NEW MELLE, Mo. (AP) — An elderly Missouri couple died in a fire when a man refused to leave his wife as their home burned and the floor that was their escape route collapsed, fire officials said.

Kenneth and Phyllis Zerr, both 84, died in the fire Thursday at their home in New Melle, Missouri, about 37 miles west of St. Louis.

“It's a tragedy, kind of a tragic love story,” New Melle Fire Chief Dan Casey said. “He could have definitely gotten out. The family knows he could have gotten out, but he was going to stay with her.”

Kenneth Zerr called emergency dispatchers to report the fire, opened a door for firefighters to enter and then went back to his wife, who used a wheelchair and had fallen on the floor of the bathroom in their master bedroom. He stuffed towels under the door in a futile attempt to keep out the smoke, Casey said.

Kenneth Zerr was not able to get his wife up and eventually the bedroom floor collapsed, trapping them in the bathroom, Casey said.

Firefighters made it through thick smoke to the bedroom but had to retreat when the floor began collapsing as they searched for the couple, the chief said.

“The dispatch was on the phone with my father and my father was trying to help my mother out of the house and they got trapped,” their son, Andy Zerr, told KSDK-TV. “The dispatch told my father to come out of the house and my father said ‘I’m not leaving my wife,' and stayed with her until the end."

The couple celebrated 63 years of marriage in September. Firefighters said they died of smoke inhalation.

The cause of of the fire is under investigation but officials believe it was accidental and started near an appliance in the basement, Casey said.

Some firefighters suffered minor burns in the blaze.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668200349103.png" alt="Kenneth and Phyllis Zerr -photo courtesy KSDK" />
 <figcaption>Kenneth and Phyllis Zerr -photo courtesy KSDK</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW MELLE, Mo. (AP) — An elderly Missouri couple died in a fire when a man refused to leave his wife as their home burned and the floor that was their escape route collapsed, fire officials said.Kenneth and Phyllis Zerr, both 84, died in the fire Thursday at their home in New Melle, Missouri, about 37 miles west of St. Louis.“It's a tragedy, kind of a tragic love story,” New Melle Fire Chief Dan Casey said. “He could have definitely gotten out. The family knows he could have gotten out, but he was going to stay with her.”Kenneth Zerr called emergency dispatchers to report the fire, opened a door for firefighters to enter and then went back to his wife, who used a wheelchair and had fallen on the floor of the bathroom in their master bedroom. He stuffed towels under the door in a futile attempt to keep out the smoke, Casey said.Kenneth Zerr was not able to get his wife up and eventually the bedroom floor collapsed, trapping them in the bathroom, Casey said.Firefighters made it through thick smoke to the bedroom but had to retreat when the floor began collapsing as they searched for the couple, the chief said.“The dispatch was on the phone with my father and my father was trying to help my mother out of the house and they got trapped,” their son, Andy Zerr, told KSDK-TV. “The dispatch told my father to come out of the house and my father said ‘I’m not leaving my wife,' and stayed with her until the end."The couple celebrated 63 years of marriage in September. Firefighters said they died of smoke inhalation.The cause of of the fire is under investigation but officials believe it was accidental and started near an appliance in the basement, Casey said.Some firefighters suffered minor burns in the blaze.

Man stayed by wife's side in house fire; both died

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday ramped up efforts to reduce methane emissions, targeting the oil and gas industry for its role in global warming even as President Joe Biden has pressed energy producers for more oil drilling to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-5f010ed0b66fb71e8d46040419a70203">lower prices at the gasoline pump</a>.

Biden announced a supplemental rule cracking down on emissions of methane —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-texas-trending-news-climate-and-environment-0eb6880f7c4532a845155a3bd44c2e4b">a potent greenhouse gas</a>&nbsp;that contributes significantly to global warming and packs a stronger short-term punch than even carbon dioxide — as he attended&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment">a global climate conference in Egypt</a>.

“We’re racing forward to do our part to avert the ‘climate hell’ the U.N. secretary general so passionately warned about,'' Biden said, referring to comments this week by United Nations leader António Guterres.

The new methane rule will help ensure that the United States meets a goal set by more than 100 nations to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, Biden said.

“I can stand here as president ... say with confidence, the United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030,'' he said.

The Environmental Protection Agency rule follows up on a proposal Biden announced last year at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-glasgow-joe-manchin-5dba1ef8a73af9ec8705316c470e7488">a United Nations climate summit in Scotland</a>. The 2021 rule targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells as previous EPA regulations have done.

The new rule goes a step further and takes aim at all drilling sites, including smaller wells that now will be required to find and plug methane leaks. Small wells currently are subject to an initial inspection but are rarely checked again for leaks.

The proposal also requires operators to respond to credible third-party reports of high-volume methane leaks.

The Biden administration will embark on “a relentless focus to root out emissions wherever we can find them,” White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi said Friday.

Oil and gas production is the nation’s largest industrial source of methane, the primary component of natural gas, and is a key target for the Biden administration as it seeks to combat climate change.

“We must lead by example when it comes to tackling methane pollution — one of the biggest drivers of climate change,'' said EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who also is in Egypt for the climate talks. The new, stronger standards “will enable innovative new technology to flourish while protecting people and the planet,” he said.

“Our regulatory approach is very aggressive from a timing standpoint and a stringency standpoint," Regan said at a briefing in Egypt. The old and new rules should be able to prevent more than 80% of the energy waste, about 36 million tons (32.6 million metric tonnes) of carbon emissions, he said.

Leakage from wells and pipelines is why former Vice President Al Gore and others call natural gas “a bridge to nowhere.” In an interview with The Associated Press, Gore said: “When you work the math, a leakage of 2 to 3% of the methane completely negates the climate advantage of methane gas. And, tragically, the wildcatters that do most of the hydrological fracturing do not pay attention to the methane leakage. You have leakage in the LNG (liquefied natural gas) process, you have leakage in pipelines, you have leakage in the use.”

The supplemental rule comes as Biden has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-prices-government-and-politics-ba71f46a47c2be5a2ffd58a258796260">accused oil companies of “war profiteering”</a>&nbsp;and raised the possibility of imposing a windfall tax on energy companies if they don’t boost domestic production.

Biden has repeatedly criticized major oil companies for making record-setting profits in the wake of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Russia's war in Ukraine</a>&nbsp;while refusing to help lower prices at the pump for the American people. The Democratic president suggested last week that he will look to Congress to impose tax penalties on oil companies if they don’t invest some of their record-breaking profits to lower costs for American consumers.

Besides the EPA rule, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-congress-climate-and-environment-f084d23d61ebb068068d4aa92c82fdbb">climate and health law approved by Congress in August</a>&nbsp;includes a methane emissions reduction program that would impose a fee on energy producers that exceed a certain level of methane emissions. The fee, set to rise to $1,500 per metric ton of methane, marks the first time the federal government has directly imposed a fee, or tax, on greenhouse gas emissions.

The law allows exemptions for companies that comply with the EPA’s standards or fall below a certain emissions threshold. It also includes $1.5 billon in grants and other spending to help operators and local communities improve monitoring and data collection for methane emissions, with the goal of finding and repairing natural gas leaks.

Multiple studies have found that smaller wells produce just 6% of the nation’s oil and gas but account for up to half the methane emissions from well sites.

“We can’t leave half of the problem on the table and expect to get the reductions that we need to get and protect local communities from pollution,” said Jon Goldstein, senior director of regulatory affairs for oil and gas at the Environmental Defense Fund.

The draft rule is "a welcome sign that reducing methane emissions is a top priority for EPA,'' said Darin Schroeder, an associate attorney at Clean Air Task Force.

The oil industry has generally welcomed direct federal regulation of methane emissions, preferring a single national standard to a hodgepodge of state rules.

Even so, oil and gas companies have asked the EPA to exempt hundreds of thousands of the nation’s smallest wells from the upcoming methane rules.

