WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight months, 126 formal interviews and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">a 23-page report</a>&nbsp;later,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said it has failed to discover who leaked a draft of the court’s opinion overturning abortion rights.

<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">Click here to read</a> the full report

The report released by the court Thursday is the apparent culmination of an investigation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22">ordered by Chief Justice John Roberts</a>&nbsp;a day after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">the May leak of the draft to Politico</a>. Notably the report did not indicate whether the justices themselves had been questioned. On Friday, seemingly in response to widespread questions from the media and legal community, the head of the investigation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_01-20-23">added in a statement</a>&nbsp;that the court's nine justices had been interviewed as part of the probe and that nothing implicated them.

The leak touched off protests at justices’ homes and raised concerns about their security. And it came more than a month before the final opinion by Justice Samuel Alito was released and the court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">formally announced it was overturning Roe v. Wade</a>.

The report also offers a window into the court's internal processes. It acknowledges that the coronavirus pandemic, which expanded the ability of people to work from home, “as well as gaps in the Court’s security policies, created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the Court’s IT networks.” The report recommends changes so that it's harder for a leak to happen in the future.

Some questions and answers about the report:

IF THE INVESTIGATION DIDN'T FIND THE LEAKER, WHAT DID IT FIND?

Lax security and loose lips. Too many people have access to certain sensitive information, the report concluded, and the court’s policies on information security are outdated. The court can't actively track, for example, who is handling and accessing highly sensitive information.

Beyond that, some people interviewed by federal investigators called in to help with the probe acknowledged they didn't scrupulously follow the court’s confidentiality policies. In some cases, employees acknowledged "telling their spouses about the draft opinion or vote count,” the report said.

The leak doesn't appear to have been the result of a hack, but the report said investigators could not rule out that the opinion was inadvertently disclosed, “for example, by being left in a public space either inside or outside the building.”

Investigators conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees. They looked into connections between employees and reporters, including those at Politico. They looked at call logs of personal phones. They looked at printer logs. They even did a fingerprint analysis of “an item relevant to the investigation.”

Every person who was interviewed signed a sworn statement that they were not the source of the leak. Lying about that could violate a federal law on false statements.

After all that, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, himself a onetime federal judge, was asked to assess the investigation. Chertoff described the investigation as “thorough” in a statement issued through the court.

The court did not respond to reporters' questions Thursday about whether the justices were interviewed. On Friday, the day after the report was released,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-leak-investigation-gail-curley-48623ac2a3bafe36f39bbf5f68257dbf">Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley</a>&nbsp;who headed the investigation, said in a statement that she also spoke with each of the justices, who cooperated in the investigation. “I followed up on all credible leads, none of which implicated the Justices or their spouses,” she wrote. She said she didn't believe it was necessary to ask the justices to sign sworn affidavits as others did.

It seems clear the court will tighten its procedures, maybe upgrade equipment and likely do more training of personnel in response to the leak. But what it has done already or will do in the future, the court isn't saying. Investigators made a list of recommendations, but those weren't attached to the public version of the report to guard against “potential bad actors.”

After the leak, speculation swirled in Washington about who the source could be. Conservatives pointed fingers at the liberal side of the court, speculating that the leaker was someone upset about the outcome. Liberals suggested it could be someone on the conservative side of the court who wanted to ensure a wavering member of the five-justice majority didn’t switch sides.

On social media, there was speculation that various law clerks could be the leaker because of their personal backgrounds, including connections to Politico and past writing. The report acknowledged investigators were watching.

“Investigators also assessed the wide array of public speculation, mostly on social media, about any individual who may have disclosed the document. Several law clerks were named in various posts. In their inquiries, the investigators found nothing to substantiate any of the social media allegations regarding the disclosure,” the report said.

The report says investigators aren't quite done, but it suggests that any active investigation is winding down. “Investigators continue to review and process some electronic data that has been collected and a few other inquiries remain pending,” they said. “To the extent that additional investigation yields new evidence or leads, the investigators will pursue them.”

The final paragraph of the report said, “In time, continued investigation and analysis may produce additional leads that could identify the source of the disclosure.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1656081470334.png" alt="-Protestors outside the court when the Roe decision was announced June 24-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>-Protestors outside the court when the Roe decision was announced June 24-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight months, 126 formal interviews and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">a 23-page report</a>&nbsp;later,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said it has failed to discover who leaked a draft of the court’s opinion overturning abortion rights.<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">Click here to read</a> the full reportThe report released by the court Thursday is the apparent culmination of an investigation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22">ordered by Chief Justice John Roberts</a>&nbsp;a day after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">the May leak of the draft to Politico</a>. Notably the report did not indicate whether the justices themselves had been questioned. On Friday, seemingly in response to widespread questions from the media and legal community, the head of the investigation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_01-20-23">added in a statement</a>&nbsp;that the court's nine justices had been interviewed as part of the probe and that nothing implicated them.The leak touched off protests at justices’ homes and raised concerns about their security. And it came more than a month before the final opinion by Justice Samuel Alito was released and the court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">formally announced it was overturning Roe v. Wade</a>.The report also offers a window into the court's internal processes. It acknowledges that the coronavirus pandemic, which expanded the ability of people to work from home, “as well as gaps in the Court’s security policies, created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the Court’s IT networks.” The report recommends changes so that it's harder for a leak to happen in the future.Some questions and answers about the report:IF THE INVESTIGATION DIDN'T FIND THE LEAKER, WHAT DID IT FIND?Lax security and loose lips. Too many people have access to certain sensitive information, the report concluded, and the court’s policies on information security are outdated. The court can't actively track, for example, who is handling and accessing highly sensitive information.Beyond that, some people interviewed by federal investigators called in to help with the probe acknowledged they didn't scrupulously follow the court’s confidentiality policies. In some cases, employees acknowledged "telling their spouses about the draft opinion or vote count,” the report said.The leak doesn't appear to have been the result of a hack, but the report said investigators could not rule out that the opinion was inadvertently disclosed, “for example, by being left in a public space either inside or outside the building.”HOW THOROUGH WAS THE INVESTIGATION?Investigators conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees. They looked into connections between employees and reporters, including those at Politico. They looked at call logs of personal phones. They looked at printer logs. They even did a fingerprint analysis of “an item relevant to the investigation.”Every person who was interviewed signed a sworn statement that they were not the source of the leak. Lying about that could violate a federal law on false statements.After all that, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, himself a onetime federal judge, was asked to assess the investigation. Chertoff described the investigation as “thorough” in a statement issued through the court.The court did not respond to reporters' questions Thursday about whether the justices were interviewed. On Friday, the day after the report was released,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-leak-investigation-gail-curley-48623ac2a3bafe36f39bbf5f68257dbf">Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley</a>&nbsp;who headed the investigation, said in a statement that she also spoke with each of the justices, who cooperated in the investigation. “I followed up on all credible leads, none of which implicated the Justices or their spouses,” she wrote. She said she didn't believe it was necessary to ask the justices to sign sworn affidavits as others did.WHAT WILL CHANGE AS A RESULT?It seems clear the court will tighten its procedures, maybe upgrade equipment and likely do more training of personnel in response to the leak. But what it has done already or will do in the future, the court isn't saying. Investigators made a list of recommendations, but those weren't attached to the public version of the report to guard against “potential bad actors.”WHAT ABOUT SPECULATION OF WHO IT WAS?After the leak, speculation swirled in Washington about who the source could be. Conservatives pointed fingers at the liberal side of the court, speculating that the leaker was someone upset about the outcome. Liberals suggested it could be someone on the conservative side of the court who wanted to ensure a wavering member of the five-justice majority didn’t switch sides.On social media, there was speculation that various law clerks could be the leaker because of their personal backgrounds, including connections to Politico and past writing. The report acknowledged investigators were watching.“Investigators also assessed the wide array of public speculation, mostly on social media, about any individual who may have disclosed the document. Several law clerks were named in various posts. In their inquiries, the investigators found nothing to substantiate any of the social media allegations regarding the disclosure,” the report said.WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?The report says investigators aren't quite done, but it suggests that any active investigation is winding down. “Investigators continue to review and process some electronic data that has been collected and a few other inquiries remain pending,” they said. “To the extent that additional investigation yields new evidence or leads, the investigators will pursue them.”The final paragraph of the report said, “In time, continued investigation and analysis may produce additional leads that could identify the source of the disclosure.”___

Read the full Supreme Court report on leak of abortion decision

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the Abbott Laboratories infant formula plant in Michigan that was shut down for months last year due to contamination, the company confirmed.

The factory's closure in February 2022 was a key cause of a nationwide baby formula shortage that forced parents to seek formula from food banks, friends and doctor's offices. Production restarted in June.

The Justice Department has informed Abbott of its investigation and the company is "cooperating fully," Abbott spokesperson Scott Stoffel said via email. He declined to provide further details.

The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the Justice Department's consumer protection branch is looking into conduct at the Sturgis, Michigan, plant that led to its shutdown.

Abbott closed the factory after the Food and Drug Administration began investigating four bacterial infections among infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant. Inspectors uncovered several violations at the plant, including bacterial contamination, a leaky roof and lax safety protocols. But Abbott has stated that its products have not been directly linked to the infections, which involved different bacterial strains.

