PHOENIX (AP) — A record string of daily highs over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix ended Monday as the dangerous heat wave that suffocated the Southwest throughout July receded slightly with cooling monsoon rains.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-heat-record-48e8d06cd7c103f6bfcc4c883efd6543">historic heat</a>&nbsp;began blasting the region in June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert. Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered more and longer than most, with several records including the 31 consecutive days of 110 degrees Fahrenheit-plus weather. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.

The streak was finally broken Monday, when the high topped out at 108 degrees Fahrenheit at 3:10 p.m.

“The high temperature for Phoenix today is 108 degrees,” Jessica Leffel, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said at 5 p.m.

“The record streak of 31 straight days of 110+ degree temperatures has ended.,” the weather service said on social media. “The high temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport reached 108 degrees this afternoon, which is only 2 degrees above normal.”

The reprieve was expected to be brief, with the forecast calling for highs again above 110 for several days later in the week. And National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsch said August could be even hotter than July.

But residents and visitors were taking what they could get.

“It’s not going to last more than a couple of days, but I’m enjoying this break,” said Christine Bertaux, 76, who was cooling off Monday at a downtown day center for older people who are homeless.

“It has been REALLY hot here!” said Jeffrey Sharpe, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was in town for a long weekend that on Monday included watching his son’s two poodles frolic in a grassy dog park. “But today it was about 85 degrees, more like Wisconsin.”

Phoenix also sweated through a record 16 consecutive days when overnight lows didn’t dip below 90 degrees, making it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/homeless-heat-phoenix-climate-a47f04ee21b96651585f3684ac35cb6e">hard for people to cool off</a>&nbsp;after the sun went down.

In California, Death Valley, long considered the hottest place on Earth,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-valley-heat-wave-california-hottest-record-c1b2d83dc384e46f133d460893787c52">flirted</a>&nbsp;in July with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, reaching 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit (52.5 Celsius) on July 16 at the aptly named Furnace Creek.

The planet’s hottest recorded temperature ever was&nbsp;<a href="https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-highest-temperature">134 F (56.67 C)</a>&nbsp;in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, according to the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records.

And in Nevada, also on July 16, Las Vegas briefly reached 116 degrees&nbsp; to tie the record for that date set in 1998.

The heat in Phoenix began to ease slightly last week with the city’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-heat-wave-monsoon-4b46022dbdf81f5f7d7fcc8a455c01a8">first major storm</a>&nbsp;since the monsoon season began June 15.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-southwest-extreme-heat-wave-8a1608fef6be5194931e8e2ef07440f4">Southwest heat wave</a>&nbsp;was just one kind of extreme weather events that hit the U.S. in July. Fatal flash floods swept people and cars away in Pennsylvania, and days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/vermont-floods-storms-weather-national-e97a63311f964f04bee13c22878c60e8">flooding</a>&nbsp;led to dangerous mudslides in the Northeast.

At several points during the month, as many as a third of Americans were under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning. While not as visually dramatic as other natural disasters, experts say heat waves are deadlier — heat in parts of the South and Midwest killed more than a dozen people in June.

Rudy Soliz, who manages the center where Bertaux was cooling off, said those who visit to get a meal and cool off out of the sun “have been having a very hard time this summer.”

“Older people have a harder time with the heat, there are a lot of diabetics, people who take medicines,” he said.

“The heat has been pretty bad this summer. We’ve made at least five 911 calls from here this July for people who got heat stroke,” said Soliz. “They’ve found a couple of bodies around here this month but it’s not clear yet if they died from the heat.”

Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous and home to Phoenix,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maricopa.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5665">reported</a>&nbsp;25 heat-related deaths this year as of July 21. Another 249 deaths are listed as under investigation, and results from toxicological tests that can take weeks or months after an autopsy could lead to many being confirmed as heat-related.

Maricopa County reported 425 heat-associated deaths in all of 2022, with more than half in July.

R. Glenn Williamson, a businessman who was born in Canada but has lived in Phoenix for years, said he really noticed a temperature difference Monday morning as he washed his car in his driveway.

“Now we have to get rid of the humidity!” Williamson said. “But honestly, I’d rather have this heat than a Montreal winter.”

PHOENIX (AP) — A record string of daily highs over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix ended Monday as the dangerous heat wave that suffocated the Southwest throughout July receded slightly with cooling monsoon rains.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The record streak of 31 straight days of 110+ degree temperatures has ended. The high temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport reached 108 degrees this afternoon, which is only 2 degrees above normal. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/azwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#azwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/qeuD2iFoLr">pic.twitter.com/qeuD2iFoLr</a>&mdash; NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSPhoenix/status/1686167833162760197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-heat-record-48e8d06cd7c103f6bfcc4c883efd6543">historic heat</a>&nbsp;began blasting the region in June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert. Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered more and longer than most, with several records including the 31 consecutive days of 110 degrees Fahrenheit-plus weather. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.The streak was finally broken Monday, when the high topped out at 108 degrees Fahrenheit at 3:10 p.m.“The high temperature for Phoenix today is 108 degrees,” Jessica Leffel, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said at 5 p.m.“The record streak of 31 straight days of 110+ degree temperatures has ended.,” the weather service said on social media. “The high temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport reached 108 degrees this afternoon, which is only 2 degrees above normal.”The reprieve was expected to be brief, with the forecast calling for highs again above 110 for several days later in the week. And National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsch said August could be even hotter than July.But residents and visitors were taking what they could get.“It’s not going to last more than a couple of days, but I’m enjoying this break,” said Christine Bertaux, 76, who was cooling off Monday at a downtown day center for older people who are homeless.“It has been REALLY hot here!” said Jeffrey Sharpe, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was in town for a long weekend that on Monday included watching his son’s two poodles frolic in a grassy dog park. “But today it was about 85 degrees, more like Wisconsin.”Phoenix also sweated through a record 16 consecutive days when overnight lows didn’t dip below 90 degrees, making it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/homeless-heat-phoenix-climate-a47f04ee21b96651585f3684ac35cb6e">hard for people to cool off</a>&nbsp;after the sun went down.In California, Death Valley, long considered the hottest place on Earth,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-valley-heat-wave-california-hottest-record-c1b2d83dc384e46f133d460893787c52">flirted</a>&nbsp;in July with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, reaching 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit (52.5 Celsius) on July 16 at the aptly named Furnace Creek.The planet’s hottest recorded temperature ever was&nbsp;<a href="https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-highest-temperature">134 F (56.67 C)</a>&nbsp;in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, according to the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records.And in Nevada, also on July 16, Las Vegas briefly reached 116 degrees&nbsp; to tie the record for that date set in 1998.The heat in Phoenix began to ease slightly last week with the city’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-heat-wave-monsoon-4b46022dbdf81f5f7d7fcc8a455c01a8">first major storm</a>&nbsp;since the monsoon season began June 15.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-southwest-extreme-heat-wave-8a1608fef6be5194931e8e2ef07440f4">Southwest heat wave</a>&nbsp;was just one kind of extreme weather events that hit the U.S. in July. Fatal flash floods swept people and cars away in Pennsylvania, and days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/vermont-floods-storms-weather-national-e97a63311f964f04bee13c22878c60e8">flooding</a>&nbsp;led to dangerous mudslides in the Northeast.At several points during the month, as many as a third of Americans were under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning. While not as visually dramatic as other natural disasters, experts say heat waves are deadlier — heat in parts of the South and Midwest killed more than a dozen people in June.Rudy Soliz, who manages the center where Bertaux was cooling off, said those who visit to get a meal and cool off out of the sun “have been having a very hard time this summer.”“Older people have a harder time with the heat, there are a lot of diabetics, people who take medicines,” he said.“The heat has been pretty bad this summer. We’ve made at least five 911 calls from here this July for people who got heat stroke,” said Soliz. “They’ve found a couple of bodies around here this month but it’s not clear yet if they died from the heat.”Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous and home to Phoenix,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maricopa.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5665">reported</a>&nbsp;25 heat-related deaths this year as of July 21. Another 249 deaths are listed as under investigation, and results from toxicological tests that can take weeks or months after an autopsy could lead to many being confirmed as heat-related.Maricopa County reported 425 heat-associated deaths in all of 2022, with more than half in July.R. Glenn Williamson, a businessman who was born in Canada but has lived in Phoenix for years, said he really noticed a temperature difference Monday morning as he washed his car in his driveway.“Now we have to get rid of the humidity!” Williamson said. “But honestly, I’d rather have this heat than a Montreal winter.”___

