WASHINGTON (AP) — The intruder who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in their San Francisco home was searching for the Democratic leader, shouting "Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?" before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

Those shouts were a chilling echo of the chants during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, when rioters trying to stop Joe Biden's election searched menacingly through the halls for the speaker.<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/paul-pelosi"> Paul Pelosi</a>&nbsp;was attacked and severely beaten by an assailant who broke into the Pelosi home early Friday, police said. The intruder confronted him shouting for the speaker's whereabouts, according to another person briefed on the situation.

“The motive for this attack is still being determined,” said San Francisco Police Chief William Scott at a press briefing.

The suspect was identified as David Depape, Scott said. He was in custody.

“Our officers observed Mr. Pelosi and the suspect both holding a hammer," Scott said. "The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it. Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody, requested emergency backup and rendered medical aid.”

Scott said Depape was being charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse aand other charges.

The 42-year-old man broke into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home early Thursday, attacking the speaker’s husband with a hammer just as police officials responded to the home.

Police responded to the 2:27 a.m. call. Both men were holding the hammer, he said.

The 82 year-old suffered blunt force injuries to his head and body, according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe. He was admitted to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for his injuries, the hospital confirmed. His condition was not immediately available.

Paul Pelosi was being treated by doctors for bruising, severe swelling and other injuries.

While the circumstances of the attack were unclear, the attack raised questions about the safety of members of Congress and their families. Threats to lawmakers are at an all-time high almost two years after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">the Capitol insurrection</a>. The attack also came just 11 days ahead of midterm elections in which crime and public safety have emerged as top concerns among Americans.

In 2021, Capitol Police investigated around 9,600 threats made against members of Congress, and members have been physically attacked in recent years. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot in the head at an event outside a Tucson grocery store in 2011, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was severely injured when a gunman opened fire on a Republican congressional baseball team practice in 2017.

Members of Congress have received additional dollars for security at their homes, but some have pushed for yet more protection as people have shown up at their homes and as members have received an increasing number of threatening communications.

Capitol Police, tasked with protecting congressional leaders, said Nancy Pelosi was with her protective detail in Washington at the time her husband was attacked.

Speaker Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the president, had just returned this week from a security conference in Europe and is due to keynote an advocacy event Saturday evening in Washington with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Capitol Police said the FBI and San Francisco police were also investigating. The suspect was in the custody of the San Francisco police.

Often at Nancy Pelosi’s side during formal events in Washington, Paul Pelosi is a wealthy investor who largely remains on the West Coast. They have five adult children and many grandchildren. The two have been married 59 years.

Earlier this year, Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence charges related to a May crash in California’s wine country and was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-san-francisco-nancy-pelosi-sentencing-napa-e98c47d5c47fa273cf2d65bf5c85124f">sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation</a>.

President Joe Biden and lawmakers from both parties reacted to the assault with shock and expressed their well wishes to the Pelosi family.

“What happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “I spoke with Speaker Pelosi earlier this morning and conveyed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery.”

“We have been to many events with the Pelosis over the last 2 decades and we’ve had lots of occasions to talk about both of our families and the challenges of being part of a political family. Thinking about the Pelosi family today," tweeted Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden has also been in contact with Nancy Pelosi.

“The President is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family,” Jean-Pierre said. “This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected. The president continues to condemn all violence, and asks that the family’s desire for privacy be respected.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on twitter, “Horrified and disgusted by the reports that Paul Pelosi was assaulted in his and Speaker Pelosi’s home last night. Grateful to hear that Paul is on track to make a full recovery and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol Police are on the case.”

At the Capitol Democratic Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont, who is third in line of succession, said he had known Paul Pelosi “forever.” He said, “It’s just horrible.”

The Pelosi home in the wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood has been the scene of several protests in the past few years. After Nancy Pelosi was seen on video getting her hair done at a salon while many were shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, stylists protested outside with curling irons. Members of the Chinese community protested outside recently before Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. And during debates over the federal stimulus package protesters scrawled anarchy signs in black paint across the garage door, along with “cancel rent,” and “we want everything.” They left a pig's head on the driveway.

That was a chilling echo of the chants during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, when rioters trying to stop Joe Biden's election searched menacingly for the House speaker.

<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/paul-pelosi">Paul Pelosi</a>&nbsp;was attacked and severely beaten by an assailant with a hammer who broke into the Pelosi home early Friday, according to people familiar with the investigation. The assailant confronted him shouting for the speaker's whereabouts, according to another person briefed on the situation.

Paul Pelosi, 82, suffered blunt force injuries to his head and body, according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe.

Pelosi was being treated by doctors for bruising, severe swelling and other injuries. Nancy Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill said he was expected to make a full recovery.

“The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time," Hammill said in a statement.

While the circumstances of the attack are unclear, the attack raises questions about the safety of members of Congress and their families. Threats to lawmakers are at an all-time high almost two years after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">the Capitol insurrection</a>. The attack also comes just 11 days ahead of midterm elections in which crime and public safety have emerged as top concerns among Americans.

In 2021, Capitol Police investigated around 9,600 threats made against members of Congress, and members have been violently attacked in recent years. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot in the head at an event outside a Tucson grocery store in 2011, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was severely injured when a gunman opened fire on a Republican congressional baseball team practice in 2017.

Members of Congress have received additional dollars for security at their homes, but some have pushed for more protection as people have showed up at their homes and as members have received an increasing number of threatening communications.

Capitol Police, tasked with protecting congressional leaders, said Nancy Pelosi was with her protective detail in Washington at the time her husband was attacked. She'd just returned this week from a security conference in Europe and is due to keynote an advocacy event Saturday evening in Washington with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Capitol Police said the FBI and San Francisco police were also investigating. The suspect is in the custody of the San Francisco police.

The Pelosi home in the wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood has been the scene of several protests in the past few years. After Nancy Pelosi was seen on video getting her hair done at a salon while many were shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, stylists protested outside with curling irons. Members of the Chinese community protested outside recently before Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. And during debates over the federal stimulus package protesters scrawled anarchy signs in black paint across the garage door, along with “cancel rent,” and “we want everything.”

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/paul-pelosi">Paul Pelosi</a>, the husband of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nancy-pelosi">House Speaker Nancy Pelosi</a>, was attacked and severely beaten by an assailant with a hammer who broke into their San Francisco home early Friday, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Pelosi, 82, suffered blunt force injuries to his head and body, according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe.

The attack was not random; the assailant specifically targeted the home, the people said. The assailant was in custody.

While the circumstances of the attack are unclear, the attack raises questions about the safety of members of Congress and their families as threats to lawmakers are at an all-time high almost two years after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">the deadly Capitol insurrection</a>. The attack also comes just 11 days ahead of midterm elections in which crime and public safety have emerged as top concerns among Americans.

