By Jared Strong <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/woman-who-shouted-shame-following-critical-gun-bill-passage-is-banned-from-nebraska-capitol/">States Newsroom&nbsp;</a>

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Former President Donald Trump claimed he is the “most pro-farmer president that you’ve ever had” during a campaign stop in Iowa and joked that his payments to them during a trade war with China should guarantee he will win the state’s caucuses.

“How the hell can I not? I gave the farmers $28 billion,” he said Friday in a ballroom of the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.

Trump was referring to bailout money paid to farmers in 2019 amid his efforts to rework the country’s trade policies, which included imposing tariffs on Chinese products. The country retaliated, in part, by imposing its own tariffs on soybeans, crippling an important export market for Iowa farmers.

Last year, the United States exported about $154 billion of goods to China, up about 19% from 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Exports dropped to about $107 billion during the trade war in 2019.

Trump said farmers benefited from the dispute and his trade renegotiations with other countries such as Canada and Mexico. He said farmers also benefited from tax cuts implemented by Congress during his administration, along with a temporary increase in the exemption to the federal tax that is levied on the estates of wealthy people after they die.

“A lot of times they lose the farm,” he said of children of farmers who can’t afford to pay.

Further, Trump said his administration supported the ethanol industry by allowing summertime sales of E15 — a gasoline blend with 15% ethanol. A&nbsp;federal judge later reversed that action, saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not have the authority to lift restrictions on its sales without approval from Congress.

Trump said he would continue to negotiate better trade deals for farmers if reelected and would prevent Chinese ownership of American farmland.

State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Wilton Republican who is a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign in Iowa, launched the Friday event with a panel discussion about agriculture that included talks about water quality restrictions, farm subsidies and other issues.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump has been the single best president in United States history for Iowa agriculture and farmers in general,” Kaufmann said. “I mean, look, he brought the rain today.”

Rally attendees had long waits in sometimes heavy rain to get into the venue, which was considerably smaller than the large-scale rallies for which Trump is known. Staff at the Mid-America Center said the ballroom could accommodate about 2,000 people.

As they waited inside, there were periodic chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and “Build the wall!” There was also an impromptu recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

It was the Republican frontrunner’s first appearance in Iowa since&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/06/09/the-indictment-is-unsealed-trump-faces-37-felony-counts-in-classified-documents-probe/">his 37-count federal indictment</a>&nbsp;last month that accuses Trump of scheming to keep classified documents from his time as president.

“It’s all bull—,” Trump said Friday. “I’m the only person who ever got indicted that got more popular.”

Trump, as a presidential candidate seven years ago, made repeated statements about the importance of protecting classified information, according to the indictment: “No one will be above the law,” he said in August 2016.

But he has pivoted to claim he is being unfairly targeted by the federal government for political reasons and that others — including President Joe Biden and his first presidential opponent Hillary Clinton — are guilty of similar offenses.

However, the accusations against Trump stand apart in that he allegedly took more than 100 classified documents from his former presidency to his resort and home in Florida, stored them haphazardly, and disclosed some of the information they contained to people without appropriate security clearances.

That doesn’t matter to Travis Humbert, of Underwood, who attended the rally with his 13-year-old son.

“It could be true,” said Humbert, who voted twice in presidential elections for Trump and plans to again. “But people are stuck in the past. Who cares? We all have a past. Let’s move on. He’s a businessman, not a politician, and he’s actually trying to work for the American people.”

The federal indictment is the second criminal allegation against him that has yielded formal charges this year. In April, a New York grand jury indicted Trump&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/03/30/trump-indicted-by-manhattan-grand-jury-according-to-reports/">for falsifying business records</a>. The state indictment targets Trump’s claims that certain payments to an attorney were for legal fees, while investigators allege they were reimbursements for a hush-money payment to an adult film actress.

And there are two pending investigations into whether Trump attempted to interfere with the 2020 election in Georgia — a state Biden narrowly won — and into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack of the U.S. Capitol.

“It’s a joke — a total joke,” Patty Murray, of Omaha, said of the criminal inquiries into Trump.

Murray wants Trump to get a second term so that he can finish building a wall at the country’s southern border with Mexico, promote international peace and bolster the economy.

She said the investigations and indictments have done little to diminish Trump’s credibility with his supporters.

“It’s helped him,” Murray said. “Everybody says it’s a joke.”

Jeanne Greisen, a Lincoln, Nebraska,resident who volunteered at Friday’s rally, agreed: “People like to support somebody that’s being attacked and doing the right thing. They like to back the small guy.”

Trump pledged last month to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden and his family if he is elected president again. Greisen hesitated to express support for politically motivated investigations but said: “I think it just needs to be fair across the board. The same law needs to be applied to every person.”

Greisen said she will vote for Trump, hoping in a second term he can require public school children to learn more about the U.S. Constitution, lessen the prevalence of human trafficking and reduce the size and scope of government.

Greisen, Murray and Humbert also said that the economy has suffered under Biden’s leadership and that inflation is still a major problem.

“Gas prices need to come back down,” said Humbert, of Woodward.

<a target="_blank" href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/iowa/">Recent polls</a>&nbsp;of potential Republican caucus voters in Iowa show Trump with double-digit percentage point leads over his nearest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Nationally, pollsters show a wider margin of support for Trump, with Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, in a distant third.

Trump lobbed numerous personal attacks at DeSantis for being a “lousy candidate” for governor who was only elected because of Trump’s support in 2018.

Trump said that his status as the clear frontrunner is what made him a target for criminal investigations and that he is acting as a shield for the nation’s citizens.

“They want to take away my freedom because I sure as hell won’t let them take your freedom,” he said to rapturous applause. He later added: “In the end, they’re not after me. They’re after you, and I just happen to be standing in the way.”

He was not more specific about who was planning to take freedoms from citizens nor what specific freedoms they are.

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand, the state’s sole elected Democrat to currently hold a statewide office, criticized Trump at a news conference in Des Moines on Friday before the former president’s Council Bluffs event.

Sand said Trump is advocating for the same “extremist” policies that Iowa Republican lawmakers and Gov. Kim Reynolds advocate for. He pointed to Reynolds’&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/07/05/reynolds-announces-special-session-on-abortion-for-july-11/">call for a special session</a>&nbsp;Tuesday, July 11, to pass abortion legislation following the Iowa Supreme Court decision not allowing enforcement of the state’s 2018 six-week abortion ban.

“So as Donald Trump comes to Iowa today, it’s important to remember that he bragged about being the one to get Roe overturned,” Sand said. “It’s important to remember that they are paving the way for the legislative bans that Republicans are going to do right here in Iowa.”

Trump mentioned abortion briefly and said the Supreme Court decision gives abortion opponents more leverage to negotiate for regulations that are less extreme than what he said Democrats want. He said he supports exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.

Of the court decision to eliminate a right to abortion at the federal level: “Good things are going to come about it, and you move it back to the states where all the legal scholars said it should be,” Trump said.