The American Exploration and Production Council, which represents the largest independent oil and gas companies in the U.S., said it appreciates changes made by the EPA as the rule was developed but still has concerns to make it truly workable. "We will continue to work with EPA on meaningful solutions,'' said Anne Bradbury, the group's CEO.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668196040542.png" alt="Biden announced a supplemental rule cracking down on emissions of methane —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-texas-trending-news-climate-and-environment-0eb6880f7c4532a845155a3bd44c2e4b">a potent greenhouse gas</a>&nbsp;that contributes significantly to global warming-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Biden announced a supplemental rule cracking down on emissions of methane —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-texas-trending-news-climate-and-environment-0eb6880f7c4532a845155a3bd44c2e4b">a potent greenhouse gas</a>&nbsp;that contributes significantly to global warming-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday ramped up efforts to reduce methane emissions, targeting the oil and gas industry for its role in global warming even as President Joe Biden has pressed energy producers for more oil drilling to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-5f010ed0b66fb71e8d46040419a70203">lower prices at the gasoline pump</a>.Biden announced a supplemental rule cracking down on emissions of methane —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-texas-trending-news-climate-and-environment-0eb6880f7c4532a845155a3bd44c2e4b">a potent greenhouse gas</a>&nbsp;that contributes significantly to global warming and packs a stronger short-term punch than even carbon dioxide — as he attended&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment">a global climate conference in Egypt</a>.“We’re racing forward to do our part to avert the ‘climate hell’ the U.N. secretary general so passionately warned about,'' Biden said, referring to comments this week by United Nations leader António Guterres.The new methane rule will help ensure that the United States meets a goal set by more than 100 nations to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, Biden said.“I can stand here as president ... say with confidence, the United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030,'' he said.The Environmental Protection Agency rule follows up on a proposal Biden announced last year at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-glasgow-joe-manchin-5dba1ef8a73af9ec8705316c470e7488">a United Nations climate summit in Scotland</a>. The 2021 rule targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells as previous EPA regulations have done.The new rule goes a step further and takes aim at all drilling sites, including smaller wells that now will be required to find and plug methane leaks. Small wells currently are subject to an initial inspection but are rarely checked again for leaks.The proposal also requires operators to respond to credible third-party reports of high-volume methane leaks.The Biden administration will embark on “a relentless focus to root out emissions wherever we can find them,” White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi said Friday.Oil and gas production is the nation’s largest industrial source of methane, the primary component of natural gas, and is a key target for the Biden administration as it seeks to combat climate change.“We must lead by example when it comes to tackling methane pollution — one of the biggest drivers of climate change,'' said EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who also is in Egypt for the climate talks. The new, stronger standards “will enable innovative new technology to flourish while protecting people and the planet,” he said.“Our regulatory approach is very aggressive from a timing standpoint and a stringency standpoint," Regan said at a briefing in Egypt. The old and new rules should be able to prevent more than 80% of the energy waste, about 36 million tons (32.6 million metric tonnes) of carbon emissions, he said.Leakage from wells and pipelines is why former Vice President Al Gore and others call natural gas “a bridge to nowhere.” In an interview with The Associated Press, Gore said: “When you work the math, a leakage of 2 to 3% of the methane completely negates the climate advantage of methane gas. And, tragically, the wildcatters that do most of the hydrological fracturing do not pay attention to the methane leakage. You have leakage in the LNG (liquefied natural gas) process, you have leakage in pipelines, you have leakage in the use.”The supplemental rule comes as Biden has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-prices-government-and-politics-ba71f46a47c2be5a2ffd58a258796260">accused oil companies of “war profiteering”</a>&nbsp;and raised the possibility of imposing a windfall tax on energy companies if they don’t boost domestic production.Biden has repeatedly criticized major oil companies for making record-setting profits in the wake of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Russia's war in Ukraine</a>&nbsp;while refusing to help lower prices at the pump for the American people. The Democratic president suggested last week that he will look to Congress to impose tax penalties on oil companies if they don’t invest some of their record-breaking profits to lower costs for American consumers.Besides the EPA rule, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-congress-climate-and-environment-f084d23d61ebb068068d4aa92c82fdbb">climate and health law approved by Congress in August</a>&nbsp;includes a methane emissions reduction program that would impose a fee on energy producers that exceed a certain level of methane emissions. The fee, set to rise to $1,500 per metric ton of methane, marks the first time the federal government has directly imposed a fee, or tax, on greenhouse gas emissions.The law allows exemptions for companies that comply with the EPA’s standards or fall below a certain emissions threshold. It also includes $1.5 billon in grants and other spending to help operators and local communities improve monitoring and data collection for methane emissions, with the goal of finding and repairing natural gas leaks.Multiple studies have found that smaller wells produce just 6% of the nation’s oil and gas but account for up to half the methane emissions from well sites.“We can’t leave half of the problem on the table and expect to get the reductions that we need to get and protect local communities from pollution,” said Jon Goldstein, senior director of regulatory affairs for oil and gas at the Environmental Defense Fund.The draft rule is "a welcome sign that reducing methane emissions is a top priority for EPA,'' said Darin Schroeder, an associate attorney at Clean Air Task Force.The oil industry has generally welcomed direct federal regulation of methane emissions, preferring a single national standard to a hodgepodge of state rules.Even so, oil and gas companies have asked the EPA to exempt hundreds of thousands of the nation’s smallest wells from the upcoming methane rules.The American Exploration and Production Council, which represents the largest independent oil and gas companies in the U.S., said it appreciates changes made by the EPA as the rule was developed but still has concerns to make it truly workable. "We will continue to work with EPA on meaningful solutions,'' said Anne Bradbury, the group's CEO.___

Biden tightens methane emissions rule amid push for more oil

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/11/kansas-national-guard-veteran-values-service-in-country-that-welcomed-him-as-refugee/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Gleb Gluhovsky enlisted 
for military service as a way of repaying the country that saved his 
life as a teenage refugee from war-torn Eastern Europe.

Gluhovsky,&nbsp;a physician assistant and colonel in the Kansas Army 
National Guard, has been deployed to Kosovo, Egypt, Kuwait and Liberal, 
Kansas, where he helped keep meatpacking plants open at the start of the
 COVID-19 pandemic by testing workers.

Now, having recently returned from his latest deployment to the 
Middle East, Gluhovsky is helping refugees from Ukraine settle in the 
Kansas City area. His wife is from Crimea, an area of Ukraine that was 
annexed by Russia in 2014.

He works for Envision Healthcare, where he curates nurse 
practitioners and other physician assistants for seven Kansas City-area 
hospitals. He said his service in the National Guard is made possible 
because Envision always “had my back” while he was deployed.

For Gluhovsky, military service is “a really good way to make sure 
that you’re not living just for yourself but also giving back to 
others.”

“Should you serve, you will gain a new family that will care for you 
and help you throughout the career,” Gluhovsky said. “It doesn’t come 
without sacrifices, and strong family and strong home support is 
definitely a must. But at the same time, it’s extremely rewarding.”

Gluhovsky’s family lived in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, when the former Soviet Union began to fall apart.

The family wasn’t Moldovan or Russian, he said, but spoke Russian.

“We kind of got caught in between the wave of Moldova nationalism and
 Russian anti-Semitism,” Gluhovsky said. “So it was really good of the 
United States to take us in at the time.”

Gluhovsky was 17 in 1991 when the family arrived in Kansas City as 
refugees. He found a couple of jobs to help support the family and began
 learning to speak English.

His interest in health care was inspired by the death of his 
grandfather, who suffered a heart attack when Gluhovsky was 6 years old.
 The ambulance service declined to send emergency medical workers 
because they didn’t want the death statistic on their record.

The “callous response” was shocking to Gluhovsky, who said the situation “beget the dream” of becoming an emergency physician.

In Kansas, he became a paramedic before signing up for military 
service in 1999. He then became a physician assistant, and commissioned 
officer, in 2002.

“Joining the military was just one of the ways that I could give back
 to the community and thank the United States for essentially saving my 
life and that of my family,” Gluhovsky said.

Gluhovsky returned to Eastern Europe in 2007 for the first of his five deployments with the National Guard.

He provided border security for 13 months in Kosovo, where his 
language skills were needed. Later deployments took him to Sinai, Egypt,
 and to Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan.

Gluhovsky volunteered for National Guard mission to western Kansas 
“during the dark times of COVID,” when meatpacking plants teetered on 
the brink of closure because of mass infections. He worked on a 
community testing team for almost a year, screening employees so they 
could return to work if they weren’t sick.

Lee Norman, a retired colonel in the National Guard and former health
 secretary who managed the state’s COVID-19 response, said Gluhovsky’s 
leadership was “integral in protecting workers’ health and in keeping 
the plants functioning.”

“If the plants were not able to process 
livestock due to too few workers,” Norman said, “there would have been 
huge problems on our hands — both economic harm and the logistical 
issue: What do you do with livestock that back up with the ranchers and 
producers and cannot be processed?”

When vaccines became available, Gluhovsky helped with a mobile unit that immunized thousands of plant workers.

Now that he has returned from his latest deployment — this time to 
Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar — Gluhovsky has joined his wife 
in helping refugees who fled war in Ukraine and settled in Kansas City. 
He said his church has devoted resources to help five families with 
apartments, health care, driving lessons and anything else they need.

He said his wife’s relatives have all emigrated from Ukraine.

“It is heart-wrenching to see what’s going on, and we pray daily for 
the war to cease so that people can come back to their homes and 
rebuild,” Gluhovsky said. “In the meantime, we do what we can to provide
 support.”

Gluhovsky decided to stay in the state that provided him so many opportunities.

“Absolutely love Kansas,” Gluhovsky said. “Best place to raise 
children, if you ask me. Down to earth people. Strong family values. And
 just have been really blessed with good friends, good employers. And I 
wouldn’t trade Kansas Army National Guard for any other state guard.”

During his deployments, Gluhovsky relied on support from his wife, coworkers, friends and church to attend “the home front.”

He has worked at Envision for about 10 years and serves as a regional
 director of advanced practice providers for the company. Envision is 
one of the largest physician and medical providers in the United States.

Robert Page III, president of the Alliance American Group at Envision
 Healthcare, said the company is “so incredibly proud of our clinicians 
and clinical support teammates who dedicate their lives to helping those
 in need — through serving our country and our patients.”

“They make many sacrifices for the greater good, and we thank them 
and their families for all that they do,” Page said. “In turn, our 
national medical group is committed to supporting service members like 
Gleb as they work to help communities at home and abroad.”

Gluhovsky said health care work has become increasingly stressful 
since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. His advice to others in the 
profession: “Take it one step at a time.”