Hottest month in history: Streak of 110 degrees ends in Phoenix

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden’s former business partner insisted in testimony to Congress Monday that President Joe Biden was never directly involved in their financial dealings, though Hunter would often put his famous father on speakerphone to impress clients and business associates.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee conducted a more than-five hour interview with Devon Archer as part of its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-irs-whistleblowers-oversight-joe-biden-1db3aadcdf7f544c16df681a25853827" target="_blank">expanding congressional inquiry</a>&nbsp;into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers inside the closed-door interview said Archer testified that over the span of 10 years, Hunter Biden put his father on the phone around 20 times while in the company of associates but “never once spoke about any business dealings.”

New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who was representing Democrats inside the room, told reporters after the interview that Archer testified that Hunter sold the “illusion of access” to his father by taking credit for things his father did as vice president that he had no part in.

But Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican member of the Oversight Committee, came out of the interview saying that testimony implicated the president directly. “I think we should do an impeachment inquiry,” the Arizona lawmaker told reporters.

Biggs, reading from his notes, said Archer testified that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-europe-business-c49555d51eb243e09a42f7577fc5937f" target="_blank">Ukrainian gas company “Burisma</a>&nbsp;would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked. People would be intimidated to legally mess with Burisma because of the Biden family brand.”

Focusing on that idea, Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of the Oversight Committee, said in a statement late Monday that “Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family.”

“We are aware that all sides are claiming victory following Mr. Archer’s voluntary interview today,” Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, said in a statement. “But all Devon Archer did was exactly what we said he would: Show up and answer the questions put to him honestly and completely.”

He added, “Mr. Archer shared the truth with the committee, and we will leave to them and others to decide what to do with it.”

The White House saw the testimony as a falling short of House Republicans promise to deliver “bombshell evidence.”

“It appears that the House Republicans’ own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his son’s associates, or doing anything wrong,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, has long been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their search to directly connect the president to his son’s various international business transactions.

Comer had issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine.” He said Archer’s testimony would be critical to the committee’s investigation.

Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, the oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board.

Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding “insufficient evidence” that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted&nbsp;<a href="https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/VPanswersJuly7th2019.pdf" target="_blank">the transcript of an interview</a>&nbsp;with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.

“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.

On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-plea-deal-congress-republicans-investigation-ad80b195c8c0f48241740881cf9b9bce" target="_blank">facing federal tax charges</a>, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.

Archer’s appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.

Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer’s surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden’s former business partner insisted in testimony to Congress Monday that President Joe Biden was never directly involved in their financial dealings, though Hunter would often put his famous father on speakerphone to impress clients and business associates.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">From Sunday, President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the beach. <a href="https://t.co/2RNK2fuTxJ">pic.twitter.com/2RNK2fuTxJ</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1686032175836086272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Republican-led House Oversight Committee conducted a more than-five hour interview with Devon Archer as part of its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-irs-whistleblowers-oversight-joe-biden-1db3aadcdf7f544c16df681a25853827" target="_blank">expanding congressional inquiry</a>&nbsp;into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers inside the closed-door interview said Archer testified that over the span of 10 years, Hunter Biden put his father on the phone around 20 times while in the company of associates but “never once spoke about any business dealings.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepDanGoldman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepDanGoldman</a>: &quot;There still is no connection of any of Hunter Biden&#39;s business dealings with President Biden...Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people. They never once spoke about any business dealings...It was all casual conversation.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/uzCKa8gPYM">pic.twitter.com/uzCKa8gPYM</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1686090564587106304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who was representing Democrats inside the room, told reporters after the interview that Archer testified that Hunter sold the “illusion of access” to his father by taking credit for things his father did as vice president that he had no part in.But Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican member of the Oversight Committee, came out of the interview saying that testimony implicated the president directly. “I think we should do an impeachment inquiry,” the Arizona lawmaker told reporters.Biggs, reading from his notes, said Archer testified that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-europe-business-c49555d51eb243e09a42f7577fc5937f" target="_blank">Ukrainian gas company “Burisma</a>&nbsp;would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked. People would be intimidated to legally mess with Burisma because of the Biden family brand.”Focusing on that idea, Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of the Oversight Committee, said in a statement late Monday that “Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family.”“We are aware that all sides are claiming victory following Mr. Archer’s voluntary interview today,” Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, said in a statement. “But all Devon Archer did was exactly what we said he would: Show up and answer the questions put to him honestly and completely.”He added, “Mr. Archer shared the truth with the committee, and we will leave to them and others to decide what to do with it.”The White House saw the testimony as a falling short of House Republicans promise to deliver “bombshell evidence.”“It appears that the House Republicans’ own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his son’s associates, or doing anything wrong,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, has long been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their search to directly connect the president to his son’s various international business transactions.Comer had issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine.” He said Archer’s testimony would be critical to the committee’s investigation.ADVERTISEMENTRepublicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, the oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board.Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding “insufficient evidence” that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted&nbsp;<a href="https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/VPanswersJuly7th2019.pdf" target="_blank">the transcript of an interview</a>&nbsp;with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-plea-deal-congress-republicans-investigation-ad80b195c8c0f48241740881cf9b9bce" target="_blank">facing federal tax charges</a>, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.Archer’s appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer’s surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.

Business partner to Congress: Hunter Biden sold ‘illusion of access’ to his father

WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.

An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit's research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH's research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”

Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kanye-west-elon-musk-twitter-inc-entertainment-technology-0bf6e0ab969a60cd38abd9358ee5fd47">white supremacists</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-trump-misinformation-election-lies-5137a88a58eaaca0e45ba043db911d15">election deniers</a>&nbsp;to the platform, which he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/twitter-x-logo-blue-bird-musk-0689e9a5c3a217afc2fbefeaf0e6d8a8">renamed X earlier this month</a>. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.

The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-shootings-business-social-media-colorado-75a3c597a60dca0f116d5deb6a6c1a6b">hate speech</a>, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-health-eating-disorders-center-government-and-politics-0c8ae73f44926fa3daf66bd7caf3ad43">TikTok</a>&nbsp;or Facebook.