Capitol Police, tasked with protecting congressional leaders, said Nancy Pelosi was with her protective detail in Washington at the time her husband was attacked. She'd just returned this week from a security conference in Europe and is due to keynote an advocacy event Saturday evening with Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Pelosi home in the wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood has been the scene of several protests in the past few years. After Nancy Pelosi was seen on video getting her hair done at a salon while many were shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, stylists protested outside with curling irons. Members of the Chinese community protested outside recently before Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. And during during debates over the federal stimulus package protesters scrawled anarchy signs in black paint across the garage door, along with “cancel rent,” and “we want everything.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was severely beaten by an assailant who broke into their San Francisco home, and he's being treated by doctors for injuries, according to people familiar with the matter.

Pelosi, 82, suffered blunt force injuries in the attack, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was “violently assaulted” by an assailant who broke into their San Francisco home early Friday, and he is now in the hospital and expected to make a full recovery, said her spokesman, Drew Hammill.

Pelosi was not in the residence at the time. Hammill said the assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation.

Pelosi just returned to Washington this week from a security conference in Europe and is due to keynote an advocacy event Saturday evening with Vice President Kamala Harris.

While the circumstances of the attack are unclear, the incident raises additional questions about the safety of members of Congress and their families as threats to lawmakers are at an all-time high almost two years after the violent Capitol insurrection.

Members of Congress have received additional dollars for security at their homes, but some have pushed for more protection as people have showed up at their homes and as members have received an increasing amount of threatening communications.

🎥.Police ID suspect in hammer attack on Pelosi's husband 

By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/unmc-grant-aims-to-grow-public-health-pros-in-rural-and-tribal-lands/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — A $1.5 million grant to the 
University of Nebraska Medical Center will provide free tuition to help 
beef up the presence of public health practitioners in rural and tribal 
communities in a multi-state region, including Nebraska.&nbsp;

The funds from the Health Resources 
and Services Administration will go to the Public Health Scholarship 
Program, targeting rural, under-resourced and tribal communities of 
Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and South and North Dakota.

For three years, the scholarship program is to provide full tuition for at least 37 public health practitioners a year.

“It continues to be challenging to 
attract and retain new graduates in under-resourced communities,” said 
Brandon Grimm of the UNMC College of Public Health and principal 
investigator for the program.

He said a hallmark of the program is to allow the education to take place on the scholar’s own turf.

“Training individuals where they are,
 in the communities they love and are committed to, is an innovative 
model that will result in a more dedicated and trained public health 
workforce in rural and tribal communities,” said Grimm.

UNMC said that its College of Public 
Health offers all degree programs virtually, making it the most 
comprehensive accredited online training program in the region. The 
online training also makes it accessible to individuals working 
full-time in public health throughout the region.

The scholarships
 made available through the funding will pay for full tuition and fees 
for a public health practitioner to receive a certificate, master of 
public health, master of health administration or doctor of public 
health degree.

By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/unmc-grant-aims-to-grow-public-health-pros-in-rural-and-tribal-lands/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — A $1.5 million grant to the 
University of Nebraska Medical Center will provide free tuition to help 
beef up the presence of public health practitioners in rural and tribal 
communities in a multi-state region, including Nebraska.&nbsp;The funds from the Health Resources 
and Services Administration will go to the Public Health Scholarship 
Program, targeting rural, under-resourced and tribal communities of 
Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and South and North Dakota.For three years, the scholarship program is to provide full tuition for at least 37 public health practitioners a year.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666982278125.jpeg" alt="Brandon Grimm, University of Nebraska Medical Center (Courtesy of UNMC)" />
 <figcaption>Brandon Grimm, University of Nebraska Medical Center (Courtesy of UNMC)</figcaption>
 </figure>“It continues to be challenging to 
attract and retain new graduates in under-resourced communities,” said 
Brandon Grimm of the UNMC College of Public Health and principal 
investigator for the program.He said a hallmark of the program is to allow the education to take place on the scholar’s own turf.“Training individuals where they are,
 in the communities they love and are committed to, is an innovative 
model that will result in a more dedicated and trained public health 
workforce in rural and tribal communities,” said Grimm.UNMC said that its College of Public 
Health offers all degree programs virtually, making it the most 
comprehensive accredited online training program in the region. The 
online training also makes it accessible to individuals working 
full-time in public health throughout the region.The scholarships
 made available through the funding will pay for full tuition and fees 
for a public health practitioner to receive a certificate, master of 
public health, master of health administration or doctor of public 
health degree.Cover image courtesy Pixabay

UNMC grant aims to grow public health pros in rural and tribal lands

Donors set a record during GOP governor’s primary

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/10/28/spending-on-nebraska-elections-is-surging-with-no-end-in-sight/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — Every two years, Nebraskans 
get inundated by political ads, mailers and text messages from 
candidates for federal office. Every four years, would-be governors come
 calling with wave after wave of advertising. 

But the torrent of ads and outreach 
from races down the ballot — from Legislature to local school boards — 
is relatively new. What’s changed? Donors these days are spending more 
money on state and local races, including the smaller ones.

By the mid-June filing 
deadline, Nebraska campaigns and political committees had raised a 
record $51 million on state and local races, based on a dozen years of 
campaign finance data.

That’s more than double the old 
record of $23 million just two years ago. It’s nearly seven times the 
recent low of $7 million raised for those races in 2012.

In 2014’s midterm elections that, 
like this year, included an open seat for governor and a competitive 
Republican primary, $20 million was raised.

Nebraska’s costliest-ever GOP primary
 for governor this spring drove the newest numbers. Nearly $28 million 
was raised, powered by agribusinessman Charles Herbster’s $13 million, 
University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen’s $10 million and State Sen. 
Brett Lindstrom’s $3 million.

Political spending by Gov. Pete 
Ricketts and his family added up. They gave nearly $2 million to 
Conservative Nebraska, an outside group that hammered both of Pillen’s 
top GOP opponents.

The governor also helped fund groups 
spending on other races, including the Nebraska Future Action Fund, 
which is spending on a University of Nebraska regent’s race and others.&nbsp;

Two well-funded ballot initiatives 
are adding another boost to the numbers. Efforts to require voters to 
show ID and to raise the minimum wage have generated about $2 million 
apiece.&nbsp;

Ricketts’ mother, Marlene, funded 
much of the Voter ID effort. Donors to the minimum wage effort include 
Nebraska Appleseed, labor unions and a national progressive group, 
Sixteen Thirty Fund.&nbsp;

Fundraising is up from conservative 
groups that support charter schools and vouchers, including the Nebraska
 Federation for Children, which reported raising $735,000.

The Nebraska State Education 
Association and other supporters of public education, including a new 
group, Trust Nebraska Teachers, are raising money on the other side. 
Late fundraising by this and other new groups isn’t yet showing up on 
campaign finance forms and will likely add to record totals, political 
observers told the Nebraska Examiner.

Then there are the State Board of 
Education races, which are seeing record fundraising from all sides 
after the board proposed, and later withdrew, new health standards.&nbsp;

A slate of four GOP candidates for 
the board has objected to how the standards would have advised Nebraska 
schools on how to address issues facing LGBTQ students, including 
transgendered youths.