This article first appeared in the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/07/07/trump-appeals-to-farmers-in-iowa-campaign-visit/">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>,&nbsp;a sister&nbsp;site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom network.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688866742399.png" alt="Former President Donald Trump said he is a champion of farmers in a campaign visit to Council Bluffs on July 7, 2023. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)" />
 <figcaption>Former President Donald Trump said he is a champion of farmers in a campaign visit to Council Bluffs on July 7, 2023. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Jared Strong <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/woman-who-shouted-shame-following-critical-gun-bill-passage-is-banned-from-nebraska-capitol/">States Newsroom&nbsp;</a>COUNCIL BLUFFS — Former President Donald Trump claimed he is the “most pro-farmer president that you’ve ever had” during a campaign stop in Iowa and joked that his payments to them during a trade war with China should guarantee he will win the state’s caucuses.“How the hell can I not? I gave the farmers $28 billion,” he said Friday in a ballroom of the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.Trump was referring to bailout money paid to farmers in 2019 amid his efforts to rework the country’s trade policies, which included imposing tariffs on Chinese products. The country retaliated, in part, by imposing its own tariffs on soybeans, crippling an important export market for Iowa farmers.Last year, the United States exported about $154 billion of goods to China, up about 19% from 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Exports dropped to about $107 billion during the trade war in 2019.Trump said farmers benefited from the dispute and his trade renegotiations with other countries such as Canada and Mexico. He said farmers also benefited from tax cuts implemented by Congress during his administration, along with a temporary increase in the exemption to the federal tax that is levied on the estates of wealthy people after they die.“A lot of times they lose the farm,” he said of children of farmers who can’t afford to pay.Further, Trump said his administration supported the ethanol industry by allowing summertime sales of E15 — a gasoline blend with 15% ethanol. A&nbsp;federal judge later reversed that action, saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not have the authority to lift restrictions on its sales without approval from Congress.Trump said he would continue to negotiate better trade deals for farmers if reelected and would prevent Chinese ownership of American farmland.State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Wilton Republican who is a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign in Iowa, launched the Friday event with a panel discussion about agriculture that included talks about water quality restrictions, farm subsidies and other issues.“There is no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump has been the single best president in United States history for Iowa agriculture and farmers in general,” Kaufmann said. “I mean, look, he brought the rain today.”Rally attendees had long waits in sometimes heavy rain to get into the venue, which was considerably smaller than the large-scale rallies for which Trump is known. Staff at the Mid-America Center said the ballroom could accommodate about 2,000 people.As they waited inside, there were periodic chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and “Build the wall!” There was also an impromptu recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.<h2>Shadow of indictments</h2>It was the Republican frontrunner’s first appearance in Iowa since&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/06/09/the-indictment-is-unsealed-trump-faces-37-felony-counts-in-classified-documents-probe/">his 37-count federal indictment</a>&nbsp;last month that accuses Trump of scheming to keep classified documents from his time as president.“It’s all bull—,” Trump said Friday. “I’m the only person who ever got indicted that got more popular.”Trump, as a presidential candidate seven years ago, made repeated statements about the importance of protecting classified information, according to the indictment: “No one will be above the law,” he said in August 2016.But he has pivoted to claim he is being unfairly targeted by the federal government for political reasons and that others — including President Joe Biden and his first presidential opponent Hillary Clinton — are guilty of similar offenses.However, the accusations against Trump stand apart in that he allegedly took more than 100 classified documents from his former presidency to his resort and home in Florida, stored them haphazardly, and disclosed some of the information they contained to people without appropriate security clearances.That doesn’t matter to Travis Humbert, of Underwood, who attended the rally with his 13-year-old son.“It could be true,” said Humbert, who voted twice in presidential elections for Trump and plans to again. “But people are stuck in the past. Who cares? We all have a past. Let’s move on. He’s a businessman, not a politician, and he’s actually trying to work for the American people.”The federal indictment is the second criminal allegation against him that has yielded formal charges this year. In April, a New York grand jury indicted Trump&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/03/30/trump-indicted-by-manhattan-grand-jury-according-to-reports/">for falsifying business records</a>. The state indictment targets Trump’s claims that certain payments to an attorney were for legal fees, while investigators allege they were reimbursements for a hush-money payment to an adult film actress.And there are two pending investigations into whether Trump attempted to interfere with the 2020 election in Georgia — a state Biden narrowly won — and into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack of the U.S. Capitol.“It’s a joke — a total joke,” Patty Murray, of Omaha, said of the criminal inquiries into Trump.Murray wants Trump to get a second term so that he can finish building a wall at the country’s southern border with Mexico, promote international peace and bolster the economy.She said the investigations and indictments have done little to diminish Trump’s credibility with his supporters.“It’s helped him,” Murray said. “Everybody says it’s a joke.”Jeanne Greisen, a Lincoln, Nebraska,resident who volunteered at Friday’s rally, agreed: “People like to support somebody that’s being attacked and doing the right thing. They like to back the small guy.”Trump pledged last month to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden and his family if he is elected president again. Greisen hesitated to express support for politically motivated investigations but said: “I think it just needs to be fair across the board. The same law needs to be applied to every person.”Greisen said she will vote for Trump, hoping in a second term he can require public school children to learn more about the U.S. Constitution, lessen the prevalence of human trafficking and reduce the size and scope of government.Greisen, Murray and Humbert also said that the economy has suffered under Biden’s leadership and that inflation is still a major problem.“Gas prices need to come back down,” said Humbert, of Woodward.<a target="_blank" href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/iowa/">Recent polls</a>&nbsp;of potential Republican caucus voters in Iowa show Trump with double-digit percentage point leads over his nearest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Nationally, pollsters show a wider margin of support for Trump, with Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, in a distant third.Trump lobbed numerous personal attacks at DeSantis for being a “lousy candidate” for governor who was only elected because of Trump’s support in 2018.Trump said that his status as the clear frontrunner is what made him a target for criminal investigations and that he is acting as a shield for the nation’s citizens.“They want to take away my freedom because I sure as hell won’t let them take your freedom,” he said to rapturous applause. He later added: “In the end, they’re not after me. They’re after you, and I just happen to be standing in the way.”He was not more specific about who was planning to take freedoms from citizens nor what specific freedoms they are.<h2>Democrats point to Roe</h2>Iowa Auditor Rob Sand, the state’s sole elected Democrat to currently hold a statewide office, criticized Trump at a news conference in Des Moines on Friday before the former president’s Council Bluffs event.Sand said Trump is advocating for the same “extremist” policies that Iowa Republican lawmakers and Gov. Kim Reynolds advocate for. He pointed to Reynolds’&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/07/05/reynolds-announces-special-session-on-abortion-for-july-11/">call for a special session</a>&nbsp;Tuesday, July 11, to pass abortion legislation following the Iowa Supreme Court decision not allowing enforcement of the state’s 2018 six-week abortion ban.“So as Donald Trump comes to Iowa today, it’s important to remember that he bragged about being the one to get Roe overturned,” Sand said. “It’s important to remember that they are paving the way for the legislative bans that Republicans are going to do right here in Iowa.”Trump mentioned abortion briefly and said the Supreme Court decision gives abortion opponents more leverage to negotiate for regulations that are less extreme than what he said Democrats want. He said he supports exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.Of the court decision to eliminate a right to abortion at the federal level: “Good things are going to come about it, and you move it back to the states where all the legal scholars said it should be,” Trump said.This article first appeared in the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/07/07/trump-appeals-to-farmers-in-iowa-campaign-visit/">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>,&nbsp;a sister&nbsp;site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom network.

Trump appeals to farmers in campaign appearance

More than 6,000 United Methodist congregations — a fifth of the U.S. total — have now received permission to leave the denomination&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-f3fc3ec9e1f39501495d227d5a0963f8">amid a schism</a>&nbsp;over theology and the role of LGBTQ people in the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination.

Those figures emerge following the close of regular meetings in June for the denomination's regional bodies, known as annual conferences. The departures began with a trickle in 2019 — when the church created a four-year window of opportunity for U.S. congregations to depart over LGBTQ-related issues — and cascaded to its highest level this year.

Church law forbids the marriage or ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals,” but many conservatives have chosen to leave amid a growing defiance of those bans in many U.S. churches and conferences.

Many of the departing congregations are joining the Global Methodist Church, a denomination created last year by conservatives breaking from the UMC, while others are going independent or joining different denominations.

Some 6,182 congregations have received approval to disaffiliate since 2019, according to an unofficial&nbsp;<a href="https://www.umnews.org/en/news/disaffiliations-approved-by-annual-conferences">tally by United Methodist News Service</a>, which has been tracking votes by annual conferences. That figure is 4,172 for this year alone, it reported.

Some annual conferences may approve more departures at special sessions later this year, according to the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative caucus that has advocated for the exiting churches. While most UMC congregations are remaining, many of the departing congregations are large, and denominational officials are bracing for significant budget cuts in 2024.

The numbers of exiting churches are higher than conservatives originally estimated, Therrell said.

Legal wrangles have largely been resolved over how much compensation the departing congregations must pay for their property and other financial obligations.

“For the most part, bishops and other annual conference leaders have been very gracious, and I deeply appreciate that,” Therrell said. “There have been some small exceptions to that, and those are unfortunate, but we’re grateful that cooler and calmer heads have prevailed.”

Bishop Thomas Bickerton, president of the UMC’s Council of Bishops, said the departures were disappointing.

“I don’t think any of us want to see any of our churches leave,” he said. “We're called to be the body of Christ, we're called to be unified. There’s never been a time when the church has not been without conflict, but there’s been a way we’ve worked through that.”

But for those who want “to go and live out their Christian faith in a new expression, we wish God’s blessings on them,” he said.

The split has been long in the making, mirroring controversies that have led to splits in other mainline Protestant denominations. United Methodist legislative bodies, known as general conferences, have repeatedly reinforced bans on LGBTQ marriage and ordination, on the strength of coalitions of conservatives in U.S. and overseas churches.

But amid increased defiance of those bans in many U.S. churches, many conservatives decided to launch the separate Global Methodist Church, saying they believed the sexuality issues reflected deeper theological differences.

The departures have been particularly large in the South and Midwest, with states such as Texas, Alabama, Kentucky and Ohio each losing hundreds of congregations.

In some areas, United Methodists have designated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodists-schism-disaffiliation-lgbtq-44fd14d471124d23e1fd5677a8f2b1d9">“lighthouse” or similarly named congregations,</a>&nbsp;with a mission for receiving members who wanted to stay United Methodists but whose churches were leaving. The GMC has begun planting new churches, including in areas where United Methodist congregations have remained in that denomination.

With these departures, progressives are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-marriage-1ed8df15ecbb36700cbe638b29dc6617">expected to propose changing church law</a>&nbsp;at the next General Conference in 2024 to allow for same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ people.

The United Methodist Church has about 6.5 million members in the United States and at least that many abroad, according to its website. The U.S. membership has been in steady decline, while the overseas membership has grown, particularly in Africa.

Therrell said there will be efforts at the 2024 General Conference to provide overseas churches a legal way to disaffiliate, similar to what U.S. congregations have had.