The organization has published&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-government-and-politics-2907d382db132cfd7446152b9309992c">several reports critical of Musk's leadership</a>, detailing an increase in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-florida-gender-identity-afc63ddae2a10a32010b5b2ba23fddf0">anti-LGBTQ hate speech</a>&nbsp;as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-science-social-media-a7e2e3214abb4470dcb6e2837aa39c2e">climate misinformation</a>&nbsp;since his purchase. The letter from X's attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.

In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X's reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X's competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.

“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform's former name.

Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-gun-politics-shootings-race-and-ethnicity-2d37c8ede6135eca9f0b2150e7927a92">extremism</a>. He said that typically, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/the-facebook-papers-covid-vaccine-misinformation-c8bbc569be7cc2ca583dadb4236a0613">targets of the center’s criticism</a>&nbsp;have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.

Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.

“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”

Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.

It's not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-social-media-647b3b9d5961da3cd8bd0c0041d05b49">suspended the accounts of several journalists</a>&nbsp;who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-social-media-13119e8cc9bbc15a886369263b29087a">permanently banned for using publicly available flight data</a>&nbsp;to track Musk's private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.

He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn't illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-technology-business-sports-d42809b692fc9f7a5eaad327a86526a0">Musk wrote in a tweet last year</a>.

X's recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.

“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690827870820.jpeg" alt="Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. Musk may want to send “tweet” back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay, at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. Write a post, you still need to press a blue button that says “tweet” to publish it. To repost it, you still tap “retweet.” (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)" />
 <figcaption>Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. Musk may want to send “tweet” back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay, at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. Write a post, you still need to press a blue button that says “tweet” to publish it. To repost it, you still tap “retweet.” (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit's research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH's research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kanye-west-elon-musk-twitter-inc-entertainment-technology-0bf6e0ab969a60cd38abd9358ee5fd47">white supremacists</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-trump-misinformation-election-lies-5137a88a58eaaca0e45ba043db911d15">election deniers</a>&nbsp;to the platform, which he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/twitter-x-logo-blue-bird-musk-0689e9a5c3a217afc2fbefeaf0e6d8a8">renamed X earlier this month</a>. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-shootings-business-social-media-colorado-75a3c597a60dca0f116d5deb6a6c1a6b">hate speech</a>, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-health-eating-disorders-center-government-and-politics-0c8ae73f44926fa3daf66bd7caf3ad43">TikTok</a>&nbsp;or Facebook.The organization has published&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-government-and-politics-2907d382db132cfd7446152b9309992c">several reports critical of Musk's leadership</a>, detailing an increase in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-florida-gender-identity-afc63ddae2a10a32010b5b2ba23fddf0">anti-LGBTQ hate speech</a>&nbsp;as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-science-social-media-a7e2e3214abb4470dcb6e2837aa39c2e">climate misinformation</a>&nbsp;since his purchase. The letter from X's attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X's reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X's competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform's former name.Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-gun-politics-shootings-race-and-ethnicity-2d37c8ede6135eca9f0b2150e7927a92">extremism</a>. He said that typically, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/the-facebook-papers-covid-vaccine-misinformation-c8bbc569be7cc2ca583dadb4236a0613">targets of the center’s criticism</a>&nbsp;have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.It's not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-social-media-647b3b9d5961da3cd8bd0c0041d05b49">suspended the accounts of several journalists</a>&nbsp;who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-social-media-13119e8cc9bbc15a886369263b29087a">permanently banned for using publicly available flight data</a>&nbsp;to track Musk's private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn't illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-technology-business-sports-d42809b692fc9f7a5eaad327a86526a0">Musk wrote in a tweet last year</a>.X's recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.

Musk threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural phenomenon through films and TV shows, has died.

Reubens died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement.

“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released with the announcement of his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”

The character with his too-tight gray suit, white chunky loafers and red bow tie was best known for the film “Pee-wee's Big Adventure” and the TV series “Pee-wee's Playhouse.”

Herman created Pee-wee when he was part of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings in the late 1970s. The live “Pee-wee Herman Show” debuted at a Los Angeles theater in 1981 and was a success with both kids during matinees and adults at a midnight show. HBO would air the show as a special.

Reubens took Pee-wee to the big screen in 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” The film, in which Pee-wee’s cherished bike is stolen, was said to be loosely based on Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neo-realist classic, “The Bicycle Thief.” The film, directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Phil Hartman of “Saturday Night Live,” sent Pee-wee on a nationwide escapade. The movie was a success, grossing $40 million, and continued to spawn a cult following for its oddball whimsy.

A sequel followed three years later in the less well-received “Big Top Pee-wee,” in which Pee-wee seeks to join a circus. Reubens’ character wouldn’t get another movie starring role until 2016’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” for Netflix. Judd Apatow produced Pee-wee’s big-screen revival.

His television series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” ran for five seasons, earned 22 Emmys and attracted not only children but adults to Saturday-morning TV.

Both silly and subversive and championing nonconformity, the Pee-wee universe was a trippy place, populated by things such as a talking armchair and a friendly pterodactyl. The host, who is fond of secret words and loves fruit salad so much he once married it, is prone to lines like, “I know you are, but what am I?” and “Why don’t you take a picture; it’ll last longer?” The act was a hit because it worked on multiple levels, even though Reubens insists that wasn’t the plan.

“It’s for kids,” Reubens told The Associated Press in 2010. “People have tried to get me for years to go, ‘It wasn’t really for kids, right?’ Even the original show was for kids. I always censored myself to have it be kid-friendly.

“The whole thing has been just a gut feeling from the beginning," Reubens told the AP. "That’s all it ever is and I think always ever be. Much as people want me to dissect it and explain it, I can’t. One, I don’t know, and two, I don’t want to know, and three, I feel like I’ll hex myself if I know.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690827482075.jpeg" alt="Actor Paul Reubens portraying Pee-wee Herman poses for a portrait while promoting "The Pee-wee Herman Show" live stage play, Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Los Angeles. Reubens died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)" />
 <figcaption>Actor Paul Reubens portraying Pee-wee Herman poses for a portrait while promoting "The Pee-wee Herman Show" live stage play, Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Los Angeles. Reubens died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural phenomenon through films and TV shows, has died.Reubens died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement.“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released with the announcement of his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”The character with his too-tight gray suit, white chunky loafers and red bow tie was best known for the film “Pee-wee's Big Adventure” and the TV series “Pee-wee's Playhouse.”Herman created Pee-wee when he was part of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings in the late 1970s. The live “Pee-wee Herman Show” debuted at a Los Angeles theater in 1981 and was a success with both kids during matinees and adults at a midnight show. HBO would air the show as a special.Reubens took Pee-wee to the big screen in 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” The film, in which Pee-wee’s cherished bike is stolen, was said to be loosely based on Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neo-realist classic, “The Bicycle Thief.” The film, directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Phil Hartman of “Saturday Night Live,” sent Pee-wee on a nationwide escapade. The movie was a success, grossing $40 million, and continued to spawn a cult following for its oddball whimsy.A sequel followed three years later in the less well-received “Big Top Pee-wee,” in which Pee-wee seeks to join a circus. Reubens’ character wouldn’t get another movie starring role until 2016’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” for Netflix. Judd Apatow produced Pee-wee’s big-screen revival.His television series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” ran for five seasons, earned 22 Emmys and attracted not only children but adults to Saturday-morning TV.Both silly and subversive and championing nonconformity, the Pee-wee universe was a trippy place, populated by things such as a talking armchair and a friendly pterodactyl. The host, who is fond of secret words and loves fruit salad so much he once married it, is prone to lines like, “I know you are, but what am I?” and “Why don’t you take a picture; it’ll last longer?” The act was a hit because it worked on multiple levels, even though Reubens insists that wasn’t the plan.“It’s for kids,” Reubens told The Associated Press in 2010. “People have tried to get me for years to go, ‘It wasn’t really for kids, right?’ Even the original show was for kids. I always censored myself to have it be kid-friendly.“The whole thing has been just a gut feeling from the beginning," Reubens told the AP. "That’s all it ever is and I think always ever be. Much as people want me to dissect it and explain it, I can’t. One, I don’t know, and two, I don’t want to know, and three, I feel like I’ll hex myself if I know.”

Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies from cancer at 70

NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yellow-corp-trucking-company-bankruptcy-d489652b6acd63dbb046047da9e2a074">headed for a bankruptcy filing</a>, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.

After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fall-of-a-trucking-giant-why-yellow-is-on-the-verge-of-collapse-3724f662">Wall Street Journal</a>, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.

In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.

“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”

The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.

The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company's reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.

WHAT WOULD BANKRUPTCY MEAN FOR YELLOW?

According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.

With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.

“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.

Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trucker-yellow-prepares-to-file-for-bankruptcy-as-customers-flee-281151a6">The Journal</a>, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.

Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”

As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.

In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”

The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.

Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”

In May, Yellow reported a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/earnings-9cccf85534862b16e643827b52dba349">loss of $54.6 million</a>, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.

A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.

“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.

Last week's reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.

A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.

On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.

“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER?

As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.

Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”

Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.

“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690827382488.jpeg" alt="Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers — heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)" />
 <figcaption>Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers — heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yellow-corp-trucking-company-bankruptcy-d489652b6acd63dbb046047da9e2a074">headed for a bankruptcy filing</a>, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fall-of-a-trucking-giant-why-yellow-is-on-the-verge-of-collapse-3724f662">Wall Street Journal</a>, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company's reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.Here’s what you need to know.WHAT WOULD BANKRUPTCY MEAN FOR YELLOW? According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trucker-yellow-prepares-to-file-for-bankruptcy-as-customers-flee-281151a6">The Journal</a>, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”HOW MUCH DEBT DOES YELLOW HAVE? As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”In May, Yellow reported a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/earnings-9cccf85534862b16e643827b52dba349">loss of $54.6 million</a>, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.DID THE COMPANY JUST AVERT A STRIKE? Last week's reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER? As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said.

Yellow is shutting down and headed for bankruptcy, the Teamsters Union says. Here's what to know

KANSAS CITY (AP) — The nation's top health official implored states to do more to keep lower-income residents enrolled in Medicaid, as the Biden administration released figures Friday confirming that many who had health coverage during the coronavirus pandemic are now losing it.

Though a decline in Medicaid coverage was expected, health officials are raising concerns about the large numbers of people being dropped from the rolls for failing to return forms or follow procedures.

In 18 states that began a post-pandemic review of their Medicaid rolls in April, health coverage was continued for about 1 million recipients and terminated for 715,000. Of those dropped, 4 in 5 were for procedural reasons, according to newly released data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter Friday to all governors encouraging them to bolster efforts to retain people on Medicaid. He particularly encouraged them to use electronic information from other federal programs, such as food stamps, to automatically confirm people's eligibility for Medicaid. That would avert the need to mail and return documents.

“I am deeply concerned about high rates of procedural terminations due to ‘red tape’ and other paperwork issues,” Becerra told governors.

During the pandemic, states were prohibited from ending people’s Medicaid coverage. As a result, Medicaid enrollment swelled by nearly one-third, from 71 million people in February 2020 to 93 million in February 2023. The prohibition on trimming rolls ended in April, and states now have resumed annual eligibility redeterminations that had been required before the pandemic.

The new federal data captures only the first month of state Medicaid reviews from states that acted the most expeditiously. Since then, additional states also have submitted reports on those renewed and dropped from Medicaid in May and June.

Though the federal government hasn't released data from the most recent reports, information gathered by The Associated Press and health care advocacy groups show that about 3.7 million people already have lost Medicaid coverage. That includes about 500,000 in Texas, around 400,000 in Florida and 225,000 in California. Of those who lost coverage, 89% were for procedural reasons in California, 81% in Texas and 59% in Florida, according to the AP's data.

Many of those people may have still been eligible for Medicaid, “but they’re caught in a bureaucratic nightmare of confusing forms, notices sent to wrong addresses and other errors,” said Michelle Levander, founding director of the Center for Health Journalism at the University of Southern California,

Top CMS officials said they have worked with several states to pause Medicaid removals and improve procedures for determining eligibility.

South Carolina is one state that voluntarily slowed down. It reported renewing Medicaid coverage for about 27,000 people in May while removing 118,000. Of those dropped, 95% were for procedural reasons. In a recent report to the federal government, South Carolina said it removed no one from Medicaid in June because it extended the eligibility renewal deadline from 60 days to 90 days.

Michigan reported renewing more than 103,000 Medicaid recipients in June and removing just 12,000. It told the federal government that the state opted to delay terminations for those who failed to respond to renewal requests while instead making additional outreach attempts. As a result, the state reported more than 100,000 people whose June eligibility cases remained incomplete.

People who are dropped from Medicaid can regain coverage retroactively if they submit information within 90 days proving their eligibility. But some advocacy groups say that still poses a challenge.

“State government is not necessarily nimble,” said Keesa Smith, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. "When individuals are being disenrolled, the biggest concern ... is that there is not a fast track to get those individuals back on the rolls.”

Arkansas officials have been at the forefront of defending Medicaid cuts. They contend that many people likely don't return forms because they no longer need Medicaid.

People are “transitioning off of Medicaid” because "they are working, making more money, and have access to health care through their employers or the federal marketplace,” Arkansas Medicaid Director Janet Mann said earlier this month. “This should be celebrated, not criticized.”

Insurance companies that run Medicaid programs for states said they are trying to reduce procedural terminations and enroll people in new plans.

The Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer Elevance Health lost 130,000 Medicaid customers during the recently completed second quarter, as Medicaid eligibility redeterminations began. Chief Financial Officer John Gallina said earlier this month that many people lost Medicaid coverage for administrative reasons but are likely to reenroll in the near future.

Leaders of the insurer Molina Healthcare told analysts Thursday that the company lost about 93,000 Medicaid customers in the recently completed second quarter, mostly due to eligibility redeterminations. Molina officials said they are trying to switch people who no longer qualify for Medicaid to one of the individual insurance plans they sell through state-based marketplaces.

Federal data for April indicates that some states did a better job than others at handling a crush of questions from people about their Medicaid coverage.