A national and local GOP effort is 
underway to motivate conservative parents to vote. Advocates for LGBTQ 
students say the campaigns risk alienating kids.

Republicans and Democrats running for
 the board this year all raised more than $30,000 each, which used to be
 the high-water mark for races outside of the Omaha area.

One clear sign of increased spending is the growing number of legislative candidates raising six-figure sums.

Spending has been trending upward since at least 2010.&nbsp;

Nebraska legislative candidates 
crossed a historic threshold in 2020, when a record 27 candidates each 
raised more than $100,000 to run for a position that pays $12,000 a 
year.&nbsp;

This year, another 20 legislative 
candidates appeared poised to raise $100,000 or more, based on 
post-primary records filed with the Nebraska Accountability and 
Disclosure Commission.

Ten years ago, only seven or eight legislative candidates raised that level of campaign funds.&nbsp;

In other highly competitive races, 
major party candidates for Douglas and Lancaster County attorney are all
 raising six figures, and some candidates in next spring’s mayor’s race 
in Lincoln are already eclipsing $100,000.

Nebraska Public Service Commissioner 
Crystal Rhoades, who has previously helped elect Democrats in Douglas 
County, said she sees a difference from past years in the level of 
spending on down-ballot races and in who is spending money.

Rhoades said she had seen expensive individual races before, but not this many and not to this degree.&nbsp;

“There are many more groups 
participating and forming, and the existing groups are spending much 
more (money),” she said. “Some of these legislative races are going to 
get to $400,000 or $500,000 when you include independent expenditures.”&nbsp;

Former State Sen. Phil Erdman, a 
Republican who now lobbies the Nebraska and Iowa Legislatures for 
agricultural equipment dealers, said people shouldn’t worry about the 
money being raised, because it’s being raised by both sides.

Erdman cited his first race for the Legislature in 2000. He said he was outspent 5-to-1 or 6-to-1.

“You’ll see some races where somebody
 may have raised more and spent more, but it doesn’t necessarily add up 
to a win,” Erdman said. “If you don’t have the resources, you can’t get 
your message out effectively.”

Gavin Geis of Common Cause Nebraska, 
which advocates for limits on campaign contributions, said the rising 
cost of running is pricing out people who don’t have connections to 
wealth.

“We’ve seen this nationally,” Geis 
said. “There is more of a focus on local races. There is way more giving
 at the local level. It’s not surprising, but it’s still shocking.

“The question is when does this stop? When does it plateau?”

That fundraising will continue to 
climb, he said, as long as the Legislature maintains the state as a 
“Wild West” for political fundraising, with no caps on donations and few
 rules.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Voters, he said, lose the ability to 
elect leaders who represent and reflect their communities as the cost of
 running increases.&nbsp;

A 1993 Nebraska law tried to balance 
the scales by setting a voluntary spending limit. Once a candidate 
eclipsed that level of spending, the state offered public money to 
competing campaigns that raised and spent less.

Under the law, legislative races were
 capped at a certain level, and few candidates bucked the limit. The 
Nebraska Supreme Court tossed out the law in 2012, however, and campaign
 spending has risen dramatically since then.

Geis said Nebraska is unlikely to 
revive its Campaign Finance Limitation Act, but he said state senators 
could legislate limits on individual and group donations that would pass
 constitutional muster.

Former State Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh, a Republican who tried to repeal
 the limitations act when he was in the Legislature, said he preferred 
increasing public disclosure of who is donating funds and not setting 
&nbsp;spending limits.

Caps, he said, encroach on people’s “freedom of speech.”

Creighton University political 
scientist Richard Witmer and retired University of Nebraska at Omaha 
political scientist Paul Landow said several factors are driving the new
 spending.

Among the contributing causes in Nebraska that they cited:&nbsp;

“Generally speaking, spending on 
political races is out of control,” Landow said. “It gets more and more 
expensive every year. It’s not good for American democracy.”

And why would people want to raise that much money for a $12,000 job in the Nebraska Legislature?

“It’s never about the money,” Witmer 
said. “You can’t put a price on power. Why would all of these people 
want a job in Congress? In Lincoln, it’s the same thing.”