The GMC says about 3,000 churches so far have affiliated with the new denomination, with more expected.

Bickerton said it's time for United Methodists remaining in the denomination to refocus their work.

“Quite often, when you’re pressed, you begin to exhibit creativity,” he said. “We’re pivoting away from what we were into what our next expression is going to be." Budgets will be smaller, but "this is our opportunity to refashion the church for relevance in the 21st century and really focus on evangelism.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688661428812.png" alt="Photo Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas" />
 <figcaption>Photo Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas</figcaption>
 </figure>By PETER SMITH Associated PressMore than 6,000 United Methodist congregations — a fifth of the U.S. total — have now received permission to leave the denomination&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-f3fc3ec9e1f39501495d227d5a0963f8">amid a schism</a>&nbsp;over theology and the role of LGBTQ people in the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination.Those figures emerge following the close of regular meetings in June for the denomination's regional bodies, known as annual conferences. The departures began with a trickle in 2019 — when the church created a four-year window of opportunity for U.S. congregations to depart over LGBTQ-related issues — and cascaded to its highest level this year.Church law forbids the marriage or ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals,” but many conservatives have chosen to leave amid a growing defiance of those bans in many U.S. churches and conferences.Many of the departing congregations are joining the Global Methodist Church, a denomination created last year by conservatives breaking from the UMC, while others are going independent or joining different denominations.Some 6,182 congregations have received approval to disaffiliate since 2019, according to an unofficial&nbsp;<a href="https://www.umnews.org/en/news/disaffiliations-approved-by-annual-conferences">tally by United Methodist News Service</a>, which has been tracking votes by annual conferences. That figure is 4,172 for this year alone, it reported.Some annual conferences may approve more departures at special sessions later this year, according to the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative caucus that has advocated for the exiting churches. While most UMC congregations are remaining, many of the departing congregations are large, and denominational officials are bracing for significant budget cuts in 2024.The numbers of exiting churches are higher than conservatives originally estimated, Therrell said.Legal wrangles have largely been resolved over how much compensation the departing congregations must pay for their property and other financial obligations.“For the most part, bishops and other annual conference leaders have been very gracious, and I deeply appreciate that,” Therrell said. “There have been some small exceptions to that, and those are unfortunate, but we’re grateful that cooler and calmer heads have prevailed.”Bishop Thomas Bickerton, president of the UMC’s Council of Bishops, said the departures were disappointing.“I don’t think any of us want to see any of our churches leave,” he said. “We're called to be the body of Christ, we're called to be unified. There’s never been a time when the church has not been without conflict, but there’s been a way we’ve worked through that.”But for those who want “to go and live out their Christian faith in a new expression, we wish God’s blessings on them,” he said.The split has been long in the making, mirroring controversies that have led to splits in other mainline Protestant denominations. United Methodist legislative bodies, known as general conferences, have repeatedly reinforced bans on LGBTQ marriage and ordination, on the strength of coalitions of conservatives in U.S. and overseas churches.But amid increased defiance of those bans in many U.S. churches, many conservatives decided to launch the separate Global Methodist Church, saying they believed the sexuality issues reflected deeper theological differences.The departures have been particularly large in the South and Midwest, with states such as Texas, Alabama, Kentucky and Ohio each losing hundreds of congregations.In some areas, United Methodists have designated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodists-schism-disaffiliation-lgbtq-44fd14d471124d23e1fd5677a8f2b1d9">“lighthouse” or similarly named congregations,</a>&nbsp;with a mission for receiving members who wanted to stay United Methodists but whose churches were leaving. The GMC has begun planting new churches, including in areas where United Methodist congregations have remained in that denomination.With these departures, progressives are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-marriage-1ed8df15ecbb36700cbe638b29dc6617">expected to propose changing church law</a>&nbsp;at the next General Conference in 2024 to allow for same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ people.The United Methodist Church has about 6.5 million members in the United States and at least that many abroad, according to its website. The U.S. membership has been in steady decline, while the overseas membership has grown, particularly in Africa.Therrell said there will be efforts at the 2024 General Conference to provide overseas churches a legal way to disaffiliate, similar to what U.S. congregations have had.The GMC says about 3,000 churches so far have affiliated with the new denomination, with more expected.Bickerton said it's time for United Methodists remaining in the denomination to refocus their work.“Quite often, when you’re pressed, you begin to exhibit creativity,” he said. “We’re pivoting away from what we were into what our next expression is going to be." Budgets will be smaller, but "this is our opportunity to refashion the church for relevance in the 21st century and really focus on evangelism.”___

LGBTQ bans: United Methodists lose a fifth of US churches 

Even though lead in drinking water damages children’s development, the Environmental Protection Agency has forced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/toxic-lead-pipes-epa-providence-health-bc793dea64ab59d26e27620d3c2338c9" target="_blank">very few cities</a>&nbsp;to replace their lead pipes.

Consider Chicago, with more water pipes made out of lead than any U.S. city, some 400,000. About 7% of homes that requested sampling last year exceeded federal limits, and in at least 73 homes, it was twice that much, according to an AP analysis of more than 3,500 samples collected using a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-business-health-environment-and-nature-michigan-e8cb1eb34727436a855818cf54e6ee91" target="_blank">method that’s more sensitive</a>&nbsp;than the federal government’s.

Yet that many homes was never enough to trigger the mandate to remove pipes

That’s because EPA standards only say most homes – not all – can’t have dangerous amounts of lead.

Since Chicago was never forced to remove its lead pipe, it left most of it in the ground, relying on water treatment instead to lower the lead levels.

State and local officials say they had limited funds that needed to be used elsewhere. They also say local rules made removal work more difficult and more expensive.

In 2012, the city began rapidly replacing its aged water mains. These are typically made of cast-iron, not lead. When road crews came across the lead pipes that branch off and serve individual homes, they only replaced a short piece near the water main with copper. Thousands and thousands of times, they reburied the junction and left the rest.

Just as the city was wrapping up that effort, the Illinois legislature made that method illegal.

Miguel Del Toral, a former EPA regulations manager who was also a whistleblower on the Flint, Michigan lead pipe disaster, said Chicago ignored the toxic effects of lead in drinking water.

“During the water main replacement program, there was no acknowledgement that there was an issue,” he said.

Del Toral was not the only one to object to the city’s actions. Two Chicago residents filed a proposed class action in 2017, arguing Chicago’s water main work increased people’s risk of lead exposure. They cited studies that said disturbing lead pipe and then leaving it in the ground can actually spike levels in tap water.

The next year, to protect against those spikes, the city finally started handing out water filters to residents in neighborhoods where public works crews were replacing mains. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.

The EPA has said replacing lead pipes during water main work is not only safer, it is also about 20% cheaper. But Chicago Commissioner of Water Management Andrea Cheng said that’s not true in Chicago. State rules there required expensive construction methods until last year. Only recently did the city start waiving permit fees that can add thousands of dollars to lead replacement costs, she said.

Cheng said old water mains can rupture, and slowing their replacement by dealing with all the lead pipes would have been irresponsible and could expose people to bacteria. She said Chicagoans face a bigger threat of poisoning from lead paint and the city is trying to fight that.

The city of Detroit found success when it pressured residents to let road crews onto private property to remove lead pipes. Rules like that are not in place in Chicago.

“Do you know how many people want their yard dug up?” Cheng said. “Not many.”

Since the legislature changed the law, most residents have allowed workers on their property to replace pipes, she said.

Today, Chicago offers a limited, free lead pipe replacement program for low-income households and daycares and recently started replacing lead pipes when they break — a common occurrence in a city with harsh winters. But the city says it will take decades to replace all of them. Residents will continue to be exposed.

So three decades after the federal government imposed lead limits for drinking water, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epa-lead-pipes-water-florida-infrastructure-pfas-55dc1a30936940312778bc5143166e8e" target="_blank">vast majority of lead pipe is still in the ground</a>&nbsp;not only in Chicago, but across the country.

Marc Edwards, a water treatment specialist at Virginia Tech, said proactive cities that replaced entire lenths of lead pipe are in better shape.