“People will need health care going forward. They always do,” 
Gluhovsky said. “And those of us that have gotten into medical 
profession did so not as a money-making business, but rather as 
providing help to those who need it most.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668187525843.png" alt="Gleb Gluhovsky, a colonel in the Kansas Army National Guard, arrived in 1991 in Kansas City as a teenage refugee from the Soviet Union. He has been deployed five times since 2007, including a mission in western Kansas to keep meatpacking plants open during the pandemic. (Submitted)" />
 <figcaption>Gleb Gluhovsky, a colonel in the Kansas Army National Guard, arrived in 1991 in Kansas City as a teenage refugee from the Soviet Union. He has been deployed five times since 2007, including a mission in western Kansas to keep meatpacking plants open during the pandemic. (Submitted)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/11/kansas-national-guard-veteran-values-service-in-country-that-welcomed-him-as-refugee/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Gleb Gluhovsky enlisted 
for military service as a way of repaying the country that saved his 
life as a teenage refugee from war-torn Eastern Europe.Gluhovsky,&nbsp;a physician assistant and colonel in the Kansas Army 
National Guard, has been deployed to Kosovo, Egypt, Kuwait and Liberal, 
Kansas, where he helped keep meatpacking plants open at the start of the
 COVID-19 pandemic by testing workers.Now, having recently returned from his latest deployment to the 
Middle East, Gluhovsky is helping refugees from Ukraine settle in the 
Kansas City area. His wife is from Crimea, an area of Ukraine that was 
annexed by Russia in 2014.He works for Envision Healthcare, where he curates nurse 
practitioners and other physician assistants for seven Kansas City-area 
hospitals. He said his service in the National Guard is made possible 
because Envision always “had my back” while he was deployed.For Gluhovsky, military service is “a really good way to make sure 
that you’re not living just for yourself but also giving back to 
others.”“Should you serve, you will gain a new family that will care for you 
and help you throughout the career,” Gluhovsky said. “It doesn’t come 
without sacrifices, and strong family and strong home support is 
definitely a must. But at the same time, it’s extremely rewarding.”<h2>From Chișinău to KC</h2>Gluhovsky’s family lived in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, when the former Soviet Union began to fall apart.The family wasn’t Moldovan or Russian, he said, but spoke Russian.“We kind of got caught in between the wave of Moldova nationalism and
 Russian anti-Semitism,” Gluhovsky said. “So it was really good of the 
United States to take us in at the time.”Gluhovsky was 17 in 1991 when the family arrived in Kansas City as 
refugees. He found a couple of jobs to help support the family and began
 learning to speak English.His interest in health care was inspired by the death of his 
grandfather, who suffered a heart attack when Gluhovsky was 6 years old.
 The ambulance service declined to send emergency medical workers 
because they didn’t want the death statistic on their record.The “callous response” was shocking to Gluhovsky, who said the situation “beget the dream” of becoming an emergency physician.In Kansas, he became a paramedic before signing up for military 
service in 1999. He then became a physician assistant, and commissioned 
officer, in 2002.“Joining the military was just one of the ways that I could give back
 to the community and thank the United States for essentially saving my 
life and that of my family,” Gluhovsky said.<h2>Dark times</h2>Gluhovsky returned to Eastern Europe in 2007 for the first of his five deployments with the National Guard.He provided border security for 13 months in Kosovo, where his 
language skills were needed. Later deployments took him to Sinai, Egypt,
 and to Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan.Gluhovsky volunteered for National Guard mission to western Kansas 
“during the dark times of COVID,” when meatpacking plants teetered on 
the brink of closure because of mass infections. He worked on a 
community testing team for almost a year, screening employees so they 
could return to work if they weren’t sick.Lee Norman, a retired colonel in the National Guard and former health
 secretary who managed the state’s COVID-19 response, said Gluhovsky’s 
leadership was “integral in protecting workers’ health and in keeping 
the plants functioning.”“If the plants were not able to process 
livestock due to too few workers,” Norman said, “there would have been 
huge problems on our hands — both economic harm and the logistical 
issue: What do you do with livestock that back up with the ranchers and 
producers and cannot be processed?”When vaccines became available, Gluhovsky helped with a mobile unit that immunized thousands of plant workers.Now that he has returned from his latest deployment — this time to 
Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar — Gluhovsky has joined his wife 
in helping refugees who fled war in Ukraine and settled in Kansas City. 
He said his church has devoted resources to help five families with 
apartments, health care, driving lessons and anything else they need.He said his wife’s relatives have all emigrated from Ukraine.“It is heart-wrenching to see what’s going on, and we pray daily for 
the war to cease so that people can come back to their homes and 
rebuild,” Gluhovsky said. “In the meantime, we do what we can to provide
 support.”<h2>Love for Kansas</h2>Gluhovsky decided to stay in the state that provided him so many opportunities.“Absolutely love Kansas,” Gluhovsky said. “Best place to raise 
children, if you ask me. Down to earth people. Strong family values. And
 just have been really blessed with good friends, good employers. And I 
wouldn’t trade Kansas Army National Guard for any other state guard.”During his deployments, Gluhovsky relied on support from his wife, coworkers, friends and church to attend “the home front.”He has worked at Envision for about 10 years and serves as a regional
 director of advanced practice providers for the company. Envision is 
one of the largest physician and medical providers in the United States.Robert Page III, president of the Alliance American Group at Envision
 Healthcare, said the company is “so incredibly proud of our clinicians 
and clinical support teammates who dedicate their lives to helping those
 in need — through serving our country and our patients.”“They make many sacrifices for the greater good, and we thank them 
and their families for all that they do,” Page said. “In turn, our 
national medical group is committed to supporting service members like 
Gleb as they work to help communities at home and abroad.”Gluhovsky said health care work has become increasingly stressful 
since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. His advice to others in the 
profession: “Take it one step at a time.”“People will need health care going forward. They always do,” 
Gluhovsky said. “And those of us that have gotten into medical 
profession did so not as a money-making business, but rather as 
providing help to those who need it most.”

Kansas veteran values service in country that welcomed him as refugee

Employers reveal growing comfort with work-at-home, hybrid schedules

By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/11/business-survey-remote-working-in-nebraska-may-be-leveling-off/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — While remote workers have 
multiplied since the pandemic hit, a new survey of Nebraska businesses 
signals that the trend locally might have leveled off.

“Remote working has grown, but 
managers don’t expect it will grow further in the next year,” said 
economist Eric Thompson, who led the study. “The flip side is they don’t
 think it’s a temporary thing. They’re expecting this increase to hold.”

Another interesting twist: Half
 of the businesses surveyed want to maintain office space not only for 
in-house workers but for remote workers on the occasion they report to 
the office.

For the most part, the respondents had not shrunk their physical digs
 in the wake of COVID-19. Rather, nearly 90% said they hadn’t changed 
the square footage since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Just over 7% 
said they increased it, and 3.7% reduced their physical quarters.

When asked about the coming year, 
nearly 11% anticipated their office space growing compared to only 3% 
that said they’d likely go smaller.

Newly released, <a target="_blank" href="https://business.unl.edu/research/bureau-of-business-research/bureau-reports/documents/FinalReportNebraskaSpaceUseandCOVID-19.pdf">the report</a>
 — titled “Nebraska Space Use Survey: The Influence of the COVID-19 
Pandemic” — was prepared by Thompson and Mitch Herian, both of the 
Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

It was done on behalf of the Nebraska
 Business Development Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration 
to explore attitudes toward remote work and changing space needs of 
service businesses.

Types of businesses involved in the 
survey included finance, information, professional, educational support 
and technical services.

Not covered by the survey were goods-producing businesses, retailers, transportation or health care businesses.

About 300 questionnaires were 
answered, for a response rate of nearly 19%. The sampling represented 
various sizes and locations. About 58% of respondents said they owned 
the property in which their business operated.

Catherine Lang, NBDC executive 
director, said the data collected provides a way to benchmark attitudes 
about remote work moving forward.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way Nebraskans work forever,” she said.

According to the survey, a vast 
majority of employees, more than 80%, still worked full time in the 
office, but a marked increase worked remotely.

The share of those working at home at
 least part of the time jumped from nearly 11% pre-COVID to, at the 
close of the survey a few weeks ago, about 17%.

Looking ahead a year, though, 
respondents anticipated no real change in the percentage of remote 
workers, showing at least a short-term leveling off of the phenomenon.&nbsp;

“Elon Musk aside,” quipped Thompson, “it’s interesting that the growth in remote work seems like it can be maintained.”&nbsp;

The quip referred to Musk’s order 
this week to the staff of his recently purchased Twitter social network.
 The billionaire said he was ending the work-from-anywhere arrangement 
in place when he took over, and would grant exceptions case-by-case.

Thompson, director of the Bureau of 
Business Research, said that among the survey’s bigger take-aways was 
that many businesses leaders wanted to maintain physical space for their
 workers on the occasion they showed up in person. And, he said, it was 
notable that the increase in remote working and manager comfort level 
“hasn’t actually translated into a widespread reduction in the use of 
office space.”&nbsp;

One potential reason that businesses are not planning change may be 
logistical, the study leaders said. Among the 58% of respondents who own
 their work site, 67% do not lease to other tenants, raising the 
possibility that they could have difficulty altering the amount of 
space, especially since the pandemic.

Thompson said the increased comfort 
level with remote working might be driven in part by the labor shortage,
 and by employers wanting to be sensitive and responsive to employee 
wishes.

“Certainly with the challenges in hiring recently,” Thompson said, “they have extra incentive to be open-minded.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668191660377.png" alt="Business office park in west Omaha. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Business office park in west Omaha. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Employers reveal growing comfort with work-at-home, hybrid schedules</h2>By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/11/business-survey-remote-working-in-nebraska-may-be-leveling-off/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — While remote workers have 
multiplied since the pandemic hit, a new survey of Nebraska businesses 
signals that the trend locally might have leveled off.“Remote working has grown, but 
managers don’t expect it will grow further in the next year,” said 
economist Eric Thompson, who led the study. “The flip side is they don’t
 think it’s a temporary thing. They’re expecting this increase to hold.”<h2>More growth than shrinkage planned</h2>Another interesting twist: Half
 of the businesses surveyed want to maintain office space not only for 
in-house workers but for remote workers on the occasion they report to 
the office.For the most part, the respondents had not shrunk their physical digs
 in the wake of COVID-19. Rather, nearly 90% said they hadn’t changed 
the square footage since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Just over 7% 
said they increased it, and 3.7% reduced their physical quarters.When asked about the coming year, 
nearly 11% anticipated their office space growing compared to only 3% 
that said they’d likely go smaller.Newly released, <a target="_blank" href="https://business.unl.edu/research/bureau-of-business-research/bureau-reports/documents/FinalReportNebraskaSpaceUseandCOVID-19.pdf">the report</a>
 — titled “Nebraska Space Use Survey: The Influence of the COVID-19 
Pandemic” — was prepared by Thompson and Mitch Herian, both of the 
Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.<h2>Exploring attitudes, trends</h2>It was done on behalf of the Nebraska
 Business Development Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration 
to explore attitudes toward remote work and changing space needs of 
service businesses.Types of businesses involved in the 
survey included finance, information, professional, educational support 
and technical services.Not covered by the survey were goods-producing businesses, retailers, transportation or health care businesses.About 300 questionnaires were 
answered, for a response rate of nearly 19%. The sampling represented 
various sizes and locations. About 58% of respondents said they owned 
the property in which their business operated.<h2>In-person work still highly valued</h2>Among notable findings:<ul>
 <li>Of
 businesses surveyed, nearly 28% have become more comfortable allowing 
remote work since the onset of the pandemic, and about 13% were less so.
 The remaining 59% said their feelings hadn’t changed.</li><li>The
 comfort level was greater in urban areas. About 35% of the respondents 
in Omaha or Lincoln have become more at ease with remote work, compared 
to 19% from smaller areas.</li><li>Even
 as comfort grew, a clear majority of nearly 79% of respondents agreed 
or strongly agreed that in-person work is vital to the company’s 
operations.</li>
 </ul>Catherine Lang, NBDC executive 
director, said the data collected provides a way to benchmark attitudes 
about remote work moving forward.“The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way Nebraskans work forever,” she said.<h2>A leveling off</h2>According to the survey, a vast 
majority of employees, more than 80%, still worked full time in the 
office, but a marked increase worked remotely.The share of those working at home at
 least part of the time jumped from nearly 11% pre-COVID to, at the 
close of the survey a few weeks ago, about 17%.Looking ahead a year, though, 
respondents anticipated no real change in the percentage of remote 
workers, showing at least a short-term leveling off of the phenomenon.&nbsp;“Elon Musk aside,” quipped Thompson, “it’s interesting that the growth in remote work seems like it can be maintained.”&nbsp;The quip referred to Musk’s order 
this week to the staff of his recently purchased Twitter social network.
 The billionaire said he was ending the work-from-anywhere arrangement 
in place when he took over, and would grant exceptions case-by-case.<h2>Takeaways</h2>Thompson, director of the Bureau of 
Business Research, said that among the survey’s bigger take-aways was 
that many businesses leaders wanted to maintain physical space for their
 workers on the occasion they showed up in person. And, he said, it was 
notable that the increase in remote working and manager comfort level 
“hasn’t actually translated into a widespread reduction in the use of 
office space.”&nbsp;One potential reason that businesses are not planning change may be 
logistical, the study leaders said. Among the 58% of respondents who own
 their work site, 67% do not lease to other tenants, raising the 
possibility that they could have difficulty altering the amount of 
space, especially since the pandemic.Thompson said the increased comfort 
level with remote working might be driven in part by the labor shortage,
 and by employers wanting to be sensitive and responsive to employee 
wishes.“Certainly with the challenges in hiring recently,” Thompson said, “they have extra incentive to be open-minded.”

