LINCOLN, NE –&nbsp;Governor Jim Pillen has appointed Chris Langemeier to fill a vacancy on the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) Board of Directors. Langemeier will represent Subdivision 11, which covers counties in the northeastern area of the state.

Langemeier fills the open seat of NPPD board representative Fred Christensen, who passed away in early April. He will complete Christensen’s six-year term, which ends January 8, 2025.

Langemeier is a real estate broker and appraiser with Land Mark Management &amp; Realty, Inc., in Schuyler, NE. He previously served as state senator from 2005 – 2012 and more recently, was director of the Loup River Public Power Board.

LINCOLN, NE –&nbsp;Governor Jim Pillen has appointed Chris Langemeier to fill a vacancy on the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) Board of Directors. Langemeier will represent Subdivision 11, which covers counties in the northeastern area of the state.Langemeier fills the open seat of NPPD board representative Fred Christensen, who passed away in early April. He will complete Christensen’s six-year term, which ends January 8, 2025.Langemeier is a real estate broker and appraiser with Land Mark Management &amp; Realty, Inc., in Schuyler, NE. He previously served as state senator from 2005 – 2012 and more recently, was director of the Loup River Public Power Board.

Governor Pillen Makes Appointment to District 11 NPPD Board

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that new commitments by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence technology</a>&nbsp;to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by his White House are an important step toward managing the “enormous” promise and risks posed by the technology.

Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them. Some of the commitments call for third-party oversight of the workings of the next generation of AI systems, though they don't detail who will audit the technology or hold the companies accountable.

“We must be clear eyed and vigilant about the threats emerging technologies can pose," Biden said, adding that the companies have a “fundamental obligation” to ensure their products are safe.

“Social media has shown us the harm that powerful technology can do without the right safeguards in place," Biden added. “These commitments are a promising step, but we have a lot more work to do together."

A surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools that can write convincingly human-like text and churn out new images and other media has brought public fascination as well as concern about their ability to trick people and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-business-artificial-intelligence-afb4618ff593db9e3e51ecbd91dc3eef">spread disinformation</a>, among other dangers.

The four tech giants, along with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and startups Anthropic and Inflection, have committed to security testing “carried out in part by independent experts” to guard against major risks, such as to biosecurity and cybersecurity, the White House said in a statement.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">That testing</a>&nbsp;will also examine the potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/child-welfare-algorithm-investigation-9497ee937e0053ad4144a86c68241ef1">for societal harms</a>, such as bias and discrimination, and more theoretical dangers about advanced AI systems that could gain control of physical systems or “self-replicate” by making copies of themselves.

The companies have also committed to methods for reporting vulnerabilities to their systems and to using digital watermarking to help distinguish between real and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-artificial-intelligence-21fa207a1254401197fd1e0d7ecd14cb">AI-generated images or audio known as deepfakes</a>.

Executives from the seven companies met behind closed doors with Biden and other officials Friday as they pledged to follow the standards.

“He was very firm and clear” that he wanted the companies to continue to be innovative, but at the same time “felt that this needed a lot of attention,” Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman said in an interview after the White House gathering.

“It’s a big deal to bring all the labs together, all the companies,” said Suleyman, whose Palo Alto, California-based startup is the youngest and smallest of the firms. “This is supercompetitive and we wouldn’t come together under other circumstances.”

The companies will also publicly report flaws and risks in their technology, including effects on fairness and bias, according to the pledge.

The voluntary commitments are meant to be an immediate way of addressing risks ahead of a longer-term push to get Congress to pass laws regulating the technology.

Some advocates for AI regulations said Biden’s move is a start but more needs to be done to hold the companies and their products accountable.

“A closed-door deliberation with corporate actors resulting in voluntary safeguards isn’t enough,” said Amba Kak, executive director of the AI Now Institute. “We need a much more wide-ranging public deliberation, and that’s going to bring up issues that companies almost certainly won’t voluntarily commit to because it would lead to substantively different results, ones that may more directly impact their business models.”

While voluntary, agreeing to submit to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">red team” tests</a>&nbsp;that poke at their AI systems is not an easy promise, said Suleyman.

“The commitment we’ve made to have red-teamers basically try to break our models, identify weaknesses and then share those methods with the other large language model developers is a pretty significant commitment,” Suleyman said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he will introduce legislation to regulate AI and is working closely with the Biden administration "and our bipartisan colleagues” to build upon the pledges made Friday.

A number of technology executives have called for regulation, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-white-house-harris-578d623e473b0eeb3fa3e4728d7e9868">several attended an earlier White House</a>&nbsp;summit in May.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post Friday that his company is making some commitments that go beyond the White House pledge, including support for regulation that would create a “licensing regime for highly capable models.”

Some experts and upstart competitors worry that the type of regulation being floated could be a boon for deep-pocketed first-movers led by OpenAI, Google and Microsoft as smaller players are elbowed out by the high cost of making their AI systems adhere to regulatory strictures.

The White House pledge notes that it mostly only applies to models that “are overall more powerful than the current industry frontier,” set by recent models such as OpenAI's GPT-4 and image generator DALL-E 2 and similar releases from Anthropic, Google and Amazon.

A number of countries have been looking at ways to regulate AI, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-act-artificial-intelligence-europe-regulation-94e2b38703b38fdbfabc9580f845ef9a">European Union lawmakers</a>&nbsp;negotiating sweeping AI rules for the 27-nation bloc that could restrict applications deemed to have the highest risks.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said the United Nations is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-un-big-tech-first-5a184197c4281365866b5963d56f84ea">“the ideal place”</a>&nbsp;to adopt global standards and appointed a board that will report back on options for global AI governance by the end of the year.

Guterres also said he welcomed calls from some countries for the creation of a new U.N. body to support global efforts to govern AI, inspired by such models as the International Atomic Energy Agency or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The White House said Friday that it has consulted on the voluntary commitments with a number of countries.

The pledge is heavily focused on safety risks but doesn't address other worries about the latest AI technology, including the effect on jobs and market competition, the environmental resources required to build the models, and copyright concerns about the writings, art and other human handiwork being used to teach AI systems how to produce human-like content.

Last week, OpenAI and The Associated Press announced a deal for the AI company to license AP’s archive of news stories. The amount it will pay for that content was not disclosed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690031816449.png" alt="Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them.-White House image" />
 <figcaption>Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them.-White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that new commitments by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence technology</a>&nbsp;to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by his White House are an important step toward managing the “enormous” promise and risks posed by the technology.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tg2FNynmToM?start=11" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them. Some of the commitments call for third-party oversight of the workings of the next generation of AI systems, though they don't detail who will audit the technology or hold the companies accountable.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, I was joined by leaders from American companies driving innovation in AI to announce their voluntary commitments for responsible innovation. These commitments – which companies will implement immediately – underscore the principles of safety, security, and trust. <a href="https://t.co/6kvrcl4krv">pic.twitter.com/6kvrcl4krv</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1682519577920503812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“We must be clear eyed and vigilant about the threats emerging technologies can pose," Biden said, adding that the companies have a “fundamental obligation” to ensure their products are safe.“Social media has shown us the harm that powerful technology can do without the right safeguards in place," Biden added. “These commitments are a promising step, but we have a lot more work to do together."A surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools that can write convincingly human-like text and churn out new images and other media has brought public fascination as well as concern about their ability to trick people and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-business-artificial-intelligence-afb4618ff593db9e3e51ecbd91dc3eef">spread disinformation</a>, among other dangers.The four tech giants, along with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and startups Anthropic and Inflection, have committed to security testing “carried out in part by independent experts” to guard against major risks, such as to biosecurity and cybersecurity, the White House said in a statement.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">That testing</a>&nbsp;will also examine the potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/child-welfare-algorithm-investigation-9497ee937e0053ad4144a86c68241ef1">for societal harms</a>, such as bias and discrimination, and more theoretical dangers about advanced AI systems that could gain control of physical systems or “self-replicate” by making copies of themselves.The companies have also committed to methods for reporting vulnerabilities to their systems and to using digital watermarking to help distinguish between real and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-artificial-intelligence-21fa207a1254401197fd1e0d7ecd14cb">AI-generated images or audio known as deepfakes</a>.Executives from the seven companies met behind closed doors with Biden and other officials Friday as they pledged to follow the standards.“He was very firm and clear” that he wanted the companies to continue to be innovative, but at the same time “felt that this needed a lot of attention,” Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman said in an interview after the White House gathering.“It’s a big deal to bring all the labs together, all the companies,” said Suleyman, whose Palo Alto, California-based startup is the youngest and smallest of the firms. “This is supercompetitive and we wouldn’t come together under other circumstances.”The companies will also publicly report flaws and risks in their technology, including effects on fairness and bias, according to the pledge.The voluntary commitments are meant to be an immediate way of addressing risks ahead of a longer-term push to get Congress to pass laws regulating the technology.Some advocates for AI regulations said Biden’s move is a start but more needs to be done to hold the companies and their products accountable.“A closed-door deliberation with corporate actors resulting in voluntary safeguards isn’t enough,” said Amba Kak, executive director of the AI Now Institute. “We need a much more wide-ranging public deliberation, and that’s going to bring up issues that companies almost certainly won’t voluntarily commit to because it would lead to substantively different results, ones that may more directly impact their business models.”While voluntary, agreeing to submit to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">red team” tests</a>&nbsp;that poke at their AI systems is not an easy promise, said Suleyman.“The commitment we’ve made to have red-teamers basically try to break our models, identify weaknesses and then share those methods with the other large language model developers is a pretty significant commitment,” Suleyman said.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he will introduce legislation to regulate AI and is working closely with the Biden administration "and our bipartisan colleagues” to build upon the pledges made Friday.A number of technology executives have called for regulation, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-white-house-harris-578d623e473b0eeb3fa3e4728d7e9868">several attended an earlier White House</a>&nbsp;summit in May.Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post Friday that his company is making some commitments that go beyond the White House pledge, including support for regulation that would create a “licensing regime for highly capable models.”Some experts and upstart competitors worry that the type of regulation being floated could be a boon for deep-pocketed first-movers led by OpenAI, Google and Microsoft as smaller players are elbowed out by the high cost of making their AI systems adhere to regulatory strictures.The White House pledge notes that it mostly only applies to models that “are overall more powerful than the current industry frontier,” set by recent models such as OpenAI's GPT-4 and image generator DALL-E 2 and similar releases from Anthropic, Google and Amazon.A number of countries have been looking at ways to regulate AI, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-act-artificial-intelligence-europe-regulation-94e2b38703b38fdbfabc9580f845ef9a">European Union lawmakers</a>&nbsp;negotiating sweeping AI rules for the 27-nation bloc that could restrict applications deemed to have the highest risks.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said the United Nations is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-un-big-tech-first-5a184197c4281365866b5963d56f84ea">“the ideal place”</a>&nbsp;to adopt global standards and appointed a board that will report back on options for global AI governance by the end of the year.Guterres also said he welcomed calls from some countries for the creation of a new U.N. body to support global efforts to govern AI, inspired by such models as the International Atomic Energy Agency or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.The White House said Friday that it has consulted on the voluntary commitments with a number of countries.The pledge is heavily focused on safety risks but doesn't address other worries about the latest AI technology, including the effect on jobs and market competition, the environmental resources required to build the models, and copyright concerns about the writings, art and other human handiwork being used to teach AI systems how to produce human-like content.Last week, OpenAI and The Associated Press announced a deal for the AI company to license AP’s archive of news stories. The amount it will pay for that content was not disclosed.