<h2>Donors set a record during GOP governor’s primary</h2>By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/10/28/spending-on-nebraska-elections-is-surging-with-no-end-in-sight/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — Every two years, Nebraskans 
get inundated by political ads, mailers and text messages from 
candidates for federal office. Every four years, would-be governors come
 calling with wave after wave of advertising. But the torrent of ads and outreach 
from races down the ballot — from Legislature to local school boards — 
is relatively new. What’s changed? Donors these days are spending more 
money on state and local races, including the smaller ones.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666966788429.png" alt="&nbsp;Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Source: Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By the mid-June filing 
deadline, Nebraska campaigns and political committees had raised a 
record $51 million on state and local races, based on a dozen years of 
campaign finance data.That’s more than double the old 
record of $23 million just two years ago. It’s nearly seven times the 
recent low of $7 million raised for those races in 2012.In 2014’s midterm elections that, 
like this year, included an open seat for governor and a competitive 
Republican primary, $20 million was raised.<h2>A record year</h2>Nebraska’s costliest-ever GOP primary
 for governor this spring drove the newest numbers. Nearly $28 million 
was raised, powered by agribusinessman Charles Herbster’s $13 million, 
University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen’s $10 million and State Sen. 
Brett Lindstrom’s $3 million.Political spending by Gov. Pete 
Ricketts and his family added up. They gave nearly $2 million to 
Conservative Nebraska, an outside group that hammered both of Pillen’s 
top GOP opponents.The governor also helped fund groups 
spending on other races, including the Nebraska Future Action Fund, 
which is spending on a University of Nebraska regent’s race and others.&nbsp;Two well-funded ballot initiatives 
are adding another boost to the numbers. Efforts to require voters to 
show ID and to raise the minimum wage have generated about $2 million 
apiece.&nbsp;Ricketts’ mother, Marlene, funded 
much of the Voter ID effort. Donors to the minimum wage effort include 
Nebraska Appleseed, labor unions and a national progressive group, 
Sixteen Thirty Fund.&nbsp;<h2>Education races</h2>Fundraising is up from conservative 
groups that support charter schools and vouchers, including the Nebraska
 Federation for Children, which reported raising $735,000.The Nebraska State Education 
Association and other supporters of public education, including a new 
group, Trust Nebraska Teachers, are raising money on the other side. 
Late fundraising by this and other new groups isn’t yet showing up on 
campaign finance forms and will likely add to record totals, political 
observers told the Nebraska Examiner.Then there are the State Board of 
Education races, which are seeing record fundraising from all sides 
after the board proposed, and later withdrew, new health standards.&nbsp;A slate of four GOP candidates for 
the board has objected to how the standards would have advised Nebraska 
schools on how to address issues facing LGBTQ students, including 
transgendered youths.A national and local GOP effort is 
underway to motivate conservative parents to vote. Advocates for LGBTQ 
students say the campaigns risk alienating kids.Republicans and Democrats running for
 the board this year all raised more than $30,000 each, which used to be
 the high-water mark for races outside of the Omaha area.<h2>More candidates raise $100k</h2>One clear sign of increased spending is the growing number of legislative candidates raising six-figure sums.Spending has been trending upward since at least 2010.&nbsp;Nebraska legislative candidates 
crossed a historic threshold in 2020, when a record 27 candidates each 
raised more than $100,000 to run for a position that pays $12,000 a 
year.&nbsp;This year, another 20 legislative 
candidates appeared poised to raise $100,000 or more, based on 
post-primary records filed with the Nebraska Accountability and 
Disclosure Commission.Ten years ago, only seven or eight legislative candidates raised that level of campaign funds.&nbsp;In other highly competitive races, 
major party candidates for Douglas and Lancaster County attorney are all
 raising six figures, and some candidates in next spring’s mayor’s race 
in Lincoln are already eclipsing $100,000.<h2>Change on the ground</h2>Nebraska Public Service Commissioner 
Crystal Rhoades, who has previously helped elect Democrats in Douglas 
County, said she sees a difference from past years in the level of 
spending on down-ballot races and in who is spending money.Rhoades said she had seen expensive individual races before, but not this many and not to this degree.&nbsp;“There are many more groups 
participating and forming, and the existing groups are spending much 
more (money),” she said. “Some of these legislative races are going to 
get to $400,000 or $500,000 when you include independent expenditures.”&nbsp;Former State Sen. Phil Erdman, a 
Republican who now lobbies the Nebraska and Iowa Legislatures for 
agricultural equipment dealers, said people shouldn’t worry about the 
money being raised, because it’s being raised by both sides.Erdman cited his first race for the Legislature in 2000. He said he was outspent 5-to-1 or 6-to-1.“You’ll see some races where somebody
 may have raised more and spent more, but it doesn’t necessarily add up 
to a win,” Erdman said. “If you don’t have the resources, you can’t get 
your message out effectively.”<h2>Cost of costlier campaigns</h2>Gavin Geis of Common Cause Nebraska, 
which advocates for limits on campaign contributions, said the rising 
cost of running is pricing out people who don’t have connections to 
wealth.“We’ve seen this nationally,” Geis 
said. “There is more of a focus on local races. There is way more giving
 at the local level. It’s not surprising, but it’s still shocking.“The question is when does this stop? When does it plateau?”That fundraising will continue to 
climb, he said, as long as the Legislature maintains the state as a 
“Wild West” for political fundraising, with no caps on donations and few
 rules.&nbsp;&nbsp;Voters, he said, lose the ability to 
elect leaders who represent and reflect their communities as the cost of
 running increases.&nbsp;A 1993 Nebraska law tried to balance 
the scales by setting a voluntary spending limit. Once a candidate 
eclipsed that level of spending, the state offered public money to 
competing campaigns that raised and spent less.Under the law, legislative races were
 capped at a certain level, and few candidates bucked the limit. The 
Nebraska Supreme Court tossed out the law in 2012, however, and campaign
 spending has risen dramatically since then.Geis said Nebraska is unlikely to 
revive its Campaign Finance Limitation Act, but he said state senators 
could legislate limits on individual and group donations that would pass
 constitutional muster.“They should do something,” he said.Former State Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh, a Republican who tried to repeal
 the limitations act when he was in the Legislature, said he preferred 
increasing public disclosure of who is donating funds and not setting 
&nbsp;spending limits.Caps, he said, encroach on people’s “freedom of speech.”<h2>Possible causes</h2>Creighton University political 
scientist Richard Witmer and retired University of Nebraska at Omaha 
political scientist Paul Landow said several factors are driving the new
 spending.Among the contributing causes in Nebraska that they cited:&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>Campaigns have become more 
expensive, as TV, radio, newspaper and online advertising costs more, 
and as political consultants charge more.</li><li>Term limits are a factor because they create more open-seat races, on which both parties compete and spend more.&nbsp;</li><li>High-dollar donors are spending more
 as they compete with each other for influence. The professors mentioned
 big spending on other political races by Ricketts and Herbster as 
examples.</li><li>Dark money groups, which shield the identity of their donors, are also attracting more funding.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>“Generally speaking, spending on 
political races is out of control,” Landow said. “It gets more and more 
expensive every year. It’s not good for American democracy.”And why would people want to raise that much money for a $12,000 job in the Nebraska Legislature?“It’s never about the money,” Witmer 
said. “You can’t put a price on power. Why would all of these people 
want a job in Congress? In Lincoln, it’s the same thing.”

Spending on Nebraska elections is surging, with no end in sight

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) —Jerry Lee Lewis, the untamable rock ‘n’ roll pioneer whose outrageous talent, energy and ego collided on such definitive records as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and sustained a career otherwise upended by personal scandal, died Friday morning at 87.

The last survivor of a generation of groundbreaking performers that included Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Lewis died at home in Memphis, Tennessee, representative Zach Farnum said in a release.

Of all the rock rebels to emerge in the 1950s, few captured the new genre’s attraction and danger as unforgettably as the Louisiana-born piano player who called himself “The Killer.”

Tender ballads were best left to the old folks. Lewis was all about lust and gratification, with his leering tenor and demanding asides, violent tempos and brash glissandi, cocky sneer and crazy blond hair. He was a one-man stampede who made the fans scream and the keyboards swear, his live act so combustible that during a 1957 performance of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” on “The Steve Allen Show,” chairs were thrown at him like buckets of water on an inferno.

“There was rockabilly. There was Elvis. But there was no pure rock ’n ’roll before Jerry Lee Lewis kicked in the door,” a Lewis admirer once observed. That admirer was Jerry Lee Lewis.

But in his private life, he raged in ways that might have ended his career today — and nearly did back then.

For a brief time, in 1958, he was a contender to replace Presley as rock’s prime hit maker after Elvis was drafted into the Army. But while Lewis toured in England, the press learned three damaging things: He was married to 13-year-old (possibly even 12-year-old) Myra Gale Brown, she was his cousin, and he was still married to his previous wife. His tour was canceled, he was blacklisted from the radio and his earnings dropped overnight to virtually nothing.

“I probably would have rearranged my life a little bit different, but I never did hide anything from people,” Lewis told the Wall Street Journal in 2014 when asked about the marriage. “I just went on with my life as usual.”

Over the following decades, Lewis struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, legal disputes and physical illness. Two of his many marriages ended in his wife’s early death. Brown herself divorced him in the early 1970s and would later allege physical and mental cruelty that nearly drove her to suicide.

“If I was still married to Jerry, I’d probably be dead by now,” she told People magazine in 1989.

Lewis reinvented himself as a country performer in the 1960s, and the music industry eventually forgave him, long after he stopped having hits. He won three Grammys, and recorded with some of the industry’s greatest stars. In 2006, Lewis came out with “Last Man Standing,” featuring Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King and George Jones. In 2010, Lewis brought in Jagger, Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw and others for the album “Mean Old Man.”

