing regarding UAP disclosures.

For too long, the issue of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – commonly known as UAPs – has been shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and in some cases outright dismissal.&nbsp;

Today, I want to state clearly: this is not science fiction or creating speculation.&nbsp;

This is about national security, government accountability, and the American people’s right to the truth.

I have now spoken to a number of whistleblowers from the military, to include at the infamous Eglin AFB incident that occurred when myself and former Rep Matt Gaetz as well as Rep Burchett followed up on a lead from multiple active-duty air force pilot whistleblowers that alleged that the USAF was covering up UAP activity at Eglin AFB.&nbsp;

We have heard from a number of whistleblowers, specifically military pilots, that the reason for not coming forward publicly is out of fear that speaking out would cost them their flight status, and potentially their careers.&nbsp;

We cannot protect our airspace if our best-trained observers are silenced.&nbsp;

We cannot advance science if we refuse to ask questions.&nbsp;

And we cannot maintain trust in government if we keep the American people in the dark.

Now, Congress has tried to fix this problem.

Congress tried to create formal channels – through the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, also known as AARO and the Intelligence Community Inspector General – for service members and officials to make disclosures.

But the reality: the reports that come in are too often brushed aside, slow-walked, or met with skepticism rather than serious investigation. Recently, the former AARO director known as Sean Kirpatrick attacked our witness and members on this committee. It should be noted that he is a documented liar and brings into question what his purpose at AARO really was if it was not to follow up on investigations and disclose his findings to Members of Congress.&nbsp;

A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Chris Mellon, described a report published by ARRO that “found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic-sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology,” as “the most error-ridden and unsatisfactory government report I can recall reading during or after decades of government service.” Mellon further noted that this was the first ARRO report submitted to Congress without the Director of National Intelligence’s sign-off and seemingly excluded input from “any of the scholars or experts who have studied and written extensively on this topic as would normally be the case in another field.” Mellon determined that the report failed to fulfill the congressional mandate under which it was required, omitted entire agencies with “known investigations or activities relating to UAP,” and omitted any discussion of efforts to hide classified or unclassified information about UAP. Such efforts were unaddressed by the report despite the existence of agency records and investigations concerning them, including at US Customs and Border Protection.

If we set up offices and oversight bodies only to let them become graveyards for testimony or worse yet, ruses for pretending to investigate when in actuality, there was no follow up, then we are not doing our jobs.

In recent months, Congress has also been presented with evidence that points to technologies that to our knowledge, are beyond our current capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;

It is our duty as elected representatives to follow the facts, wherever they lead, and to ensure those facts are not buried under classification stamps or bureaucratic excuses.&nbsp;

Let me be clear: whether UAPs represent adversarial technology, natural phenomena, or something beyond current human understanding, Congress has a responsibility to investigate.&nbsp;

If these objects are foreign in origin, they pose a direct threat to our national security.&nbsp;

If they represent something unknown, they demand rigorous scientific inquiry – not ridicule, not secrecy, and not silence.&nbsp;

Adversarial nations are not waiting for us to catch up – they are studying these phenomena aggressively as well and multiple nations have also announced their own parliamentary investigation into this very topic.

If we continue to hide information from ourselves, we risk strategic surprises.&nbsp;

If we continue to ignore our pilots and service members as well as the countless government whistleblowers, we risk losing their trust.&nbsp;

And if we continue to shield the truth from the public, we risk eroding the very foundation of democratic accountability.&nbsp;

This is about demanding basic transparency from the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community and/or military contractors.&nbsp;

It is about asking the questions every American has the right to ask: What do we know? What don’t we know? And why, in a free society are we still being told so little?&nbsp;

A major barrier to the Committee’s inquiry into UAPs has been a lack of cooperation and transparency from the DoD and the Intelligence Community (IC). In preparation for previous UAP hearings, the Committee repeatedly asked DoD to allow Members to view videos and files relating to UAP incidents. Unfortunately, DoD notified Committee staff that due to the Department’s special access program (SAP) rules, only members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee (HAC-D) were allowed to be “read in” on such programs. For a non-committee Member to be allowed to view these documents and videos, individual Members must be approved by the Chairman and Ranking Member of both HASC and HAC-D. Independent SAP oversight has presented a consistent problem for Congress as the program’s budgets are classified. Additionally, oversight reporting to Congress is classified, and is only provided to the authorizing and appropriations committees of jurisdiction.