“You’re solving the problem once and for all,” he said. “It’s much more cost effective to do it all at one time than to just leave that problem for the homeowner to forget about and realize in 30 years that their kids have been lead poisoned.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688901474796.jpeg" alt="Blackhawk Sewer and Water Contractor Khaild Waarith holds a lead pipe that was extracted in Chicago on April 10, 2023. Lead pipes that carry drinking water are a major source of exposure to the metal and damage is usually permanent. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP)" />
 <figcaption>Blackhawk Sewer and Water Contractor Khaild Waarith holds a lead pipe that was extracted in Chicago on April 10, 2023. Lead pipes that carry drinking water are a major source of exposure to the metal and damage is usually permanent. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY MICHAEL PHILLIS AND CAMILLE FASSETTEven though lead in drinking water damages children’s development, the Environmental Protection Agency has forced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/toxic-lead-pipes-epa-providence-health-bc793dea64ab59d26e27620d3c2338c9" target="_blank">very few cities</a>&nbsp;to replace their lead pipes.Consider Chicago, with more water pipes made out of lead than any U.S. city, some 400,000. About 7% of homes that requested sampling last year exceeded federal limits, and in at least 73 homes, it was twice that much, according to an AP analysis of more than 3,500 samples collected using a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-business-health-environment-and-nature-michigan-e8cb1eb34727436a855818cf54e6ee91" target="_blank">method that’s more sensitive</a>&nbsp;than the federal government’s.Yet that many homes was never enough to trigger the mandate to remove pipesThat’s because EPA standards only say most homes – not all – can’t have dangerous amounts of lead.Since Chicago was never forced to remove its lead pipe, it left most of it in the ground, relying on water treatment instead to lower the lead levels.State and local officials say they had limited funds that needed to be used elsewhere. They also say local rules made removal work more difficult and more expensive.<h2>WATER MAIN WORK</h2>In 2012, the city began rapidly replacing its aged water mains. These are typically made of cast-iron, not lead. When road crews came across the lead pipes that branch off and serve individual homes, they only replaced a short piece near the water main with copper. Thousands and thousands of times, they reburied the junction and left the rest.Just as the city was wrapping up that effort, the Illinois legislature made that method illegal.Miguel Del Toral, a former EPA regulations manager who was also a whistleblower on the Flint, Michigan lead pipe disaster, said Chicago ignored the toxic effects of lead in drinking water.“During the water main replacement program, there was no acknowledgement that there was an issue,” he said.Del Toral was not the only one to object to the city’s actions. Two Chicago residents filed a proposed class action in 2017, arguing Chicago’s water main work increased people’s risk of lead exposure. They cited studies that said disturbing lead pipe and then leaving it in the ground can actually spike levels in tap water.The next year, to protect against those spikes, the city finally started handing out water filters to residents in neighborhoods where public works crews were replacing mains. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.<h2>CHICAGO’S OFFICIAL VIEW</h2>The EPA has said replacing lead pipes during water main work is not only safer, it is also about 20% cheaper. But Chicago Commissioner of Water Management Andrea Cheng said that’s not true in Chicago. State rules there required expensive construction methods until last year. Only recently did the city start waiving permit fees that can add thousands of dollars to lead replacement costs, she said.Cheng said old water mains can rupture, and slowing their replacement by dealing with all the lead pipes would have been irresponsible and could expose people to bacteria. She said Chicagoans face a bigger threat of poisoning from lead paint and the city is trying to fight that.The city of Detroit found success when it pressured residents to let road crews onto private property to remove lead pipes. Rules like that are not in place in Chicago.“Do you know how many people want their yard dug up?” Cheng said. “Not many.”Since the legislature changed the law, most residents have allowed workers on their property to replace pipes, she said.Today, Chicago offers a limited, free lead pipe replacement program for low-income households and daycares and recently started replacing lead pipes when they break — a common occurrence in a city with harsh winters. But the city says it will take decades to replace all of them. Residents will continue to be exposed.So three decades after the federal government imposed lead limits for drinking water, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epa-lead-pipes-water-florida-infrastructure-pfas-55dc1a30936940312778bc5143166e8e" target="_blank">vast majority of lead pipe is still in the ground</a>&nbsp;not only in Chicago, but across the country.Marc Edwards, a water treatment specialist at Virginia Tech, said proactive cities that replaced entire lenths of lead pipe are in better shape.“You’re solving the problem once and for all,” he said. “It’s much more cost effective to do it all at one time than to just leave that problem for the homeowner to forget about and realize in 30 years that their kids have been lead poisoned.”

Here’s why there is still so much lead pipe in Chicago

MORGANTOWN (AP)—Bob Huggins says he never&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/huggins-arrested-dui-pittsburgh-west-virginia-fb441762888b47bade5efb1b4e247da0">resigned as West Virginia's basketball coach</a>&nbsp;following a drunken-driving arrest and wants his job back, according to a letter from his attorney to the university.

Huggins' Cleveland-based attorney, David A. Campbell, wrote to the university Friday that Huggins “never signed a resignation letter and never communicated a resignation to anyone at WVU,” according to the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday.

The letter threatens a lawsuit if Huggins isn’t reinstated. Huggins’ demands were first reported by West Virginia network MetroNews.

Huggins was charged with driving under the influence in Pittsburgh on June 16. A breath test determined Huggins’ blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit. His resignation was announced by the university the following night. A week later,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-huggins-eilert-interim-94a2217e3fb59ec0d70b1f51afb12527">assistant coach Josh Eilert was promoted</a>&nbsp;to interim head coach for the 2023-24 season.

Campbell’s letter said the university announced Huggins’ resignation “based on a text message from Coach Huggins’ wife” to Steve Uryasz, West Virginia’s deputy athletic director.

The university responded to Campbell in a letter Saturday that read, in part: “We are frankly confused by the allegations within the letter.”

WVU said Huggins met with his players and members of the basketball staff on June 17 “to announce that he would no longer be coaching the team.” It said Huggins “clearly” communicated his resignation and retirement in writing and that “both parties have reasonably relied on that resignation and retirement notification in a number of ways since then.”

The university provided The AP with a copy of a notice sent by Huggins' wife, June, that same day. It read: “Please accept this correspondence as my formal notice of resignation as WVU Head Basketball Coach and as notice of my retirement from West Virginia University, effective immediately.”

The notice was sent from an email address associated with June Huggins, with a signature indicating it was sent via iPhone. It was sent to Uryasz's email address and did not appear to be a text message, as Campbell claimed.

West Virginia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-wren-baker-huggins-0cadbf17b240077c03fbe2ba6b1bf3cd">athletic director Wren Baker</a>&nbsp;responded an hour later by writing, “We accept your resignation and wish you the best in retirement. We appreciate your many years of dedication to WVU.”

Less than an hour after that, the university released two statements. One announced Huggins' resignation.

The other was titled “A Message from Bob Huggins to the WVU Community” and began, “Today, I have submitted a letter to President Gordon Gee and Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker informing them of my resignation and intention to retire as head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University effective immediately.”

The resignation was announced a month after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/huggins-homophobic-slur-west-virginia-xavier-77ce70b41112a0062421ad9405558473">university gave Huggins a three-game suspension</a>&nbsp;for using an anti-gay slur while also denigrating Catholics during a radio interview.

Several of Huggins' players have already entered the transfer portal, and some have found new teams.

Campbell said Huggins’ contract required the coach to send a notice in writing by registered or certified mail to the athletic director and university general counsel.

Despite the threat of a lawsuit, Campbell’s letter said Huggins “does not desire litigation. Rather, he is simply looking for the correction of a clear breach of his employment agreement with WVU.”

The 69-year-old Huggins was the third-winningest coach all-time in Division I with 935 victories, trailing only Mike Krzyzewski of Duke (1,202) and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse (1,015), both of whom are retired.

Unlike the others, Huggins did not win a national title. He took Cincinnati to the Final Four in 1992 and West Virginia in 2010. Huggins entered the Basketball Hall of Fame last September. In 41 seasons, his teams went to 25 NCAA Tournaments and finished ranked in the AP top 10 seven times. The Mountaineers made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances under Huggins.

MORGANTOWN (AP)—Bob Huggins says he never&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/huggins-arrested-dui-pittsburgh-west-virginia-fb441762888b47bade5efb1b4e247da0">resigned as West Virginia's basketball coach</a>&nbsp;following a drunken-driving arrest and wants his job back, according to a letter from his attorney to the university.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688905122016.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688905144879.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Huggins' Cleveland-based attorney, David A. Campbell, wrote to the university Friday that Huggins “never signed a resignation letter and never communicated a resignation to anyone at WVU,” according to the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday.The letter threatens a lawsuit if Huggins isn’t reinstated. Huggins’ demands were first reported by West Virginia network MetroNews.Huggins was charged with driving under the influence in Pittsburgh on June 16. A breath test determined Huggins’ blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit. His resignation was announced by the university the following night. A week later,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-huggins-eilert-interim-94a2217e3fb59ec0d70b1f51afb12527">assistant coach Josh Eilert was promoted</a>&nbsp;to interim head coach for the 2023-24 season.Campbell’s letter said the university announced Huggins’ resignation “based on a text message from Coach Huggins’ wife” to Steve Uryasz, West Virginia’s deputy athletic director.The university responded to Campbell in a letter Saturday that read, in part: “We are frankly confused by the allegations within the letter.”WVU said Huggins met with his players and members of the basketball staff on June 17 “to announce that he would no longer be coaching the team.” It said Huggins “clearly” communicated his resignation and retirement in writing and that “both parties have reasonably relied on that resignation and retirement notification in a number of ways since then.”The university provided The AP with a copy of a notice sent by Huggins' wife, June, that same day. It read: “Please accept this correspondence as my formal notice of resignation as WVU Head Basketball Coach and as notice of my retirement from West Virginia University, effective immediately.”The notice was sent from an email address associated with June Huggins, with a signature indicating it was sent via iPhone. It was sent to Uryasz's email address and did not appear to be a text message, as Campbell claimed.West Virginia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-wren-baker-huggins-0cadbf17b240077c03fbe2ba6b1bf3cd">athletic director Wren Baker</a>&nbsp;responded an hour later by writing, “We accept your resignation and wish you the best in retirement. We appreciate your many years of dedication to WVU.”Less than an hour after that, the university released two statements. One announced Huggins' resignation.The other was titled “A Message from Bob Huggins to the WVU Community” and began, “Today, I have submitted a letter to President Gordon Gee and Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker informing them of my resignation and intention to retire as head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University effective immediately.”The resignation was announced a month after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/huggins-homophobic-slur-west-virginia-xavier-77ce70b41112a0062421ad9405558473">university gave Huggins a three-game suspension</a>&nbsp;for using an anti-gay slur while also denigrating Catholics during a radio interview.Several of Huggins' players have already entered the transfer portal, and some have found new teams.Campbell said Huggins’ contract required the coach to send a notice in writing by registered or certified mail to the athletic director and university general counsel.Despite the threat of a lawsuit, Campbell’s letter said Huggins “does not desire litigation. Rather, he is simply looking for the correction of a clear breach of his employment agreement with WVU.”The 69-year-old Huggins was the third-winningest coach all-time in Division I with 935 victories, trailing only Mike Krzyzewski of Duke (1,202) and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse (1,015), both of whom are retired.Unlike the others, Huggins did not win a national title. He took Cincinnati to the Final Four in 1992 and West Virginia in 2010. Huggins entered the Basketball Hall of Fame last September. In 41 seasons, his teams went to 25 NCAA Tournaments and finished ranked in the AP top 10 seven times. The Mountaineers made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances under Huggins.___