🎥 Biden: Tech firms agree to artificial intelligence safeguards

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A deadlocked jury prompted a mistrial Saturday in the South Florida trial of rapper&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/music-arts-and-entertainment-general-news-1d18682869f344d6aef35280a8a29b69">YNW Melly</a>&nbsp;on charges that he murdered two of his friends five years ago.

The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will likely choose to retry the case with a new jury. A unanimous verdict is required to convict or acquit a defendant.

Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy twice asked the jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked, but relented after they came back a third time.

Prosecutors say YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, shot Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. while they were all inside a Jeep. Williams and Thomas were both part of the YNW collective, known respectively as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.

Prosecutors said the shooting was part of a gang action, while defense attorneys said that claim lacks credibility because Demons and the victims were close friends.

According to prosecutors, Demons, Williams and Thomas were riding in a Jeep driven by Cortland Henry, known as YNW Bortlen, after a recording session in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 26, 2018. They say Demons fatally shot Williams and Thomas. Henry is charged as an accomplice in the case and will be tried separately.

After killing Williams and Thomas, prosecutors said Demons and Henry drove the bodies to an area near the Everglades, where they shot at the back and passenger sides of Henry’s Jeep from the outside to make it look like Williams and Thomas had been the victims of a drive-by shooting.

But prosecutors say ballistics tests show the pair were shot from inside the Jeep.

Defense lawyers focused on the fact that the gun was never recovered. They also told jurors that YNW Melly had no apparent motive for the crime.

YNW Melly had his breakout in 2017 and went on to work with Kanye West on “Mixed Personalities,” which was released in January 2019, a month before Demons, 24, was arrested on murder charges.

By ASSOCIATED PRESSFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A deadlocked jury prompted a mistrial Saturday in the South Florida trial of rapper&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/music-arts-and-entertainment-general-news-1d18682869f344d6aef35280a8a29b69">YNW Melly</a>&nbsp;on charges that he murdered two of his friends five years ago.The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will likely choose to retry the case with a new jury. A unanimous verdict is required to convict or acquit a defendant.Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy twice asked the jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked, but relented after they came back a third time.Prosecutors say YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, shot Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. while they were all inside a Jeep. Williams and Thomas were both part of the YNW collective, known respectively as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.Prosecutors said the shooting was part of a gang action, while defense attorneys said that claim lacks credibility because Demons and the victims were close friends.According to prosecutors, Demons, Williams and Thomas were riding in a Jeep driven by Cortland Henry, known as YNW Bortlen, after a recording session in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 26, 2018. They say Demons fatally shot Williams and Thomas. Henry is charged as an accomplice in the case and will be tried separately.After killing Williams and Thomas, prosecutors said Demons and Henry drove the bodies to an area near the Everglades, where they shot at the back and passenger sides of Henry’s Jeep from the outside to make it look like Williams and Thomas had been the victims of a drive-by shooting.But prosecutors say ballistics tests show the pair were shot from inside the Jeep.Defense lawyers focused on the fact that the gun was never recovered. They also told jurors that YNW Melly had no apparent motive for the crime.YNW Melly had his breakout in 2017 and went on to work with Kanye West on “Mixed Personalities,” which was released in January 2019, a month before Demons, 24, was arrested on murder charges.

Murder trial of rapper YNW Melly ends in mistrial after jury deadlocks; retrial likely

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Movie theater operator AMC has ditched plans to charge more seats for seats with better sightlines after rival chains did not follow along.

AMC began the pilot program five months ago in three U.S. markets where it said it charged slightly more for better seats, and less for those in the front of the theater and others with inferior views.

AMC said its competitors didn’t raise or cut prices on any of their seats based on location. The company said because it wants its pricing to remain competitive, it’s ending the pilot program in the coming weeks and there will be no attempt to roll out those changes nationwide.

AMC also found that more than three out of every four guests who previously sat in the preferred sightline section continued to choose seats in that section, even with a slight up-charge. But it saw little to no increase in people buying front row seats that were cheaper.

AMC first announced the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amc-ticket-prices-7dbf4b9ddc7d531e252c21b790e860be">pilot program</a>&nbsp;in February.

AMC, based in Leawood, Kansas, said it's now going to focus on testing more spacious seating for the front row with seats that recline at some U.S. locations later this year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675797951504.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —Movie theater operator AMC has ditched plans to charge more seats for seats with better sightlines after rival chains did not follow along.AMC began the pilot program five months ago in three U.S. markets where it said it charged slightly more for better seats, and less for those in the front of the theater and others with inferior views.AMC said its competitors didn’t raise or cut prices on any of their seats based on location. The company said because it wants its pricing to remain competitive, it’s ending the pilot program in the coming weeks and there will be no attempt to roll out those changes nationwide.AMC also found that more than three out of every four guests who previously sat in the preferred sightline section continued to choose seats in that section, even with a slight up-charge. But it saw little to no increase in people buying front row seats that were cheaper.AMC first announced the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amc-ticket-prices-7dbf4b9ddc7d531e252c21b790e860be">pilot program</a>&nbsp;in February.AMC, based in Leawood, Kansas, said it's now going to focus on testing more spacious seating for the front row with seats that recline at some U.S. locations later this year.

Plan to charge more for good seats in movie theaters falls flat

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/21/despite-pushback-veterans-group-plans-to-host-national-speaker-who-opposes-trans-athletes/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Bill Williams says he’s received hateful emails, lost a couple of financial sponsors and even been criticized in a letter to a local newspaper after an organization he co-founded announced it was featuring a speaker opposed to transgender rights.

Critics, he said, are saying Patriotic Productions — best known for organizing more than a dozen “honor flights” for veterans to visit Washington, D.C. — is straying beyond its mission to “honor U.S. military veterans.”

None of that, Williams said Friday, will deter the Omaha-based nonprofit from hosting an event featuring Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and an outspoken opponent of allowing trans females to compete against biological female athletes.

“We’ve wandered outside our mission before,” he said.&nbsp;“It’s a great opportunity, a great platform, for (Gaines) to talk about her first-hand experience in competing against a biological male.”

“In some circles that’s controversial,” Williams added. “The vast majority of Americans know it’s unfair.”

Gaines, who has appeared several times on Fox News, will speak at a Patriotic Productions-sponsored event Aug. 27 at Embassy Suites in La Vista.