They do not need to be shielded like children from reality.

What they cannot tolerate – what they will not forgive – is a government that withholds the truth and punishes those who dare to speak out.

Future generations will look back on this moment and ask what we did when presented with the unknown.&nbsp;

Did we look away, embarrassed or afraid? Or did we pursue the truth with courage?&nbsp;

I intend to be on the side of truth, transparency, and accountability, and I hope my colleagues on this Task Force will be as well.&nbsp;

Senator Schumer: “Multiple credible sources” allege a constitutional crisis over UFOs.

Senator Rounds: “They are brilliant individuals.”&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“They’re not making this stuff up.”

Our current Secretary of State Rubio: “Very high clearances and high positions within our government.”

Senator McConnell: “Sane,” “Credible”

The witnesses today are not alone, far from it. In fact, 34 senior military, government, and intelligence officials have broken their silence. This includes Senator Rubio, Senator Rounds, Senator Gillibrand, General Jim Clapper, the former director of the Government’s UAP task force, the former head of aviation security on the White House national security council, a former secretary of defense, and many more.&nbsp; To quote&nbsp;Senator Rubio in the upcoming documentary Age of Disclosure: “even presidents have been operating on a need-to-know basis but that begins to spin out of control.” And to quote Senator Gillibrand who went public in a upcoming documentary, “it’s not acceptable to have secret parts of government that no one ever sees.” It is time for the fundamental truths around UAP to be revealed to our nation’s leaders and to the public.

&nbsp;It is time for the US government to exercise transparency.