In “The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock &amp; Roll,” first published in 1975, he recalled how he convinced disc jockeys to give him a second chance.

“This time I said, ‘Look, man, let’s get together and draw a line on this stuff — a peace treaty you know,’” he explained. Lewis would still play the old hits on stage, but on the radio he would sing country.

Lewis had a run of top 10 country hits between 1967-70, and hardly mellowed at all. He performed drinking songs such as “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)”, the roving eye confessions of “She Still Comes Around” and a dry-eyed cover of a classic ballad of abandonment, “She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye.” He had remained popular in Europe and a 1964 album, “Live at the Star Club, Hamburg,” is widely regarded as one of the greatest concert records.

A 1973 performance proved more troublesome: Lewis sang for the Grand Ole Opry and broke two longstanding rules — no swearing and no non-country songs.

“I am a rock and rollin’, country-and-western, rhythm and blues-singin’ motherf—–,” he told the audience.

Lewis married seven times, and was rarely far from trouble or death. His fourth wife, Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate, drowned in a swimming pool in 1982 while suing for divorce. His fifth wife, Shawn Stephens, 23 years his junior, died of an apparent drug overdose in 1983. Within a year, Lewis had married Kerrie McCarver, then 21. She filed for divorce in 1986, accusing him of physical abuse and infidelity. He countersued, but both petitions eventually were dropped. They finally divorced in 2005 after several years of separation. The couple had one child, Jerry Lee III.

Another son by a previous marriage, Steve Allen Lewis, 3, drowned in a swimming pool in 1962, and son Jerry Lee Jr. died in a traffic accident at 19 in 1973. Lewis also had two daughters, Phoebe and Lori Leigh, and his survived by his wife Judith.

His finances were also chaotic. Lewis made millions, but he liked his money in cash and ended up owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service. When he began welcoming tourists in 1994 to his longtime residence near Nesbit, Mississippi — complete with a piano-shaped swimming pool — he set up a 900 phone number fans could call for a recorded message at $2.75 a minute.

The son of one-time bootlegger Elmo Lewis and the cousin of TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart and country star Mickey Gilley, Lewis was born in Ferriday, Louisiana. As a boy, he first learned to play guitar, but found the instrument too confining and longed for an instrument that the only the rich people in his town could afford — a piano. His life changed when his father pulled up in his truck one day and presented him a dark-wood, upright set of keyboards.

“My eyes almost fell out of my head,” Lewis recalled in “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story,” written by Rick Bragg and published in 2014.

He took to the piano immediately, and began sneaking off to Black juke joints and absorbing everything from gospel to boogie-woogie. Conflicted early on between secular and scared music, he quit school at 16, with plans of becoming a piano-playing preacher. Lewis briefly attended Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas, a fundamentalist Bible college, but was expelled, reportedly, for playing the “wrong” kind of music.

“Great Balls of Fire,” a sexualized take on Biblical imagery that Lewis initially refused to record, and “Whole Lotta Shakin’” were his most enduring songs and performance pieces. Lewis had only a handful of other pop hits, including “High School Confidential” and “Breathless,” but they were enough to ensure his place as a rock ‘n’ roll architect.

“No group, be it (the) Beatles, Dylan or Stones, have ever improved on ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’’ for my money,” John Lennon would tell Rolling Stone in 1970.

A roadhouse veteran by his early 20s, Lewis took off for Memphis in 1956 and showed up at the studios of Sun Records, the musical home of Elvis, Perkins and Cash. Told by company founder Sam Phillips to go learn some rock ‘n roll, Lewis returned and soon hurried off “Whole Lotta Shakin’” in a single take.

“I knew it was a hit when I cut it,” he later said. “Sam Phillips thought it was gonna be too risque, it couldn’t make it. If that’s risque, well, I’m sorry.”

In 1986, along with Elvis, Chuck Berry and others, he made the inaugural class of inductees for the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame. The Killer not only outlasted his contemporaries but saw his life and music periodically reintroduced to younger fans, including the the 1989 biopic “Great Balls of Fire,” starring Dennis Quaid, and Ethan Coen’s 2022 documentary “Trouble in Mind.” A 2010 Broadway music, “Million Dollar Quartet,” was inspired by a recording session that featured Lewis, Elvis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.

He won a Grammy in 1987 as part of an interview album that was cited for best spoken word recording, and he received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2005. The following year, “Whole Lotta Shakin’” was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, whose board praised the “propulsive boogie piano that was perfectly complemented by the drive of J.M. Van Eaton’s energetic drumming. The listeners to the recording, like Lewis himself, had a hard time remaining seated during the performance.”

A classmate at Bible school, Pearry Green, remembered meeting Lewis years later and asking if he was still playing the devil’s music.