Read Bob Huggins letter demanding coaching job back; says he never resigned 

LINCOLN, NE – Yesterday, the Judicial Nominating Commission for the County Court Judge in the Ninth Judicial District (consisting of Hall and Buffalo counties) provided the following two names for Governor Jim Pillen’s consideration: Matthew Boyle of Grand Island and Bryan McQuay of Alma.

The primary place of office for the judicial vacancy is Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska. The vacancy was created by amendments to Neb. Rev. Stat. §24-503 (Laws 2023, LB799) establishing a fifth county court judge, which office will become effective September 1, 2023.

Jim Pillen Press ReleaseLINCOLN, NE – Yesterday, the Judicial Nominating Commission for the County Court Judge in the Ninth Judicial District (consisting of Hall and Buffalo counties) provided the following two names for Governor Jim Pillen’s consideration: Matthew Boyle of Grand Island and Bryan McQuay of Alma.The primary place of office for the judicial vacancy is Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska. The vacancy was created by amendments to Neb. Rev. Stat. §24-503 (Laws 2023, LB799) establishing a fifth county court judge, which office will become effective September 1, 2023.

 Two Nominees Forwarded for County Court Judge in the Ninth Judicial District

Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Mani Deng, 31, of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a term of 13 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for giving false information during the purchase of firearms. After he completes his prison sentence, Deng will also serve three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

On November 8, 2021, Deng purchased two firearms from Scheels in Omaha, Nebraska, a federally licensed firearms dealer. In connection with each firearm purchase, Deng had to fill out paperwork to include a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) form requiring a purchaser to list a current address. A current address is significant to the purchase of the firearm because, among other reasons, a federally licensed firearms dealer cannot legally sell a firearm to a person without accurate address information on the purchase paperwork. Deng wrote on the form and confirmed to the sales representative from Scheels that his address was located at a residence on North 28th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska; when in fact that was not where he was living on November 8, 2021. Witnesses, including the owners of the North 28th Street residence, told investigators that Deng was not living at that residence as of November 8 when Deng purchased the firearms. Deng admitted that he falsely represented his address with intent to deceive Scheels.

This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department and&nbsp;the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Omaha Woman and Oakland Couple Sentenced for Government Loan Program Fraud

Contact:&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Donald J. Kleine - Chief, General Crimes Unit

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(402) 661-3700&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Jazmyne L. McMiller, 36, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on July 6, 2023, by United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher to twelve months and one day of imprisonment for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. After McMiller’s release from prison, she will begin a three-year term of supervised release.&nbsp; There is no parole in the federal system.&nbsp; McMiller was also ordered to pay restitution of $267,040.20.&nbsp;

McMiller was the third defendant to be convicted and sentenced in connection with this case.&nbsp; On February 8, 2023, Sharon M. Thompson, 62, of Oakland, Nebraska, was sentenced by Judge Buescher to four years of probation for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.&nbsp; Sharon Thompson was also ordered to pay restitution of $355,020.30.

On May 31, 2023, Todd A. Thompson, 57, of Oakland, Nebraska, was sentenced by Judge Buescher to 41 months’ imprisonment for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. He will serve two years of supervised release.&nbsp; Todd Thompson was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,193,957.10.

During 2020 and 2021, all three defendants submitted applications for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program loans.&nbsp; The PPP and EIDL loan programs were created or expanded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, which was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The applications submitted or caused to be submitted by all three defendants misrepresented how much the applicant businesses had paid employees in past compensation and how much revenue each had received, resulting in significantly inflated loan amounts under the PPP and EIDL programs.&nbsp; The PPP applications were supported by false documents that Todd Thompson helped prepare, including false tax forms that each defendant signed.&nbsp;

In total, McMiller submitted or caused to be submitted fraudulent applications seeking loans in the amount of approximately $404,324 and obtained $254,324.&nbsp; The fraudulent applications Sharon Thompson signed sought loans totaling approximately $469,886, and she obtained $344,786. The fraudulent applications Todd Thompson signed sought loans totaling approximately $1,368,892.00, and he obtained $552,892.00.&nbsp; In total, the three defendants submitted fraudulent applications seeking loans totaling $2,243,102.00 and obtained $1,152,002.00.&nbsp;

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus" target="_blank">https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus</a>.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form" target="_blank">https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form</a>.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Falls City Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute of Methamphetamine

Contact:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Matt Lierman – Chief, Drug Enforcement Unit

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (402) 661-3700 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Taylor Zimmerling, 27, of Falls City, Nebraska, was sentenced on July 6, 2023, by Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a term of 42 months’ imprisonment following her conviction for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. After she completes her prison sentence, Zimmerling will also serve three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Between January and June of 2021, Zimmerling and co-defendant Daniel Lock distributed methamphetamine in and around Falls City. Several cooperating witnesses told investigators that Zimmerling and Lock, who was also sentenced to 42 months’ incarceration and three years of supervised release, delivered distribution quantities of methamphetamine to them. On June 3, 2021, investigators executed a search warrant at Lock and Zimmerling’s residence in Falls City. Investigators located approximately 55 grams of methamphetamine, scales, packaging material, cash, and a police scanner. A search of cell phones belonging to Lock and Zimmerling revealed messages consistent with drug delivery, sales, and distribution. Zimmerling admitted that she and Lock had been going to another state to obtain methamphetamine which they delivered to others. She admitted that they had just picked up another batch of methamphetamine one day before the residential search warrant. A forensic scientist at the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab found the drug seizure to contain at least 44 grams of pure methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the Richardson County Sheriff’s Office.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Mani Deng, 31, of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a term of 13 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for giving false information during the purchase of firearms. After he completes his prison sentence, Deng will also serve three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.On November 8, 2021, Deng purchased two firearms from Scheels in Omaha, Nebraska, a federally licensed firearms dealer. In connection with each firearm purchase, Deng had to fill out paperwork to include a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) form requiring a purchaser to list a current address. A current address is significant to the purchase of the firearm because, among other reasons, a federally licensed firearms dealer cannot legally sell a firearm to a person without accurate address information on the purchase paperwork. Deng wrote on the form and confirmed to the sales representative from Scheels that his address was located at a residence on North 28th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska; when in fact that was not where he was living on November 8, 2021. Witnesses, including the owners of the North 28th Street residence, told investigators that Deng was not living at that residence as of November 8 when Deng purchased the firearms. Deng admitted that he falsely represented his address with intent to deceive Scheels.This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department and&nbsp;the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Omaha Woman and Oakland Couple Sentenced for Government Loan Program FraudJuly 7, 2023Contact:&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Donald J. Kleine - Chief, General Crimes Unit&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(402) 661-3700&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Jazmyne L. McMiller, 36, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on July 6, 2023, by United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher to twelve months and one day of imprisonment for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. After McMiller’s release from prison, she will begin a three-year term of supervised release.&nbsp; There is no parole in the federal system.&nbsp; McMiller was also ordered to pay restitution of $267,040.20.&nbsp;McMiller was the third defendant to be convicted and sentenced in connection with this case.&nbsp; On February 8, 2023, Sharon M. Thompson, 62, of Oakland, Nebraska, was sentenced by Judge Buescher to four years of probation for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.&nbsp; Sharon Thompson was also ordered to pay restitution of $355,020.30.On May 31, 2023, Todd A. Thompson, 57, of Oakland, Nebraska, was sentenced by Judge Buescher to 41 months’ imprisonment for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. He will serve two years of supervised release.&nbsp; Todd Thompson was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,193,957.10.During 2020 and 2021, all three defendants submitted applications for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program loans.&nbsp; The PPP and EIDL loan programs were created or expanded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, which was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.The applications submitted or caused to be submitted by all three defendants misrepresented how much the applicant businesses had paid employees in past compensation and how much revenue each had received, resulting in significantly inflated loan amounts under the PPP and EIDL programs.&nbsp; The PPP applications were supported by false documents that Todd Thompson helped prepare, including false tax forms that each defendant signed.&nbsp;In total, McMiller submitted or caused to be submitted fraudulent applications seeking loans in the amount of approximately $404,324 and obtained $254,324.&nbsp; The fraudulent applications Sharon Thompson signed sought loans totaling approximately $469,886, and she obtained $344,786. The fraudulent applications Todd Thompson signed sought loans totaling approximately $1,368,892.00, and he obtained $552,892.00.&nbsp; In total, the three defendants submitted fraudulent applications seeking loans totaling $2,243,102.00 and obtained $1,152,002.00.&nbsp;On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus" target="_blank">https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus</a>.Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form" target="_blank">https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form</a>.This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Falls City Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute of MethamphetamineJuly 7, 2023Contact:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Matt Lierman – Chief, Drug Enforcement Unit&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (402) 661-3700 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Taylor Zimmerling, 27, of Falls City, Nebraska, was sentenced on July 6, 2023, by Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a term of 42 months’ imprisonment following her conviction for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. After she completes her prison sentence, Zimmerling will also serve three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.Between January and June of 2021, Zimmerling and co-defendant Daniel Lock distributed methamphetamine in and around Falls City. Several cooperating witnesses told investigators that Zimmerling and Lock, who was also sentenced to 42 months’ incarceration and three years of supervised release, delivered distribution quantities of methamphetamine to them. On June 3, 2021, investigators executed a search warrant at Lock and Zimmerling’s residence in Falls City. Investigators located approximately 55 grams of methamphetamine, scales, packaging material, cash, and a police scanner. A search of cell phones belonging to Lock and Zimmerling revealed messages consistent with drug delivery, sales, and distribution. Zimmerling admitted that she and Lock had been going to another state to obtain methamphetamine which they delivered to others. She admitted that they had just picked up another batch of methamphetamine one day before the residential search warrant. A forensic scientist at the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab found the drug seizure to contain at least 44 grams of pure methamphetamine.This case was investigated by the Richardson County Sheriff’s Office.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Des Moines Man Sentenced for Giving False Information During Firearm Purchase