In 19 states and the District of Columbia, the average Medicaid call center wait time was one minute or less in April. But in Idaho, the average caller to the state's Medicaid help line waited 51 minutes. In Missouri, the average wait was 44 minutes, and in Florida 40 minutes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681122121502.png" alt="Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter Friday to all governors encouraging them to bolster efforts to retain people on Medicaid.-file photo" />
 <figcaption>Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter Friday to all governors encouraging them to bolster efforts to retain people on Medicaid.-file photo</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — The nation's top health official implored states to do more to keep lower-income residents enrolled in Medicaid, as the Biden administration released figures Friday confirming that many who had health coverage during the coronavirus pandemic are now losing it.Though a decline in Medicaid coverage was expected, health officials are raising concerns about the large numbers of people being dropped from the rolls for failing to return forms or follow procedures.In 18 states that began a post-pandemic review of their Medicaid rolls in April, health coverage was continued for about 1 million recipients and terminated for 715,000. Of those dropped, 4 in 5 were for procedural reasons, according to newly released data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter Friday to all governors encouraging them to bolster efforts to retain people on Medicaid. He particularly encouraged them to use electronic information from other federal programs, such as food stamps, to automatically confirm people's eligibility for Medicaid. That would avert the need to mail and return documents.“I am deeply concerned about high rates of procedural terminations due to ‘red tape’ and other paperwork issues,” Becerra told governors.During the pandemic, states were prohibited from ending people’s Medicaid coverage. As a result, Medicaid enrollment swelled by nearly one-third, from 71 million people in February 2020 to 93 million in February 2023. The prohibition on trimming rolls ended in April, and states now have resumed annual eligibility redeterminations that had been required before the pandemic.The new federal data captures only the first month of state Medicaid reviews from states that acted the most expeditiously. Since then, additional states also have submitted reports on those renewed and dropped from Medicaid in May and June.Though the federal government hasn't released data from the most recent reports, information gathered by The Associated Press and health care advocacy groups show that about 3.7 million people already have lost Medicaid coverage. That includes about 500,000 in Texas, around 400,000 in Florida and 225,000 in California. Of those who lost coverage, 89% were for procedural reasons in California, 81% in Texas and 59% in Florida, according to the AP's data.Many of those people may have still been eligible for Medicaid, “but they’re caught in a bureaucratic nightmare of confusing forms, notices sent to wrong addresses and other errors,” said Michelle Levander, founding director of the Center for Health Journalism at the University of Southern California,Top CMS officials said they have worked with several states to pause Medicaid removals and improve procedures for determining eligibility.South Carolina is one state that voluntarily slowed down. It reported renewing Medicaid coverage for about 27,000 people in May while removing 118,000. Of those dropped, 95% were for procedural reasons. In a recent report to the federal government, South Carolina said it removed no one from Medicaid in June because it extended the eligibility renewal deadline from 60 days to 90 days.Michigan reported renewing more than 103,000 Medicaid recipients in June and removing just 12,000. It told the federal government that the state opted to delay terminations for those who failed to respond to renewal requests while instead making additional outreach attempts. As a result, the state reported more than 100,000 people whose June eligibility cases remained incomplete.People who are dropped from Medicaid can regain coverage retroactively if they submit information within 90 days proving their eligibility. But some advocacy groups say that still poses a challenge.“State government is not necessarily nimble,” said Keesa Smith, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. "When individuals are being disenrolled, the biggest concern ... is that there is not a fast track to get those individuals back on the rolls.”Arkansas officials have been at the forefront of defending Medicaid cuts. They contend that many people likely don't return forms because they no longer need Medicaid.People are “transitioning off of Medicaid” because "they are working, making more money, and have access to health care through their employers or the federal marketplace,” Arkansas Medicaid Director Janet Mann said earlier this month. “This should be celebrated, not criticized.”Insurance companies that run Medicaid programs for states said they are trying to reduce procedural terminations and enroll people in new plans.The Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer Elevance Health lost 130,000 Medicaid customers during the recently completed second quarter, as Medicaid eligibility redeterminations began. Chief Financial Officer John Gallina said earlier this month that many people lost Medicaid coverage for administrative reasons but are likely to reenroll in the near future.Leaders of the insurer Molina Healthcare told analysts Thursday that the company lost about 93,000 Medicaid customers in the recently completed second quarter, mostly due to eligibility redeterminations. Molina officials said they are trying to switch people who no longer qualify for Medicaid to one of the individual insurance plans they sell through state-based marketplaces.Federal data for April indicates that some states did a better job than others at handling a crush of questions from people about their Medicaid coverage.In 19 states and the District of Columbia, the average Medicaid call center wait time was one minute or less in April. But in Idaho, the average caller to the state's Medicaid help line waited 51 minutes. In Missouri, the average wait was 44 minutes, and in Florida 40 minutes.

Simple paperwork problems drive surge in people losing Medicaid coverage

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/29/how-voter-id-in-nebraska-will-work-what-voters-need-to-know/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Nebraska voters passed a state constitutional amendment in 2022 requiring voters to verify their identities with a photo ID. This June, the Nebraska Legislature decided how the Secretary of State and 93 county election officials would implement that amendment, starting with the state’s 2024 primary election.

But the public education piece of that effort, outreach to voters and would-be voters, starts this summer. The Secretary of State’s Office is already preparing a brochure to hand out in Grand Island, during the Nebraska State Fair. Civic Nebraska and other voting rights organizations are also ramping up.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen said his office will staff a booth at the State Fair that will let people pick up brochures and ask state and local election officials how the new law will work, Legislative Bill 514. They also plan outreach through social media, TV, radio and print advertising as elections get closer.

The Nebraska Examiner pulled together a quick guide for what voters will need to know before they head to the polls for the first election that the state will requiring the ID, the state’s May 2024 primary. This guide, built with input from state and local election officials, should help folks get ready to vote.

Voters heading to the polls in person will need to bring a state-approved photo ID, which could include a driver’s license, a college ID, a nursing home ID, a passport, a military ID, a tribal ID or an ID from a city, county, school district or another political subdivision of the state.

People who accidentally forget their photo ID but want to go ahead and cast their ballot can still choose to vote provisionally. However, they will need to find or obtain a photo ID and bring it to their county election office within a week of Election Day to have their ballot count.

Others who lack access to a photo ID will need to apply for a certificate from their county election office verifying a disability, circumstance or religious objection that lets them vote without showing a photo ID. Federal case law limits states from restricting people in both groups from participating in elections.

“We want to be sure that they know … when they come to vote, they need to prepare to present that identification, because I can see folks getting cranky because they’ve never had to do this before, and this is new,” said State Sen. Tom Brewer, who represents north-central Nebraska and led passage of the bill.

People who like to vote early in person at their county election office will need to follow the same requirements as voting on Election Day in person. They’ll need to bring a state-approved photo ID or vote provisionally and bring in a photo ID later.

Those who qualify for a legal exception to photo IDs can apply for a certificate allowing it. The Secretary of State’s Office has already started training with county election officials and has a training conference scheduled this fall. The goal is to help counties prepare to re-train poll workers used to the old way of doing things and to hire and train new poll workers in time for 2024.

This is where LB 514 gives voters some options on how to verify their photo ID. When requesting an early voting ballot by mail, Nebraska voters will need to write their driver’s license or approved state ID number on the ballot request form. Those who choose not to write down that information can put a photocopy of their state-approved photo ID in the envelope or a form for a “reasonable impediment certification.”