Abbott is one of just four companies that produce 90% of U.S. formula, and its February recall of several leading brands, including Similac, squeezed supplies that had already been strained by supply chain disruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19 shutdowns.

The shortage was especially acute for children with allergies, digestive problems and metabolic disorders who rely on specialty formulas. The Abbott factory is the only source of many of those products.

The FDA has faced intense criticism for taking months to close the plant and then negotiate its reopening.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674393743283.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the Abbott Laboratories infant formula plant in Michigan that was shut down for months last year due to contamination, the company confirmed.The factory's closure in February 2022 was a key cause of a nationwide baby formula shortage that forced parents to seek formula from food banks, friends and doctor's offices. Production restarted in June.The Justice Department has informed Abbott of its investigation and the company is "cooperating fully," Abbott spokesperson Scott Stoffel said via email. He declined to provide further details.The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the Justice Department's consumer protection branch is looking into conduct at the Sturgis, Michigan, plant that led to its shutdown.Abbott closed the factory after the Food and Drug Administration began investigating four bacterial infections among infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant. Inspectors uncovered several violations at the plant, including bacterial contamination, a leaky roof and lax safety protocols. But Abbott has stated that its products have not been directly linked to the infections, which involved different bacterial strains.Abbott is one of just four companies that produce 90% of U.S. formula, and its February recall of several leading brands, including Similac, squeezed supplies that had already been strained by supply chain disruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19 shutdowns.The shortage was especially acute for children with allergies, digestive problems and metabolic disorders who rely on specialty formulas. The Abbott factory is the only source of many of those products.The FDA has faced intense criticism for taking months to close the plant and then negotiate its reopening.

Justice Department investigating Abbott baby formula plant

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a Kansas house fire that killed two girls and a woman have made an arrest.

Just 5:00 a.m. Friday, crews responded to the report of house fire at 916 SW Warren Avenue in Topeka, according to fire department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.

First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house. Crews entered, searched the home and found four individuals.&nbsp;An adult and child were pronounced deceased on the scene.

Fire crews rescued an adult and a juvenile from the home and firefighters began immediate life-saving treatment.&nbsp; American Medical Response (AMR) transported both including 32-year-old Kyle Tyler to a local hospital. The child later died at the hospital, according to Nichols.

The cause of the fire has been determined by Topeka Fire investigators as intentionally set. The incident is being investigated by police as a homicide. The incident is domestic in nature, according to Nichols.

The deceased individuals have been identified&nbsp; as 30-year-old Genny L. Fitzpatrick, 9-year-old&nbsp; Peyton L. Tyler and 1-year-old Kourtney K. Tyler, all of Topeka.

&nbsp;Kyle J. Tyler, 32, of Holton, was released from the hospital Saturday, and transported to the Law Enforcement Center to be interviewed. Police arrested and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Murder in the 1st degree; In the commission of a felony, Aggravated Arson and Aggravated Child Endangerment.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674225989378.png" alt="First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house.-photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house.-photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a Kansas house fire that killed two girls and a woman have made an arrest.Just 5:00 a.m. Friday, crews responded to the report of house fire at 916 SW Warren Avenue in Topeka, according to fire department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house. Crews entered, searched the home and found four individuals.&nbsp;An adult and child were pronounced deceased on the scene.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674361780426.png" alt="Tyler-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Tyler-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Fire crews rescued an adult and a juvenile from the home and firefighters began immediate life-saving treatment.&nbsp; American Medical Response (AMR) transported both including 32-year-old Kyle Tyler to a local hospital. The child later died at the hospital, according to Nichols.The cause of the fire has been determined by Topeka Fire investigators as intentionally set. The incident is being investigated by police as a homicide. The incident is domestic in nature, according to Nichols.The deceased individuals have been identified&nbsp; as 30-year-old Genny L. Fitzpatrick, 9-year-old&nbsp; Peyton L. Tyler and 1-year-old Kourtney K. Tyler, all of Topeka.&nbsp;Kyle J. Tyler, 32, of Holton, was released from the hospital Saturday, and transported to the Law Enforcement Center to be interviewed. Police arrested and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Murder in the 1st degree; In the commission of a felony, Aggravated Arson and Aggravated Child Endangerment.

Murder arrest after two girls, woman die in Kansas house fire

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A woman fatally shot her terminally ill husband inside a Florida hospital on Saturday and then barricaded herself in his room for four hours before surrendering, Daytona Beach officials said.

Ellen Gilland, 76, told officers that her 77-year-old husband Jerry Gilland had been ill for some time and they had planned the shooting together, police spokeswoman Carrie McCallister said.

After shooting her husband at about 11:30 a.m., she refused to come out until about 3:30 p.m. after negotiating with police, McCallister said. Ellen Gilland did not harm herself and no one else was wounded. Part of the hospital was evacuated and some doctors, nurses and others took cover in locked closets and rooms.

McCallister said no charges were immediately announced.

AdventHealth officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674393559545.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A woman fatally shot her terminally ill husband inside a Florida hospital on Saturday and then barricaded herself in his room for four hours before surrendering, Daytona Beach officials said.Ellen Gilland, 76, told officers that her 77-year-old husband Jerry Gilland had been ill for some time and they had planned the shooting together, police spokeswoman Carrie McCallister said.After shooting her husband at about 11:30 a.m., she refused to come out until about 3:30 p.m. after negotiating with police, McCallister said. Ellen Gilland did not harm herself and no one else was wounded. Part of the hospital was evacuated and some doctors, nurses and others took cover in locked closets and rooms.McCallister said no charges were immediately announced.AdventHealth officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Police: Woman fatally shoots dying husband at hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI searched President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday and located additional documents with classified markings and also took possession of some of his handwritten notes, the president’s lawyer said Saturday.

The president voluntarily allowed the FBI into his home, but the lack of a search warrant did not dim the extraordinary nature of the search. It compounded the embarrassment to Biden that started with the disclosure Jan. 12 that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-barack-obama-merrick-garland-def4c44c23229671e1e50bf170dc67d2">president’s attorneys</a>&nbsp;had found a “small number” of classified records at a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">former office at the Penn Biden Center</a>&nbsp;in Washington shortly before the midterm elections. Since then, attorneys found&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-0574fd762159e8cb5f31c85205df3dc0">six classified</a>&nbsp;documents in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-merrick-garland-3f77c3d792ed525c446efd7bd95e86ba">Biden’s Wilmington home</a>&nbsp;library from his time as vice president.

Though Biden has maintained “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-wilmington-merrick-garland-f2384a87dcddbd38796f63e1269c6baf">there’s no there there,”</a>&nbsp;the discoveries have become a political liability as he prepares to launch a reelection bid, and they undercut his efforts to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-donald-trump-036e528fc399477a603ed402c6e83cfb">portray an image of propriety</a>&nbsp;to the American public after the tumultuous presidency of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

During Friday's search, which lasted nearly 13 hours, the FBI took six items that contained documents with classified markings, said Bob Bauer, the president’s personal lawyer. The items spanned Biden’s time in the Senate and the vice presidency, while the notes dated to his time as vice president, he said. The level of classification, and whether the documents removed by the FBI remained classified, was not immediately clear as the Justice Department reviews the records.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick confirmed Saturday that the FBI had executed “a planned, consensual search” of the president’s residence in Wilmington.

The president and first lady Jill Biden were not at the home when it was searched. They were spending the weekend at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Speaking to reporters during a trip to California on Thursday, Biden said he was “fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”

“We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,” Biden said. “We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department.”

It remained to be seen whether additional searches by federal officials of other locations might be conducted. Biden's personal attorneys previously conducted a search of the Rehoboth Beach residence and said they did not find any official documents or classified records.

The Biden investigation has also complicated the Justice Department’s probe into Trump’s retention of classified documents and official records after he left office. The Justice Department says Trump took hundreds of records marked classified with him upon leaving the White House in early 2021 and resisted months of requests to return them to the government, and that it had to obtain a search warrant to retrieve them.

Bauer said the FBI requested that the White House not comment on the search before it was conducted, and that Biden's personal and White House attorneys were present. The FBI, he added, “had full access to the President’s home, including personally handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists, schedules, and reminders going back decades."

The Justice Department, he added, “took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some of which were from the President’s service in the Senate and some of which were from his tenure as Vice President."

Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-robert-hur-special-counsel-biden-d715ffd26adc75f2ba740d1960936a09">former Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur</a>&nbsp;as a special counsel to investigate any potential wrongdoing surrounding the Biden documents. Hur is set to take over from the Trump-appointed Illinois U.S. Attorney John Lausch in overseeing the probe.

“Since the beginning, the President has been committed to handling this responsibly because he takes this seriously,” White House lawyer Richard Sauber said Saturday. “The President’s lawyers and White House Counsel’s Office will continue to cooperate with DOJ and the Special Counsel to help ensure this process is conducted swiftly and efficiently.”