Gaines tied for fifth at the 2020 NCAA championships in the 200-yard freestyle with Lia Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania swimmer who became the first openly transgender woman to compete in the female events. Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle race.

The event is billed as a “call to action” and is described as being “not about politics or transgender” but about “safety, fairness and common sense.”

It also touches on the controversial issue of whether trans females should be allowed to compete in athletic contests against biological females.

Passage of a similar, hot-button, culture wars issue — banning gender-affirming procedures for minors —<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/05/22/nebraska-gov-jim-pillen-signs-abortion-gender-care-restrictions-into-law/">&nbsp;touched off an unprecedented</a>, session-long series of filibusters in the Nebraska Legislature this year in which angry words were often exchanged between state senators.

The sponsor of the bill on blocking minors from transgender procedures, State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, will appear at the Gaines event. She is also the sponsor of another bill, the “The Sports and Spaces Act.”

That proposal, Legislative Bill 575, would block biological males from competing in K-12 sports designed for biological females, and block biological males from using school bathrooms and locker rooms designated for females.

While the Nebraska bill failed to advance this year, at least 20 states now ban trans athletes from joining sports that align with their gender at birth, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-transgender-women-sports-ban-athletes-1c58c20cac2b191e323e4376d7949a2d">the Associated Press</a>. The&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/22/a-growing-number-of-nebraska-lawmakers-seeks-to-avoid-another-fight-on-trans-youth-in-2024/">Sports and Spaces Act</a>&nbsp;could advance to debate next year.

Williams said he and his wife, Evonne, have 11 grandchildren, including five granddaughters, and feel “very strongly” that this is the right thing to do.

“If we don’t stand up for females now, what’s going to happen to them?” he said of his granddaughters.

A “Public Pulse”&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://omaha.com/eedition/sunrise/articles/featured-speaker/article_32612e92-2a15-5254-935f-4a92ac1384aa.html">writer to the Omaha World-Herald on July 13</a>&nbsp;said she was “disappointed and angered” that an organization dedicated to honoring veterans was promoting a speaker who promotes “trans discrimination.”

“I struggle to understand why this organization would host an event featuring such a divisive, anti-trans speaker. Many transgender Americans are proudly serving our country right now and many others have served honorably or died serving in the past,” stated the letter, signed by Mary Ann Folchert of Omaha.

When asked about the event, State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue had a similar response, saying that it “disrespected” the mission of honoring veterans.

“I think it’s inappropriate for those who served to be utilizing resources to get involved in culture wars,” Blood said.

Williams said it wasn’t the first time that Patriotic Productions has sponsored events or speakers that were non-military.

In 2020, amid the backlash against the police custody killing of George Floyd, the organization sponsored two “Back the Blue” events. The mother of one of the murder victims of spree killer Nikko Jenkins also spoke at one Patriotic Productions event, Williams said.

But, he added, the organization has never endorsed a political candidate and doesn’t plan on getting involved in the state legislative debate over trans participation in sports.

“I don’t think that’s our deal,” Williams said. “(Gaines)&nbsp;deserves freedom of speech … so we’re going to give her the opportunity.”

The Riley Gaines event asks for a $250 per person donation and includes sponsorship opportunities of up to $5,000.

Sponsors of past Patriotic Productions events include U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and his wife, Susanne Shore, and Sandhills Global, founded by Tom Peed. Peed has made headlines recently for donating $2 million toward the unsuccessful Lincoln mayoral candidacy of former State Sen. Suzanne Geist,and for&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/13/top-gop-donor-tom-peed-hosts-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-in-lincoln-at-dinner/">hosting U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy</a>, the Speaker of the U.S. House, at a dinner at his family’s Lincoln steakhouse.

Jordy Bahl, a star softball pitcher who recently transferred from the National Champion University of Oklahoma Sooners to her home state school, the University of Nebraska, will introduce Gaines at the event. Carol Frost, an Olympic discus thrower and mother of former NU football coach Scott Frost, will also speak about the impact of Title IX on women’s athletics.

Patriotic Productions is hosting a more traditional veterans event on July 29 at 10 a.m. Memorial Park in Omaha.

It will be a “remembrance ceremony” in honor of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement to end the war in Korea.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690026144053.jpeg" alt=" Patriotic Productions, founded by Bill and Evonne Williams, is best known for a series of “honor flights” it has organized for veterans to see war memorials in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy of Patriotic Productions)" />
 <figcaption> Patriotic Productions, founded by Bill and Evonne Williams, is best known for a series of “honor flights” it has organized for veterans to see war memorials in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy of Patriotic Productions)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/21/despite-pushback-veterans-group-plans-to-host-national-speaker-who-opposes-trans-athletes/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Bill Williams says he’s received hateful emails, lost a couple of financial sponsors and even been criticized in a letter to a local newspaper after an organization he co-founded announced it was featuring a speaker opposed to transgender rights.Critics, he said, are saying Patriotic Productions — best known for organizing more than a dozen “honor flights” for veterans to visit Washington, D.C. — is straying beyond its mission to “honor U.S. military veterans.”None of that, Williams said Friday, will deter the Omaha-based nonprofit from hosting an event featuring Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and an outspoken opponent of allowing trans females to compete against biological female athletes.“We’ve wandered outside our mission before,” he said.&nbsp;“It’s a great opportunity, a great platform, for (Gaines) to talk about her first-hand experience in competing against a biological male.”<h2>‘Controversial’ in some circles</h2>“In some circles that’s controversial,” Williams added. “The vast majority of Americans know it’s unfair.”Gaines, who has appeared several times on Fox News, will speak at a Patriotic Productions-sponsored event Aug. 27 at Embassy Suites in La Vista.Gaines tied for fifth at the 2020 NCAA championships in the 200-yard freestyle with Lia Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania swimmer who became the first openly transgender woman to compete in the female events. Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle race.The event is billed as a “call to action” and is described as being “not about politics or transgender” but about “safety, fairness and common sense.”It also touches on the controversial issue of whether trans females should be allowed to compete in athletic contests against biological females.Passage of a similar, hot-button, culture wars issue — banning gender-affirming procedures for minors —<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/05/22/nebraska-gov-jim-pillen-signs-abortion-gender-care-restrictions-into-law/">&nbsp;touched off an unprecedented</a>, session-long series of filibusters in the Nebraska Legislature this year in which angry words were often exchanged between state senators.The sponsor of the bill on blocking minors from transgender procedures, State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, will appear at the Gaines event. She is also the sponsor of another bill, the “The Sports and Spaces Act.”That proposal, Legislative Bill 575, would block biological males from competing in K-12 sports designed for biological females, and block biological males from using school bathrooms and locker rooms designated for females.<h2>20 states have bans</h2>While the Nebraska bill failed to advance this year, at least 20 states now ban trans athletes from joining sports that align with their gender at birth, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-transgender-women-sports-ban-athletes-1c58c20cac2b191e323e4376d7949a2d">the Associated Press</a>. The&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/22/a-growing-number-of-nebraska-lawmakers-seeks-to-avoid-another-fight-on-trans-youth-in-2024/">Sports and Spaces Act</a>&nbsp;could advance to debate next year.Williams said he and his wife, Evonne, have 11 grandchildren, including five granddaughters, and feel “very strongly” that this is the right thing to do.“If we don’t stand up for females now, what’s going to happen to them?” he said of his granddaughters.A “Public Pulse”&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://omaha.com/eedition/sunrise/articles/featured-speaker/article_32612e92-2a15-5254-935f-4a92ac1384aa.html">writer to the Omaha World-Herald on July 13</a>&nbsp;said she was “disappointed and angered” that an organization dedicated to honoring veterans was promoting a speaker who promotes “trans discrimination.”“I struggle to understand why this organization would host an event featuring such a divisive, anti-trans speaker. Many transgender Americans are proudly serving our country right now and many others have served honorably or died serving in the past,” stated the letter, signed by Mary Ann Folchert of Omaha.When asked about the event, State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue had a similar response, saying that it “disrespected” the mission of honoring veterans.<h2>‘Inappropriate’</h2>“I think it’s inappropriate for those who served to be utilizing resources to get involved in culture wars,” Blood said.Williams said it wasn’t the first time that Patriotic Productions has sponsored events or speakers that were non-military.In 2020, amid the backlash against the police custody killing of George Floyd, the organization sponsored two “Back the Blue” events. The mother of one of the murder victims of spree killer Nikko Jenkins also spoke at one Patriotic Productions event, Williams said.But, he added, the organization has never endorsed a political candidate and doesn’t plan on getting involved in the state legislative debate over trans participation in sports.<h2>‘She deserves freedom of speech’</h2>“I don’t think that’s our deal,” Williams said. “(Gaines)&nbsp;deserves freedom of speech … so we’re going to give her the opportunity.”The Riley Gaines event asks for a $250 per person donation and includes sponsorship opportunities of up to $5,000.Sponsors of past Patriotic Productions events include U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and his wife, Susanne Shore, and Sandhills Global, founded by Tom Peed. Peed has made headlines recently for donating $2 million toward the unsuccessful Lincoln mayoral candidacy of former State Sen. Suzanne Geist,and for&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/13/top-gop-donor-tom-peed-hosts-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-in-lincoln-at-dinner/">hosting U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy</a>, the Speaker of the U.S. House, at a dinner at his family’s Lincoln steakhouse.Jordy Bahl, a star softball pitcher who recently transferred from the National Champion University of Oklahoma Sooners to her home state school, the University of Nebraska, will introduce Gaines at the event. Carol Frost, an Olympic discus thrower and mother of former NU football coach Scott Frost, will also speak about the impact of Title IX on women’s athletics.Patriotic Productions is hosting a more traditional veterans event on July 29 at 10 a.m. Memorial Park in Omaha.It will be a “remembrance ceremony” in honor of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement to end the war in Korea.