Election officials hope that by pushing this part of the process up to the point when people request ballots, instead of waiting for when they return ballots by mail, that voters who forget a step in the ID verification process will still have adequate time to visit their county election offices and provide ID or obtain the necessary certification to have their ballot count.

People in all or part of 11 largely rural Nebraska counties vote entirely by mail – Boone, Cedar, Cherry, Clay, Dawes, Dixon, Garden, Knox, Merrick, Morrill and Stanton. Every registered voter in those all-mail precincts already receives a ballot by mail. Their process changes a bit under the new law.

They will need to write their driver’s license or approved state ID number on the envelope used to return their ballot. They will also have the option of instead using a photocopy of an approved photo ID or a certificate noting a legal exception to showing a photo ID.

The Secretary of State’s Office is already working with local election officials to try to design request and return forms and ballot envelopes that will work without requiring investments in new boxes to transport ballots to county election offices for secure counting.

Implementing the new voter ID process will require months of state and local work, Evnen said, including months of engagement with the public long before they hit the polls. An “adjustment period” is unavoidable, he and other election officials have said.

“The law that was passed reflects what was learned in other states (that implemented voter ID),” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680605917852.jpeg" alt="Voting booths Photo on File" />
 <figcaption>Voting booths Photo on File</figcaption>
 </figure>By Aaron Sanderford<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/29/how-voter-id-in-nebraska-will-work-what-voters-need-to-know/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Nebraska voters passed a state constitutional amendment in 2022 requiring voters to verify their identities with a photo ID. This June, the Nebraska Legislature decided how the Secretary of State and 93 county election officials would implement that amendment, starting with the state’s 2024 primary election.But the public education piece of that effort, outreach to voters and would-be voters, starts this summer. The Secretary of State’s Office is already preparing a brochure to hand out in Grand Island, during the Nebraska State Fair. Civic Nebraska and other voting rights organizations are also ramping up.Secretary of State Bob Evnen said his office will staff a booth at the State Fair that will let people pick up brochures and ask state and local election officials how the new law will work, Legislative Bill 514. They also plan outreach through social media, TV, radio and print advertising as elections get closer.The Nebraska Examiner pulled together a quick guide for what voters will need to know before they head to the polls for the first election that the state will requiring the ID, the state’s May 2024 primary. This guide, built with input from state and local election officials, should help folks get ready to vote.<h2>Voting on Election Day in person</h2>Voters heading to the polls in person will need to bring a state-approved photo ID, which could include a driver’s license, a college ID, a nursing home ID, a passport, a military ID, a tribal ID or an ID from a city, county, school district or another political subdivision of the state.People who accidentally forget their photo ID but want to go ahead and cast their ballot can still choose to vote provisionally. However, they will need to find or obtain a photo ID and bring it to their county election office within a week of Election Day to have their ballot count.Others who lack access to a photo ID will need to apply for a certificate from their county election office verifying a disability, circumstance or religious objection that lets them vote without showing a photo ID. Federal case law limits states from restricting people in both groups from participating in elections.“We want to be sure that they know … when they come to vote, they need to prepare to present that identification, because I can see folks getting cranky because they’ve never had to do this before, and this is new,” said State Sen. Tom Brewer, who represents north-central Nebraska and led passage of the bill.<h2>Voting early in person</h2>People who like to vote early in person at their county election office will need to follow the same requirements as voting on Election Day in person. They’ll need to bring a state-approved photo ID or vote provisionally and bring in a photo ID later.Those who qualify for a legal exception to photo IDs can apply for a certificate allowing it. The Secretary of State’s Office has already started training with county election officials and has a training conference scheduled this fall. The goal is to help counties prepare to re-train poll workers used to the old way of doing things and to hire and train new poll workers in time for 2024.<h2>Voting early by mail</h2>This is where LB 514 gives voters some options on how to verify their photo ID. When requesting an early voting ballot by mail, Nebraska voters will need to write their driver’s license or approved state ID number on the ballot request form. Those who choose not to write down that information can put a photocopy of their state-approved photo ID in the envelope or a form for a “reasonable impediment certification.”Election officials hope that by pushing this part of the process up to the point when people request ballots, instead of waiting for when they return ballots by mail, that voters who forget a step in the ID verification process will still have adequate time to visit their county election offices and provide ID or obtain the necessary certification to have their ballot count.<h2>Voting by mail in an all-mail precinct</h2>People in all or part of 11 largely rural Nebraska counties vote entirely by mail – Boone, Cedar, Cherry, Clay, Dawes, Dixon, Garden, Knox, Merrick, Morrill and Stanton. Every registered voter in those all-mail precincts already receives a ballot by mail. Their process changes a bit under the new law.They will need to write their driver’s license or approved state ID number on the envelope used to return their ballot. They will also have the option of instead using a photocopy of an approved photo ID or a certificate noting a legal exception to showing a photo ID.The Secretary of State’s Office is already working with local election officials to try to design request and return forms and ballot envelopes that will work without requiring investments in new boxes to transport ballots to county election offices for secure counting.Implementing the new voter ID process will require months of state and local work, Evnen said, including months of engagement with the public long before they hit the polls. An “adjustment period” is unavoidable, he and other election officials have said.“The law that was passed reflects what was learned in other states (that implemented voter ID),” he said.

How voter ID in Nebraska will work: What voters need to know

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/31/law-passed-last-year-to-reduce-nitrates-in-nebraska-water-hasnt-left-the-ground-sponsor-says/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A new state program, approved in 2022 to help reduce nitrate pollution in drinking water, is struggling to get started, more than a year after it became law.

Legislative Bill 925, the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act, provided $1.25 million over five years to hire a non-government “facilitator” to organize small-group, educational meetings with farmers to promote conservation practices that reduce nitrate pollution in groundwater and surface water.

But so far, no facilitator has been hired, and education sessions are still being mulled. A website is in the works, however, and a five-page annual report was produced in December while an employee with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources is sorting out the best way to use the funding.

Former State Sen. Tim Gragert, who led passage of LB 925, said Friday that overall the program “hasn’t left the ground” while nitrate problems in Nebraska’s water resources persist.

&nbsp;“It’s kind of disappointing,” Gragert said.

“Nitrates in our water are just terrible in some parts of Nebraska and it’s not getting any better,” said the senator, who left the Legislature last year after deciding not to run for re-election.

Gragert said that his hometown of Creighton had to install a reverse-osmosis system in 1990 to lower nitrate levels to healthy levels in groundwater there.

A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://water.unl.edu/article/groundwater/small-communities-pay-high-costs-clean-water">2020 report from the University of Nebraska</a>&nbsp;said that Creighton and four other nearby rural towns had spent nearly $9 million — at a cost of $2,200 per person — to supply clean drinking water.

The state’s 2022 annual report on groundwater quality found that nearly 30% (157 out of 550) of the state’s public water systems had to regularly test for nitrate levels to discern if they exceeded the level deemed unsafe for drinking — 10 parts per billion.

Nitrates can cause “blue baby syndrome” where a baby’s skin color changes and they can become irritable or lethargic. Nitrates have also been l<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6068531/">inked to birth defects</a>&nbsp;and some cancers.