The Biden document discoveries and the investigation into Trump, which is in the hands of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-are-special-counsels-what-do-they-do-jack-smith-8a9696d37c50286319b0d4b862c1e837">special counsel Jack Smith</a>, are significantly different. Biden has made a point of cooperating with the DOJ probe at every turn — and Friday's search was voluntary —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-hillary-clinton-karine-jean-pierre-58228d94cdcfe4ebe00521b049037868">though questions about his transparency</a>&nbsp;with the public remain.

For a crime to have been committed, a person would have to “knowingly remove” the documents without authority and intend to keep them at an “unauthorized location.” Biden has said he was “surprised” that classified documents were uncovered at the Penn Biden Center.

Generally, classified documents are to be declassified after a maximum of 25 years. But some records are of such value they remain classified for far longer, though specific exceptions must be granted. Biden served in the Senate from 1973 to 2009.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673546739694.png" alt="Biden backing his Corvette into the garage next to stacks of boxes where classified documents were found-image from a 2020 Biden for President campaign ad" />
 <figcaption>Biden backing his Corvette into the garage next to stacks of boxes where classified documents were found-image from a 2020 Biden for President campaign ad</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI searched President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday and located additional documents with classified markings and also took possession of some of his handwritten notes, the president’s lawyer said Saturday.The president voluntarily allowed the FBI into his home, but the lack of a search warrant did not dim the extraordinary nature of the search. It compounded the embarrassment to Biden that started with the disclosure Jan. 12 that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-barack-obama-merrick-garland-def4c44c23229671e1e50bf170dc67d2">president’s attorneys</a>&nbsp;had found a “small number” of classified records at a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">former office at the Penn Biden Center</a>&nbsp;in Washington shortly before the midterm elections. Since then, attorneys found&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-0574fd762159e8cb5f31c85205df3dc0">six classified</a>&nbsp;documents in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-merrick-garland-3f77c3d792ed525c446efd7bd95e86ba">Biden’s Wilmington home</a>&nbsp;library from his time as vice president.Though Biden has maintained “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-wilmington-merrick-garland-f2384a87dcddbd38796f63e1269c6baf">there’s no there there,”</a>&nbsp;the discoveries have become a political liability as he prepares to launch a reelection bid, and they undercut his efforts to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-donald-trump-036e528fc399477a603ed402c6e83cfb">portray an image of propriety</a>&nbsp;to the American public after the tumultuous presidency of his predecessor, Donald Trump.During Friday's search, which lasted nearly 13 hours, the FBI took six items that contained documents with classified markings, said Bob Bauer, the president’s personal lawyer. The items spanned Biden’s time in the Senate and the vice presidency, while the notes dated to his time as vice president, he said. The level of classification, and whether the documents removed by the FBI remained classified, was not immediately clear as the Justice Department reviews the records.Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick confirmed Saturday that the FBI had executed “a planned, consensual search” of the president’s residence in Wilmington.The president and first lady Jill Biden were not at the home when it was searched. They were spending the weekend at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.Speaking to reporters during a trip to California on Thursday, Biden said he was “fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”“We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,” Biden said. “We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department.”It remained to be seen whether additional searches by federal officials of other locations might be conducted. Biden's personal attorneys previously conducted a search of the Rehoboth Beach residence and said they did not find any official documents or classified records.The Biden investigation has also complicated the Justice Department’s probe into Trump’s retention of classified documents and official records after he left office. The Justice Department says Trump took hundreds of records marked classified with him upon leaving the White House in early 2021 and resisted months of requests to return them to the government, and that it had to obtain a search warrant to retrieve them.Bauer said the FBI requested that the White House not comment on the search before it was conducted, and that Biden's personal and White House attorneys were present. The FBI, he added, “had full access to the President’s home, including personally handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists, schedules, and reminders going back decades."The Justice Department, he added, “took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some of which were from the President’s service in the Senate and some of which were from his tenure as Vice President."Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-robert-hur-special-counsel-biden-d715ffd26adc75f2ba740d1960936a09">former Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur</a>&nbsp;as a special counsel to investigate any potential wrongdoing surrounding the Biden documents. Hur is set to take over from the Trump-appointed Illinois U.S. Attorney John Lausch in overseeing the probe.“Since the beginning, the President has been committed to handling this responsibly because he takes this seriously,” White House lawyer Richard Sauber said Saturday. “The President’s lawyers and White House Counsel’s Office will continue to cooperate with DOJ and the Special Counsel to help ensure this process is conducted swiftly and efficiently.”The Biden document discoveries and the investigation into Trump, which is in the hands of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-are-special-counsels-what-do-they-do-jack-smith-8a9696d37c50286319b0d4b862c1e837">special counsel Jack Smith</a>, are significantly different. Biden has made a point of cooperating with the DOJ probe at every turn — and Friday's search was voluntary —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-hillary-clinton-karine-jean-pierre-58228d94cdcfe4ebe00521b049037868">though questions about his transparency</a>&nbsp;with the public remain.For a crime to have been committed, a person would have to “knowingly remove” the documents without authority and intend to keep them at an “unauthorized location.” Biden has said he was “surprised” that classified documents were uncovered at the Penn Biden Center.Generally, classified documents are to be declassified after a maximum of 25 years. But some records are of such value they remain classified for far longer, though specific exceptions must be granted. Biden served in the Senate from 1973 to 2009.___

FBI finds more classified items in Biden's Delaware home

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government program launched Thursday is giving American citizens the chance to play a role in resettling the thousands of refugees who arrive every year in the United States.

During the first year of&nbsp;<a href="https://welcomecorps.org/">the Welcome Corps</a>, the State Department aims to line up 10,000 Americans who can help 5,000 refugees adjust to life in the United States.

“By tapping into the goodwill of American communities, the Welcome Corps will expand our country’s capacity to provide a warm welcome to higher numbers of refugees,” the department said in announcing the effort.

When refugees from around the world arrive in the U.S., they face a dramatically different way of life. To ease that transition, the department traditionally has worked with nonprofit groups that specialize in refugee issues. Under the new program, five or more Americans could form a group and help fill this role, as well.

They would apply to privately sponsor refugees to resettle in the U.S. and would be responsible for raising their own money to help the refugees over the first 90 days. Assistance would include everything from greeting refugees at the airport to finding them place to live and getting kids enrolled in school.

A consortium of nonprofits with expertise in refugee resettlement will help oversee the vetting and certification of people and groups who want to be private sponsors. They also will offer training so private sponsors understand what's needed to help refugees adjusting to life in America. The consortium will be responsible for monitoring the program.

The program will roll out in two phases. First, private sponsors will be matched with refugees already approved for resettlement under the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program. That will start during the first half of 2023.

Later, private sponsors could identify refugees abroad they would like to help and then refer those people to the Refugee Assistance Program and assist them once they arrive in the U.S.

The program is different from a recent initiative that allows 30,000 people into the country a month from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. They also need a sponsor but are being admitted to the U.S. under a humanitarian parole designation that lasts two years and offers no path to becoming permanent residents or citizens.

Under the refugee program, people fleeing violence or persecution can come to the U.S. and stay permanently. Since the Refugee Act was passed in 1980 the U.S. has admitted a little over 3 million refugees.

The Welcome Corps program comes on the heels of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-russia-ukraine-united-states-immigration-477d06070766db3800efd03528c845ec">similar, smaller scale endeavor</a>&nbsp;under which Americans were able to sponsor Afghans or Ukrainians. That program launched in October 2021 and has helped just over 800 people coming to America through a network of 230 certified sponsor circles that included a total of about 5,000 people.

Sasha Chanoff, founder and chief executive of Boston-based RefugePoint, which supports Afghan refugees, said Canada has long used a similar model to help resettle refugees. Chanoff said the sponsor circle program capitalizes on the huge amount of goodwill among Americans to sponsor refugees, something that crosses political divides.

“This represents perhaps a unique opportunity in our history — certainly in our recent history — to really open up space for Americans to protect lives by sponsoring a family,” he said. “We’ve seen the incredible interest among the American public — Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, veterans, so many others across the political spectrum.”

President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/04/executive-order-on-rebuilding-and-enhancing-programs-to-resettle-refugees-and-planning-for-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-migration/">pledged in a 2021 executive order</a>&nbsp;to restore the U.S. as the world’s haven and he called for private sponsorship of refugees. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. had largely rolled back the refugee program.

But Thursday's announcement comes as the U.S. is woefully off track if it hopes to meet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-government-and-politics-b19f7754da4cc6d55dfb84b4da7152ea">Biden's goal of 125,000 refugees admitted</a>&nbsp;into the U.S. during the 2023 budget year.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/Refugee%20Arrivals%20by%20State%20and%20Nationality%20as%20of%2031%20Dec%202022.pdf">According to State Department data</a>, the U.S. has admitted just 6,750 refugees to the country through December — three months into the fiscal year.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service commended the Biden administration’s “forward-thinking” program which has “potential to strengthen ties between refugees and the communities they will call home.” But Vignarajah also noted the low number of refugee admissions. The group is a national nonprofit that helps refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants.

“The Biden administration must prioritize the streamlining of refugee admissions, which remain regrettably low this fiscal year. Without urgent action to increase efficiency, it risks letting the compassion of individual sponsors and the expertise of professional refugee resettlement organizations go to waste," Vignarajah said in a statement.

Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Valles Noyes told reporters Thursday that the agency responsible for interviewing refugees overseas had conducted over 20,000 interviews during the first quarter of the year and that she was “confident” that the numbers of refugees arriving in the months ahead would increase.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government program launched Thursday is giving American citizens the chance to play a role in resettling the thousands of refugees who arrive every year in the United States.During the first year of&nbsp;<a href="https://welcomecorps.org/">the Welcome Corps</a>, the State Department aims to line up 10,000 Americans who can help 5,000 refugees adjust to life in the United States.“By tapping into the goodwill of American communities, the Welcome Corps will expand our country’s capacity to provide a warm welcome to higher numbers of refugees,” the department said in announcing the effort.When refugees from around the world arrive in the U.S., they face a dramatically different way of life. To ease that transition, the department traditionally has worked with nonprofit groups that specialize in refugee issues. Under the new program, five or more Americans could form a group and help fill this role, as well.They would apply to privately sponsor refugees to resettle in the U.S. and would be responsible for raising their own money to help the refugees over the first 90 days. Assistance would include everything from greeting refugees at the airport to finding them place to live and getting kids enrolled in school.A consortium of nonprofits with expertise in refugee resettlement will help oversee the vetting and certification of people and groups who want to be private sponsors. They also will offer training so private sponsors understand what's needed to help refugees adjusting to life in America. The consortium will be responsible for monitoring the program.The program will roll out in two phases. First, private sponsors will be matched with refugees already approved for resettlement under the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program. That will start during the first half of 2023.Later, private sponsors could identify refugees abroad they would like to help and then refer those people to the Refugee Assistance Program and assist them once they arrive in the U.S.The program is different from a recent initiative that allows 30,000 people into the country a month from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. They also need a sponsor but are being admitted to the U.S. under a humanitarian parole designation that lasts two years and offers no path to becoming permanent residents or citizens.Under the refugee program, people fleeing violence or persecution can come to the U.S. and stay permanently. Since the Refugee Act was passed in 1980 the U.S. has admitted a little over 3 million refugees.The Welcome Corps program comes on the heels of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-russia-ukraine-united-states-immigration-477d06070766db3800efd03528c845ec">similar, smaller scale endeavor</a>&nbsp;under which Americans were able to sponsor Afghans or Ukrainians. That program launched in October 2021 and has helped just over 800 people coming to America through a network of 230 certified sponsor circles that included a total of about 5,000 people.Sasha Chanoff, founder and chief executive of Boston-based RefugePoint, which supports Afghan refugees, said Canada has long used a similar model to help resettle refugees. Chanoff said the sponsor circle program capitalizes on the huge amount of goodwill among Americans to sponsor refugees, something that crosses political divides.“This represents perhaps a unique opportunity in our history — certainly in our recent history — to really open up space for Americans to protect lives by sponsoring a family,” he said. “We’ve seen the incredible interest among the American public — Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, veterans, so many others across the political spectrum.”President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/04/executive-order-on-rebuilding-and-enhancing-programs-to-resettle-refugees-and-planning-for-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-migration/">pledged in a 2021 executive order</a>&nbsp;to restore the U.S. as the world’s haven and he called for private sponsorship of refugees. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. had largely rolled back the refugee program.But Thursday's announcement comes as the U.S. is woefully off track if it hopes to meet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-government-and-politics-b19f7754da4cc6d55dfb84b4da7152ea">Biden's goal of 125,000 refugees admitted</a>&nbsp;into the U.S. during the 2023 budget year.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/Refugee%20Arrivals%20by%20State%20and%20Nationality%20as%20of%2031%20Dec%202022.pdf">According to State Department data</a>, the U.S. has admitted just 6,750 refugees to the country through December — three months into the fiscal year.Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service commended the Biden administration’s “forward-thinking” program which has “potential to strengthen ties between refugees and the communities they will call home.” But Vignarajah also noted the low number of refugee admissions. The group is a national nonprofit that helps refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants.“The Biden administration must prioritize the streamlining of refugee admissions, which remain regrettably low this fiscal year. Without urgent action to increase efficiency, it risks letting the compassion of individual sponsors and the expertise of professional refugee resettlement organizations go to waste," Vignarajah said in a statement.Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Valles Noyes told reporters Thursday that the agency responsible for interviewing refugees overseas had conducted over 20,000 interviews during the first quarter of the year and that she was “confident” that the numbers of refugees arriving in the months ahead would increase.__

US citizens get chance to play role in resettling refugees

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska school district has reached a $675,000 settlement with the family of a 16-year-old who died after collapsing in the heat at a football practice in 2021.

The Omaha school board will consider approving the settlement with Drake Geiger's family at its next meeting on Monday.

Geiger died in August 2021 after collapsing during a practice with Omaha South High's football team. The temperature was 91 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees that day, and the National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory.

An autopsy confirmed that excessive heat was the main factor in Geiger's death although it also revealed that he had an enlarged heart that may have contributed to his death. The teen was 6-foot-3 and around 400 pounds when he died.

Geiger's dad, Scott Hoffman, told KETV that he believes the coaches were following the guidelines the Nebraska State Activities Association has issued for heat at the time of his son's death. Those guidelines say that water breaks should be taken about every 15 minutes in extreme heat and when the heat index is between 105 and 124 degrees, players shouldn't wear helmets or shoulder pads. When it is any hotter than that, practices should be cancelled.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674333744173.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska school district has reached a $675,000 settlement with the family of a 16-year-old who died after collapsing in the heat at a football practice in 2021.The Omaha school board will consider approving the settlement with Drake Geiger's family at its next meeting on Monday.Geiger died in August 2021 after collapsing during a practice with Omaha South High's football team. The temperature was 91 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees that day, and the National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory.An autopsy confirmed that excessive heat was the main factor in Geiger's death although it also revealed that he had an enlarged heart that may have contributed to his death. The teen was 6-foot-3 and around 400 pounds when he died.Geiger's dad, Scott Hoffman, told KETV that he believes the coaches were following the guidelines the Nebraska State Activities Association has issued for heat at the time of his son's death. Those guidelines say that water breaks should be taken about every 15 minutes in extreme heat and when the heat index is between 105 and 124 degrees, players shouldn't wear helmets or shoulder pads. When it is any hotter than that, practices should be cancelled.

Nebraska district settles with family of football player who died

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old Omaha man who was speeding and driving drunk when his truck slammed into another vehicle, killing two women and an unborn child, will serve at least 16 years in prison.

Zachary Paulison was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest in November to two counts of motor vehicle homicide as the result of driving under the influence and one count of motor vehicle homicide resulting in the death of an unborn child.

Prosecutors said Paulison's blood alcohol level was more than two times the legal limit and he was driving more than 100 mph on March 31, 2022, when his pickup slammed into a vehicle carrying 38-year-old Amanda Schook and 37-year-old Sara Zimmerman, who was eight months pregnant. The women from Gretna died at the scene.

Douglas County District Judge Duane Dougherty said Paulison will serve 16 years before he is eligible for parole. He must be released after serving 18½ years, followed by a lengthy revocation of his driver's license, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Paulison had faced up to 43 years in prison.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674333618854.png" alt="Paulison" />
 <figcaption>Paulison</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old Omaha man who was speeding and driving drunk when his truck slammed into another vehicle, killing two women and an unborn child, will serve at least 16 years in prison.Zachary Paulison was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest in November to two counts of motor vehicle homicide as the result of driving under the influence and one count of motor vehicle homicide resulting in the death of an unborn child.Prosecutors said Paulison's blood alcohol level was more than two times the legal limit and he was driving more than 100 mph on March 31, 2022, when his pickup slammed into a vehicle carrying 38-year-old Amanda Schook and 37-year-old Sara Zimmerman, who was eight months pregnant. The women from Gretna died at the scene.Douglas County District Judge Duane Dougherty said Paulison will serve 16 years before he is eligible for parole. He must be released after serving 18½ years, followed by a lengthy revocation of his driver's license, the Omaha World-Herald reported.Paulison had faced up to 43 years in prison.

Omaha man sentenced in crash that killed 2 women, unborn child

By GARY FIELDS and JOSH FUNK Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The case of a defeated New Mexico candidate arrested in a politically motivated shooting spree has turned a spotlight on an issue that has been evolving in the states: whether people with criminal convictions are eligible to run for public office.

Solomon Peña overwhelmingly lost a bid for the New Mexico statehouse as a Republican and is accused of paying four men to shoot at the homes of four Democratic officials. He had denied his loss and made baseless claims that the November election was "rigged" against him, even though he received just 26% of the vote against the longtime Democratic incumbent.

While the case raises alarms over politically motivated violence in the U.S., it also highlights differences across the country in whether people with past criminal convictions can run for office. Peña spent nine years behind bars after being convicted of being part of a retail theft ring.

The states have a range of laws for reinstating rights to felons. In most states, the ability to seek state or local office coincides with the restoration of voting rights.

But even in some states where the vote is restored automatically, felons still need to get a pardon or expungement to run for office, said Margaret Love, co-founder and director of the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, which keeps a 50-state database on restoration of rights.