<p>WASHINGTON­—Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) delivered opening remarks at Tuesday’s hearing titled “<a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/restoring-public-trust-through-uap-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection/">Restoring Public Trust Through UFO/UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection</a>.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Below is the video I revealed in our <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPoversight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GOPoversight</a> UAP hearing today, made available to the public for the first time.<br><br>October 30th, 2024: MQ-9 Reaper allegedly tracking orb off coast of Yemen. <br><br>Greenlight given to engage, missile appears to be ineffective against the target.… <a href="https://t.co/jxJwl0e00S">pic.twitter.com/jxJwl0e00S</a></p>&mdash; Rep. Eric Burlison (@RepEricBurlison) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepEricBurlison/status/1965438792493355291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔴 UAP HEARING! Watch as <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLuna?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepLuna</a> and the Task Force for the Declassification of Federal Secrets hold a hearing on restoring public trust through UAP transparency and whistleblower protection. <a href="https://t.co/TOLaBHHj9Q">https://t.co/TOLaBHHj9Q</a></p>&mdash; Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPoversight/status/1965412144264151187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>In her opening statement, Task Force Chairwoman Luna highlighted the lack of transparency from the federal government and intelligence communities on the research and disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Task Force Chairwoman Luna also reiterated the importance of addressing threats to U.S. national security by (UFOs or now known as UAPs and the need for the federal government to acknowledge them.</p><p>Read the Congresswoman's full statement below:</p><p>Good morning, and welcome to this hearing regarding UAP disclosures.</p><p>For too long, the issue of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – commonly known as UAPs – has been shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and in some cases outright dismissal.&nbsp;</p><p>Today, I want to state clearly: this is not science fiction or creating speculation.&nbsp;</p><p>This is about national security, government accountability, and the American people’s right to the truth.</p><p>I have now spoken to a number of whistleblowers from the military, to include at the infamous Eglin AFB incident that occurred when myself and former Rep Matt Gaetz as well as Rep Burchett followed up on a lead from multiple active-duty air force pilot whistleblowers that alleged that the USAF was covering up UAP activity at Eglin AFB.&nbsp;</p><p>We have heard from a number of whistleblowers, specifically military pilots, that the reason for not coming forward publicly is out of fear that speaking out would cost them their flight status, and potentially their careers.&nbsp;</p><p>That is unacceptable.&nbsp;</p><p>We cannot protect our airspace if our best-trained observers are silenced.&nbsp;</p><p>We cannot advance science if we refuse to ask questions.&nbsp;</p><p>And we cannot maintain trust in government if we keep the American people in the dark.</p><p>Now, Congress has tried to fix this problem.</p><p>Congress tried to create formal channels – through the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, also known as AARO and the Intelligence Community Inspector General – for service members and officials to make disclosures.</p><p>But the reality: the reports that come in are too often brushed aside, slow-walked, or met with skepticism rather than serious investigation. Recently, the former AARO director known as Sean Kirpatrick attacked our witness and members on this committee. It should be noted that he is a documented liar and brings into question what his purpose at AARO really was if it was not to follow up on investigations and disclose his findings to Members of Congress.&nbsp;</p><p>A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Chris Mellon, described a report published by ARRO that “found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic-sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology,” as “the most error-ridden and unsatisfactory government report I can recall reading during or after decades of government service.” Mellon further noted that this was the first ARRO report submitted to Congress without the Director of National Intelligence’s sign-off and seemingly excluded input from “any of the scholars or experts who have studied and written extensively on this topic as would normally be the case in another field.” Mellon determined that the report failed to fulfill the congressional mandate under which it was required, omitted entire agencies with “known investigations or activities relating to UAP,” and omitted any discussion of efforts to hide classified or unclassified information about UAP. Such efforts were unaddressed by the report despite the existence of agency records and investigations concerning them, including at US Customs and Border Protection.</p><p>If we set up offices and oversight bodies only to let them become graveyards for testimony or worse yet, ruses for pretending to investigate when in actuality, there was no follow up, then we are not doing our jobs.</p><p>In recent months, Congress has also been presented with evidence that points to technologies that to our knowledge, are beyond our current capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>It is our duty as elected representatives to follow the facts, wherever they lead, and to ensure those facts are not buried under classification stamps or bureaucratic excuses.&nbsp;</p><p>Let me be clear: whether UAPs represent adversarial technology, natural phenomena, or something beyond current human understanding, Congress has a responsibility to investigate.&nbsp;</p><p>If these objects are foreign in origin, they pose a direct threat to our national security.&nbsp;</p><p>If they represent something unknown, they demand rigorous scientific inquiry – not ridicule, not secrecy, and not silence.&nbsp;</p><p>The stakes are high.&nbsp;</p><p>Adversarial nations are not waiting for us to catch up – they are studying these phenomena aggressively as well and multiple nations have also announced their own parliamentary investigation into this very topic.</p><p>If we continue to hide information from ourselves, we risk strategic surprises.&nbsp;</p><p>If we continue to ignore our pilots and service members as well as the countless government whistleblowers, we risk losing their trust.&nbsp;</p><p>And if we continue to shield the truth from the public, we risk eroding the very foundation of democratic accountability.&nbsp;</p><p>That is why this hearing matters.&nbsp;</p><p>This is not about fueling speculation.</p><p>This is about demanding basic transparency from the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community and/or military contractors.&nbsp;</p><p>It is about asking the questions every American has the right to ask: What do we know? What don’t we know? And why, in a free society are we still being told so little?&nbsp;</p><p>A major barrier to the Committee’s inquiry into UAPs has been a lack of cooperation and transparency from the DoD and the Intelligence Community (IC). In preparation for previous UAP hearings, the Committee repeatedly asked DoD to allow Members to view videos and files relating to UAP incidents. Unfortunately, DoD notified Committee staff that due to the Department’s special access program (SAP) rules, only members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee (HAC-D) were allowed to be “read in” on such programs. For a non-committee Member to be allowed to view these documents and videos, individual Members must be approved by the Chairman and Ranking Member of both HASC and HAC-D. Independent SAP oversight has presented a consistent problem for Congress as the program’s budgets are classified. Additionally, oversight reporting to Congress is classified, and is only provided to the authorizing and appropriations committees of jurisdiction.</p><p>The American people are not fragile.</p><p>They do not need to be shielded like children from reality.</p><p>What they cannot tolerate – what they will not forgive – is a government that withholds the truth and punishes those who dare to speak out.</p><p>I want to close with this:</p><p>Future generations will look back on this moment and ask what we did when presented with the unknown.&nbsp;</p><p>Did we look away, embarrassed or afraid? Or did we pursue the truth with courage?&nbsp;</p><p>I intend to be on the side of truth, transparency, and accountability, and I hope my colleagues on this Task Force will be as well.&nbsp;</p><p>To quote a few elected officials:</p><p>Senator Schumer: “Multiple credible sources” allege a constitutional crisis over UFOs.</p><p>Senator Rounds: “They are brilliant individuals.”&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“They’re not making this stuff up.”</p><p>Our current Secretary of State Rubio: “Very high clearances and high positions within our government.”</p><p>Senator McConnell: “Sane,” “Credible”</p><p>The witnesses today are not alone, far from it. In fact, 34 senior military, government, and intelligence officials have broken their silence. This includes Senator Rubio, Senator Rounds, Senator Gillibrand, General Jim Clapper, the former director of the Government’s UAP task force, the former head of aviation security on the White House national security council, a former secretary of defense, and many more.&nbsp; To quote&nbsp;Senator Rubio in the upcoming documentary Age of Disclosure: “even presidents have been operating on a need-to-know basis but that begins to spin out of control.” And to quote Senator Gillibrand who went public in a upcoming documentary, “it’s not acceptable to have secret parts of government that no one ever sees.” It is time for the fundamental truths around UAP to be revealed to our nation’s leaders and to the public.</p><p>&nbsp;It is time for the US government to exercise transparency.</p>