Despite pushback, veterans group plans to host national speaker who opposes trans athletes

NEW YORK (AP) — In the winter of 2010, shortly after police discovered the remains of his roommate and three other women buried on a remote stretch of Long Island shoreline, Dave Schaller provided detectives with a description of the person he believed to be the killer.

More crucially, Schaller told them about his truck.

The man they were looking for was a towering, Frankenstein-like figure with an “empty gaze” who drove a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, Schaller recalled telling investigators. The man’s size stuck out, as did his unusual pick-up truck, which he’d used to flee the house Schaller shared with Amber Costello.

On that night, Schaller said he came home to find the stranger threatening Costello, an occasional sex worker, who had locked herself in the bathroom. The two men came to blows, with the hulking intruder eventually leaving in the truck.

Prosecutors say Costello was last seen alive on Sept. 2, 2010, as she left her home to meet that same client. A witness saw a dark-colored truck drive by the house again shortly after she left.

“When they told me she was dead, he was the first person who jumped in my head,” Schaller told The Associated Press. “I’ve been picturing his face for 13 years.”

On July 14,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/long-island-serial-killings-arrest-gilgo-beach-c3af339961c00276429908b1dd20dc19">police arrested Rex Heuermann</a>&nbsp;on charges of killing Costello and two other women, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman. He is the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Heuermann, an architect who worked in Manhattan, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The arrest marked a stunning breakthrough in the hunt for a serial killer who had eluded investigators and whose crimes gripped Long Islanders since the bodies of four women — all of them sex workers — were found wrapped in burlap near Gilgo Beach.

Within months, the remains of six other bodies, including a toddler, were discovered elsewhere along the same beach highway. Heuermann has not been accused in any of those cases. Police have said the deaths may be the work of multiple killers.

The arrest has brought a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/long-island-heuermann-serial-killer-gilgo-e8496c5bb2c1878ae8be00adb343c935">measure of relief to families of the victims</a>&nbsp;at a moment when the trail appeared to have gone cold. But as new details emerge about how police finally caught the alleged killer, they’ve also raised questions about whether investigators adequately pursued a key lead — Schaller's description of the stranger and his truck —that may have helped solve the case sooner.

“This was crucial information, and I don’t know why they didn’t share it,” said Rob Trotta, a county legislator who worked as a Suffolk County Police detective until 2013. “They made some serious blunders here.”

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who inherited the investigation when he took office in 2022, said the key to unraveling the case was the description of the truck, discovered by a state investigator after the launch of a new task force formed to take a fresh look at the evidence.

When they ran it through a vehicle records database, one of the results turned up a hit: A man who owned a Chevy Avalanche lived in a neighborhood that investigators were already zeroing in on as the suspect’s likely location because of a sophisticated analysis of cellphone location data and call records. Heuermann fit the physical description provided by Schaller, too: He was 6 feet, 4 inches (193 centimeters) tall and weighed 240 pounds (109 kilograms).

Tierney told the AP he did not know why police had not run a search earlier, but suggested the piece of information may have been “lost within a sea of other tips and information.”

He stressed there were other elements that ultimately helped investigators arrest Heuermann, including new technology that helped match samples of DNA to the suspect.

“What solved this case was a lot of dedicated investigators, analysts and attorneys from a bunch of agencies getting together and collaborating,” he said.

But for Schaller, any feelings of relief over the arrest were soon eclipsed by anger and confusion.

Speaking out for the first time since the arrest, he said he had met with homicide detectives on multiple occasions during the initial years of the investigation.

During one of their final meetings, roughly two years after the women went missing, he said he picked the truck's model out of a line-up of photographs provided by the detectives.

“I gave them the exact description of the truck and the dude,” he said. “I mean come on, why didn’t they use that?”

The question has vexed some law enforcement officials as well. Two high-ranking officials who worked closely on the case and attended briefings between 2011 and 2013 said they never heard anything about a witness statement describing the suspect and his vehicle.

The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose information about the investigation.

According to a vehicle history report, Heuermann bought the pickup — a dark green, first-generation edition — at a Chevrolet dealer on Long Island in 2002 and transferred ownership to his brother, Craig, in South Carolina in 2012.

Authorities seized the vehicle last week. In a search warrant, they said they were looking for other clues in the vehicle or at property the brothers owned in Chester County, South Carolina, such as DNA, fluids, fingerprints, phones and what they described as possible “trophies” that may have belonged to the victims — clothing, jewelry, Bibles or photos.

Investigators said they were also looking for any electronics, video recordings and writings related to the killings; burlap; duct tape; guns and ammunition; cutting tools; and a specific type of paper towel from the Bounty Modern Print Collection.

While it’s not clear whether investigators pursued the tip about the vehicle before last year, those involved in the case pointed to fierce divisions between the various law enforcement agencies — as well as overlapping scandals that engulfed Suffolk County — as a potential explanation for a key clue slipping through the cracks.

Shortly after taking over the Suffolk County police department in 2012, James Burke moved to end cooperation with the FBI amid federal scrutiny of his own misconduct.

Four years later, Burke was sentenced to 46 months in prison after he was found to have conspired to cover-up his beating of a man who had discovered sex toys and pornography inside his car.

The federal inquiry would also lead to prison sentences for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, who oversaw the early years of the Gilgo Beach case, as well as the county’s top anticorruption prosecutor, Christopher McPartland.

“This was a dark cloud over the community,” recalled Tim Sini, who succeeded Burke as police commissioner and later became the county’s district attorney. “When you have the police department and the district attorney’s office blocking the FBI, that does not engender trust in law enforcement.”

Sini said he inherited an investigation that was “in disarray,” with detectives blocked from cooperating not only with federal investigators, but with the neighboring police department in Nassau County, where Heuermann lived.

He declined to say if he knew about the description of a suspect and its vehicle, but noted that his office invested heavily in technology that allowed investigators to track data from cellphone towers used by the suspect’s burner phone.