Survey: Remote working in Nebraska may be leveling off

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man sentenced to death for the killing and dismemberment of a Lincoln woman he met through the dating app Tinder lost his initial appeal in which he argued he should have been granted a mistrial after violently disrupting his own trial.

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the appeal of Aubrey Trail, 56, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2017 death of 24-year-old Sydney Loofe and sentenced to death last year. Trail's girlfriend at the time of Loofe's death, Bailey Boswell, was also convicted as an active participant in Loofe's death and sentenced last November to life in prison.

The high court rejected all of Trail's appeal claims, which included arguments that the trial court violated his constitutional rights by excluding potential jurors who indicated they would not be able to perform jury duties dictated by Nebraska law because they were opposed to the death penalty.

Trail's claims also included the arguments that the judge should have declared a mistrial — or later, granted a request for a new trial — after Trail disrupted the third day of his trial by yelling, "Bailey is innocent, and I curse you all!" before cutting his own throat with a razor blade he had obtained in jail and sneaked into the courtroom.

In denying Trail's motions for a mistrial or new trial, the district court found that Trail's act of self-harm was "a calculating gesture." On Thursday, the state's high court said it would not second-guess the trial court's decision in the matter. The Supreme Court cited other appeals court cases that also ruled against defendants who had disrupted their own court hearings, saying that to allow mistrials in such cases "would provide a criminal defendant with a convenient device for provoking a mistrial whenever he chose to do so."

"As with these other defendants, we will not permit Trail to benefit from his own bad behavior during trial," Justice John Freudenberg wrote for the court in its unanimous ruling.

Prosecutors said Trail and Boswell planned the abduction and killing of Loofe, whom Boswell met using the online dating app Tinder. Two days after Boswell and Loofe met for a date on Nov. 14, 2017, Loofe's mother reported her missing. Loofe's dismembered remains were found weeks later, stuffed into garbage bags that had been dumped in a field near Edgar, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Lincoln.

Trail later told investigators that he strangled Sydney Loofe with an extension cord, prosecutors said. He and Boswell then dismembered and disposed of Loofe's body with items they bought at a home improvement store the day before her death.

Neither an attorney for Trail nor the Nebraska Attorney General's Office immediately responded Thursday to requests for comment on the ruling.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668182562940.png" alt="Sydney Loof" />
 <figcaption>Sydney Loof</figcaption>
 </figure>By MARGERY A. BECK Associated PressOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man sentenced to death for the killing and dismemberment of a Lincoln woman he met through the dating app Tinder lost his initial appeal in which he argued he should have been granted a mistrial after violently disrupting his own trial.The Nebraska Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the appeal of Aubrey Trail, 56, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2017 death of 24-year-old Sydney Loofe and sentenced to death last year. Trail's girlfriend at the time of Loofe's death, Bailey Boswell, was also convicted as an active participant in Loofe's death and sentenced last November to life in prison.The high court rejected all of Trail's appeal claims, which included arguments that the trial court violated his constitutional rights by excluding potential jurors who indicated they would not be able to perform jury duties dictated by Nebraska law because they were opposed to the death penalty.Trail's claims also included the arguments that the judge should have declared a mistrial — or later, granted a request for a new trial — after Trail disrupted the third day of his trial by yelling, "Bailey is innocent, and I curse you all!" before cutting his own throat with a razor blade he had obtained in jail and sneaked into the courtroom.In denying Trail's motions for a mistrial or new trial, the district court found that Trail's act of self-harm was "a calculating gesture." On Thursday, the state's high court said it would not second-guess the trial court's decision in the matter. The Supreme Court cited other appeals court cases that also ruled against defendants who had disrupted their own court hearings, saying that to allow mistrials in such cases "would provide a criminal defendant with a convenient device for provoking a mistrial whenever he chose to do so.""As with these other defendants, we will not permit Trail to benefit from his own bad behavior during trial," Justice John Freudenberg wrote for the court in its unanimous ruling.Prosecutors said Trail and Boswell planned the abduction and killing of Loofe, whom Boswell met using the online dating app Tinder. Two days after Boswell and Loofe met for a date on Nov. 14, 2017, Loofe's mother reported her missing. Loofe's dismembered remains were found weeks later, stuffed into garbage bags that had been dumped in a field near Edgar, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Lincoln.Trail later told investigators that he strangled Sydney Loofe with an extension cord, prosecutors said. He and Boswell then dismembered and disposed of Loofe's body with items they bought at a home improvement store the day before her death.Neither an attorney for Trail nor the Nebraska Attorney General's Office immediately responded Thursday to requests for comment on the ruling.

Death sentence upheld in Nebraska killing, dismemberment

NEW YORK (AP) — It took less than a week for FTX to go from the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world to bankruptcy court.

The embattled cryptocurrency exchange, short billions of dollars, is seeking bankruptcy protection after the exchange experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run. FTX, its affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research, and dozens of other companies filed a bankruptcy petition in Delaware on Friday morning.

CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned, the company said. Bankman-Fried was recently estimated to be worth $23 billion and has been a prominent political donor to Democrats. His net worth has all but evaporated, according to Forbes and Bloomberg, which closely track the net worth of the world's richest people.

Bankman-Fried has other problems as well. On Thursday, a person familiar with the matter said the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were looking into FTX to determine whether any criminal activity or securities offenses were committed. The person could not discuss details of the investigations publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The investigation is centered on the possibility that FTX may have used customers’ deposits to fund bets at Alameda Research. In traditional markets, brokers are expected to separate client funds from other company assets. Violations can be punished by regulators.

FTX had agreed earlier this week to sell itself to bigger rival Binance after experiencing the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. Customers fled the exchange after becoming concerned about whether FTX had sufficient capital.

The crypto world had hoped that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, might be able to rescue FTX and its depositors. However, after Binance had a chance to look at the books of FTX, it became clear that the smaller exchange’s problems were too big to solve and Binance backed out of the deal.

FTX is the latest in a series of cascading disasters that have shaken the crypto sector, now under intense pressure from collapsing prices and circling financial regulators. Its failure is also sending tsunami-like waves throughout the crypto universe.

Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi announced on Twitter late Thursday that it is “not able to do business as usual” and pausing client withdrawals as a result of FTX's implosion.

In a letter posted to its Twitter profile late Thursday, BlockFi — which was bailed out by Bankman-Fried’s FTX early last summer — said it was “shocked and dismayed by the news regarding FTX and Alameda.”

The company ended by saying any future communications about its status “will be less frequent that what our clients and other stakeholders are used to.”

Bitcoin tumbled immediately after the letter was posted, losing close to 5% before inching back above $17,000 overnight. The original cryptocurrency, bitcoin had been hovering around $20,000 for months before the FTX's problems became public this week, sending it briefly to around $15,500.

NEW YORK (AP) — The swift collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX sent more shockwaves through the crypto world on Thursday, with authorities now investigating the firm for potential securities violations and analysts bracing for a further downturn in crypto prices.

A person familiar with matter said that the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining FTX to determine whether any criminal activity or securities offenses were committed. The person could not discuss details of the investigations publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

This week's developments marked a shocking turn of events for FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was hailed as somewhat of a savior earlier this year when he helped shore up a number of cryptocurrency companies that ran into financial trouble.

The investigation into Bankman-Fried and FTX by those in the crypto world as well as securities regulators is centering on the possibility that the firm may have used customers’ deposits to fund bets at Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, Alameda Research. In traditional markets, brokers are expected to separate client funds from other company assets. Violations can be punished by regulators.

Meanwhile, investors in popular digital currencies got some relief from the latest crypto crisis Thursday after days of selling. Bitcoin rose to $17,691 after dropping as low as $15,512 on Wednesday. Ethereum rose 12%. The gains came after a government report showing inflation cooled a bit last month gave a lift to riskier assets.

The crypto world had hoped that Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, might be able to rescue FTX and its depositors. However, after Binance had a chance to look at the books of FTX, it became clear that the smaller exchange's problems were too big to solve.

A person familiar with the dealings between FTX and Binance described the books as a “black hole” where it was impossible to differentiate between the assets and liabilities of FTX the exchange and those of Alameda Research. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

This person said Bankman-Fried committed the “ultimate sin” by tapping into FTX's custodial assets to fund Alameda Research.

In a further illustration of FTX’s financial straits, Bankman-Fried asked his investors Wednesday for $8 billion to cover withdrawal requests, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources.

In a series of Tweets on Thursday, the FTX founder and CEO said that he did not have enough liquidity to cover withdrawals and that he was more leveraged than he had thought.

“I f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)ed up, and should have done better,” he said.