LINCOLN, NE&nbsp;-- Governor Jim Pillen will lead a delegation to Vietnam aimed at growing trade opportunities that will benefit Nebraska. The group has multiple stops scheduled throughout the country during the week-long visit, starting Sunday, July 9. Other members of the team include Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton, Chancellor Joanne Li of the University of Nebraska – Omaha and ag-related business, academic and government representatives.&nbsp;

“Vietnam is an important and growing export market for Nebraska processed feed like corn gluten, soybean meal and distillers grains,” said Gov. Pillen. “We are positioned well to meet growing demands for ag products and identify other, yet untapped, opportunities to partner with Vietnam going forward.”

Events during the trade mission include visiting a large grocery/distribution center, product demonstrations, meetings with Vietnamese trade officials and a stop at the Vietnam University of Agriculture.

“Nebraska has had many positive visits and exchanges with Vietnam over the years. This visit is another step in strengthening that bond,” said Gov. Pillen.

Earlier this year, a delegation consisting of Nebraska business leaders and representatives from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) went to Vietnam to discuss both business and educational opportunities. According to the most recent data (2021), total export value to Vietnam from Nebraska exceeds $946 million dollars.&nbsp; With a growing population of 104 million, the country buys a significant quantity of &nbsp;dairy products, eggs, dry edible beans, as well as beef from Nebraska.

“I’m excited to have Vietnam as my first trade mission,” said Gov. Pillen. “Southeast Asia is an important market for Nebraska, and we are primed and ready to meet demands for ag goods.”

LINCOLN, NE&nbsp;-- Governor Jim Pillen will lead a delegation to Vietnam aimed at growing trade opportunities that will benefit Nebraska. The group has multiple stops scheduled throughout the country during the week-long visit, starting Sunday, July 9. Other members of the team include Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton, Chancellor Joanne Li of the University of Nebraska – Omaha and ag-related business, academic and government representatives.&nbsp;“Vietnam is an important and growing export market for Nebraska processed feed like corn gluten, soybean meal and distillers grains,” said Gov. Pillen. “We are positioned well to meet growing demands for ag products and identify other, yet untapped, opportunities to partner with Vietnam going forward.”Events during the trade mission include visiting a large grocery/distribution center, product demonstrations, meetings with Vietnamese trade officials and a stop at the Vietnam University of Agriculture.“Nebraska has had many positive visits and exchanges with Vietnam over the years. This visit is another step in strengthening that bond,” said Gov. Pillen.Earlier this year, a delegation consisting of Nebraska business leaders and representatives from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) went to Vietnam to discuss both business and educational opportunities. According to the most recent data (2021), total export value to Vietnam from Nebraska exceeds $946 million dollars.&nbsp; With a growing population of 104 million, the country buys a significant quantity of &nbsp;dairy products, eggs, dry edible beans, as well as beef from Nebraska.“I’m excited to have Vietnam as my first trade mission,” said Gov. Pillen. “Southeast Asia is an important market for Nebraska, and we are primed and ready to meet demands for ag goods.”

Governor Pillen Leads Delegation on First Trade Mission to Vietnam

JACKSON COUNTY, Kan. —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just after 9:30a.m.&nbsp; July 5, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop near 178th and U.S. Highway 75 on a 2013 Ford Focus for an alleged traffic infraction, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

 During the course of the traffic stop, a deputy discovered items believed to be illegal drug contraband.  The driver, Heather Ann Stebbins, 36, of Lincoln, Nebraska was arrested by deputies and. her booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and endangering a child.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688677478262.png" alt="Stebbins-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Stebbins-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY, Kan. —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Just after 9:30a.m.&nbsp; July 5, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop near 178th and U.S. Highway 75 on a 2013 Ford Focus for an alleged traffic infraction, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. During the course of the traffic stop, a deputy discovered items believed to be illegal drug contraband. The driver, Heather Ann Stebbins, 36, of Lincoln, Nebraska was arrested by deputies and. her booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and endangering a child.

Sheriff: Nebraska woman transporting meth with kids in car

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA&nbsp; — The Nebraska Freedom Coalition has filed a motion seeking to dismiss what it called a “frivolous lawsuit” leveled against it by State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha.

Hunt, upon filing&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/28/state-sen-megan-hunt-files-defamation-lawsuit-against-conservative-group/">her lawsuit</a>&nbsp;last month in Douglas County District Court, asserted that the coalition, a conservative political action committee, had defamed her by publicly accusing her of sexually grooming and abusing her own child.

She was backed in her effort by the Nebraska Legal Action Fund, an organization founded by former State Sen. Adam Morfeld to “protect Nebraskans who are defamed by extremists.”

In its seven-page motion to dismiss Hunt’s lawsuit, the coalition said Hunt was a public figure “and the context was one of legislative debate.” It said her statements are “a matter of public concern which pertain to a political matter.”

The coalition, in a media statement, called Hunt’s lawsuit “an attempt to intimidate conservatives who refuse to accept the misinformation of liberal progressives and Cultural Marxism.”

The coalition said it also wanted to “take this opportunity” to remind Nebraskans of Legislative Bill&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=49722">575</a>, known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/23/trans-health-exercise-specialists-weigh-in-on-nebraska-trans-sports-proposal/">Sports and Spaces Act</a>. That legislation, which could be debated next session, would define K-12 school bathrooms, sporting teams and locker rooms as either male or female according to sex assigned at birth.

“If politicians who advocate for the LGBT agenda are allowed to say anything they want, and at the same time they feel empowered to shut down any and all political debate they deem inconvenient, all Nebraskans will suffer from the censorship and the taking of their fundamental right to free speech,” the coalition’s statement said.

Morfeld, in response, said Hunt is a staunch advocate for free speech who regularly exercises her First Amendment rights.

He added, “It is well settled that accusing someone of a serious crime such as child abuse with no basis in fact is not protected speech under the First Amendment and it is defamation per se. No mother should have to endure that in Nebraska.”&nbsp;

Filed in late June, Hunt’s lawsuit said that as a result of the coalition’s public and “false” statements on Twitter, she received death threats, tweets, calls and emails calling her a pedophile and an abuser of her 13-year-old child.&nbsp;

The coalition’s tweets came after Hunt in March made a<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/03/22/second-day-of-debate-on-trans-health-care-bill-brings-personal-stories-to-forefront/">&nbsp;personal testimony</a>&nbsp;during legislative debate on a measure to ban gender-affirming care for youths. She described how&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=49961">LB 574</a>&nbsp;would impact her and her transgender son.&nbsp;

She also said that the coalition — founded in 2021 as a nonprofit corporation and a PAC — “leaned into its lies after a retraction demand, reiterated its lies and then expressly stated that the coalition intended to accuse Hunt of a serious crime.”