Some states, including Louisiana and Nebraska, have additional time requirements on when someone's eligibility to run for office can be restored. States that require a pardon can vary on who has the pardoning authority.

Peña, 39, was arrested in April 2007, accused of stealing electronics and other goods from several retail stores as part of a burglary crew. He was released from prison in 2016, and had his voting rights restored after completing five years of probation in 2021, corrections officials said.

His opponent last year filed a lawsuit questioning Peña's eligibility to seek office, but New Mexico District Court Judge Joshua Allison said the state constitution only required that he be a qualified voter to be eligible for elected office. In a ruling that is being appealed, the judge said any attempt by the state legislature to impose additional requirements would be unconstitutional.

In New Mexico, voting rights are now automatically reinstated upon completion of a sentence, Lauren Rodriguez, communications director for the state attorney general's office, said in a written response to questions.

Some states don't allow those with felony convictions to run for office, while others impose various restrictions.

Earlier this month, on the two-year anniversary of his participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, former West Virginia state lawmaker Derrick Evans announced he would run for a U.S. House seat in 2024. That's despite pleading guilty to a felony civil disorder charge in 2022.

With his felony conviction and a sentence that includes three years of probation, state law would prohibit Evans from voting or seeking state or local office. Under that law, even when he finishes his sentence he would be unable to run again for the legislature or for magistrate, a limited judicial post that is open to non-lawyers.

There are no such limits to run for federal office.

University of Iowa law professor Derek Muller said the Constitution's 14th Amendment spells out who would be unable to run for federal office. The list includes those who took an oath to support the U.S. Constitution and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion, or those who gave aid or comfort to the country's enemies.

"That's the only thing that expressly disqualifies you under the Constitution," he said.

Donald Kersey III, deputy secretary and general counsel for the West Virginia secretary of state's office, said Evans was not convicted of insurrection or treason and therefore appears eligible to run for Congress.

In Georgia, a person convicted of a felony involving "moral turpitude" can hold office only if the state Board of Pardons and Paroles grants a pardon or a restoration of civil and political rights. Most violent crimes and most felonies involving stealing money are crimes of moral turpitude, but some, like felony DUI, are not.

A felony conviction in Illinois bars people from holding any municipal office — for instance, as a city mayor or village board trustee — unless they receive a pardon or the state's governor restores their rights. Illinois also bars people with a felony conviction from serving as a county sheriff, or taking on a political office overseeing a fire protection district, a public library board or a park district.

In Virginia, people convicted of felonies are automatically stripped of their civil rights. The state constitution gives the governor the sole discretion to restore them, apart from gun rights. With the restoration of voting rights comes the ability to seek public office.

Candidates with felony criminal records can hold office in New Hampshire once their sentences are finished, except for those convicted of bribery or corruption to get elected or obtain an appointment.

Louisianans approved a constitutional amendment in 1997 that barred convicted felons from seeking or holding public office for 15 years following the completion of their sentence. But a 2016 state Supreme Court ruling nullified it.

In 2018, state voters again overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment on the subject. This one prohibits convicted felons, unless pardoned, from seeking or holding public office until five years after completing their sentence.

In Nebraska, the law has several steps. First is a two-year wait after the completion of a sentence to have voting rights restored. That allows someone to seek office, but not hold it — which requires a pardon.

Sam Titus, 66, defeated the incumbent Democrat in his Burt County supervisor race in November. But to take office, he had to wait until his pardon was granted more than a month later by a panel that included the governor, secretary of state and attorney general.

Titus had two felony convictions from years ago, including for buying a stolen planter for his farm, which he described as a "poor decision." He served probation and thought the convictions had been expunged. He discovered the pardon requirement after winning a race in 2020 for the local airport authority board and learning he could not be sworn in.

Titus applied for a pardon in January 2021 but did not get a hearing until December 2022. He said he told voters about his criminal record as he campaigned and explained he would need a pardon to be seated.

Titus said his situation shows how difficult it can be to deal with the legal system, but also why states should provide a pathway for felons who have done their time to serve the public.

"Our lawmakers truly need to realize how important it is to help those that have changed their lives, understand their wrongs, are good people, want to move forward, want to do the right thing and want to give back to those people that they have hurt," he said.

Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, and AP statehouse reporters across the U.S. contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674333478054.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By GARY FIELDS and JOSH FUNK Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — The case of a defeated New Mexico candidate arrested in a politically motivated shooting spree has turned a spotlight on an issue that has been evolving in the states: whether people with criminal convictions are eligible to run for public office.Solomon Peña overwhelmingly lost a bid for the New Mexico statehouse as a Republican and is accused of paying four men to shoot at the homes of four Democratic officials. He had denied his loss and made baseless claims that the November election was "rigged" against him, even though he received just 26% of the vote against the longtime Democratic incumbent.While the case raises alarms over politically motivated violence in the U.S., it also highlights differences across the country in whether people with past criminal convictions can run for office. Peña spent nine years behind bars after being convicted of being part of a retail theft ring.The states have a range of laws for reinstating rights to felons. In most states, the ability to seek state or local office coincides with the restoration of voting rights.But even in some states where the vote is restored automatically, felons still need to get a pardon or expungement to run for office, said Margaret Love, co-founder and director of the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, which keeps a 50-state database on restoration of rights.Some states, including Louisiana and Nebraska, have additional time requirements on when someone's eligibility to run for office can be restored. States that require a pardon can vary on who has the pardoning authority.Peña, 39, was arrested in April 2007, accused of stealing electronics and other goods from several retail stores as part of a burglary crew. He was released from prison in 2016, and had his voting rights restored after completing five years of probation in 2021, corrections officials said.His opponent last year filed a lawsuit questioning Peña's eligibility to seek office, but New Mexico District Court Judge Joshua Allison said the state constitution only required that he be a qualified voter to be eligible for elected office. In a ruling that is being appealed, the judge said any attempt by the state legislature to impose additional requirements would be unconstitutional.In New Mexico, voting rights are now automatically reinstated upon completion of a sentence, Lauren Rodriguez, communications director for the state attorney general's office, said in a written response to questions.Some states don't allow those with felony convictions to run for office, while others impose various restrictions.Earlier this month, on the two-year anniversary of his participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, former West Virginia state lawmaker Derrick Evans announced he would run for a U.S. House seat in 2024. That's despite pleading guilty to a felony civil disorder charge in 2022.With his felony conviction and a sentence that includes three years of probation, state law would prohibit Evans from voting or seeking state or local office. Under that law, even when he finishes his sentence he would be unable to run again for the legislature or for magistrate, a limited judicial post that is open to non-lawyers.There are no such limits to run for federal office.University of Iowa law professor Derek Muller said the Constitution's 14th Amendment spells out who would be unable to run for federal office. The list includes those who took an oath to support the U.S. Constitution and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion, or those who gave aid or comfort to the country's enemies."That's the only thing that expressly disqualifies you under the Constitution," he said.Donald Kersey III, deputy secretary and general counsel for the West Virginia secretary of state's office, said Evans was not convicted of insurrection or treason and therefore appears eligible to run for Congress.In Georgia, a person convicted of a felony involving "moral turpitude" can hold office only if the state Board of Pardons and Paroles grants a pardon or a restoration of civil and political rights. Most violent crimes and most felonies involving stealing money are crimes of moral turpitude, but some, like felony DUI, are not.A felony conviction in Illinois bars people from holding any municipal office — for instance, as a city mayor or village board trustee — unless they receive a pardon or the state's governor restores their rights. Illinois also bars people with a felony conviction from serving as a county sheriff, or taking on a political office overseeing a fire protection district, a public library board or a park district.In Virginia, people convicted of felonies are automatically stripped of their civil rights. The state constitution gives the governor the sole discretion to restore them, apart from gun rights. With the restoration of voting rights comes the ability to seek public office.Candidates with felony criminal records can hold office in New Hampshire once their sentences are finished, except for those convicted of bribery or corruption to get elected or obtain an appointment.Louisianans approved a constitutional amendment in 1997 that barred convicted felons from seeking or holding public office for 15 years following the completion of their sentence. But a 2016 state Supreme Court ruling nullified it.In 2018, state voters again overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment on the subject. This one prohibits convicted felons, unless pardoned, from seeking or holding public office until five years after completing their sentence.In Nebraska, the law has several steps. First is a two-year wait after the completion of a sentence to have voting rights restored. That allows someone to seek office, but not hold it — which requires a pardon.Sam Titus, 66, defeated the incumbent Democrat in his Burt County supervisor race in November. But to take office, he had to wait until his pardon was granted more than a month later by a panel that included the governor, secretary of state and attorney general.Titus had two felony convictions from years ago, including for buying a stolen planter for his farm, which he described as a "poor decision." He served probation and thought the convictions had been expunged. He discovered the pardon requirement after winning a race in 2020 for the local airport authority board and learning he could not be sworn in.Titus applied for a pardon in January 2021 but did not get a hearing until December 2022. He said he told voters about his criminal record as he campaigned and explained he would need a pardon to be seated.Titus said his situation shows how difficult it can be to deal with the legal system, but also why states should provide a pathway for felons who have done their time to serve the public."Our lawmakers truly need to realize how important it is to help those that have changed their lives, understand their wrongs, are good people, want to move forward, want to do the right thing and want to give back to those people that they have hurt," he said.___Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, and AP statehouse reporters across the U.S. contributed to this report.