The latest crisis in the crypto industry prompted renewed calls for stricter regulation. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the FTX developments "highlights why prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is indeed needed. The White House, along with the relevant agencies, will again closely monitor the situation as it develops.”

The collapse of the cryptocurrency’s third largest exchange is likely to cause further disruption across the entire crypto world, analysts say, meaning Thursday's rally could be temporary.

"The unwinding of FTX, as well as its shock of confidence to the system, will cause crypto prices to fall even further leading to “a new cascade of margin calls,” said analysts at J.P. Morgan in a note to investors. This would be similar to the selloff that happened after the collapse of the stable coin Terra earlier this year, where prices continued to decline weeks after its failure.

“This deleveraging is likely to last for at least a few weeks unless a rescue for Alameda Research and FTX is agreed quickly,” J.P. Morgan analysts wrote.

The crypto industry is waiting to see what other companies are impacted by the FTX collapse. The venture capital fund Sequoia Capital said Thursday it is writing down its total investment of nearly $215 million n FTX.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620732850317.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — It took less than a week for FTX to go from the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world to bankruptcy court.The embattled cryptocurrency exchange, short billions of dollars, is seeking bankruptcy protection after the exchange experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run. FTX, its affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research, and dozens of other companies filed a bankruptcy petition in Delaware on Friday morning.CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned, the company said. Bankman-Fried was recently estimated to be worth $23 billion and has been a prominent political donor to Democrats. His net worth has all but evaporated, according to Forbes and Bloomberg, which closely track the net worth of the world's richest people.Bankman-Fried has other problems as well. On Thursday, a person familiar with the matter said the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were looking into FTX to determine whether any criminal activity or securities offenses were committed. The person could not discuss details of the investigations publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.The investigation is centered on the possibility that FTX may have used customers’ deposits to fund bets at Alameda Research. In traditional markets, brokers are expected to separate client funds from other company assets. Violations can be punished by regulators.FTX had agreed earlier this week to sell itself to bigger rival Binance after experiencing the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. Customers fled the exchange after becoming concerned about whether FTX had sufficient capital.The crypto world had hoped that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, might be able to rescue FTX and its depositors. However, after Binance had a chance to look at the books of FTX, it became clear that the smaller exchange’s problems were too big to solve and Binance backed out of the deal.FTX is the latest in a series of cascading disasters that have shaken the crypto sector, now under intense pressure from collapsing prices and circling financial regulators. Its failure is also sending tsunami-like waves throughout the crypto universe.Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi announced on Twitter late Thursday that it is “not able to do business as usual” and pausing client withdrawals as a result of FTX's implosion.In a letter posted to its Twitter profile late Thursday, BlockFi — which was bailed out by Bankman-Fried’s FTX early last summer — said it was “shocked and dismayed by the news regarding FTX and Alameda.”The company ended by saying any future communications about its status “will be less frequent that what our clients and other stakeholders are used to.”Bitcoin tumbled immediately after the letter was posted, losing close to 5% before inching back above $17,000 overnight. The original cryptocurrency, bitcoin had been hovering around $20,000 for months before the FTX's problems became public this week, sending it briefly to around $15,500.------------NEW YORK (AP) — The swift collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX sent more shockwaves through the crypto world on Thursday, with authorities now investigating the firm for potential securities violations and analysts bracing for a further downturn in crypto prices.FTX had agreed earlier this week to sell itself to bigger rival Binance after experiencing the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. Customers fled the exchange after becoming concerned about whether FTX had sufficient capital.A person familiar with matter said that the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining FTX to determine whether any criminal activity or securities offenses were committed. The person could not discuss details of the investigations publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.This week's developments marked a shocking turn of events for FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was hailed as somewhat of a savior earlier this year when he helped shore up a number of cryptocurrency companies that ran into financial trouble.The investigation into Bankman-Fried and FTX by those in the crypto world as well as securities regulators is centering on the possibility that the firm may have used customers’ deposits to fund bets at Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, Alameda Research. In traditional markets, brokers are expected to separate client funds from other company assets. Violations can be punished by regulators.Meanwhile, investors in popular digital currencies got some relief from the latest crypto crisis Thursday after days of selling. Bitcoin rose to $17,691 after dropping as low as $15,512 on Wednesday. Ethereum rose 12%. The gains came after a government report showing inflation cooled a bit last month gave a lift to riskier assets.The crypto world had hoped that Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, might be able to rescue FTX and its depositors. However, after Binance had a chance to look at the books of FTX, it became clear that the smaller exchange's problems were too big to solve.A person familiar with the dealings between FTX and Binance described the books as a “black hole” where it was impossible to differentiate between the assets and liabilities of FTX the exchange and those of Alameda Research. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matter.This person said Bankman-Fried committed the “ultimate sin” by tapping into FTX's custodial assets to fund Alameda Research.In a further illustration of FTX’s financial straits, Bankman-Fried asked his investors Wednesday for $8 billion to cover withdrawal requests, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources.In a series of Tweets on Thursday, the FTX founder and CEO said that he did not have enough liquidity to cover withdrawals and that he was more leveraged than he had thought.“I f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)ed up, and should have done better,” he said.The latest crisis in the crypto industry prompted renewed calls for stricter regulation. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the FTX developments "highlights why prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is indeed needed. The White House, along with the relevant agencies, will again closely monitor the situation as it develops.”The collapse of the cryptocurrency’s third largest exchange is likely to cause further disruption across the entire crypto world, analysts say, meaning Thursday's rally could be temporary."The unwinding of FTX, as well as its shock of confidence to the system, will cause crypto prices to fall even further leading to “a new cascade of margin calls,” said analysts at J.P. Morgan in a note to investors. This would be similar to the selloff that happened after the collapse of the stable coin Terra earlier this year, where prices continued to decline weeks after its failure.“This deleveraging is likely to last for at least a few weeks unless a rescue for Alameda Research and FTX is agreed quickly,” J.P. Morgan analysts wrote.The crypto industry is waiting to see what other companies are impacted by the FTX collapse. The venture capital fund Sequoia Capital said Thursday it is writing down its total investment of nearly $215 million n FTX.

Crypto exchange FTX, short billions of dollars, files for bankruptcy

Editor’s note:
 Brad Ashford, a former Nebraska legislator and member of Congress, 
wrote several columns for the Nebraska Examiner before his death in 
April of this year. His widow, Ann Ashford, continues to share some of 
Brad’s essays with the Nebraska Examiner. Here is a note she sent ahead of Veterans Day.

Brad wrote this in the summer of 1995 and sent it to columnist 
Mike Kelly at the Omaha World-Herald that fall. I do not believe it was 
published in its entirety. Brad’s sense of duty to and respect for his 
father and all those who serve this country led to his commitment to 
veterans’ care and sponsorship of the CHIP IN for Veterans Act of 2016, 
allowing for the first public-private partnerships to build veterans’ 
health care facilities. — Ann Ashford

By BRAD ASHFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/11/an-ak-sar-ben-knight/">Courtesy Nebraska Examiner</a>

Since my father’s death in 1977, I have kept his wartime diary in my 
desk drawer with other objects from my past; old check books, pen sets 
from birthdays far gone, tattered wallets and the like. I had taken the 
diary out periodically. I liked the way it looked and felt, pocket-sized
 in black leather with red edges to the lined pages. Though I had read 
the diary many times in the past, the passages were short and terse, 
revealing very little. The entry for May 12, 1944, was typical, “R.R. 
Bridge at Liege. Moderate flak. No losses. Bridge destroyed.”

My father, like so many other fathers of my generation, fought in 
World War II. He was a bomber pilot stationed near London through most 
of 1944. In fact, Don Ashford was a particularly valiant pilot. He flew 
over sixty missions over France and Germany in a B-26 bomber. The twin 
engine plane known as the Martin Marauder had been built at the Martin 
Bomber Plant on the site of the present-day Offutt Air Force Base. He 
named his plane the “Ak-Sar-Ben Knight” after the well-known civic 
organization and horse track. In fact there were two Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.
 Number 1 crash landed after a bombing raid over France and was replaced
 by another. My father was decorated for pulling two crew members from 
the burning wreckage of the first plane. He returned to Omaha a hero.

I learned precious little from my father about his war time exploits.
 Instead he would relate lighthearted stories about a “secret mission” 
to Scotland for a case of scotch whiskey to replenish the squadron 
commander’s supply; or spending many hours in a Paris hotel bar with a 
German Luftwaffe Colonel whom he found drowning his sorrows in the 
period just before the Allied entered Paris. When I asked my father how 
he got into Paris while the Germans were still there, he replied, “by 
taxi.” No other explanation was offered.

This spring I decided to take my son John Paul and his friend to 
Paris. He was taking French in school and I thought age 15 would be an 
excellent age for him to experience another culture. As the time for the
 trip approached, however, I was drawn back to the diary. I knew that my
 father had flown on D-Day but knew little about the mission. The diary 
entry for June 6, 1944, read simply, “Gun positions on Cherbourg 
Peninsula. First ships over invasion coast. Heavy flak. One ship lost. 
Biggest show ever.” Though I had been to France on a couple of occasions
 I had never been to Normandy. Something was telling me not to miss it 
this trip.

The day we picked to go to Normandy was cold and foggy, much like the
 real thing as we were told by our guide. As we approached the invasion 
beaches I was overcome by an intense feeling of closeness to my father. I
 kept thinking that we were making a connection with a man my son never 
met. As the day progressed, those feelings grew more intense. At the 
American Cemetery near Omaha Beach a large map is carved on the memorial
 which marks the entrance to the Cemetery. The map depicts the positions
 of the air, naval, and land forces of the invasion force on the morning
 of June 6, 1944. A green arrow describes the advance of the 9th
 Air Corps which included the Ak-Sar-Ben Knight on the Cherbourg 
Peninsula, approximately 25 kilometers from the invasion beaches. The 
entry in the diary was beginning to come alive.

At the museum in Caen, the capital of southern Normandy, a film 
traced the rise of fascism in Germany and across Europe, the Nazi 
invasion of France, and finally the liberation of Europe. As if spliced 
into the film for our benefit, there appeared on the screen a squadron 
of B-26 Martin Marauders dropping their bombs on what the narrator 
described as the Cherbourg peninsula. Though I cannot claim to have seen
 the Ak-Sar-Ben Knight that day, the diary told me that it was in that 
group of planes somewhere.