Gragert, who worked for the federal soil conservation service for three decades, said that because growing corn — which requires nitrogen fertilizer — is such a huge business in Nebraska, policy makers are willing to “turn their heads” to the problem.

“There’s a real lack of education, even though we have some really sharp producers out there,” the senator said.

Tom Riley, the director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, was out of the office on Friday and unavailable for comment.

But Kent Zimmerman, a supervisor at DNR who is dealing with the healthy soils law, said, “I wouldn’t say nothing is happening.”

He said the job of implementing the resilient soils/water quality law was handed “at the last minute” to DNR, which regulates surface water.

‘Don’t upset the apple cart attitude’

Zimmerman said that other groups have tried “learning events” like those envisioned by LB 925, but they’ve had mixed results and seem to draw the same people. So, he’s now trying to discern if there’s a better way to move forward and utilize the $250,000 a year funding.

“While soil health seems like a great thing, what I’ve discovered is there’s a ‘don’t upset the apple cart attitude’ out there,” Zimmerman said.

&nbsp;“I don’t think they thought this one through,” he added.

Gragert and others involved in a task force that studied the issue for more than a year before LB 925 was passed disagree. The task force consisted of authorities on nitrates and farming practices.

The senator said the bill was intentionally drafted to require a non-government facilitator to lead the effect because many farmers don’t trust government officials visiting their land.

The idea, Gragert said, was to use other farmers as mentors to promote a voluntary, grass-roots effort toward a “healthy soils” practices — like cover crops and better fertilizer management — that can reduce nitrate problems.

That approach, he said, is the best way to break through the reluctance of some farmers to consider practices that don’t contribute to more nitrate in surface and groundwater.

Gragert said it’s not true that nitrogen fertilizer is being taken away from farmers, it’s about using it more efficiently.

The facilitator, he added, was also supposed to seek grant funding, so that the water quality work could continue after state funding was scheduled to run out, in five years.

The DNR was chosen to help facilitate the program, Gragert said, because it was viewed as being more cooperative than another option, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Zimmerman, the DNR official, said that the agency is in the final stages of hiring a company that put together a website on best farming practices to avoid nitrates in water in South Dakota.

“Rather than have one person doing everything, I think we’re looking for a group approach,” he said.

If they hire a facilitator who is not a government employee, that would probably be a couple of years off, Zimmerman said.

Right now, he said, there’s a lot of momentum nationally and within corporations to address nitrate problems, and getting LB 925 off and running shouldn’t wait.

Still, Gragert acknowledged, it’s a complicated problem involving farming practices, confined animal feeding operations and lawn fertilizer that will take a comprehensive approach.

“This is problem that was created over many many years, and a solution isn’t going to be immediate either,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690368604351.jpeg" alt="Water Photo on File" />
 <figcaption>Water Photo on File</figcaption>
 </figure>By Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/31/law-passed-last-year-to-reduce-nitrates-in-nebraska-water-hasnt-left-the-ground-sponsor-says/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A new state program, approved in 2022 to help reduce nitrate pollution in drinking water, is struggling to get started, more than a year after it became law.Legislative Bill 925, the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act, provided $1.25 million over five years to hire a non-government “facilitator” to organize small-group, educational meetings with farmers to promote conservation practices that reduce nitrate pollution in groundwater and surface water.But so far, no facilitator has been hired, and education sessions are still being mulled. A website is in the works, however, and a five-page annual report was produced in December while an employee with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources is sorting out the best way to use the funding.Former State Sen. Tim Gragert, who led passage of LB 925, said Friday that overall the program “hasn’t left the ground” while nitrate problems in Nebraska’s water resources persist.&nbsp;“It’s kind of disappointing,” Gragert said.“Nitrates in our water are just terrible in some parts of Nebraska and it’s not getting any better,” said the senator, who left the Legislature last year after deciding not to run for re-election.Gragert said that his hometown of Creighton had to install a reverse-osmosis system in 1990 to lower nitrate levels to healthy levels in groundwater there.<h2>‘Blue baby syndrome’</h2>A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://water.unl.edu/article/groundwater/small-communities-pay-high-costs-clean-water">2020 report from the University of Nebraska</a>&nbsp;said that Creighton and four other nearby rural towns had spent nearly $9 million — at a cost of $2,200 per person — to supply clean drinking water.The state’s 2022 annual report on groundwater quality found that nearly 30% (157 out of 550) of the state’s public water systems had to regularly test for nitrate levels to discern if they exceeded the level deemed unsafe for drinking — 10 parts per billion.Nitrates can cause “blue baby syndrome” where a baby’s skin color changes and they can become irritable or lethargic. Nitrates have also been l<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6068531/">inked to birth defects</a>&nbsp;and some cancers.Gragert, who worked for the federal soil conservation service for three decades, said that because growing corn — which requires nitrogen fertilizer — is such a huge business in Nebraska, policy makers are willing to “turn their heads” to the problem.“There’s a real lack of education, even though we have some really sharp producers out there,” the senator said.Tom Riley, the director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, was out of the office on Friday and unavailable for comment.But Kent Zimmerman, a supervisor at DNR who is dealing with the healthy soils law, said, “I wouldn’t say nothing is happening.”He said the job of implementing the resilient soils/water quality law was handed “at the last minute” to DNR, which regulates surface water.<h2>‘Don’t upset the apple cart attitude’</h2>Zimmerman said that other groups have tried “learning events” like those envisioned by LB 925, but they’ve had mixed results and seem to draw the same people. So, he’s now trying to discern if there’s a better way to move forward and utilize the $250,000 a year funding.“While soil health seems like a great thing, what I’ve discovered is there’s a ‘don’t upset the apple cart attitude’ out there,” Zimmerman said.&nbsp;“I don’t think they thought this one through,” he added.Gragert and others involved in a task force that studied the issue for more than a year before LB 925 was passed disagree. The task force consisted of authorities on nitrates and farming practices.The senator said the bill was intentionally drafted to require a non-government facilitator to lead the effect because many farmers don’t trust government officials visiting their land.The idea, Gragert said, was to use other farmers as mentors to promote a voluntary, grass-roots effort toward a “healthy soils” practices — like cover crops and better fertilizer management — that can reduce nitrate problems.That approach, he said, is the best way to break through the reluctance of some farmers to consider practices that don’t contribute to more nitrate in surface and groundwater.Gragert said it’s not true that nitrogen fertilizer is being taken away from farmers, it’s about using it more efficiently.<h2>DNR thought to be more cooperative</h2>The facilitator, he added, was also supposed to seek grant funding, so that the water quality work could continue after state funding was scheduled to run out, in five years.The DNR was chosen to help facilitate the program, Gragert said, because it was viewed as being more cooperative than another option, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.Zimmerman, the DNR official, said that the agency is in the final stages of hiring a company that put together a website on best farming practices to avoid nitrates in water in South Dakota.“Rather than have one person doing everything, I think we’re looking for a group approach,” he said.If they hire a facilitator who is not a government employee, that would probably be a couple of years off, Zimmerman said.“Oh man,” was Gragert’s response.Right now, he said, there’s a lot of momentum nationally and within corporations to address nitrate problems, and getting LB 925 off and running shouldn’t wait.Still, Gragert acknowledged, it’s a complicated problem involving farming practices, confined animal feeding operations and lawn fertilizer that will take a comprehensive approach.“This is problem that was created over many many years, and a solution isn’t going to be immediate either,” he said.