State laws vary widely on whether felons can run for office

WASHINGTON —A preliminary Federal Aviation Administration review of the recent outage of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system determined that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database, according to a statement from the agency.

The FAA has so far found no evidence of a cyber-attack or malicious intent. The FAA continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the outage.

The FAA made the necessary repairs to the system and has taken steps to make the NOTAM system more resilient. The agency is acting quickly to adopt any other lessons learned in our efforts to ensure the continuing robustness of the nation’s air traffic control system.

&nbsp;Until Jan. 11, 2023, few travelers had ever heard of a Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, nor did they know that the system used to generate those notices could cause widespread travel misery.

As they arrived at airports in the morning, they quickly found out.

The Federal Aviation Administration computer system that compiles and distributes essential safety information for pilots went kaput. That temporarily grounded all flights nationwide and touched off a cascading air traffic jam that will take at least a day to unclog. More than 1,300 flights were canceled and 9,000 delayed by early evening on the East Coast because of the outage, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

The system has been around for more than a half century and it has evolved from paper to computers. It's in the process of being updated.

They are compilations of essential preflight information for pilots, airline dispatchers and others that include details about things such as potential bad weather on the route, runway and taxiway changes at airports and closed airspace that must be avoided. The notices began in 1947 and were modeled after a system used to warn ship captains of hazards on the seas.

A pilot can't legally take off until he or she has reviewed the information. John Hansman, an aeronautics professor at MIT, said most airlines subscribe to services that gather NOTAM information from the FAA and package it for each flight. Airline dispatch centers relay it to pilots. In this case, the services couldn't get the information because the FAA system malfunctioned, he said.

The FAA said preliminary indications “traced the outage to a damaged database file.” The agency said it would take steps to avoid another similar disruption.

The system stopped working at 8:28 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, but because there weren't many departures at that hour, pilots were able to get the information verbally. At daybreak in the East, the system was still out, and there were too many flights leaving to brief pilots individually.

It's likely that the main system had a problem, and the backup didn't work correctly. The FAA rebooted the main system around 5 a.m., but it took a while to verify that all the information was validated and available, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. So the FAA ordered all flights grounded Wednesday morning and planes were stuck for hours "to make absolutely sure the messages were moving correctly and the information for safety purposes is working the way it should,” Buttigieg said.

Longtime aviation insiders could not recall a systemwide FAA outage of this magnitude caused by a technology breakdown.

Buttigieg said that the NOTAM system is constantly being updated, and a key question is whether it’s outdated.

“We will not allow anything to take place that is not safe,” Buttigieg told reporters. “This is precisely why our focus right now is on understanding, identifying and correcting anything related to the root cause of how this happened in the first place.”

Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., said the NOTAM malfunction is inexcusable, and a result of a Transportation Department and FAA “failure to properly maintain and operate the air traffic control system.”

Graves, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said the FAA has been without a permanent leader for nearly a year. He said he expects a full briefing on the outage.

HAS THERE BEEN A PROBLEM WITH THE SYSTEM BEFORE THIS?

Not of this magnitude. "Periodically there have been local issues here or there, but this is pretty significant historically,” said Tim Campbell, a former senior vice president of air operations at American Airlines and now a consultant in Minneapolis. While the cause of Tuesday’s breakdown was not immediately clear, Campbell said there was concern about FAA’s technology, and not just the NOTAM system.

Other FAA technology also is aging, Campbell said. “So much of their systems are old mainframe systems that are generally reliable but they are out of date,” he said.

The bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year allocated $25 billion to airports, with roughly $5 billion for air traffic control facilities. Congressional staffers said some of that money could be spent on equipment. But Buttigieg said any NOTAM upgrade may have to wait for a new FAA funding bill.

“I think this gives us a really important data point and a really important moment to understand what we're going to need moving forward,” he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board has criticized the way NOTAMs are presented after an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4145013152614c0289eadc849ebe5dd3">Air Canada jet nearly landed on four other planes</a>&nbsp;waiting to take off from San Francisco International Airport in 2017. Pilots had missed information about a closed runway that was buried among numerous notices.

WILL THE GOVERNMENT HAVE TO COMPENSATE PASSENGERS?

Airlines will be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/faa-outage-flights-grounded-advice-aa14bd3b0317ecce86f5fbfbe37c9f63?utm_source=apnews&amp;utm_medium=relatedcontentmodule">on the hook</a>&nbsp;for refunds and other compensation, even though the FAA was at fault for the outage. Kurt Ebenhoch, a consumer travel advocate and former airline executive, said passengers are entitled to a full refund if an airline cancels a flight for any reason.

Major airlines including Delta, American, Southwest and United were waiving change fees for Wednesday flights — and, in some cases, Thursday flights — to make it easier for passengers to change their travel plans.

The government has no legal obligation to reimburse travelers, which is maddening, said Brett Snyder, a travel agent and author of the “Cranky Flier” travel blog.

“Secretary Buttigieg should set the right example here and reimburse people directly from the government coffers,” he said.

Not clear. Congress already was going to look into aviation technology after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-plants-dallas-district-of-columbia-business-d2034f41df7a4f78de02db8aa4ba11df">Southwest Airlines' crew-scheduling system</a>&nbsp;went haywire during the holidays, leading to nearly 17,000 canceled flights in the last 10 days of December. Now the system that sends NOTAMs, and backup systems, will be part of the inquiry.

“We will be looking into what caused this outage and how redundancy plays a role in preventing future outages,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said in a statement. "The public needs a resilient air transportation system.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1601908757258.png" alt="The FAA has so far found no evidence of a cyber-attack or malicious intent." />
 <figcaption>The FAA has so far found no evidence of a cyber-attack or malicious intent.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —A preliminary Federal Aviation Administration review of the recent outage of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system determined that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database, according to a statement from the agency.The FAA has so far found no evidence of a cyber-attack or malicious intent. The FAA continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the outage.The FAA made the necessary repairs to the system and has taken steps to make the NOTAM system more resilient. The agency is acting quickly to adopt any other lessons learned in our efforts to ensure the continuing robustness of the nation’s air traffic control system.&nbsp;Until Jan. 11, 2023, few travelers had ever heard of a Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, nor did they know that the system used to generate those notices could cause widespread travel misery.As they arrived at airports in the morning, they quickly found out.The Federal Aviation Administration computer system that compiles and distributes essential safety information for pilots went kaput. That temporarily grounded all flights nationwide and touched off a cascading air traffic jam that will take at least a day to unclog. More than 1,300 flights were canceled and 9,000 delayed by early evening on the East Coast because of the outage, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.The system has been around for more than a half century and it has evolved from paper to computers. It's in the process of being updated.WHAT ARE NOTAMs?They are compilations of essential preflight information for pilots, airline dispatchers and others that include details about things such as potential bad weather on the route, runway and taxiway changes at airports and closed airspace that must be avoided. The notices began in 1947 and were modeled after a system used to warn ship captains of hazards on the seas.A pilot can't legally take off until he or she has reviewed the information. John Hansman, an aeronautics professor at MIT, said most airlines subscribe to services that gather NOTAM information from the FAA and package it for each flight. Airline dispatch centers relay it to pilots. In this case, the services couldn't get the information because the FAA system malfunctioned, he said.WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THE SYSTEM?The FAA said preliminary indications “traced the outage to a damaged database file.” The agency said it would take steps to avoid another similar disruption.The system stopped working at 8:28 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, but because there weren't many departures at that hour, pilots were able to get the information verbally. At daybreak in the East, the system was still out, and there were too many flights leaving to brief pilots individually.It's likely that the main system had a problem, and the backup didn't work correctly. The FAA rebooted the main system around 5 a.m., but it took a while to verify that all the information was validated and available, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. So the FAA ordered all flights grounded Wednesday morning and planes were stuck for hours "to make absolutely sure the messages were moving correctly and the information for safety purposes is working the way it should,” Buttigieg said.Longtime aviation insiders could not recall a systemwide FAA outage of this magnitude caused by a technology breakdown.HOW IS THE GOVERNMENT RESPONDING?Buttigieg said that the NOTAM system is constantly being updated, and a key question is whether it’s outdated.“We will not allow anything to take place that is not safe,” Buttigieg told reporters. “This is precisely why our focus right now is on understanding, identifying and correcting anything related to the root cause of how this happened in the first place.”Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., said the NOTAM malfunction is inexcusable, and a result of a Transportation Department and FAA “failure to properly maintain and operate the air traffic control system.”Graves, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said the FAA has been without a permanent leader for nearly a year. He said he expects a full briefing on the outage.HAS THERE BEEN A PROBLEM WITH THE SYSTEM BEFORE THIS?Not of this magnitude. "Periodically there have been local issues here or there, but this is pretty significant historically,” said Tim Campbell, a former senior vice president of air operations at American Airlines and now a consultant in Minneapolis. While the cause of Tuesday’s breakdown was not immediately clear, Campbell said there was concern about FAA’s technology, and not just the NOTAM system.Other FAA technology also is aging, Campbell said. “So much of their systems are old mainframe systems that are generally reliable but they are out of date,” he said.The bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year allocated $25 billion to airports, with roughly $5 billion for air traffic control facilities. Congressional staffers said some of that money could be spent on equipment. But Buttigieg said any NOTAM upgrade may have to wait for a new FAA funding bill.“I think this gives us a really important data point and a really important moment to understand what we're going to need moving forward,” he said.The National Transportation Safety Board has criticized the way NOTAMs are presented after an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4145013152614c0289eadc849ebe5dd3">Air Canada jet nearly landed on four other planes</a>&nbsp;waiting to take off from San Francisco International Airport in 2017. Pilots had missed information about a closed runway that was buried among numerous notices.WILL THE GOVERNMENT HAVE TO COMPENSATE PASSENGERS?Airlines will be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/faa-outage-flights-grounded-advice-aa14bd3b0317ecce86f5fbfbe37c9f63?utm_source=apnews&amp;utm_medium=relatedcontentmodule">on the hook</a>&nbsp;for refunds and other compensation, even though the FAA was at fault for the outage. Kurt Ebenhoch, a consumer travel advocate and former airline executive, said passengers are entitled to a full refund if an airline cancels a flight for any reason.Major airlines including Delta, American, Southwest and United were waiving change fees for Wednesday flights — and, in some cases, Thursday flights — to make it easier for passengers to change their travel plans.The government has no legal obligation to reimburse travelers, which is maddening, said Brett Snyder, a travel agent and author of the “Cranky Flier” travel blog.“Secretary Buttigieg should set the right example here and reimburse people directly from the government coffers,” he said.COULD THIS HAPPEN AGAIN?Not clear. Congress already was going to look into aviation technology after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-plants-dallas-district-of-columbia-business-d2034f41df7a4f78de02db8aa4ba11df">Southwest Airlines' crew-scheduling system</a>&nbsp;went haywire during the holidays, leading to nearly 17,000 canceled flights in the last 10 days of December. Now the system that sends NOTAMs, and backup systems, will be part of the inquiry.“We will be looking into what caused this outage and how redundancy plays a role in preventing future outages,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said in a statement. "The public needs a resilient air transportation system.”____