As we left the theater I knew that something significant had 
occurred. My son would understand that the grandfather he never knew was
 in fact a real hero and I have the very real satisfaction of knowing 
that I had helped bring my father and my son together for a brief time.

My father returned from the war, finished college, married my mother,
 and went to work at our family business, The Nebraska Clothing Company.
 He ran the business until it closed in 1976, hanging on to the dream 
that retailing was not dead in downtown Omaha. He opened one of the 
first shops in the Old Market Passageway called D. Ashford’s, a men’s 
clothing store. He died soon after the store opened in November of 1977 
at age 55, three years before the birth of his oldest grandson. He would
 be very proud to see what is happening in the Old Market today 18 years
 after his death, and prouder still of the 15 year old grandson whose 
life he touched on a foggy afternoon in Normandy.

Brad Ashford was a public servant and attorney. He served four terms in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature and one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brad's later focus was on bringing a New Attitude to all involved in governance — to work together without regard to labels. He died April 19, 2022.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668178760689.png" alt="The crew of the Ak-Sar-Ben Knight, along with the dog that went with them. Don Ashford is pictured in back row, far right. (Courtesy of Ann Ashford)" />
 <figcaption>The crew of the Ak-Sar-Ben Knight, along with the dog that went with them. Don Ashford is pictured in back row, far right. (Courtesy of Ann Ashford)</figcaption>
 </figure>Editor’s note:
 Brad Ashford, a former Nebraska legislator and member of Congress, 
wrote several columns for the Nebraska Examiner before his death in 
April of this year. His widow, Ann Ashford, continues to share some of 
Brad’s essays with the Nebraska Examiner. Here is a note she sent ahead of Veterans Day.Brad wrote this in the summer of 1995 and sent it to columnist 
Mike Kelly at the Omaha World-Herald that fall. I do not believe it was 
published in its entirety. Brad’s sense of duty to and respect for his 
father and all those who serve this country led to his commitment to 
veterans’ care and sponsorship of the CHIP IN for Veterans Act of 2016, 
allowing for the first public-private partnerships to build veterans’ 
health care facilities. — Ann AshfordBy BRAD ASHFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/11/an-ak-sar-ben-knight/">Courtesy Nebraska Examiner</a>Since my father’s death in 1977, I have kept his wartime diary in my 
desk drawer with other objects from my past; old check books, pen sets 
from birthdays far gone, tattered wallets and the like. I had taken the 
diary out periodically. I liked the way it looked and felt, pocket-sized
 in black leather with red edges to the lined pages. Though I had read 
the diary many times in the past, the passages were short and terse, 
revealing very little. The entry for May 12, 1944, was typical, “R.R. 
Bridge at Liege. Moderate flak. No losses. Bridge destroyed.”My father, like so many other fathers of my generation, fought in 
World War II. He was a bomber pilot stationed near London through most 
of 1944. In fact, Don Ashford was a particularly valiant pilot. He flew 
over sixty missions over France and Germany in a B-26 bomber. The twin 
engine plane known as the Martin Marauder had been built at the Martin 
Bomber Plant on the site of the present-day Offutt Air Force Base. He 
named his plane the “Ak-Sar-Ben Knight” after the well-known civic 
organization and horse track. In fact there were two Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.
 Number 1 crash landed after a bombing raid over France and was replaced
 by another. My father was decorated for pulling two crew members from 
the burning wreckage of the first plane. He returned to Omaha a hero.I learned precious little from my father about his war time exploits.
 Instead he would relate lighthearted stories about a “secret mission” 
to Scotland for a case of scotch whiskey to replenish the squadron 
commander’s supply; or spending many hours in a Paris hotel bar with a 
German Luftwaffe Colonel whom he found drowning his sorrows in the 
period just before the Allied entered Paris. When I asked my father how 
he got into Paris while the Germans were still there, he replied, “by 
taxi.” No other explanation was offered.This spring I decided to take my son John Paul and his friend to 
Paris. He was taking French in school and I thought age 15 would be an 
excellent age for him to experience another culture. As the time for the
 trip approached, however, I was drawn back to the diary. I knew that my
 father had flown on D-Day but knew little about the mission. The diary 
entry for June 6, 1944, read simply, “Gun positions on Cherbourg 
Peninsula. First ships over invasion coast. Heavy flak. One ship lost. 
Biggest show ever.” Though I had been to France on a couple of occasions
 I had never been to Normandy. Something was telling me not to miss it 
this trip.The day we picked to go to Normandy was cold and foggy, much like the
 real thing as we were told by our guide. As we approached the invasion 
beaches I was overcome by an intense feeling of closeness to my father. I
 kept thinking that we were making a connection with a man my son never 
met. As the day progressed, those feelings grew more intense. At the 
American Cemetery near Omaha Beach a large map is carved on the memorial
 which marks the entrance to the Cemetery. The map depicts the positions
 of the air, naval, and land forces of the invasion force on the morning
 of June 6, 1944. A green arrow describes the advance of the 9th
 Air Corps which included the Ak-Sar-Ben Knight on the Cherbourg 
Peninsula, approximately 25 kilometers from the invasion beaches. The 
entry in the diary was beginning to come alive.At the museum in Caen, the capital of southern Normandy, a film 
traced the rise of fascism in Germany and across Europe, the Nazi 
invasion of France, and finally the liberation of Europe. As if spliced 
into the film for our benefit, there appeared on the screen a squadron 
of B-26 Martin Marauders dropping their bombs on what the narrator 
described as the Cherbourg peninsula. Though I cannot claim to have seen
 the Ak-Sar-Ben Knight that day, the diary told me that it was in that 
group of planes somewhere.As we left the theater I knew that something significant had 
occurred. My son would understand that the grandfather he never knew was
 in fact a real hero and I have the very real satisfaction of knowing 
that I had helped bring my father and my son together for a brief time.My father returned from the war, finished college, married my mother,
 and went to work at our family business, The Nebraska Clothing Company.
 He ran the business until it closed in 1976, hanging on to the dream 
that retailing was not dead in downtown Omaha. He opened one of the 
first shops in the Old Market Passageway called D. Ashford’s, a men’s 
clothing store. He died soon after the store opened in November of 1977 
at age 55, three years before the birth of his oldest grandson. He would
 be very proud to see what is happening in the Old Market today 18 years
 after his death, and prouder still of the 15 year old grandson whose 
life he touched on a foggy afternoon in Normandy.Brad Ashford was a public servant and attorney. He served four terms in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature and one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brad's later focus was on bringing a New Attitude to all involved in governance — to work together without regard to labels. He died April 19, 2022.&nbsp;

ASHFORD: Tale of an Ak-Sar-Ben Knight on Veterans Day

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Two people died while changing a tire on an SUV just after 6:30p.m. Thursday in Sedgwick County. The man who hit them is in jail accused of DUI.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Ram pickup driven by Travis L. Mock, 26, Wichita, was northbound on the ramp from Interstate 135 to eastbound Kansas 96 in north central Wichita.

The pickup left the roadway and struck and killed two people changing a driver side tire on a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer.

The victims were identified as 20-year-old&nbsp; Christian L.&nbsp;Evans of Elk City, Kansas and 18-year-old Emily M. Stein of Wichita. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=18839050">Mock is being held </a>in the Sedgwick County Detention Center on requested charges of involuntary manslaughter under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, no proof of insurance and a laned roadway violation, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668129627770.png" alt="First responders on the scene of fatal crash -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene of fatal crash -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY — Two people died while changing a tire on an SUV just after 6:30p.m. Thursday in Sedgwick County. The man who hit them is in jail accused of DUI.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Ram pickup driven by Travis L. Mock, 26, Wichita, was northbound on the ramp from Interstate 135 to eastbound Kansas 96 in north central Wichita.The pickup left the roadway and struck and killed two people changing a driver side tire on a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer.The victims were identified as 20-year-old&nbsp; Christian L.&nbsp;Evans of Elk City, Kansas and 18-year-old Emily M. Stein of Wichita. They were pronounced dead at the scene.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668171302512.png" alt="Mock-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Mock-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=18839050">Mock is being held </a>in the Sedgwick County Detention Center on requested charges of involuntary manslaughter under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, no proof of insurance and a laned roadway violation, according to online jail records.

Kan. man accused of DUI  after 2 hit, killed while changing a tire 

FORT WORTH(AP) —A U.S. judge in Texas on Thursday blocked President Joe Biden's plan to provide millions of borrowers with up to $20,000 apiece in federal student-loan forgiveness — a program that was already on hold as a federal appeals court in St. Louis considers a separate lawsuit by six states challenging it.

District Court Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former President Donald Trump based in Fort Worth, said the program usurped Congress' power to make laws.

“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government,” Pittman wrote.

He added: “The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved.”

The debt forgiveness plan would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Pell Grant recipients, who typically demonstrate more financial need, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven.

The cancellation applies to federal student loans used to attend undergraduate and graduate school, along with Parent Plus loans.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had put the forgiveness plan on hold Oct. 21 while it considered an effort by the states of Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and South Carolina to block the program.

While the stay temporarily stopped the administration from actually clearing debt, the White House has encouraged borrowers to continue applying for relief, saying the court order did not prevent applications or the review of applications.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration disagreed with Thursday’s ruling and the Department of Justice had filed an appeal. She said so far 26 million people had applied for debt relief, and 16 million people had already had their relief approved. The Department of Education would “quickly process their relief once we prevail in court," she said.

“The President and this Administration are determined to help working and middle-class Americans get back on their feet, while our opponents — backed by extreme Republican special interests — sued to block millions of Americans from getting much-needed relief,” she said in a statement.

The legal challenges have created confusion about whether borrowers who expected to have debt canceled will have to resume making payments come Jan. 1, when a pause prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire.

Economists worry that many people have yet to rebound financially from the pandemic, saying that if borrowers who were expecting debt cancellation are asked to make payments instead, many could fall behind on the bills and default.

In his order Thursday, Pittman said the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, commonly known as the HEROES Act, did not provide the authorization for the loan forgiveness program that the Biden administration claimed it did.

The law allows the secretary of education to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs ... as the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a war or other military operation or national emergency."