“Yes, I am,” Lewis answered. “But you know it’s strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don’t.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666820753247.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) —Jerry Lee Lewis, the untamable rock ‘n’ roll pioneer whose outrageous talent, energy and ego collided on such definitive records as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and sustained a career otherwise upended by personal scandal, died Friday morning at 87.The last survivor of a generation of groundbreaking performers that included Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Lewis died at home in Memphis, Tennessee, representative Zach Farnum said in a release.Of all the rock rebels to emerge in the 1950s, few captured the new genre’s attraction and danger as unforgettably as the Louisiana-born piano player who called himself “The Killer.”Tender ballads were best left to the old folks. Lewis was all about lust and gratification, with his leering tenor and demanding asides, violent tempos and brash glissandi, cocky sneer and crazy blond hair. He was a one-man stampede who made the fans scream and the keyboards swear, his live act so combustible that during a 1957 performance of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” on “The Steve Allen Show,” chairs were thrown at him like buckets of water on an inferno.“There was rockabilly. There was Elvis. But there was no pure rock ’n ’roll before Jerry Lee Lewis kicked in the door,” a Lewis admirer once observed. That admirer was Jerry Lee Lewis.But in his private life, he raged in ways that might have ended his career today — and nearly did back then.For a brief time, in 1958, he was a contender to replace Presley as rock’s prime hit maker after Elvis was drafted into the Army. But while Lewis toured in England, the press learned three damaging things: He was married to 13-year-old (possibly even 12-year-old) Myra Gale Brown, she was his cousin, and he was still married to his previous wife. His tour was canceled, he was blacklisted from the radio and his earnings dropped overnight to virtually nothing.“I probably would have rearranged my life a little bit different, but I never did hide anything from people,” Lewis told the Wall Street Journal in 2014 when asked about the marriage. “I just went on with my life as usual.”Over the following decades, Lewis struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, legal disputes and physical illness. Two of his many marriages ended in his wife’s early death. Brown herself divorced him in the early 1970s and would later allege physical and mental cruelty that nearly drove her to suicide.“If I was still married to Jerry, I’d probably be dead by now,” she told People magazine in 1989.Lewis reinvented himself as a country performer in the 1960s, and the music industry eventually forgave him, long after he stopped having hits. He won three Grammys, and recorded with some of the industry’s greatest stars. In 2006, Lewis came out with “Last Man Standing,” featuring Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King and George Jones. In 2010, Lewis brought in Jagger, Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw and others for the album “Mean Old Man.”In “The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock &amp; Roll,” first published in 1975, he recalled how he convinced disc jockeys to give him a second chance.“This time I said, ‘Look, man, let’s get together and draw a line on this stuff — a peace treaty you know,’” he explained. Lewis would still play the old hits on stage, but on the radio he would sing country.Lewis had a run of top 10 country hits between 1967-70, and hardly mellowed at all. He performed drinking songs such as “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)”, the roving eye confessions of “She Still Comes Around” and a dry-eyed cover of a classic ballad of abandonment, “She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye.” He had remained popular in Europe and a 1964 album, “Live at the Star Club, Hamburg,” is widely regarded as one of the greatest concert records.A 1973 performance proved more troublesome: Lewis sang for the Grand Ole Opry and broke two longstanding rules — no swearing and no non-country songs.“I am a rock and rollin’, country-and-western, rhythm and blues-singin’ motherf—–,” he told the audience.Lewis married seven times, and was rarely far from trouble or death. His fourth wife, Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate, drowned in a swimming pool in 1982 while suing for divorce. His fifth wife, Shawn Stephens, 23 years his junior, died of an apparent drug overdose in 1983. Within a year, Lewis had married Kerrie McCarver, then 21. She filed for divorce in 1986, accusing him of physical abuse and infidelity. He countersued, but both petitions eventually were dropped. They finally divorced in 2005 after several years of separation. The couple had one child, Jerry Lee III.Another son by a previous marriage, Steve Allen Lewis, 3, drowned in a swimming pool in 1962, and son Jerry Lee Jr. died in a traffic accident at 19 in 1973. Lewis also had two daughters, Phoebe and Lori Leigh, and his survived by his wife Judith.His finances were also chaotic. Lewis made millions, but he liked his money in cash and ended up owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service. When he began welcoming tourists in 1994 to his longtime residence near Nesbit, Mississippi — complete with a piano-shaped swimming pool — he set up a 900 phone number fans could call for a recorded message at $2.75 a minute.The son of one-time bootlegger Elmo Lewis and the cousin of TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart and country star Mickey Gilley, Lewis was born in Ferriday, Louisiana. As a boy, he first learned to play guitar, but found the instrument too confining and longed for an instrument that the only the rich people in his town could afford — a piano. His life changed when his father pulled up in his truck one day and presented him a dark-wood, upright set of keyboards.“My eyes almost fell out of my head,” Lewis recalled in “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story,” written by Rick Bragg and published in 2014.He took to the piano immediately, and began sneaking off to Black juke joints and absorbing everything from gospel to boogie-woogie. Conflicted early on between secular and scared music, he quit school at 16, with plans of becoming a piano-playing preacher. Lewis briefly attended Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas, a fundamentalist Bible college, but was expelled, reportedly, for playing the “wrong” kind of music.“Great Balls of Fire,” a sexualized take on Biblical imagery that Lewis initially refused to record, and “Whole Lotta Shakin’” were his most enduring songs and performance pieces. Lewis had only a handful of other pop hits, including “High School Confidential” and “Breathless,” but they were enough to ensure his place as a rock ‘n’ roll architect.“No group, be it (the) Beatles, Dylan or Stones, have ever improved on ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’’ for my money,” John Lennon would tell Rolling Stone in 1970.A roadhouse veteran by his early 20s, Lewis took off for Memphis in 1956 and showed up at the studios of Sun Records, the musical home of Elvis, Perkins and Cash. Told by company founder Sam Phillips to go learn some rock ‘n roll, Lewis returned and soon hurried off “Whole Lotta Shakin’” in a single take.“I knew it was a hit when I cut it,” he later said. “Sam Phillips thought it was gonna be too risque, it couldn’t make it. If that’s risque, well, I’m sorry.”In 1986, along with Elvis, Chuck Berry and others, he made the inaugural class of inductees for the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame. The Killer not only outlasted his contemporaries but saw his life and music periodically reintroduced to younger fans, including the the 1989 biopic “Great Balls of Fire,” starring Dennis Quaid, and Ethan Coen’s 2022 documentary “Trouble in Mind.” A 2010 Broadway music, “Million Dollar Quartet,” was inspired by a recording session that featured Lewis, Elvis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.He won a Grammy in 1987 as part of an interview album that was cited for best spoken word recording, and he received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2005. The following year, “Whole Lotta Shakin’” was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, whose board praised the “propulsive boogie piano that was perfectly complemented by the drive of J.M. Van Eaton’s energetic drumming. The listeners to the recording, like Lewis himself, had a hard time remaining seated during the performance.”A classmate at Bible school, Pearry Green, remembered meeting Lewis years later and asking if he was still playing the devil’s music.“Yes, I am,” Lewis answered. “But you know it’s strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don’t.”

Rock ‘n’ roll star Jerry Lee Lewis dies at 87

By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-capitol-hosts-day-of-the-dead-altars/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;Visitors to the State 
Capitol through Nov. 4 will see sugar skulls, candles, butterflies and a
 traditional “altar de ofrendas” in celebration of the annual el dia de Los Muertos.

The Mexican Cultural Center of the 
Heartland, based in Omaha and dedicated to preserving and promoting 
Mexican culture, prepared the first-floor exhibit on behalf of the 
Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mexicanmuseum.org/dia-de-los-muertos">El dia de Los Muertos,</a>
 the Day of the Dead, is celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2 and marks the annual
 returning of spirits that spend time with relatives. Families and loved
 ones traditionally build welcome altars decorated with offerings that 
include photos of the deceased, food and other favorite reminders of the
 friends and family members.

This year’s Capitol exhibit honored 
Mexican writer Juan Rulfo because of his worldwide reputation and 
literary work that’s closely related to the world of the dead, the 
commission said.

Photographs also pay tribute to 
people linked to the commission, including former director Cecilia 
Olivarez and former information officer Victoria Morehead, as well as 
members of the Legislature.