FAA continues to investigate what led to airline meltdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden notched two years in office on Friday. That represents 730 days since his inauguration — and a whole lot of other numbers as well.

The story of the first half of Biden's term, at least by the numbers, is a mixed bag. It includes a long-sought&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">$1 trillion bill to shore up the nation's bridges, roads and other infrastructure,</a>&nbsp;but also the unwelcome milestone of historic inflation. There's been a huge number of COVID-19 vaccinations, but nearly 680,000 people have died of the disease. Biden has visited three dozen states and spent all or part of nearly 200 days in his home state of Delaware.

A look at some revealing data points at the two-year mark for the 46th president:

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/december-2022-inflation-report-72bb938a443ab0500bd72d23f62214ad">6..5%:</a>&nbsp;Annual inflation remains stubbornly high, but is slowly falling after reaching a four-decade high of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">9.1% in June.</a>

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-jobs-and-careers-federal-reserve-system-005ac62672d87fb9f81bd9b97caecfc5">10.46 million:</a>&nbsp;The latest Labor Department figures show more than 10 million job vacancies in the U.S., nearly 1.8 jobs for every unemployed person.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-technology-business-ap-top-news-federal-reserve-system-37ba9ff6b36f73485b8c85e217e99d98">Jobless rate at 3.5%</a>, matching a 53-year low. Zero recessions — so far.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-us-department-of-the-treasury-united-states-government-janet-yellen-business-6fe9b54dcdfea58bead0f4c5f9f89a64">$31.38 trillion:</a>&nbsp;The federal debt stood at $27.6 trillion when Biden took office.

$24.2 billion:&nbsp;<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/06/2003141218/-1/-1/1/UKRAINE-FACT-SHEET-JAN-6.PDF">The amount of U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine</a>&nbsp;since the Russian invasion nearly 11 months ago.

<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/06/2003141218/-1/-1/1/UKRAINE-FACT-SHEET-JAN-6.PDF">38:</a>&nbsp;The number of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, committed to send to Ukraine. A gamechanger, allowing Ukrainian forces to fire at Russian targets from far away, then drive away before artillery can target them.

2.38 million: For the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2022, Customs and Border Protection reported stopping migrants at the U.S. border&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-mexico-us-customs-and-border-protection-cuba-immigration-8fbba5bde9afca3f404eaa96bcfd136a">nearly 2.4 million times, a</a>&nbsp;record surge driven by sharp increases in Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans. The previous high was 1.66 million in 2021.

97: Confirmation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-biden-politics-wisconsin-state-government-united-states-8e2e4f826096e431fcc7b1605426ec0a">Biden's picks to the federal bench,</a>&nbsp;including Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson, outpacing the president's two immediate predecessors.

89: The president has granted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-statistics">nine pardons and 80 commutations</a>, far more than any of his recent predecessors at this point. Donald Trump had granted 11 by this time, George W. Bush seven. Barack Obama didn't take any clemency action in his first two years.

$3.36:&nbsp;<a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">The average price per gallon</a>&nbsp;that American motorists are paying at the pump has fallen since peaking at $5.02 per gallon in June. Motorists were paying a $2.39 per gallon average the week Biden took office.

<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends">666 million:</a>&nbsp;The number of COVID-19 vaccines administered to Americans under Biden. T&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-coronavirus-vaccine-mexico-coronavirus-pandemic-united-nations-e1b5b520b4dd255dbc10807989a0f062">wenty million had received the jab</a>&nbsp;before Biden took office. The vaccine was not approved until late in Trump's presidency.

<a href="https://public4.pagefreezer.com/browse/CDC%20Covid%20Pages/18-01-2023T11:29/https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home">15.9%:</a>&nbsp;The percentage of Americans 5 and older who have gotten updated bivalent vaccine.

680,000: The recorded death toll from the coronavirus pandemic during Biden's term. The worst pandemic in more than a century had already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-public-health-tulsa-oklahoma-florida-56b56d4848bbe5b41060e7b3a5e459bb">taken more than 400,000 American lives</a>&nbsp;by Biden’s inauguration and has taken&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map">1.1 million</a>&nbsp;total since March 2020.

36: Biden has spread his travel across the country to promote his agenda, but still needs to cross off Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

197: There's no place like home. The president spent all or part of 197 days in his home state of Delaware, traveling most weekends to either his home near Wilmington or his vacation home at Rehoboth Beach, according to an AP tally. Beyond the weekend visits, he's also made quick trips for funerals, policy events and to cast his ballot in a Democratic primary.

6: Biden has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping a half-dozen times since the start of his term. All but one of those were phone or video calls.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-taiwan-indonesia-xi-jinping-government-and-politics-961bb4680962cc53b4375af3bcbc4927">They met in person on the sidelines of a summit in Indonesia in November.</a>

22: The minimum number of times that Biden has publicly lapsed into a nostalgic recollection of an intimate conversation he had with Xi during a visit to China when Biden was vice president. Biden said Xi asked him to define America and he responded with one word: Possibilities. Biden even managed to squeeze in the anecdote during a celebration this week for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

21: Biden held fewer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/presidential-news-conferences">solo or joint news conferences</a>&nbsp;than his three most recent predecessors at the same point in their presidencies.

$1 trillion: The amount allocated for roads, bridges, ports and more in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation</a>, arguably the most significant legislative achievement of his first two years in office.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/04/fact-sheet-president-biden-vice-president-harris-senior-administration-officials-kick-off-2023-implementing-bipartisan-infrastructure-law/#:~:text=The%20Bipartisan%20Infrastructure%20Law%20invests,Eisenhower%2Dera%20Interstate%20Highway%20System.">$40 billion:</a>&nbsp;The amount in the infrastructure bill dedicated to repair and rebuild the nation’s bridges, the single largest dedicated investment in bridges since the construction of the Eisenhower-era interstate highway system.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/01/04/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-on-rebuilding-our-infrastructure-and-creating-good-paying-jobs/">43,000:</a>&nbsp;The number of bridges in the U.S. rated as poor and needing repair, according to the White House.

1: The president's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-jill-united-states-macron-state-dinners-73f5a0d51b4058c7b96ec1e43c59a3e1">lone state dinner to date</a>&nbsp;honored French President Emmanuel Macron. Biden held back on some of the the traditional pomp — and partying — at the White House in the early going of his presidency because of COVID-19 concerns.