Law passed last year to reduce nitrates in Nebraska water ‘hasn’t left the ground,’ sponsor says

Defending&nbsp;our constitutional rights is our fundamental duty and special privilege as Americans. The north entrance of Nebraska’s State Capitol Building is engraved with words coined by philosopher and Capitol thematic consultant Hartley Burr Alexander, “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.” Vigilance to secure our rights is no more important for any other right than it is for our Second Amendment.

Law-abiding citizens have the right to exercise their Second Amendment freedoms, and – as your elected representative – I have a duty to actively defend the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

I have serious concerns about ongoing attempts to encroach on the Second Amendment and am actively working to fight them. To this end, earlier this month I joined many of my Congressional colleagues in a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) opposing its tactics implementing the Safer Communities Act. While I opposed its passage, this law was enacted in 2022 and created a program to fund “red flag” programs at the state level.&nbsp;

Red flag laws and other ill-conceived proposals to limit firearm rights are bad policies with the potential to violate Americans’ rights to due process, and our letter to the DOJ raises concerns with the unlawful awarding of grants to states that do not currently have red flag laws. It would be inappropriate for DOJ to award red flag grants to states which do not have red flag laws, and DOJ must clarify their criteria for awarding these funds.

In January of 2022, San Jose, California became the first city in the United States to mandate liability insurance and an annual fee for gun owners. To protect Second Amendment rights at the federal level, I am a cosponsor of the No User Fees for Gun Owners Act. This measure would prohibit state governments from violating Second Amendment rights through the imposition of insurance requirements, taxes, or fees as a condition of gun or ammunition ownership.

I am also a cosponsor of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This bill would establish a framework for carrying or possessing concealed firearms when bringing them across state lines, allowing individuals eligible to carry a concealed firearm under one state’s laws to carry or possess a concealed handgun in other states which permit them to carry concealed firearms.

Earlier this year, Nebraska joined 26 states to enact a constitutional carry bill into law. This law allows Nebraskans 21 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit, and I applaud the leadership of Governor Pillen to defend Nebraskans’ Second Amendment rights. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would implement federal protections to ensure Nebraskans are able to exercise these constitutional rights recognized by our state while they are traveling in other states which allow either constitutional carry or concealed carry with a permit.

Preserving freedom for ourselves and future generations depends on our diligence to safeguard the wisdom of the Constitution. I will continue working with my colleagues to defend and preserve the Second Amendment.

Adrian SmithDefending&nbsp;our constitutional rights is our fundamental duty and special privilege as Americans. The north entrance of Nebraska’s State Capitol Building is engraved with words coined by philosopher and Capitol thematic consultant Hartley Burr Alexander, “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.” Vigilance to secure our rights is no more important for any other right than it is for our Second Amendment.Law-abiding citizens have the right to exercise their Second Amendment freedoms, and – as your elected representative – I have a duty to actively defend the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.I have serious concerns about ongoing attempts to encroach on the Second Amendment and am actively working to fight them. To this end, earlier this month I joined many of my Congressional colleagues in a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) opposing its tactics implementing the Safer Communities Act. While I opposed its passage, this law was enacted in 2022 and created a program to fund “red flag” programs at the state level.&nbsp;Red flag laws and other ill-conceived proposals to limit firearm rights are bad policies with the potential to violate Americans’ rights to due process, and our letter to the DOJ raises concerns with the unlawful awarding of grants to states that do not currently have red flag laws. It would be inappropriate for DOJ to award red flag grants to states which do not have red flag laws, and DOJ must clarify their criteria for awarding these funds.In January of 2022, San Jose, California became the first city in the United States to mandate liability insurance and an annual fee for gun owners. To protect Second Amendment rights at the federal level, I am a cosponsor of the No User Fees for Gun Owners Act. This measure would prohibit state governments from violating Second Amendment rights through the imposition of insurance requirements, taxes, or fees as a condition of gun or ammunition ownership.I am also a cosponsor of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This bill would establish a framework for carrying or possessing concealed firearms when bringing them across state lines, allowing individuals eligible to carry a concealed firearm under one state’s laws to carry or possess a concealed handgun in other states which permit them to carry concealed firearms.Earlier this year, Nebraska joined 26 states to enact a constitutional carry bill into law. This law allows Nebraskans 21 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit, and I applaud the leadership of Governor Pillen to defend Nebraskans’ Second Amendment rights. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would implement federal protections to ensure Nebraskans are able to exercise these constitutional rights recognized by our state while they are traveling in other states which allow either constitutional carry or concealed carry with a permit.Preserving freedom for ourselves and future generations depends on our diligence to safeguard the wisdom of the Constitution. I will continue working with my colleagues to defend and preserve the Second Amendment.

 Standing up for Second Amendment Rights

July 31, 2023 (Lincoln, Neb.) — The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), law enforcement, and health agencies are hosting a stakeholder meeting regarding the statewide Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Assessment.&nbsp;

In January 2022, an updated version of Nebraska’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan was finalized. This data-driven, strategic plan makes progress towards the state’s goal of eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes.&nbsp;

To continue these efforts and support the plan, we are creating a new Vulnerable Road User&nbsp; Assessment. Anyone who walks, bikes, or rolls on or across Nebraska roads is a vulnerable road user. This assessment is intended to protect and improve the conditions for vulnerable road users across the state.&nbsp;

We value your input and hope you can join us on August 8, 2023, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the NDOT Auditorium (1500 Nebraska Pkwy, Lincoln, NE 68502). The meeting will include a presentation by the project team at 5:15 p.m. followed by an open house featuring display boards.&nbsp;

We would also like to invite you to participate in a short online survey to help us develop the VRU Assessment. Please complete the survey at ndot.info/VRUsurvey. The survey will be open for responses from July 31 through August 14, 2023.&nbsp;

We encourage you to share this meeting invite with your colleagues, friends and family. If you have any questions, please contact us.&nbsp;

July 31, 2023 (Lincoln, Neb.) — The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), law enforcement, and health agencies are hosting a stakeholder meeting regarding the statewide Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Assessment.&nbsp;In January 2022, an updated version of Nebraska’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan was finalized. This data-driven, strategic plan makes progress towards the state’s goal of eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes.&nbsp;To continue these efforts and support the plan, we are creating a new Vulnerable Road User&nbsp; Assessment. Anyone who walks, bikes, or rolls on or across Nebraska roads is a vulnerable road user. This assessment is intended to protect and improve the conditions for vulnerable road users across the state.&nbsp;We value your input and hope you can join us on August 8, 2023, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the NDOT Auditorium (1500 Nebraska Pkwy, Lincoln, NE 68502). The meeting will include a presentation by the project team at 5:15 p.m. followed by an open house featuring display boards.&nbsp;We would also like to invite you to participate in a short online survey to help us develop the VRU Assessment. Please complete the survey at ndot.info/VRUsurvey. The survey will be open for responses from July 31 through August 14, 2023.&nbsp;We encourage you to share this meeting invite with your colleagues, friends and family. If you have any questions, please contact us.&nbsp;