The arrest, Sini said, was the result of painstaking detective work that spanned multiple administrations and relied on a wide range of evidence. But, he added, “I wouldn’t call it a major success. The case should’ve been solved earlier."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690025920460.jpeg" alt="Authorities search the home of suspect Rex Heuermann, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Massapequa Park, As new details emerge about how police finally caught the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, they've also raised questions about whether investigators adequately pursued a key lead that may have helped solve the case sooner. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)" />
 <figcaption>Authorities search the home of suspect Rex Heuermann, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Massapequa Park, As new details emerge about how police finally caught the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, they've also raised questions about whether investigators adequately pursued a key lead that may have helped solve the case sooner. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Jake OffenhartzNEW YORK (AP) — In the winter of 2010, shortly after police discovered the remains of his roommate and three other women buried on a remote stretch of Long Island shoreline, Dave Schaller provided detectives with a description of the person he believed to be the killer.More crucially, Schaller told them about his truck.The man they were looking for was a towering, Frankenstein-like figure with an “empty gaze” who drove a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, Schaller recalled telling investigators. The man’s size stuck out, as did his unusual pick-up truck, which he’d used to flee the house Schaller shared with Amber Costello.On that night, Schaller said he came home to find the stranger threatening Costello, an occasional sex worker, who had locked herself in the bathroom. The two men came to blows, with the hulking intruder eventually leaving in the truck.Prosecutors say Costello was last seen alive on Sept. 2, 2010, as she left her home to meet that same client. A witness saw a dark-colored truck drive by the house again shortly after she left.“When they told me she was dead, he was the first person who jumped in my head,” Schaller told The Associated Press. “I’ve been picturing his face for 13 years.”On July 14,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/long-island-serial-killings-arrest-gilgo-beach-c3af339961c00276429908b1dd20dc19">police arrested Rex Heuermann</a>&nbsp;on charges of killing Costello and two other women, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman. He is the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Heuermann, an architect who worked in Manhattan, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.The arrest marked a stunning breakthrough in the hunt for a serial killer who had eluded investigators and whose crimes gripped Long Islanders since the bodies of four women — all of them sex workers — were found wrapped in burlap near Gilgo Beach.Within months, the remains of six other bodies, including a toddler, were discovered elsewhere along the same beach highway. Heuermann has not been accused in any of those cases. Police have said the deaths may be the work of multiple killers.The arrest has brought a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/long-island-heuermann-serial-killer-gilgo-e8496c5bb2c1878ae8be00adb343c935">measure of relief to families of the victims</a>&nbsp;at a moment when the trail appeared to have gone cold. But as new details emerge about how police finally caught the alleged killer, they’ve also raised questions about whether investigators adequately pursued a key lead — Schaller's description of the stranger and his truck —that may have helped solve the case sooner.“This was crucial information, and I don’t know why they didn’t share it,” said Rob Trotta, a county legislator who worked as a Suffolk County Police detective until 2013. “They made some serious blunders here.”Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who inherited the investigation when he took office in 2022, said the key to unraveling the case was the description of the truck, discovered by a state investigator after the launch of a new task force formed to take a fresh look at the evidence.When they ran it through a vehicle records database, one of the results turned up a hit: A man who owned a Chevy Avalanche lived in a neighborhood that investigators were already zeroing in on as the suspect’s likely location because of a sophisticated analysis of cellphone location data and call records. Heuermann fit the physical description provided by Schaller, too: He was 6 feet, 4 inches (193 centimeters) tall and weighed 240 pounds (109 kilograms).Tierney told the AP he did not know why police had not run a search earlier, but suggested the piece of information may have been “lost within a sea of other tips and information.”He stressed there were other elements that ultimately helped investigators arrest Heuermann, including new technology that helped match samples of DNA to the suspect.“What solved this case was a lot of dedicated investigators, analysts and attorneys from a bunch of agencies getting together and collaborating,” he said.But for Schaller, any feelings of relief over the arrest were soon eclipsed by anger and confusion.Speaking out for the first time since the arrest, he said he had met with homicide detectives on multiple occasions during the initial years of the investigation.During one of their final meetings, roughly two years after the women went missing, he said he picked the truck's model out of a line-up of photographs provided by the detectives.“I gave them the exact description of the truck and the dude,” he said. “I mean come on, why didn’t they use that?”The question has vexed some law enforcement officials as well. Two high-ranking officials who worked closely on the case and attended briefings between 2011 and 2013 said they never heard anything about a witness statement describing the suspect and his vehicle.The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose information about the investigation.According to a vehicle history report, Heuermann bought the pickup — a dark green, first-generation edition — at a Chevrolet dealer on Long Island in 2002 and transferred ownership to his brother, Craig, in South Carolina in 2012.Authorities seized the vehicle last week. In a search warrant, they said they were looking for other clues in the vehicle or at property the brothers owned in Chester County, South Carolina, such as DNA, fluids, fingerprints, phones and what they described as possible “trophies” that may have belonged to the victims — clothing, jewelry, Bibles or photos.Investigators said they were also looking for any electronics, video recordings and writings related to the killings; burlap; duct tape; guns and ammunition; cutting tools; and a specific type of paper towel from the Bounty Modern Print Collection.While it’s not clear whether investigators pursued the tip about the vehicle before last year, those involved in the case pointed to fierce divisions between the various law enforcement agencies — as well as overlapping scandals that engulfed Suffolk County — as a potential explanation for a key clue slipping through the cracks.Shortly after taking over the Suffolk County police department in 2012, James Burke moved to end cooperation with the FBI amid federal scrutiny of his own misconduct.Four years later, Burke was sentenced to 46 months in prison after he was found to have conspired to cover-up his beating of a man who had discovered sex toys and pornography inside his car.The federal inquiry would also lead to prison sentences for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, who oversaw the early years of the Gilgo Beach case, as well as the county’s top anticorruption prosecutor, Christopher McPartland.“This was a dark cloud over the community,” recalled Tim Sini, who succeeded Burke as police commissioner and later became the county’s district attorney. “When you have the police department and the district attorney’s office blocking the FBI, that does not engender trust in law enforcement.”Sini said he inherited an investigation that was “in disarray,” with detectives blocked from cooperating not only with federal investigators, but with the neighboring police department in Nassau County, where Heuermann lived.He declined to say if he knew about the description of a suspect and its vehicle, but noted that his office invested heavily in technology that allowed investigators to track data from cellphone towers used by the suspect’s burner phone.The arrest, Sini said, was the result of painstaking detective work that spanned multiple administrations and relied on a wide range of evidence. But, he added, “I wouldn’t call it a major success. The case should’ve been solved earlier."

He came face to face with an alleged serial killer. 12 years later, his tip helped crack the case

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Russell L. Rucks, Sr., 52, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today to 26 years’ imprisonment, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and a detectable amount of fentanyl, resulting in the death of one person and serious bodily injuries to two others, by Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard.&nbsp; Following his release from prison, Rucks will serve five years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.&nbsp; Rucks will also forfeit $5,084.00 in cash to the United States of America, and he was ordered to pay $9,700.00 in restitution to the mother of victim who died.

On July 24, 2021, a Lincoln woman called 911 after her fiancé collapsed after returning home from a trip to a gas station.&nbsp; Lincoln Fire and Rescue, (LFR), arrived and performed lifesaving measures, including administering two doses of Narcan.&nbsp; After the second dose of Narcan, the victim began to regain consciousness and was transported to a Lincoln hospital.&nbsp; The victim later told investigators he had been purchasing small amounts of cocaine about every seven to 10 days from Russell Rucks, Sr. for about a year.&nbsp; Just before his overdose, he said he met with Rucks and bought $20 worth of what he believed to be cocaine.&nbsp; He snorted the cocaine and suffered an overdose.&nbsp; Phone records for the victim and Rucks confirmed the victim had been communicating about drug transactions.&nbsp; A medical expert reviewed first responder and hospital records for the victim and found he faced a substantial risk of death had he not been given Narcan.

On July 27, 2021, two Lincoln men overdosed at a residence in Lincoln.&nbsp; Both were found unconscious.&nbsp; Both were given Narcan and were hospitalized.&nbsp; One of the victims died on August 19, 2021, but the other victim eventually recovered.&nbsp; The surviving victim told investigators he pooled money with the victim who died, and they bought what they believed to be cocaine from Rucks. The surviving victim said he and the victim who died both used the “cocaine” which led to their overdoses.&nbsp; Investigators found phone messages between the surviving victim and Rucks on the day of the overdoses in which the surviving victim arranged to meet with Rucks.&nbsp; Several items of drug paraphernalia, all containing drug residue, were seized from the residence where the two victims were found, and lab testing showed these items all contained cocaine and fentanyl.&nbsp; A medical expert reviewed the first responder and hospital records for both victims determined that one victim died due to ingesting cocaine laced with fentanyl and the other was seriously injured due to ingesting those substances.

On August 11, 2021, Rucks was arrested and found in possession of a small amount of cocaine.&nbsp; On the same day, his son, Russell Rucks, Jr., was also arrested and was found in possession of $1,634 in cash.&nbsp; A search warrant was executed at their Lincoln residence which resulted in the finding of 6.8 pounds of cocaine, a scale, and $3,950 in currency.&nbsp; Rucks, Sr. waived his&nbsp;Miranda&nbsp;rights and told investigators he had been selling what he believed to be cocaine in the months prior to his arrest.&nbsp;

Russell Rucks, Jr., faces similar charges and is awaiting trial currently scheduled to begin in October of 2023.

This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force (Lincoln Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and UNL Police Department) and the Nebraska State Patrol.