The coalition, which has about 3,220 followers on Twitter, vowed in its statement to continue to share its information with lawmakers and Nebraska voters.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688757891090.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha speaks on the legislative floor on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha speaks on the legislative floor on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Cindy Gonzalez<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA&nbsp; — The Nebraska Freedom Coalition has filed a motion seeking to dismiss what it called a “frivolous lawsuit” leveled against it by State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha.Hunt, upon filing&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/28/state-sen-megan-hunt-files-defamation-lawsuit-against-conservative-group/">her lawsuit</a>&nbsp;last month in Douglas County District Court, asserted that the coalition, a conservative political action committee, had defamed her by publicly accusing her of sexually grooming and abusing her own child.She was backed in her effort by the Nebraska Legal Action Fund, an organization founded by former State Sen. Adam Morfeld to “protect Nebraskans who are defamed by extremists.”In its seven-page motion to dismiss Hunt’s lawsuit, the coalition said Hunt was a public figure “and the context was one of legislative debate.” It said her statements are “a matter of public concern which pertain to a political matter.”The coalition, in a media statement, called Hunt’s lawsuit “an attempt to intimidate conservatives who refuse to accept the misinformation of liberal progressives and Cultural Marxism.”The coalition said it also wanted to “take this opportunity” to remind Nebraskans of Legislative Bill&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=49722">575</a>, known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/23/trans-health-exercise-specialists-weigh-in-on-nebraska-trans-sports-proposal/">Sports and Spaces Act</a>. That legislation, which could be debated next session, would define K-12 school bathrooms, sporting teams and locker rooms as either male or female according to sex assigned at birth.“If politicians who advocate for the LGBT agenda are allowed to say anything they want, and at the same time they feel empowered to shut down any and all political debate they deem inconvenient, all Nebraskans will suffer from the censorship and the taking of their fundamental right to free speech,” the coalition’s statement said.Morfeld, in response, said Hunt is a staunch advocate for free speech who regularly exercises her First Amendment rights.He added, “It is well settled that accusing someone of a serious crime such as child abuse with no basis in fact is not protected speech under the First Amendment and it is defamation per se. No mother should have to endure that in Nebraska.”&nbsp;Filed in late June, Hunt’s lawsuit said that as a result of the coalition’s public and “false” statements on Twitter, she received death threats, tweets, calls and emails calling her a pedophile and an abuser of her 13-year-old child.&nbsp;The coalition’s tweets came after Hunt in March made a<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/03/22/second-day-of-debate-on-trans-health-care-bill-brings-personal-stories-to-forefront/">&nbsp;personal testimony</a>&nbsp;during legislative debate on a measure to ban gender-affirming care for youths. She described how&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=49961">LB 574</a>&nbsp;would impact her and her transgender son.&nbsp;She also said that the coalition — founded in 2021 as a nonprofit corporation and a PAC — “leaned into its lies after a retraction demand, reiterated its lies and then expressly stated that the coalition intended to accuse Hunt of a serious crime.”The coalition, which has about 3,220 followers on Twitter, vowed in its statement to continue to share its information with lawmakers and Nebraska voters.

Conservative PAC moves to dismiss defamation lawsuit filed by State Sen. Megan Hunt

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Firefighters rescued two men who fell into a manhole during heavy rain in downtown Omaha on Friday, including one who was washed about a mile through sewer pipes before getting trapped behind a metal grate.

The men, who were workers for a private contractor, Ace Pipe Cleaning, were swept into a manhole near the Old Market just after 9 a.m.,&nbsp;<a href="https://omaha.com/news/local/crime-courts/two-workers-rescued-after-being-swept-into-a-drain-system-near-the-old-market/article_345ce0c8-1cd7-11ee-85f1-af6c542d1ab6.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter_OWHnews">the Omaha World-Herald</a>&nbsp;quoted Lt. Neal Bonacci of the Omaha Police Department as saying.

One of the men, who was tethered to a safety system, was quickly pulled out. A large-scale rescue effort ensued for the other, who was apparently not tethered. He was found around 10:20 a.m.

The 41-year-old man had extricated himself from the water, but was found behind a metal grate covering a culvert. An Omaha Fire Department crew cut the grate to free him, Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bradley told the newspaper.

He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center. His name and condition were not immediately released.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Firefighters rescued two men who fell into a manhole during heavy rain in downtown Omaha on Friday, including one who was washed about a mile through sewer pipes before getting trapped behind a metal grate.The men, who were workers for a private contractor, Ace Pipe Cleaning, were swept into a manhole near the Old Market just after 9 a.m.,&nbsp;<a href="https://omaha.com/news/local/crime-courts/two-workers-rescued-after-being-swept-into-a-drain-system-near-the-old-market/article_345ce0c8-1cd7-11ee-85f1-af6c542d1ab6.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter_OWHnews">the Omaha World-Herald</a>&nbsp;quoted Lt. Neal Bonacci of the Omaha Police Department as saying.One of the men, who was tethered to a safety system, was quickly pulled out. A large-scale rescue effort ensued for the other, who was apparently not tethered. He was found around 10:20 a.m.The 41-year-old man had extricated himself from the water, but was found behind a metal grate covering a culvert. An Omaha Fire Department crew cut the grate to free him, Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bradley told the newspaper.He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center. His name and condition were not immediately released.

Man swept into Omaha manhole during heavy rain is rescued

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/07/biden-administration-to-crack-down-on-junk-health-insurance-plans-surprise-billing/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced new initiatives Friday that could reduce health care costs, though none will take effect immediately.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/07/fact-sheetpresident-biden-announces-new-actions-to-lower-health-care-costs-and-protect-consumers-from-scam-insurance-plans-and-junk-fees-as-part-of-bidenomics-push/">The changes</a>&nbsp;include a proposed rule that would reduce the amount of time short-term health insurance plans can last and require companies that offer the plans to be more transparent about what is covered and what isn’t.

The administration is providing guidance to hospitals that patients are either in-network, with the costs for their health care falling under billing limitations in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/index.html">the Affordable Care Act,</a>&nbsp;or their care is out-of-network and billing costs are covered by a federal law known as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises">the No Surprises Act.&nbsp;</a>

The White House is also requesting information about credit cards with especially high interest rates that can be offered within doctors’ offices to help people pay for their health care.

White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said during a call with reporters Thursday the proposed rule, which could be finalized later this year, would help Americans to understand the difference between health insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act and so-called “junk insurance.”

Those short-term health insurance plans, Tanden said, “are intended to provide temporary coverage as people transition from one source of coverage to another, like when we’re between jobs.”

During the Trump administration, those short-term plans, which don’t have to provide the same type of health care coverage as other insurance plans, were allowed to last as long as three years, she said.

“The ACA has helped tens of millions of Americans access high-quality, affordable health insurance that protects Americans from being discriminated against because of pre-existing conditions,” Tanden said. “Unfortunately, some types of insurance plans, like short-term limited duration insurance, don’t provide comprehensive coverage. Importantly, they don’t have to comply with the critical ACA protections.”

The short-term plans have left some people with thousands of dollars in medical debt, including a man in Montana who had $43,000 in medical bills after the short-term plan denied cancer coverage by claiming it was a pre-existing condition, she said.

In addition to limiting those short-term health insurance plans to three months with a one-month renewal option, the proposed rule would “require plans that discriminate based on pre-existing conditions and don’t offer comprehensive benefits to disclose their limits clearly to consumers,” Tanden said.

Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin celebrated the move in a written statement, saying the short-term insurance plans often show up with a lower price than other plans, though that comes with pitfalls.

“The lower sticker price misleads Americans into buying health insurance that does not have to cover pre-existing conditions, prescription drugs, maternity care, and a host of other basic needs, all while sticking patients with a huge bill to pay out of pocket when they do need health care,” Baldwin said.

On surprise medical billing, the Department of Health and Human Services is sending guidance to hospitals that Biden administration officials hope will reduce or eliminate people receiving thousands in medical bills they did not expect.

“Under this new guidance, we’re making it clear that plans and providers cannot evade surprise billing rules simply by changing the terms they use in their contracts,” Tanden said.

“For example, some health plans contract with hospitals, then try to claim that they are not technically ‘in network,’” she added. “Frankly, what they are doing is gaming the system. This is not allowed and, as our guidance will describe, it must end.”

A senior administration official, speaking on background to describe details of the guidance, said it should clarify that there is no space between the protections for out-of-network costs covered under the federal law known as the No Surprises Act, or protections in the Affordable Care Act for in-network costs.

“We are saying there is no gray area here,” the official said. “It is either the protections of the No Surprises Act, or the protections for out-of-pocket costs.”

The third initiative from the administration unveiled Friday requests information from the public about credit cards and certain types of loans that are often offered to people to help them pay for health care.

Tanden said people signing up for that type of medical credit card may not understand how they work because they “often include teaser rates and deferred interest features that lead to higher costs for consumers.”

A second senior administration official, also speaking on background to discuss details of the plan, said those credit cards often come with interest rates that are much higher than a regular credit card. They are sometimes offered to patients in a health care provider’s office.