🎥Scary: Congressman unveils video of missile bouncing off UFO

BOISE, Idaho — Armando Villarreal, an artist from Imperial, Nebraska, is bringing his hometown talent to Boise State football with a hand-painted helmet the team will wear against Appalachian State on Sept. 27. The “Front Porch of Idaho” helmet celebrates Boise’s landmarks and the state’s identity, wrapping a traditional blue helmet in white airbrushed designs accented with the school’s signature orange.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757450027178.jpeg" alt="Photo by: Kenna Harbison" />
                        <figcaption>Photo by: Kenna Harbison</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>BOISE, Idaho — Armando Villarreal, an artist from Imperial, Nebraska, is bringing his hometown talent to Boise State football with a hand-painted helmet the team will wear against Appalachian State on Sept. 27. The “Front Porch of Idaho” helmet celebrates Boise’s landmarks and the state’s identity, wrapping a traditional blue helmet in white airbrushed designs accented with the school’s signature orange.</p><p>Villarreal, a former U.S. Army Reserve member deployed to Kosovo and Iraq, said his passion for art has been lifelong. </p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gR_tFciW_cM?si=3-yLiswLyqdxPZB-" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><p>“I guess I was just born with it,” he said. “Even since the beginning, as far back as I can remember, I wanted to be an artist.” His father, a Dallas Cowboys fan, encouraged Villarreal’s early sketches, and he remembers drawing Cowboys logos and players with crayons as a child.</p><p>The helmet design features a galloping Bronco on one side, the Idaho State Capitol framed by Boise’s foothills on the other, and Albertsons Stadium with its famous blue turf on the back. The front bumper displays “208,” representing Idaho’s area code and the Capitol dome’s height. Villarreal said the project felt especially meaningful given his lifelong connection to horses. “My grandpa bought me a horse when I was a kid, and we named it Bronco,” he said. “So to paint a Bronco on this helmet, for a university known for the blue field, it felt like it was meant to be.”</p><p>Villarreal’s path to becoming a professional helmet artist was shaped by years of balancing his city job with his passion. “I’ve done hundreds of helmets over the years while working full time, but in 2022 I transitioned to being a full-time artist,” he said. “It’s exciting to have my name associated with a program like Boise State.” Each helmet undergoes a detailed process, including sanding, scuffing, and airbrushing, with each piece requiring a minimum of three hours to complete. Fulfilling a full order takes at least two months.</p><div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DOXkEp-Dmvx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DOXkEp-Dmvx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; 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<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><p>Villarreal has airbrushed helmets for 12 college programs, including BYU, Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee, UCF, and Utah. For the Boise State project, he said the challenge was combining landmarks into a cohesive design. “We put together a list of recognizable landmarks from Boise and Idaho and tried to make them flow and balance around the helmet,” he said. “The blue is such a pretty blue, and to be able to put my twist on it for such a program is just exciting.”</p><p>Boise State football, the only FBS program in the state, has been one of the nation’s most successful programs since 2000, with 262 wins and 27 straight winning seasons, the longest active streak in the country. The helmet design will also appear on t-shirts and be available at The Blue and Orange Store, Scheels, Fred Meyer locations, and online through Fanatics. Limited helmets will be available to Bronco Athletic Association members.</p>