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Russell L. Rucks, Sr., 52, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today to 26 years’ imprisonment, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and a detectable amount of fentanyl, resulting in the death of one person and serious bodily injuries to two others, by Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard.&nbsp; Following his release from prison, Rucks will serve five years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.&nbsp; Rucks will also forfeit $5,084.00 in cash to the United States of America, and he was ordered to pay $9,700.00 in restitution to the mother of victim who died.On July 24, 2021, a Lincoln woman called 911 after her fiancé collapsed after returning home from a trip to a gas station.&nbsp; Lincoln Fire and Rescue, (LFR), arrived and performed lifesaving measures, including administering two doses of Narcan.&nbsp; After the second dose of Narcan, the victim began to regain consciousness and was transported to a Lincoln hospital.&nbsp; The victim later told investigators he had been purchasing small amounts of cocaine about every seven to 10 days from Russell Rucks, Sr. for about a year.&nbsp; Just before his overdose, he said he met with Rucks and bought $20 worth of what he believed to be cocaine.&nbsp; He snorted the cocaine and suffered an overdose.&nbsp; Phone records for the victim and Rucks confirmed the victim had been communicating about drug transactions.&nbsp; A medical expert reviewed first responder and hospital records for the victim and found he faced a substantial risk of death had he not been given Narcan.On July 27, 2021, two Lincoln men overdosed at a residence in Lincoln.&nbsp; Both were found unconscious.&nbsp; Both were given Narcan and were hospitalized.&nbsp; One of the victims died on August 19, 2021, but the other victim eventually recovered.&nbsp; The surviving victim told investigators he pooled money with the victim who died, and they bought what they believed to be cocaine from Rucks. The surviving victim said he and the victim who died both used the “cocaine” which led to their overdoses.&nbsp; Investigators found phone messages between the surviving victim and Rucks on the day of the overdoses in which the surviving victim arranged to meet with Rucks.&nbsp; Several items of drug paraphernalia, all containing drug residue, were seized from the residence where the two victims were found, and lab testing showed these items all contained cocaine and fentanyl.&nbsp; A medical expert reviewed the first responder and hospital records for both victims determined that one victim died due to ingesting cocaine laced with fentanyl and the other was seriously injured due to ingesting those substances.On August 11, 2021, Rucks was arrested and found in possession of a small amount of cocaine.&nbsp; On the same day, his son, Russell Rucks, Jr., was also arrested and was found in possession of $1,634 in cash.&nbsp; A search warrant was executed at their Lincoln residence which resulted in the finding of 6.8 pounds of cocaine, a scale, and $3,950 in currency.&nbsp; Rucks, Sr. waived his&nbsp;Miranda&nbsp;rights and told investigators he had been selling what he believed to be cocaine in the months prior to his arrest.&nbsp;Russell Rucks, Jr., faces similar charges and is awaiting trial currently scheduled to begin in October of 2023.This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force (Lincoln Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and UNL Police Department) and the Nebraska State Patrol.

Lincoln Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Fentanyl Resulting in Death and Serious Injuries

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve launched a new instant payment service Thursday.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8d6e9d6406398cb51ded58becceaacf4">FedNow allows banks and credit unions</a>&nbsp;to sign up to send real-time payments so they can offer customers a quicker way to send money between banks.

<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fednow_about.htm">FedNow,</a> which was first announced in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20190805a.htm">2019</a>, published a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations">list of banks</a>&nbsp;and credit unions that are already signed up to the service. However, it might take longer for customers to be able to use the service with their bank.

Here’s what you need to know about FedNow.

FedNow offers instant payment services for banks and credit unions to transfer money for their customers. Unlike other private money-transferring services like PayPal or Venmo, FedNow services are not offered to customers directly through a third-party app or website. The services will only be available through banks or credit unions. However, once banks have adopted FedNow, they’re expected to make it available on their websites and apps.

Once a bank offers the FedNow services, customers will be able to send money instantly. The service is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Among&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations-certified">the banks</a>&nbsp;that will offer the FedNow services soon are Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

By creating FedNow, the Fed is making it quicker and more accessible for people to send and receive online payments. The Fed is also catching up with other countries that already have real-time payment systems like FedNow, including England, China, Sweden and India.

FedNow will also equip banks with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/collections/speeches/2023/sp-20230712-update-on-the-federal-reserves-instant-payments-service">tools to identify and combat fraud attempts.</a>&nbsp;These tools include the ability for banks to flag suspicious accounts and limit the amount and frequency of payments by those accounts.

Customers, including individuals and businesses, whose banks or credit unions offer FedNow services will be able to send and receive money in real-time. If, for example, a customer wants to send money to a friend, both people have to bank with institutions that offer FedNow services.

WHAT ARE SOME SCENARIOS WHERE I CAN USE FEDNOW?

Given the speed of transactions, this service can be beneficial for customers in many ways.

— If your employer sends your paycheck through FedNow, the paycheck will be able to clear in seconds rather than days.

— If you forgot to pay your rent until the last minute, you will be able to send the money late at night without waiting to have it cleared the next business day.

FedNow is now live but it might take months or years for customers to be able to use this service, it all depends on when your bank makes it available.

WILL MY PRIVACY BE PROTECTED WITH FEDNOW?

The Federal Reserve and the FedNow service cannot access people’s bank accounts and it doesn’t have the authority for additional surveillance,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-banking-federal-reserve-fednow-429714320991">according to Fed officials</a>.

WILL FEDNOW REPLACE VENMO, PAYPAY OR OTHER SERVICES?

There are key differences between the FedNow service and apps such as Venmo and PayPal. FedNow is a service offered directly to banks and not to customers, which means FedNow does not have an app or website where customers will be able to send money to each other.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEDNOW AND ZELLE?

While both FedNow and Zelle allow customers to make online transactions, there are some key differences. Zelle is a private app that works with some financial institutions while FedNow is backed by the Federal Reserve and is envisioned to be adopted by the majority of banks in the country.

Zelle lets you send and receive money instantly but the money might not be available for customers until days after the transaction. With FedNow, the Fed says the money will be available within seconds. Zelle has a customer-facing platform that allows customers to send money through their app while FedNow will not directly interact with customers but rather offer the services to banks.

Fed officials have stressed FedNow is unrelated to the notion of a government-run digital currency, which social media users also falsely claim would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-FedNow-CBDC-223356937707">lead to the elimination of cash</a>.

“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) &amp; would not do so without clear support from Congress and executive branch, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law,” the agency wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/federalreserve/status/1644391858733187082">series of tweets</a>&nbsp;in April “A CBDC would not replace cash or other payment options.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689966177750.png" alt="“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency.-Courtesy image" />
 <figcaption>“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency.-Courtesy image</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve launched a new instant payment service Thursday.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8d6e9d6406398cb51ded58becceaacf4">FedNow allows banks and credit unions</a>&nbsp;to sign up to send real-time payments so they can offer customers a quicker way to send money between banks.<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fednow_about.htm">FedNow,</a> which was first announced in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20190805a.htm">2019</a>, published a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations">list of banks</a>&nbsp;and credit unions that are already signed up to the service. However, it might take longer for customers to be able to use the service with their bank.Here’s what you need to know about FedNow.<h2>HOW DOES FEDNOW WORK?</h2>FedNow offers instant payment services for banks and credit unions to transfer money for their customers. Unlike other private money-transferring services like PayPal or Venmo, FedNow services are not offered to customers directly through a third-party app or website. The services will only be available through banks or credit unions. However, once banks have adopted FedNow, they’re expected to make it available on their websites and apps.Once a bank offers the FedNow services, customers will be able to send money instantly. The service is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Among&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations-certified">the banks</a>&nbsp;that will offer the FedNow services soon are Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.<h2>WHY DID THE FED CREATE FEDNOW?</h2>By creating FedNow, the Fed is making it quicker and more accessible for people to send and receive online payments. The Fed is also catching up with other countries that already have real-time payment systems like FedNow, including England, China, Sweden and India.FedNow will also equip banks with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/collections/speeches/2023/sp-20230712-update-on-the-federal-reserves-instant-payments-service">tools to identify and combat fraud attempts.</a>&nbsp;These tools include the ability for banks to flag suspicious accounts and limit the amount and frequency of payments by those accounts.<h2>WHO CAN USE FEDNOW?</h2>Customers, including individuals and businesses, whose banks or credit unions offer FedNow services will be able to send and receive money in real-time. If, for example, a customer wants to send money to a friend, both people have to bank with institutions that offer FedNow services.<h2>WHAT ARE SOME SCENARIOS WHERE I CAN USE FEDNOW?</h2>Given the speed of transactions, this service can be beneficial for customers in many ways.Here are some examples:— If your employer sends your paycheck through FedNow, the paycheck will be able to clear in seconds rather than days.— If you forgot to pay your rent until the last minute, you will be able to send the money late at night without waiting to have it cleared the next business day.<h2>WHEN WILL FEDNOW BE AVAILABLE TO ME?</h2>FedNow is now live but it might take months or years for customers to be able to use this service, it all depends on when your bank makes it available.<h2>WILL MY PRIVACY BE PROTECTED WITH FEDNOW?</h2>The Federal Reserve and the FedNow service cannot access people’s bank accounts and it doesn’t have the authority for additional surveillance,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-banking-federal-reserve-fednow-429714320991">according to Fed officials</a>.<h2>WILL FEDNOW REPLACE VENMO, PAYPAY OR OTHER SERVICES?</h2>There are key differences between the FedNow service and apps such as Venmo and PayPal. FedNow is a service offered directly to banks and not to customers, which means FedNow does not have an app or website where customers will be able to send money to each other.<h2>WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEDNOW AND ZELLE?</h2>While both FedNow and Zelle allow customers to make online transactions, there are some key differences. Zelle is a private app that works with some financial institutions while FedNow is backed by the Federal Reserve and is envisioned to be adopted by the majority of banks in the country.Zelle lets you send and receive money instantly but the money might not be available for customers until days after the transaction. With FedNow, the Fed says the money will be available within seconds. Zelle has a customer-facing platform that allows customers to send money through their app while FedNow will not directly interact with customers but rather offer the services to banks.<h2>WILL FEDNOW REPLACE CASH?</h2>Fed officials have stressed FedNow is unrelated to the notion of a government-run digital currency, which social media users also falsely claim would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-FedNow-CBDC-223356937707">lead to the elimination of cash</a>.“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) &amp; would not do so without clear support from Congress and executive branch, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law,” the agency wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/federalreserve/status/1644391858733187082">series of tweets</a>&nbsp;in April “A CBDC would not replace cash or other payment options.”