The exhibit on Nov. 5-6 will move to 
the Bellevue Berry Farm, 1101 S. 48th St., for a weekend event that will
 also include live music, traditional Mexican food and other 
entertainment.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666966612642.png" alt="Day of the Dead altar of offerings “altar de ofrendas” in the State Capitol (Courtesy of Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans)" />
 <figcaption>Day of the Dead altar of offerings “altar de ofrendas” in the State Capitol (Courtesy of Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans)</figcaption>
 </figure>By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-capitol-hosts-day-of-the-dead-altars/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;Visitors to the State 
Capitol through Nov. 4 will see sugar skulls, candles, butterflies and a
 traditional “altar de ofrendas” in celebration of the annual el dia de Los Muertos.The Mexican Cultural Center of the 
Heartland, based in Omaha and dedicated to preserving and promoting 
Mexican culture, prepared the first-floor exhibit on behalf of the 
Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mexicanmuseum.org/dia-de-los-muertos">El dia de Los Muertos,</a>
 the Day of the Dead, is celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2 and marks the annual
 returning of spirits that spend time with relatives. Families and loved
 ones traditionally build welcome altars decorated with offerings that 
include photos of the deceased, food and other favorite reminders of the
 friends and family members.This year’s Capitol exhibit honored 
Mexican writer Juan Rulfo because of his worldwide reputation and 
literary work that’s closely related to the world of the dead, the 
commission said.Photographs also pay tribute to 
people linked to the commission, including former director Cecilia 
Olivarez and former information officer Victoria Morehead, as well as 
members of the Legislature.The exhibit on Nov. 5-6 will move to 
the Bellevue Berry Farm, 1101 S. 48th St., for a weekend event that will
 also include live music, traditional Mexican food and other 
entertainment.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666966683306.png" alt="Day of the Dead in the State Capitol (Courtesy of Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans)" />
 <figcaption>Day of the Dead in the State Capitol (Courtesy of Nebraska Commission on Latino-Americans)</figcaption>
 </figure>

Nebraska Capitol hosts Day of the Dead altars

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-farmer-says-dont-do-what-he-did-misrepresent-crop-losses/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A Nebraska farmer took 
to the internet Thursday to urge his fellow farmers against doing what 
he did: misrepresent his crop losses to the federal government.

In September, a federal judge ordered Meadow Grove farmer Ross <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-farmer-ordered-to-pay-1-million-in-restitution-for-crop-insurance-fraud/">Nelson to pay $1 million in restitution</a>&nbsp;and a $30,000 fine for making a fraudulent crop insurance claim.

Nelson, in a webinar broadcast, said that in 2015, the crop yields on a plot he was farming weren’t what he was expecting.

So he underreported his yields to obtain more proceeds from federal 
crop insurance, which is intended to pay for losses, such as those from 
drought, floods and hail.

“I shouldn’t have done it. It wasn’t right,” Nelson said. “My priorities were wrong.”

As part of his sentence, he was ordered to do community service, 
which included appearing on Thursday’s webinar, hosted by the University
 of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

He was also sentenced to four years’ probation and 16 weekends of 
jail. Nelson said he is barred from obtaining crop insurance and may be 
blocked from participating in other federal farm programs.

But on the webinar, Nelson, a 48-year-old, married father of four, expressed gratitude. It could have been a lot worse, he said.

Defrauding the crop insurance program came with a sentence of up to 
30 years in prison. He said that despite the stress and financial 
setback, he has been able to keep farming and has kept his family.

Nelson said he now farms about one-third the acreage he used to but 
said he is current on his bank payments. He said his operation has 
shifted to custom feeding hogs to pay the bills.

“We were fortunate the way it ended up,” he said.

The misrepresentation was discovered after an audit was 
conducted of the actual crop yields, compared to those of neighboring 
farms. Nelson was paid $700,000 in crop insurance, but he said that, 
legally, he could not just repay what he received.

The investigation was conducted for the USDA by the Office of the Inspector General. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/News-Room/Continuing-Interest/Department-of-Justice-Prosecutions">U.S. Department of Justice website</a> lists a long line of convictions for crop insurance fraud across the country.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666966483547.png" alt="Nebraska farmer Ross Nelson, left, was interviewed Thursday by Ryan Evans of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. (Courtesy of the UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources)" />
 <figcaption>Nebraska farmer Ross Nelson, left, was interviewed Thursday by Ryan Evans of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. (Courtesy of the UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources)</figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-farmer-says-dont-do-what-he-did-misrepresent-crop-losses/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A Nebraska farmer took 
to the internet Thursday to urge his fellow farmers against doing what 
he did: misrepresent his crop losses to the federal government.In September, a federal judge ordered Meadow Grove farmer Ross <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-farmer-ordered-to-pay-1-million-in-restitution-for-crop-insurance-fraud/">Nelson to pay $1 million in restitution</a>&nbsp;and a $30,000 fine for making a fraudulent crop insurance claim.Nelson, in a webinar broadcast, said that in 2015, the crop yields on a plot he was farming weren’t what he was expecting.So he underreported his yields to obtain more proceeds from federal 
crop insurance, which is intended to pay for losses, such as those from 
drought, floods and hail.“I shouldn’t have done it. It wasn’t right,” Nelson said. “My priorities were wrong.”As part of his sentence, he was ordered to do community service, 
which included appearing on Thursday’s webinar, hosted by the University
 of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.He was also sentenced to four years’ probation and 16 weekends of 
jail. Nelson said he is barred from obtaining crop insurance and may be 
blocked from participating in other federal farm programs.But on the webinar, Nelson, a 48-year-old, married father of four, expressed gratitude. It could have been a lot worse, he said.Defrauding the crop insurance program came with a sentence of up to 
30 years in prison. He said that despite the stress and financial 
setback, he has been able to keep farming and has kept his family.Nelson said he now farms about one-third the acreage he used to but 
said he is current on his bank payments. He said his operation has 
shifted to custom feeding hogs to pay the bills.“We were fortunate the way it ended up,” he said.The misrepresentation was discovered after an audit was 
conducted of the actual crop yields, compared to those of neighboring 
farms. Nelson was paid $700,000 in crop insurance, but he said that, 
legally, he could not just repay what he received.The investigation was conducted for the USDA by the Office of the Inspector General. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/News-Room/Continuing-Interest/Department-of-Justice-Prosecutions">U.S. Department of Justice website</a> lists a long line of convictions for crop insurance fraud across the country.

Neb. farmer says don’t do what he did: Misrepresent crop losses

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — University of Florida faculty members expressed their displeasure Thursday with Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse being named as the lone finalist for the school’s presidency.

The Faculty Senate approved a no-confidence vote on the selection process by a margin of 67-15, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/education/2022/10/27/ben-sasse-uf-no-confidence-vote-university-florida-president/10605606002/">Gainesville Sun</a>&nbsp;reported. The Senate held an emergency meeting on the resolution, as the UF board of trustees is scheduled to consider Sasse for the position Tuesday.

The measure followed previous resolutions passed by the United Faculty of Florida union and the UF Student Senate criticizing the choice of Sasse for the job. Sasse, a Republican in his second Senate term, has drawn criticism from some at the school in Gainesville, Florida, for his stance on same-sex marriage and other LBGTQ issues. Others question his qualifications to run such a sprawling school with more than 50,000 students.

Breann Garbas, a Faculty Senate member who drafted Thursday's motion, said the problem isn’t that Sasse was selected, it was the way in which he was named as the only finalist.

“The process is the biggest problem here because we don’t know who those other candidates were,” Garbas said. “We don’t know anything about them, and we have no input in this and no say in it as a faculty as a whole.”

Sasse, 50, was previously president of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, which has just over 1,600 students. He said during a meeting on campus earlier this month when asked whether he opposes same-sex marriage that it is the national law as ruled upon by the U.S. Supreme Court and that his goal is to create a “place of respect and inclusion for all Gators,” mentioning the Southeastern Conference school’s sports mascot.