“So people are signing up for these things at the same time that they’re deciding on their medical care — those are certainly not going to be optimal conditions for anybody to be making financial decisions,” the official said, noting that many of the cards have “surprise tricks and straps built into them.”

Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, cheered the moves in a written statement.

“With today’s announcement, President Biden is delivering on his promise to promote access to affordable health care and lower families’ everyday costs,” Scott said. “In Congress, Democrats will continue to advance proposals that build on our progress and fiercely defend the ACA from Republican politicians’ persistent attacks.”

By Jennifer Shutt<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/07/biden-administration-to-crack-down-on-junk-health-insurance-plans-surprise-billing/">Nebraska Examiner</a>WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced new initiatives Friday that could reduce health care costs, though none will take effect immediately.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/07/fact-sheetpresident-biden-announces-new-actions-to-lower-health-care-costs-and-protect-consumers-from-scam-insurance-plans-and-junk-fees-as-part-of-bidenomics-push/">The changes</a>&nbsp;include a proposed rule that would reduce the amount of time short-term health insurance plans can last and require companies that offer the plans to be more transparent about what is covered and what isn’t.The administration is providing guidance to hospitals that patients are either in-network, with the costs for their health care falling under billing limitations in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/index.html">the Affordable Care Act,</a>&nbsp;or their care is out-of-network and billing costs are covered by a federal law known as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises">the No Surprises Act.&nbsp;</a>The White House is also requesting information about credit cards with especially high interest rates that can be offered within doctors’ offices to help people pay for their health care.White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said during a call with reporters Thursday the proposed rule, which could be finalized later this year, would help Americans to understand the difference between health insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act and so-called “junk insurance.”Those short-term health insurance plans, Tanden said, “are intended to provide temporary coverage as people transition from one source of coverage to another, like when we’re between jobs.”<h2>Care denied for pre-existing conditions</h2>During the Trump administration, those short-term plans, which don’t have to provide the same type of health care coverage as other insurance plans, were allowed to last as long as three years, she said.“The ACA has helped tens of millions of Americans access high-quality, affordable health insurance that protects Americans from being discriminated against because of pre-existing conditions,” Tanden said. “Unfortunately, some types of insurance plans, like short-term limited duration insurance, don’t provide comprehensive coverage. Importantly, they don’t have to comply with the critical ACA protections.”The short-term plans have left some people with thousands of dollars in medical debt, including a man in Montana who had $43,000 in medical bills after the short-term plan denied cancer coverage by claiming it was a pre-existing condition, she said.In addition to limiting those short-term health insurance plans to three months with a one-month renewal option, the proposed rule would “require plans that discriminate based on pre-existing conditions and don’t offer comprehensive benefits to disclose their limits clearly to consumers,” Tanden said.Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin celebrated the move in a written statement, saying the short-term insurance plans often show up with a lower price than other plans, though that comes with pitfalls.“The lower sticker price misleads Americans into buying health insurance that does not have to cover pre-existing conditions, prescription drugs, maternity care, and a host of other basic needs, all while sticking patients with a huge bill to pay out of pocket when they do need health care,” Baldwin said.On surprise medical billing, the Department of Health and Human Services is sending guidance to hospitals that Biden administration officials hope will reduce or eliminate people receiving thousands in medical bills they did not expect.“Under this new guidance, we’re making it clear that plans and providers cannot evade surprise billing rules simply by changing the terms they use in their contracts,” Tanden said.“For example, some health plans contract with hospitals, then try to claim that they are not technically ‘in network,’” she added. “Frankly, what they are doing is gaming the system. This is not allowed and, as our guidance will describe, it must end.”<h2>‘No gray area here’</h2>A senior administration official, speaking on background to describe details of the guidance, said it should clarify that there is no space between the protections for out-of-network costs covered under the federal law known as the No Surprises Act, or protections in the Affordable Care Act for in-network costs.“We are saying there is no gray area here,” the official said. “It is either the protections of the No Surprises Act, or the protections for out-of-pocket costs.”The third initiative from the administration unveiled Friday requests information from the public about credit cards and certain types of loans that are often offered to people to help them pay for health care.Tanden said people signing up for that type of medical credit card may not understand how they work because they “often include teaser rates and deferred interest features that lead to higher costs for consumers.”A second senior administration official, also speaking on background to discuss details of the plan, said those credit cards often come with interest rates that are much higher than a regular credit card. They are sometimes offered to patients in a health care provider’s office.“So people are signing up for these things at the same time that they’re deciding on their medical care — those are certainly not going to be optimal conditions for anybody to be making financial decisions,” the official said, noting that many of the cards have “surprise tricks and straps built into them.”Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, cheered the moves in a written statement.“With today’s announcement, President Biden is delivering on his promise to promote access to affordable health care and lower families’ everyday costs,” Scott said. “In Congress, Democrats will continue to advance proposals that build on our progress and fiercely defend the ACA from Republican politicians’ persistent attacks.”

Biden administration to crack down on ‘junk’ health insurance plans, surprise billing

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta over its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/threads-instagram-meta-twitter-2040ccb70657a36e26c6471e39ed1ac5" target="_blank">new text-based app called Threads</a>, which has drawn tens of millions of users since launching this week as a rival to Elon Musk’s social media platform.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688758701463.jpeg" alt="This photo, taken in New York, Thursday, July 6, 2023, shows Meta's new app Threads. Meta unveiled the app to rival Twitter, targeting users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned - and frequently changed - by Elon Musk. (Ap Photo/Richard Drew)ASSIOCATED PRESS" />
 <figcaption>This photo, taken in New York, Thursday, July 6, 2023, shows Meta's new app Threads. Meta unveiled the app to rival Twitter, targeting users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned - and frequently changed - by Elon Musk. (Ap Photo/Richard Drew)ASSIOCATED PRESS</figcaption>
 </figure>BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESSNEW YORK (AP) — Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta over its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/threads-instagram-meta-twitter-2040ccb70657a36e26c6471e39ed1ac5" target="_blank">new text-based app called Threads</a>, which has drawn tens of millions of users since launching this week as a rival to Elon Musk’s social media platform.In a letter Wednesday to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Twitter, accused Meta of unlawfully using Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property by hiring former Twitter employees to create a “copycat” app.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1688758950012.jpeg" alt="This photo, taken in New York on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, show the logo for Meta's new app Threads, left, and that of Twitter. Meta is poised to unveil the new app that appears to mimic Twitter - a direct challenge to the social media platform owned by Elon Musk. A listing for the Threads app appeared on Apple's App Store, indicating it would be debut as early as Thursday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)ASSIOCATED PRESS" />
 <figcaption>This photo, taken in New York on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, show the logo for Meta's new app Threads, left, and that of Twitter. Meta is poised to unveil the new app that appears to mimic Twitter - a direct challenge to the social media platform owned by Elon Musk. A listing for the Threads app appeared on Apple's App Store, indicating it would be debut as early as Thursday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)ASSIOCATED PRESS</figcaption>
 </figure>The move ramps up the tensions between the social media giants after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/meta-threads-app-twitter-rival-instagram-1cbb80596dbc06482d982482544ebee2" target="_blank">Threads debuted</a>&nbsp;Wednesday, targeting those who are seeking out alternatives to Twitter amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/meta-threads-app-twitter-rival-instagram-1cbb80596dbc06482d982482544ebee2" target="_blank">unpopular changes Musk has made</a>&nbsp;to the platform since buying it last year for $44 billion.Meta spokesperson Andy Stone wrote Thursday on Threads: “No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing.”In the letter, which news website&nbsp;<a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/07/06/2023/twitter-is-threatening-to-sue-meta-over-threads" target="_blank">Semafor first reported</a>&nbsp;Thursday, Spiro said Twitter “intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights” and noted the company’s right to seek civil remedies or a court injunction.He said the letter marked a “formal notice” for Meta to preserve documents relevant for a potential dispute between the companies.In a reply to a tweet about the possibility of legal action against Meta,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1677042708756439041" target="_blank">Musk wrote</a>: “Competition is fine, cheating is not.”The Associated Press reached out to Spiro on Thursday for further information. Twitter responded to an email seeking comment with a crude automated reply, its standard response to journalists.New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has not publicly commented on the letter but appeared to address Threads’ launch.“We’re often imitated — but the Twitter community can never be duplicated,”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/lindayacc/status/1676965566597464065" target="_blank">Yaccarino tweeted</a>.Some analysts say Meta’s new offering, billed as a text-based version of the photo-sharing app Instagram, could be a significant headache for Twitter — pointing to the excitement surrounding Threads’ launch and impressive download numbers so far.But success isn’t guaranteed. Industry watchers point to Meta’s track record of starting standalone apps that were later shut down and note that Threads is still in its early days.Besides some glitches and gripes about missing features, Meta’s new app also has raised data privacy concerns. While Threads launched in more than 100 countries, it is notably unavailable in the European Union, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-lawsuits-data-privacy-class-action-lawsuits-97c1b5be3ed2558f55069a631ea79062" target="_blank">strict data privacy rules</a>.