The administration argued that the student loan relief was thus authorized as a means of dealing with the national emergency of the pandemic. Pittman disagreed, finding that a program of such massive import required clear congressional authorization. The HEROES Act “does not provide the executive branch clear congressional authorization to create a $400 billion student loan forgiveness program,” he wrote.

Pittman also rejected the government's arguments that the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit lacked standing. Plaintiffs Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor both have student loans, but Brown is ineligible for debt relief because her loans are commercially held, and Taylor is not eligible for the full $20,000 because he didn't receive a Pell grant.

The administration said they weren't harmed by the loan forgiveness program and their "unhappiness that some other borrowers are receiving a greater benefit than they are” did not give them grounds to sue.

Pittman said they were harmed, however, because the government did not take public comment on eligibility requirements for the program, meaning they had no chance to provide input on a program they would be at least be partially excluded from.

Reaction to the ruling was predictably mixed along political fault lines. The Student Borrower Protection Center blasted Pittman as a “right-wing federal judge,” saying "tens of millions of student loan borrowers across the country now have their vital debt relief blocked as a result of this farcical and fabricated legal claim.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the House education committee, celebrated it.

“Yet another nail has been added to the coffin of President Biden’s illegal student loan bailout, and hardworking taxpayers across the country are rightfully rejoicing," she said. “This administration continues to operate as if its own self-appointed authority in transferring billions of dollars in student loans is legitimate, but the rule of law says otherwise.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661367707782.png" alt="-resident Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during the August announcement of the student loan forgiveness plan.-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>-resident Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during the August announcement of the student loan forgiveness plan.-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>FORT WORTH(AP) —A U.S. judge in Texas on Thursday blocked President Joe Biden's plan to provide millions of borrowers with up to $20,000 apiece in federal student-loan forgiveness — a program that was already on hold as a federal appeals court in St. Louis considers a separate lawsuit by six states challenging it.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668173936543.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668174034086.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>District Court Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former President Donald Trump based in Fort Worth, said the program usurped Congress' power to make laws.“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government,” Pittman wrote.He added: “The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved.”The debt forgiveness plan would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Pell Grant recipients, who typically demonstrate more financial need, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven.The cancellation applies to federal student loans used to attend undergraduate and graduate school, along with Parent Plus loans.The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had put the forgiveness plan on hold Oct. 21 while it considered an effort by the states of Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and South Carolina to block the program.While the stay temporarily stopped the administration from actually clearing debt, the White House has encouraged borrowers to continue applying for relief, saying the court order did not prevent applications or the review of applications.White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration disagreed with Thursday’s ruling and the Department of Justice had filed an appeal. She said so far 26 million people had applied for debt relief, and 16 million people had already had their relief approved. The Department of Education would “quickly process their relief once we prevail in court," she said.“The President and this Administration are determined to help working and middle-class Americans get back on their feet, while our opponents — backed by extreme Republican special interests — sued to block millions of Americans from getting much-needed relief,” she said in a statement.The legal challenges have created confusion about whether borrowers who expected to have debt canceled will have to resume making payments come Jan. 1, when a pause prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire.Economists worry that many people have yet to rebound financially from the pandemic, saying that if borrowers who were expecting debt cancellation are asked to make payments instead, many could fall behind on the bills and default.In his order Thursday, Pittman said the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, commonly known as the HEROES Act, did not provide the authorization for the loan forgiveness program that the Biden administration claimed it did.The law allows the secretary of education to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs ... as the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a war or other military operation or national emergency."The administration argued that the student loan relief was thus authorized as a means of dealing with the national emergency of the pandemic. Pittman disagreed, finding that a program of such massive import required clear congressional authorization. The HEROES Act “does not provide the executive branch clear congressional authorization to create a $400 billion student loan forgiveness program,” he wrote.Pittman also rejected the government's arguments that the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit lacked standing. Plaintiffs Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor both have student loans, but Brown is ineligible for debt relief because her loans are commercially held, and Taylor is not eligible for the full $20,000 because he didn't receive a Pell grant.The administration said they weren't harmed by the loan forgiveness program and their "unhappiness that some other borrowers are receiving a greater benefit than they are” did not give them grounds to sue.Pittman said they were harmed, however, because the government did not take public comment on eligibility requirements for the program, meaning they had no chance to provide input on a program they would be at least be partially excluded from.Reaction to the ruling was predictably mixed along political fault lines. The Student Borrower Protection Center blasted Pittman as a “right-wing federal judge,” saying "tens of millions of student loan borrowers across the country now have their vital debt relief blocked as a result of this farcical and fabricated legal claim.”Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the House education committee, celebrated it.“Yet another nail has been added to the coffin of President Biden’s illegal student loan bailout, and hardworking taxpayers across the country are rightfully rejoicing," she said. “This administration continues to operate as if its own self-appointed authority in transferring billions of dollars in student loans is legitimate, but the rule of law says otherwise.”

Read judge's ruling to block Biden's student loan-forgiveness plan

WASHINGTON — Starting this week, the Internal Revenue Service is sending letters to more than 9 million individuals and families who appear to qualify for a variety of key tax benefits but did not claim them by filing a 2021 federal income tax return. Many in this group may be eligible to claim some or all of the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits depending on their personal and family situation.

The special reminder letters, which will be arriving in mailboxes over the next few weeks, are being sent to people who appear to qualify for the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) or Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) but haven't yet filed a 2021 return to claim them. The letter, printed in both English and Spanish, provides a brief overview of each of these three credits.

"The IRS wants to remind potentially eligible people, especially families, that they may qualify for these valuable tax credits," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "We encourage people who haven't filed a tax return yet for 2021 to review these options. Even if they aren't required to file a tax return, they may still qualify for several important credits. We don't want people to overlook these tax credits, and the letters will remind people of their potential eligibility and steps they can take."

These and other tax benefits were expanded under last year's American Rescue Plan Act and other recent legislation. Even so, the only way to get the valuable benefits is to file a 2021 tax return.

Often, individuals and families&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents">can get these expanded tax benefits</a>, even if they have little or no income from a job, business or other source. This means that many people who don't normally need to file a tax return should do so this year, even if they haven't been required to file in recent years.

For this mailing, Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis identified individuals who don't typically have a tax return filing requirement because they appear to have very low incomes, based on Forms W-2, 1099s and other third-party statements available to the IRS.

The letters are similar to a special IRS mailing made in September 2020 encouraging 9 million potential non-filers to submit a tax return for the first Economic Impact Payment. This is part of an ongoing effort to encourage people who aren't normally required to file to look into possible benefits available to them under the tax law. Every year, people can overlook filing a tax return when they may be entitled tax credits and a refund.

People can file a tax return even if they haven't yet received their letter. The IRS reminds people that there's no penalty for a refund claimed on a tax return filed after the regular April 2022 tax deadline. The fastest and easiest way to get a refund is to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/e-file-options">file an accurate return electronically</a>&nbsp;and choose&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts">direct deposit</a>.

To help people claim these benefits, without charge,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a>&nbsp;will remain open for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022. Available only at IRS.gov/FreeFile, Free File enables people whose incomes are $73,000 or less to file a return online for free using brand-name software. Free File is sponsored by the Free File Alliance, a partnership between the IRS and the tax-software industry.

People can also visit ChildTaxCredit.gov/file to file a 2021 income tax return. Individuals whose incomes are below $12,500 and couples whose incomes are below $25,000 may be able to file a simple tax return to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit—which covers any stimulus payment amounts from 2021 they may have missed—and the Child Tax Credit. Individuals do not need to have children in order to use ChildTaxCredit.gov/file to find the right filing solution for them.

Further details on these expanded tax benefits

Besides these three credits, many filers may also qualify for two other benefits with a tax return filed for 2021:

Further details on all these benefits are available in a fact sheet,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-expanded-credits-for-families-highlight-tax-changes-for-2021-many-people-who-dont-normally-file-should-file-this-year">FS-2022-10</a>, posted earlier this year on IRS.gov.

The IRS urges everyone to make sure they have all their year-end 2021 tax statements in hand before filing their 2021 return. Besides all W-2s and 1099s, this includes two statements issued by the IRS --&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-letter-6419">Letter 6419</a>, showing their total advance Child Tax Credit payments, and Letter 6475, showing their total EIP3 payments. People can also use IRS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account">Online Account</a>&nbsp;to see the total amounts of their third round of Economic Impact Payments or advance Child Tax Credit payments. For married couples who received joint payments, each spouse will need to sign into their own account to retrieve their separate amounts.

Whether or not they use Free File, anyone can find answers to their tax questions, forms and instructions and easy-to-use tools online at IRS.gov. They can use these resources to get help when they need it, at home, at work or on the go.