U.S. moves step closer to Central Bank Digital Currency

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mega Millions has upped the ante by another $100 million.

The lack of a jackpot winner in the lottery game's latest drawing on Friday night sent the top prize soaring to an estimated $820 million.

The numbers drawn late Friday were: 29, 40, 47, 50, 57 and gold Mega Ball 25. No tickets were sold hitting all those numbers for the estimated grand prize of $720 million.

The estimated $820 million in the next drawing on Tuesday night would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Tuesdays drawing is an estimated $422 million.

The potential jackpot is the fifth largest in the history of the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday.

Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.

The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18.

Friday's drawing resulted in eight tickets matching five white balls for a $1 million prize. Two each were sold in Florida, New Jersey and North Carolina, with one in California and another in Michigan, Mega Millions said.

The Powerball jackpot also was approaching near-record levels before a tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for Wednesday's drawing, worth an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">$1.08 billion</a>.

Mega Millions is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">played in 45 states</a>, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mega Millions has upped the ante by another $100 million.The lack of a jackpot winner in the lottery game's latest drawing on Friday night sent the top prize soaring to an estimated $820 million.The numbers drawn late Friday were: 29, 40, 47, 50, 57 and gold Mega Ball 25. No tickets were sold hitting all those numbers for the estimated grand prize of $720 million.The estimated $820 million in the next drawing on Tuesday night would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Tuesdays drawing is an estimated $422 million.The potential jackpot is the fifth largest in the history of the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday.Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18.Friday's drawing resulted in eight tickets matching five white balls for a $1 million prize. Two each were sold in Florida, New Jersey and North Carolina, with one in California and another in Michigan, Mega Millions said.The Powerball jackpot also was approaching near-record levels before a tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for Wednesday's drawing, worth an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">$1.08 billion</a>.Mega Millions is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">played in 45 states</a>, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mega Millions jackpot grows to $820 million

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/20/accusations-fly-in-petition-fight-over-tax-credit-for-private-school-scholarships/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — Heated allegations were lodged Thursday by advocates for and against a petition drive seeking to overturn Nebraska’s new tax credit for donations funding private school scholarships.

Public school advocates are crisscrossing the state seeking signatures for a petition that would let voters decide the fate of the K-12 scholarship law.

They are often confronted by signature blockers for Keep Kids First, a local school choice group with national backing. The blockers try to persuade people not to sign petitions for Support Our Schools, a group backed by local, state and national teachers unions.

On Thursday, the groups accused one another of telling half-truths or lies or turning off potential voters in Omaha, Lincoln and other communities. Petition circulators and blockers shared specific allegations and said voters are paying the price.

Dueling concerns emerged from a news conference Thursday at Memorial Park, held by tax credit supporters, who criticized petition circulators they said went too far. Some opponents of the tax credit watched the gathering and shared allegations against signature blockers.&nbsp;

By day’s end, advocates for and against the tax credit program shared cell phone videos online of circulators or blockers misstating what the petition does or misstating what signing the petition might do.

Longtime school choice advocate Clarice Jackson of Omaha, who testified to the Legislature in support of the scholarship tax credit, spoke about her experience with a Support Our Schools petitioner standing outside a local Dollar Tree.

She said the circulator told her she should sign the petition if she wants “opportunity scholarships for minority families.” The petition seeks to put the new law on the 2024 ballot so voters have the option of rejecting the tax credit.

“I asked her several times to make sure I … understood what she was saying and she repeated it again,” Jackson said. “Those who had signed that bill at that Dollar Tree were very upset, because they didn’t get the right information.”

Tim Royers of the Nebraska State Education Association told reporters that his organization fired the rogue circulator Jackson encountered on the same night.&nbsp;

He said Support Our Schools had checked with the Secretary of State’s Office and had received no formal complaints about their circulators. Organizers said such complaints have been lodged in other states facing school choice fights.

Royers criticized petition blockers for invading the personal space of people trying to explain what the petitions would do. He said three incidents involving blockers resulted in calls to police. He said Nebraskans should get to vote on the law in 2024.

“We’ve had Decline to Sign employees physically get nose-to-nose with our volunteers,” Royers said. “If a person’s coming up to try and sign a petition, they’ll physically intervene and try and physically stop them from signing the petition.”&nbsp;

Some blockers, circulators said, have yelled while voters are trying to read or hear petition language. Lincoln circulator Christina Grosshans said she was seeking signatures at a public library when a&nbsp; blocker became “disruptive and belligerent” to people who tried to sign and interrupted her while she was trying to talk. People complained to the librarian, who let the blocker know his behavior was unacceptable and he “settled down,” Grosshans said.

Jackson, who told reporters that her child had struggled with dyslexia and learning to read, confronted Royers at Thursday’s event. She asked what she was supposed to do when the public school system could not provide what her child needed.&nbsp;

Royers said option enrollment offers parents a way to find a more responsive school if they can’t get help where they are. Royers, a Millard Public Schools teacher for years, declined to criticize a school or its efforts without knowing details.

Public schools, he said, have to serve every student, and not every child has a parent who can advocate on their behalf. For parents of children with special needs, he said, private schools often work with public school special educators.

Choice is not an attack, supporter of law says

Tanya Santos, principal of Holy Name Catholic School in Omaha, said private and public schools partner regularly to help students with special needs. She supports both types of schools, she said, but prefers giving parents a choice.

Scholarships, she said, aren’t an attack on public schools or their funding. Many states adopt scholarship programs, however, as a first step toward voucher programs in which money follows a student, other supporters of the tax credit acknowledged.

Lauren Garcia, campaign manager for Keep Kids First, said other states adopting scholarship programs eventually embraced school voucher programs, but not all.&nbsp;She had led the Nebraska chapter of the American Federation for Children, the local branch of a national group backed by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Support Our Schools Nebraska has also received national support from the National Education Association.

Angie Lauritsen of Save Our Schools emphasized that private school access doesn’t necessarily mean equal access. She said, for example, her special needs child, who was nonverbal, was turned away from a parochial preschool.&nbsp;

Jackson’s experience with a circulator was one of a handful of videos Keep Kids First posted on its new website&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.soslies.com/">www.soslies.com</a>. The group said it is trying to crowdsource complaints about petition complaints and explain what the law does.

Legislative Bill 753, signed into law May 30, provides dollar-for-dollar income tax credits of up to $100,000 for people and corporations funding scholarships.

The law caps total revenue that can be claimed at $25 million a year for three years. The total could rise by the tenth year to $100 million a year. Critics say this money might have otherwise gone to public schools. Defenders say the same could be argued about any tax credit.

Both sides sharply criticized the other about misstating the way the tax credit program could impact schools. Supporters of the tax credit said public school backers make it sound like the credit will take money directly away from public schools.

They and the Platte Institute point out the Legislature also passed an education funding package that pledged to build a $1 billion Education Future Fund to cover more special education costs and provide a baseline level of state aid for every public K-12 district.

But Support Our Schools Nebraska and the OpenSky Policy Institute argue that the new funding, while welcome, might not be sustainable and would not insulate school districts from a program that could balloon over 10 years to 10% of what the state spent last year on TEEOSA state aid to K-12 schools.

Circulators have until Aug. 30 to submit roughly 61,000 valid signatures of registered voters. Petition drive organizers often gather tens of thousands more than they need for a safety net.&nbsp;

Garcia, with Nebraska Federation for Children, which supports the tax credits, said she understands that voters might be overwhelmed by the amount of information they are being bombarded with about the actions of circulators and blockers because “there’s a lot of passion and emotion on both sides of the issue.”