<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-biden-administration/">0:</a>&nbsp;Not one of Biden’s original Cabinet appointees has left the administration.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611173242938.png" alt="The story of the first half of Biden's term, at least by the numbers, is a mixed bag.-White House photo&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The story of the first half of Biden's term, at least by the numbers, is a mixed bag.-White House photo&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden notched two years in office on Friday. That represents 730 days since his inauguration — and a whole lot of other numbers as well.The story of the first half of Biden's term, at least by the numbers, is a mixed bag. It includes a long-sought&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">$1 trillion bill to shore up the nation's bridges, roads and other infrastructure,</a>&nbsp;but also the unwelcome milestone of historic inflation. There's been a huge number of COVID-19 vaccinations, but nearly 680,000 people have died of the disease. Biden has visited three dozen states and spent all or part of nearly 200 days in his home state of Delaware.A look at some revealing data points at the two-year mark for the 46th president:<a href="https://apnews.com/article/december-2022-inflation-report-72bb938a443ab0500bd72d23f62214ad">6..5%:</a>&nbsp;Annual inflation remains stubbornly high, but is slowly falling after reaching a four-decade high of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">9.1% in June.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-jobs-and-careers-federal-reserve-system-005ac62672d87fb9f81bd9b97caecfc5">10.46 million:</a>&nbsp;The latest Labor Department figures show more than 10 million job vacancies in the U.S., nearly 1.8 jobs for every unemployed person.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-technology-business-ap-top-news-federal-reserve-system-37ba9ff6b36f73485b8c85e217e99d98">Jobless rate at 3.5%</a>, matching a 53-year low. Zero recessions — so far.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-us-department-of-the-treasury-united-states-government-janet-yellen-business-6fe9b54dcdfea58bead0f4c5f9f89a64">$31.38 trillion:</a>&nbsp;The federal debt stood at $27.6 trillion when Biden took office.$24.2 billion:&nbsp;<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/06/2003141218/-1/-1/1/UKRAINE-FACT-SHEET-JAN-6.PDF">The amount of U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine</a>&nbsp;since the Russian invasion nearly 11 months ago.<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/06/2003141218/-1/-1/1/UKRAINE-FACT-SHEET-JAN-6.PDF">38:</a>&nbsp;The number of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, committed to send to Ukraine. A gamechanger, allowing Ukrainian forces to fire at Russian targets from far away, then drive away before artillery can target them.2.38 million: For the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2022, Customs and Border Protection reported stopping migrants at the U.S. border&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-mexico-us-customs-and-border-protection-cuba-immigration-8fbba5bde9afca3f404eaa96bcfd136a">nearly 2.4 million times, a</a>&nbsp;record surge driven by sharp increases in Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans. The previous high was 1.66 million in 2021.97: Confirmation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-biden-politics-wisconsin-state-government-united-states-8e2e4f826096e431fcc7b1605426ec0a">Biden's picks to the federal bench,</a>&nbsp;including Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson, outpacing the president's two immediate predecessors.89: The president has granted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-statistics">nine pardons and 80 commutations</a>, far more than any of his recent predecessors at this point. Donald Trump had granted 11 by this time, George W. Bush seven. Barack Obama didn't take any clemency action in his first two years.$3.36:&nbsp;<a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">The average price per gallon</a>&nbsp;that American motorists are paying at the pump has fallen since peaking at $5.02 per gallon in June. Motorists were paying a $2.39 per gallon average the week Biden took office.<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends">666 million:</a>&nbsp;The number of COVID-19 vaccines administered to Americans under Biden. T&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-coronavirus-vaccine-mexico-coronavirus-pandemic-united-nations-e1b5b520b4dd255dbc10807989a0f062">wenty million had received the jab</a>&nbsp;before Biden took office. The vaccine was not approved until late in Trump's presidency.<a href="https://public4.pagefreezer.com/browse/CDC%20Covid%20Pages/18-01-2023T11:29/https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home">15.9%:</a>&nbsp;The percentage of Americans 5 and older who have gotten updated bivalent vaccine.680,000: The recorded death toll from the coronavirus pandemic during Biden's term. The worst pandemic in more than a century had already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-public-health-tulsa-oklahoma-florida-56b56d4848bbe5b41060e7b3a5e459bb">taken more than 400,000 American lives</a>&nbsp;by Biden’s inauguration and has taken&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map">1.1 million</a>&nbsp;total since March 2020.36: Biden has spread his travel across the country to promote his agenda, but still needs to cross off Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.197: There's no place like home. The president spent all or part of 197 days in his home state of Delaware, traveling most weekends to either his home near Wilmington or his vacation home at Rehoboth Beach, according to an AP tally. Beyond the weekend visits, he's also made quick trips for funerals, policy events and to cast his ballot in a Democratic primary.6: Biden has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping a half-dozen times since the start of his term. All but one of those were phone or video calls.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-taiwan-indonesia-xi-jinping-government-and-politics-961bb4680962cc53b4375af3bcbc4927">They met in person on the sidelines of a summit in Indonesia in November.</a>22: The minimum number of times that Biden has publicly lapsed into a nostalgic recollection of an intimate conversation he had with Xi during a visit to China when Biden was vice president. Biden said Xi asked him to define America and he responded with one word: Possibilities. Biden even managed to squeeze in the anecdote during a celebration this week for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.21: Biden held fewer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/presidential-news-conferences">solo or joint news conferences</a>&nbsp;than his three most recent predecessors at the same point in their presidencies.$1 trillion: The amount allocated for roads, bridges, ports and more in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation</a>, arguably the most significant legislative achievement of his first two years in office.<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/04/fact-sheet-president-biden-vice-president-harris-senior-administration-officials-kick-off-2023-implementing-bipartisan-infrastructure-law/#:~:text=The%20Bipartisan%20Infrastructure%20Law%20invests,Eisenhower%2Dera%20Interstate%20Highway%20System.">$40 billion:</a>&nbsp;The amount in the infrastructure bill dedicated to repair and rebuild the nation’s bridges, the single largest dedicated investment in bridges since the construction of the Eisenhower-era interstate highway system.<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/01/04/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-on-rebuilding-our-infrastructure-and-creating-good-paying-jobs/">43,000:</a>&nbsp;The number of bridges in the U.S. rated as poor and needing repair, according to the White House.1: The president's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-jill-united-states-macron-state-dinners-73f5a0d51b4058c7b96ec1e43c59a3e1">lone state dinner to date</a>&nbsp;honored French President Emmanuel Macron. Biden held back on some of the the traditional pomp — and partying — at the White House in the early going of his presidency because of COVID-19 concerns.<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-biden-administration/">0:</a>&nbsp;Not one of Biden’s original Cabinet appointees has left the administration.

By the numbers: President Biden at the two-year mark

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld on Friday a lower court judge's ruling that sided with state employees who fought back against a government dress code banning blue jeans.

In late 2019, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services advised its employees of a new dress code barring employees from wearing blue jeans, T-shirts and other casual wear except on Fridays.

In turn, more than 200 union-covered employees filed a grievance saying the department violated the union contract by unilaterally deciding to change the dress code. At the time the department issued the new dress code, the employee contract language required the agency to negotiate with the union if it required a more stringent dress code and to offer a clothing stipend of up to $250, according to Nebraska Association of Public Employees Executive Director Justin Hubly.

The employees also said the new dress code was arbitrarily enforced, with some employees who performed the same work at the same location and on the same shift being allowed to wear jeans, while others were not.

Within weeks of the new dress code, employees won their grievance in binding arbitration, and the agency sued to try to overturn the arbitrator's decision. Lancaster County District Judge Robert Otte upheld the arbitration, saying that department can set a dress code but that it must be "implemented reasonably."

The Nebraska Supreme Court said in its opinion Friday that the arbitrator was "well within his powers" in finding that the agency had violated the labor contract with its dress code change.

Union President Melissa Haynes lauded the high court's ruling in a written statement, saying the case was about basic contract enforcement.

"We always want to work collaboratively with DHHS management to solve disputes, but we will never hesitate to defend our rights," Hynes said.

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 </figure>By MARGERY A. BECK Associated PressOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld on Friday a lower court judge's ruling that sided with state employees who fought back against a government dress code banning blue jeans.In late 2019, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services advised its employees of a new dress code barring employees from wearing blue jeans, T-shirts and other casual wear except on Fridays.In turn, more than 200 union-covered employees filed a grievance saying the department violated the union contract by unilaterally deciding to change the dress code. At the time the department issued the new dress code, the employee contract language required the agency to negotiate with the union if it required a more stringent dress code and to offer a clothing stipend of up to $250, according to Nebraska Association of Public Employees Executive Director Justin Hubly.The employees also said the new dress code was arbitrarily enforced, with some employees who performed the same work at the same location and on the same shift being allowed to wear jeans, while others were not.Within weeks of the new dress code, employees won their grievance in binding arbitration, and the agency sued to try to overturn the arbitrator's decision. Lancaster County District Judge Robert Otte upheld the arbitration, saying that department can set a dress code but that it must be "implemented reasonably."The Nebraska Supreme Court said in its opinion Friday that the arbitrator was "well within his powers" in finding that the agency had violated the labor contract with its dress code change.Union President Melissa Haynes lauded the high court's ruling in a written statement, saying the case was about basic contract enforcement."We always want to work collaboratively with DHHS management to solve disputes, but we will never hesitate to defend our rights," Hynes said.Nebraska Health and Human Services spokesperson Jeff Powell said the agency would not comment on the ruling or whether it would now seek to negotiate a new dress code with employees.