Claiming these credits has no effect on the ability of someone to be eligible for federal benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Claiming these credits also has no effect on an individual's immigration status or their ability to get a green card or immigration benefits.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — Starting this week, the Internal Revenue Service is sending letters to more than 9 million individuals and families who appear to qualify for a variety of key tax benefits but did not claim them by filing a 2021 federal income tax return. Many in this group may be eligible to claim some or all of the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits depending on their personal and family situation.The special reminder letters, which will be arriving in mailboxes over the next few weeks, are being sent to people who appear to qualify for the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) or Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) but haven't yet filed a 2021 return to claim them. The letter, printed in both English and Spanish, provides a brief overview of each of these three credits."The IRS wants to remind potentially eligible people, especially families, that they may qualify for these valuable tax credits," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "We encourage people who haven't filed a tax return yet for 2021 to review these options. Even if they aren't required to file a tax return, they may still qualify for several important credits. We don't want people to overlook these tax credits, and the letters will remind people of their potential eligibility and steps they can take."<h2>Claiming the credits</h2>These and other tax benefits were expanded under last year's American Rescue Plan Act and other recent legislation. Even so, the only way to get the valuable benefits is to file a 2021 tax return.Often, individuals and families&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents">can get these expanded tax benefits</a>, even if they have little or no income from a job, business or other source. This means that many people who don't normally need to file a tax return should do so this year, even if they haven't been required to file in recent years.For this mailing, Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis identified individuals who don't typically have a tax return filing requirement because they appear to have very low incomes, based on Forms W-2, 1099s and other third-party statements available to the IRS.The letters are similar to a special IRS mailing made in September 2020 encouraging 9 million potential non-filers to submit a tax return for the first Economic Impact Payment. This is part of an ongoing effort to encourage people who aren't normally required to file to look into possible benefits available to them under the tax law. Every year, people can overlook filing a tax return when they may be entitled tax credits and a refund.People can file a tax return even if they haven't yet received their letter. The IRS reminds people that there's no penalty for a refund claimed on a tax return filed after the regular April 2022 tax deadline. The fastest and easiest way to get a refund is to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/e-file-options">file an accurate return electronically</a>&nbsp;and choose&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts">direct deposit</a>.<h2>Free File to stay open until Nov. 17</h2>To help people claim these benefits, without charge,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a>&nbsp;will remain open for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022. Available only at IRS.gov/FreeFile, Free File enables people whose incomes are $73,000 or less to file a return online for free using brand-name software. Free File is sponsored by the Free File Alliance, a partnership between the IRS and the tax-software industry.People can also visit ChildTaxCredit.gov/file to file a 2021 income tax return. Individuals whose incomes are below $12,500 and couples whose incomes are below $25,000 may be able to file a simple tax return to claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit—which covers any stimulus payment amounts from 2021 they may have missed—and the Child Tax Credit. Individuals do not need to have children in order to use ChildTaxCredit.gov/file to find the right filing solution for them.<h2>Further details on these expanded tax benefits</h2>The three credits include:<ol>
 <li>An expanded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-frequently-asked-questions">Child Tax Credit</a>: Families can claim this credit, even if they received monthly advance payments during the last half of 2021. The total credit can be as much as $3,600 per child.</li><li>A more generous&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit-eitc">Earned Income Tax Credit</a>: The law boosted the EITC for childless workers. There are also changes that can help low- and moderate-income families with children. The credit can be as much as $1,502 for workers with no qualifying children, $3,618 for those with one child, $5,980 for those with two children and $6,728 for those with at least three children.</li><li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/recovery-rebate-credit">Recovery Rebate Credit</a>: Those who missed out on last year's third round of Economic Impact Payments (EIP3) may be eligible to claim the RRC. Often referred to as stimulus payments, this credit can also help eligible people whose EIP3 was less than the full amount, including those who welcomed a child in 2021. The maximum credit is $1,400 for each qualifying adult, plus $1,400 for each eligible child or adult dependent.</li>
 </ol>Besides these three credits, many filers may also qualify for two other benefits with a tax return filed for 2021:<ol>
 <li>An increased&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/child-and-dependent-care-credit-information">Child and Dependent Care Credit</a>: Families who pay for daycare so they can work or look for work can get a tax credit worth up to $4,000 for one qualifying person and $8,000 for two or more qualifying persons.</li><li><a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/expanded-tax-benefits-help-individuals-and-businesses-give-to-charity-during-2021-deductions-up-to-600-available-for-cash-donations-by-non-itemizers">A deduction for gifts to charity</a>: Most tax-filers who take the standard deduction can deduct eligible cash contributions they made during 2021. Married couples filing jointly can deduct up to $600 in cash donations and individuals can deduct up to $300 in donations. In addition, itemizers who make large cash donations often qualify to deduct the full amount in 2021.</li>
 </ol>Further details on all these benefits are available in a fact sheet,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-expanded-credits-for-families-highlight-tax-changes-for-2021-many-people-who-dont-normally-file-should-file-this-year">FS-2022-10</a>, posted earlier this year on IRS.gov.<h2>Helpful reminders</h2>The IRS urges everyone to make sure they have all their year-end 2021 tax statements in hand before filing their 2021 return. Besides all W-2s and 1099s, this includes two statements issued by the IRS --&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-letter-6419">Letter 6419</a>, showing their total advance Child Tax Credit payments, and Letter 6475, showing their total EIP3 payments. People can also use IRS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account">Online Account</a>&nbsp;to see the total amounts of their third round of Economic Impact Payments or advance Child Tax Credit payments. For married couples who received joint payments, each spouse will need to sign into their own account to retrieve their separate amounts.Whether or not they use Free File, anyone can find answers to their tax questions, forms and instructions and easy-to-use tools online at IRS.gov. They can use these resources to get help when they need it, at home, at work or on the go.Claiming these credits has no effect on the ability of someone to be eligible for federal benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Claiming these credits also has no effect on an individual's immigration status or their ability to get a green card or immigration benefits.

IRS: 9M families who did not claim free COVID money notified

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;will meet Monday with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/xi-jinping">President Xi Jinping</a>&nbsp;on the sidelines of next week’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-southeast-asia-trip-china-ukraine-election-f71ee52a79a2bcbd029a9c9cbba32437">Group of 20 Summit</a>&nbsp;in Bali, Indonesia, a face-to-face meeting that comes amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-taiwan-china-united-states-business-7a54612663d36b6223dfa9bbf20e4bdd">increasingly strained U.S.-China relations</a>, the White House announced Thursday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647635567547.png" alt="In March, President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping spoke online for nearly two hours -White House photo" />
 <figcaption>In March, President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping spoke online for nearly two hours -White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;will meet Monday with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/xi-jinping">President Xi Jinping</a>&nbsp;on the sidelines of next week’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-southeast-asia-trip-china-ukraine-election-f71ee52a79a2bcbd029a9c9cbba32437">Group of 20 Summit</a>&nbsp;in Bali, Indonesia, a face-to-face meeting that comes amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-taiwan-china-united-states-business-7a54612663d36b6223dfa9bbf20e4bdd">increasingly strained U.S.-China relations</a>, the White House announced Thursday.It will be the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies since Biden became president in January 2021 and comes weeks after Xi was awarded a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/xi-jinping-china-beijing-government-and-politics-21fa1812435b563f2532effb4fe5758e">norm-breaking third, five-year term</a>&nbsp;as the Chinese Communist Party leader during the party’s national congress.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement the leaders will meet to “discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between” the two countries and to "responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community.”The White House has been working with Chinese officials over the last several weeks to arrange the meeting. Biden on Wednesday told reporters that he intended to discuss with Xi growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, trade policies, Beijing’s relationship with Russia and more.“What I want to do with him when we talk is lay out what each of our red lines are and understand what he believes to be in the critical national interests of China, what I know to be the critical interests of the United States,” Biden said. “And determine whether or not they conflict with one another.”The White House sought to downplay expectations for the meeting, telling reporters there was no joint communique or deliverables anticipated from the sit-down.“I don’t think you should look at this meeting as one in which there’s going to be specific deliverables announced," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. "Rather the two leaders are going to give direction to their teams to work on a number of areas, both areas where we have differences in areas where we can work together.”Biden and Xi traveled together in the U.S. and China in 2011 and 2012 when both leaders were serving as their respective countries' vice presidents, and they have held five phone or video calls since Biden became president in January 2021. But the U.S.-China relationship has become far more complicated since those getting-to-know-you talks in Washington and on the Tibetan plateau a decade ago.As president, Biden has repeatedly taken China to task for human rights abuses against the&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Uyghur">Uyghur</a>&nbsp;people and other ethnic minorities, Beijing’s crackdowns on democracy activists in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hong-kong">Hong Kong</a>, coercive trade practices, military provocations against self-ruled&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/taiwan">Taiwan</a>&nbsp;and differences over Russia’s prosecution of its war against Ukraine.Weeks before Vladimir Putin launched his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">invasion of Ukraine,</a>&nbsp;the Russian president met with Xi in Beijing and the two issued a memorandum expressing hopes of a “no limits” relationship for their nations.China has largely refrained from criticizing Russia’s war but thus far has held off on supplying Moscow with arms.“I don’t think there’s a lot of respect that China has for Russia or Putin,” Biden said Wednesday. “And in fact, they’ve been sort of keeping the distance a little bit.”The leaders were also expected to address U.S. frustrations that Beijing has not used its influence to press North Korea to pull back from conducting provocative missile tests and to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Biden was set to discuss threats from North Korea with the leaders of South Korea and Japan a day before sitting down with Xi.Xi’s government has criticized the Biden administration’s posture toward Taiwan — which Beijing looks eventually to unify with the communist mainland — as undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Chinese president also has suggested that Washington wants to stifle Beijing’s growing clout as it tries to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy.Tensions over Taiwan have grown since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-asia-beijing-malaysia-a5a6acc391511c99b1b4c2d69e67b133">visited Taiwan in August.</a>Biden said that he’s “not willing to make any fundamental concessions” about the United States’ Taiwan doctrine.Under its “One China” policy, the United States recognizes the government in Beijing while allowing for informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. It takes a stance of “strategic ambiguity” toward the defense of Taiwan — leaving open the question of whether it would respond militarily were the island attacked.Asked about the anticipated meeting, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a Thursday news briefing that China was looking for “win-win cooperation with the U.S.” while reiterating Beijing’s concerns about the U.S. stance on Taiwan.“The U.S. needs to stop obscuring, hollowing out and distorting the One China principle, abide by the basic norms in international relations, including respecting other countries’ sovereignty, territorial integrity and noninterference in other countries’ internal affairs,” he said.Biden caused a stir in Asia in May when at a news conference in Tokyo, said “yes” when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. The White House and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were quick to clarify that there was no change in U.S. policy.Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don’t support. Pelosi is the highest-ranking elected American official to visit since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.Xi has stayed close to home throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic, where he has enforced a “zero-COVID” policy that has resulted in mass lockdowns that have roiled the global supply chains.He made his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-health-japan-china-72f848530e0b16d2cbd80d38e74fda03">first trip outside China</a>&nbsp;since start of the pandemic in September with a stop in Kazakhstan and then onto Uzbekistan to take part in the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization with Putin and other leaders of the Central Asian security group.U.S. officials were eager to see how Xi approaches the meeting after being newly empowered with a third term and consolidating his position as the unquestioned leader of the state, saying they would wait to assess whether that made him more or less likely to seek out areas of cooperation with the U.S.They emphasized that party congress results reinforced the importance of direct engagement with Xi, rather than lower level officials whom they’ve found unable or unwilling to speak for the Chinese leader.Sullivan says it “remains to be seen” what impact Xi's cementing another five years as Communist Party will have on his approach to the U.S.-China relationship.