“Although we want everybody to be peaceful, obviously things are going to happen. Incidents on both sides might occur,” Garcia said. “We’re humans, after all.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689957532944.jpeg" alt=" Supporters of a tax credit for donating to scholarships for private K-12 schooling for kids who otherwise might not afford it gather Thursday for a news conference in Omaha. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> Supporters of a tax credit for donating to scholarships for private K-12 schooling for kids who otherwise might not afford it gather Thursday for a news conference in Omaha. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Aaron Sanderford<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/20/accusations-fly-in-petition-fight-over-tax-credit-for-private-school-scholarships/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — Heated allegations were lodged Thursday by advocates for and against a petition drive seeking to overturn Nebraska’s new tax credit for donations funding private school scholarships.Public school advocates are crisscrossing the state seeking signatures for a petition that would let voters decide the fate of the K-12 scholarship law.They are often confronted by signature blockers for Keep Kids First, a local school choice group with national backing. The blockers try to persuade people not to sign petitions for Support Our Schools, a group backed by local, state and national teachers unions.On Thursday, the groups accused one another of telling half-truths or lies or turning off potential voters in Omaha, Lincoln and other communities. Petition circulators and blockers shared specific allegations and said voters are paying the price.<h2>Questions about circulators</h2>Dueling concerns emerged from a news conference Thursday at Memorial Park, held by tax credit supporters, who criticized petition circulators they said went too far. Some opponents of the tax credit watched the gathering and shared allegations against signature blockers.&nbsp;By day’s end, advocates for and against the tax credit program shared cell phone videos online of circulators or blockers misstating what the petition does or misstating what signing the petition might do.Longtime school choice advocate Clarice Jackson of Omaha, who testified to the Legislature in support of the scholarship tax credit, spoke about her experience with a Support Our Schools petitioner standing outside a local Dollar Tree.She said the circulator told her she should sign the petition if she wants “opportunity scholarships for minority families.” The petition seeks to put the new law on the 2024 ballot so voters have the option of rejecting the tax credit.“I asked her several times to make sure I … understood what she was saying and she repeated it again,” Jackson said. “Those who had signed that bill at that Dollar Tree were very upset, because they didn’t get the right information.”Tim Royers of the Nebraska State Education Association told reporters that his organization fired the rogue circulator Jackson encountered on the same night.&nbsp;He said Support Our Schools had checked with the Secretary of State’s Office and had received no formal complaints about their circulators. Organizers said such complaints have been lodged in other states facing school choice fights.<h2>Questions about blockers</h2>Royers criticized petition blockers for invading the personal space of people trying to explain what the petitions would do. He said three incidents involving blockers resulted in calls to police. He said Nebraskans should get to vote on the law in 2024.“We’ve had Decline to Sign employees physically get nose-to-nose with our volunteers,” Royers said. “If a person’s coming up to try and sign a petition, they’ll physically intervene and try and physically stop them from signing the petition.”&nbsp;Some blockers, circulators said, have yelled while voters are trying to read or hear petition language. Lincoln circulator Christina Grosshans said she was seeking signatures at a public library when a&nbsp; blocker became “disruptive and belligerent” to people who tried to sign and interrupted her while she was trying to talk. People complained to the librarian, who let the blocker know his behavior was unacceptable and he “settled down,” Grosshans said.Jackson, who told reporters that her child had struggled with dyslexia and learning to read, confronted Royers at Thursday’s event. She asked what she was supposed to do when the public school system could not provide what her child needed.&nbsp;Royers said option enrollment offers parents a way to find a more responsive school if they can’t get help where they are. Royers, a Millard Public Schools teacher for years, declined to criticize a school or its efforts without knowing details.Public schools, he said, have to serve every student, and not every child has a parent who can advocate on their behalf. For parents of children with special needs, he said, private schools often work with public school special educators.<h2>Choice is not an attack, supporter of law says</h2>Tanya Santos, principal of Holy Name Catholic School in Omaha, said private and public schools partner regularly to help students with special needs. She supports both types of schools, she said, but prefers giving parents a choice.Scholarships, she said, aren’t an attack on public schools or their funding. Many states adopt scholarship programs, however, as a first step toward voucher programs in which money follows a student, other supporters of the tax credit acknowledged.Lauren Garcia, campaign manager for Keep Kids First, said other states adopting scholarship programs eventually embraced school voucher programs, but not all.&nbsp;She had led the Nebraska chapter of the American Federation for Children, the local branch of a national group backed by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Support Our Schools Nebraska has also received national support from the National Education Association.Angie Lauritsen of Save Our Schools emphasized that private school access doesn’t necessarily mean equal access. She said, for example, her special needs child, who was nonverbal, was turned away from a parochial preschool.&nbsp;Jackson’s experience with a circulator was one of a handful of videos Keep Kids First posted on its new website&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.soslies.com/">www.soslies.com</a>. The group said it is trying to crowdsource complaints about petition complaints and explain what the law does.<h2>Funding fight over tax break, impact</h2>Legislative Bill 753, signed into law May 30, provides dollar-for-dollar income tax credits of up to $100,000 for people and corporations funding scholarships.The law caps total revenue that can be claimed at $25 million a year for three years. The total could rise by the tenth year to $100 million a year. Critics say this money might have otherwise gone to public schools. Defenders say the same could be argued about any tax credit.Both sides sharply criticized the other about misstating the way the tax credit program could impact schools. Supporters of the tax credit said public school backers make it sound like the credit will take money directly away from public schools.They and the Platte Institute point out the Legislature also passed an education funding package that pledged to build a $1 billion Education Future Fund to cover more special education costs and provide a baseline level of state aid for every public K-12 district.But Support Our Schools Nebraska and the OpenSky Policy Institute argue that the new funding, while welcome, might not be sustainable and would not insulate school districts from a program that could balloon over 10 years to 10% of what the state spent last year on TEEOSA state aid to K-12 schools.<h2>Signatures due Aug. 30</h2>Circulators have until Aug. 30 to submit roughly 61,000 valid signatures of registered voters. Petition drive organizers often gather tens of thousands more than they need for a safety net.&nbsp;Garcia, with Nebraska Federation for Children, which supports the tax credits, said she understands that voters might be overwhelmed by the amount of information they are being bombarded with about the actions of circulators and blockers because “there’s a lot of passion and emotion on both sides of the issue.”“Although we want everybody to be peaceful, obviously things are going to happen. Incidents on both sides might occur,” Garcia said. “We’re humans, after all.”

Accusations fly in petition fight over tax credit for private school scholarships

(AP) - Lottery dreamers are setting their sights on the growing Mega Millions jackpot drawing on Friday after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">ticket worth more than $1 billion was sold</a>&nbsp;for the Powerball lottery. Here’s a look at how this drawing compares to other jackpots and why these winnings have become so high.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689957224841.jpeg" alt="California State Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker, left, and director Alva Johnson speak during a news conference outside the Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles, Thursday, July 20, 2023, where the winning ticket for the Powerball jackpot, worth an estimated $1.08 billion, was sold. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)" />
 <figcaption>California State Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker, left, and director Alva Johnson speak during a news conference outside the Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles, Thursday, July 20, 2023, where the winning ticket for the Powerball jackpot, worth an estimated $1.08 billion, was sold. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Heather Hollingsworth(AP) - Lottery dreamers are setting their sights on the growing Mega Millions jackpot drawing on Friday after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">ticket worth more than $1 billion was sold</a>&nbsp;for the Powerball lottery. Here’s a look at how this drawing compares to other jackpots and why these winnings have become so high.HOW DOES THIS LATEST MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT STACK UP? The new jackpot for the Mega Millions drawing has reached an estimated $720 million, making it the game's fifth highest. It hasn't yet broken into the top&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-california-a11cb275a36848310e05ed56608c656c">10 highest</a>&nbsp;lottery jackpots in U.S. history, though.If someone picks all five numbers, plus the gold Mega Ball, they will have the option of taking the prize in yearly increments paid over 29 years or a $369.6 million lump sum before taxes. The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18. The jackpot will continue growing until someone wins.POWERBALL WINNING TICKET Most of the attention had been on Powerball until a winning ticket was drawn this week. Sold at a tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles, it is worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game. The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24.WHY ARE LOTTERY JACKPOTS SO LARGE THESE DAYS? That’s how the games have been designed. The credit for such big jackpots comes down to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-lottery-us-news-ap-top-news-ia-state-wire-b5572da1e5d74f6e974bea45c707b5cb">math and more difficult odds</a>. In 2015, the Powerball lottery lengthened the odds of winning from 1 in 175.2 million to 1 in 292.2 million. Mega Millions followed two years later by lengthening the odds of winning the top prize from 1 in 258.9 million to 1 in 302.6 million. The largest lottery jackpots in the U.S. have come since those changes were made.WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST JACKPOTS EVER WON IN AMERICA? The largest — a whopping $2.04 billion — was a Powerball jackpot that hit on Nov. 8, 2022, with the winning ticket sold in California. The next largest jackpot also was a Powerball prize of $1.586 billion on Jan. 13, 2016. But that prize was split among three winning tickets sold in California, Florida and Tennessee. The third, fourth and fifth largest were each Mega Millions prizes, with $1.537 billion going to a single winner in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018; $1.35 billion won in Maine on Jan. 13 earlier this year; and $1.337 billion won in Illinois on July 29, 2022.WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS? Experts have long cautioned the lottery acts as regressive tax on the poor, with those least able to afford to lose money buying the most tickets. Many of the ticket buyers don't even consider the lottery as gambling, said Lia Nower, a professor and the director of the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University.“People buy them for little kids," she said. "So it’s sort of the gateway drug for introduction into gambling. And yet there’s, you know, there’s no responsible gambling program for lottery tickets. There isn’t self-exclusion in states that allow you to purchase them online or limits betting or any of the different strategies that are employed in online casinos or sports wagering.”WHERE IS MEGA MILLIONS PLAYED? Mega Millions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">is played in 45 states</a>&nbsp;as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.