Sasse, who would resign from the Senate to take the position, was recommended for the school’s presidency by a search committee. He still faces a vote by the school’s board of trustees and then must be confirmed by the state board of governors.

<a href="https://northplattepost.com/posts/2ddcec21-000f-4ace-b19e-4250120d6629">&nbsp;&nbsp;Download The Post app for iOs or Android</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/8/1564937419455.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSGAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — University of Florida faculty members expressed their displeasure Thursday with Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse being named as the lone finalist for the school’s presidency.The Faculty Senate approved a no-confidence vote on the selection process by a margin of 67-15, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/education/2022/10/27/ben-sasse-uf-no-confidence-vote-university-florida-president/10605606002/">Gainesville Sun</a>&nbsp;reported. The Senate held an emergency meeting on the resolution, as the UF board of trustees is scheduled to consider Sasse for the position Tuesday.The measure followed previous resolutions passed by the United Faculty of Florida union and the UF Student Senate criticizing the choice of Sasse for the job. Sasse, a Republican in his second Senate term, has drawn criticism from some at the school in Gainesville, Florida, for his stance on same-sex marriage and other LBGTQ issues. Others question his qualifications to run such a sprawling school with more than 50,000 students.Breann Garbas, a Faculty Senate member who drafted Thursday's motion, said the problem isn’t that Sasse was selected, it was the way in which he was named as the only finalist.“The process is the biggest problem here because we don’t know who those other candidates were,” Garbas said. “We don’t know anything about them, and we have no input in this and no say in it as a faculty as a whole.”Sasse, 50, was previously president of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, which has just over 1,600 students. He said during a meeting on campus earlier this month when asked whether he opposes same-sex marriage that it is the national law as ruled upon by the U.S. Supreme Court and that his goal is to create a “place of respect and inclusion for all Gators,” mentioning the Southeastern Conference school’s sports mascot.Sasse, who would resign from the Senate to take the position, was recommended for the school’s presidency by a search committee. He still faces a vote by the school’s board of trustees and then must be confirmed by the state board of governors.<a href="https://northplattepost.com/posts/2ddcec21-000f-4ace-b19e-4250120d6629">&nbsp;&nbsp;Download The Post app for iOs or Android</a><figure>
 <img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/z6aRo_gO39CbdB2RFxQYHxfeeHn1xiW6gtv1uB1lhJHX1A4pxqyu638dX5jrMeDwyY9LroGuYbry6FX9uE1S53bKTtL8ShFFvZtR6SOqRqaRNyeuoxqfTwKsLeQGQJWuT3aGqCGSFEtO0ImOudXfRV5ERu7ZC5V2AwlCxSkxKJnpKm0iVnbt1YkAFqAl" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

Florida faculty vote no-confidence in process to pick Sasse

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Businesses are increasingly worried about the renewed threat of a railroad strike after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-strikes-government-and-politics-581babaeee804c37e4761424c02af21a">two unions rejected their deals</a>, and they want the Biden administration and Congress to be ready to intervene.

A coalition of 322 business groups from a variety of industries signed off on a letter to President Joe Biden Thursday urging him to make sure the deals he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-economy-strikes-congress-94089be6a4f469444da99fec9dde1b3e">helped broker last month</a>&nbsp;get approved because a railroad strike would have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-congress-government-and-politics-a53abd85fa6f8b3ccd622222ea9a4c46">dire consequences</a>&nbsp;for the economy. All 12 rail unions must approve their agreements to prevent a strike next month.

“It is paramount that these contracts now be ratified, as a rail shutdown would have a significant impact on the U.S. economy and lead to further inflationary pressure,” wrote the group, which includes nearly every major trade group and quite a few state business associations.

Biden has been watching the contract dispute closely and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-transportation-strikes-ba718974eb14fcd615d606bfcdffb3d2">appointed</a>&nbsp;a special board of arbitrators this summer to try to help resolve it, but the White House hasn't said whether he will get personally involved again.

The railroads have offered 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses in the five-year deal, which would be the biggest increases in more than four decades, but the negotiations hinge on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-government-and-politics-207229bcd558b6a6c1d58f3f85e2d804">quality-of-life concerns</a>. The unions that represent the conductors and engineers who drive the trains want the railroads to ease the punishing schedules that they say keep them on call 24-7, and the other unions want the railroads to add paid sick time.

A strike isn’t imminent because the two unions that voted down their deals agreed to retry negotiations before considering a walkout, but the railroads face a Nov. 19 deadline with one of those unions. Six smaller unions have approved their deals while four others are set to vote over the next month, including the two biggest ones and the engineers and conductors in those two unions have the most quality-of-life concerns.

The head of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division union that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-government-and-politics-0744cffe919f0d48fcc02d16c8a298b3">rejected</a>&nbsp;its agreement earlier this month said if the railroads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-business-strikes-940da8fc519f8c526ca614e201d01216">won't consider</a>&nbsp;adding sick time he has no choice but to prepare for a strike next month. Union President Tony Cardwell said railroad executives continue to “bow to Wall Street's continued desire for more than its fair share” as they report&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nebraska-omaha-economy-business-483f55c699a94c29f579883e6b87fa85">billions</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/csx-corp-florida-business-earnings-99976c3154d2939f544c2bdfecc77330">profits</a>.

Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, CSX and the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-norfolk-government-and-politics-eeedec386f2acba5d63181436ca03f3f">railroads want</a>&nbsp;any deal to closely follow the compromises recommended by arbitrators Biden appointed, so they have rebuffed all pleas for paid sick time. The industry also argues that the unions opted to forego paid sick leave over the years in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits that kick in as soon as four days into an absence and can continue up to a year.

Ian Jefferies, who leads the Association of American Railroads trade group, said Thursday the “BMWED's recent proposal was not a realistic offer” because the union “simply demanded more — and they did so with full knowledge that the railroads would not agree.”

If both sides can't agree on a deal, Congress may step in and block a strike. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Makers, which endorsed Thursday's letter, is already lobbying lawmakers to make sure they're ready to act because refineries rely on railroads to deliver more than 300,000 barrels of crude oil and other chemicals every day.

“We’re heavily stressing the need to avoid a strike at all costs -- not just for our industry. It’s going to affect every industry" said Rob Benedict, vice president of midstream for the AFPM.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663174263824.png" alt="The railroads have offered 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses in the five-year deal." />
 <figcaption>The railroads have offered 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses in the five-year deal.</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Businesses are increasingly worried about the renewed threat of a railroad strike after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-strikes-government-and-politics-581babaeee804c37e4761424c02af21a">two unions rejected their deals</a>, and they want the Biden administration and Congress to be ready to intervene.A coalition of 322 business groups from a variety of industries signed off on a letter to President Joe Biden Thursday urging him to make sure the deals he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-economy-strikes-congress-94089be6a4f469444da99fec9dde1b3e">helped broker last month</a>&nbsp;get approved because a railroad strike would have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-congress-government-and-politics-a53abd85fa6f8b3ccd622222ea9a4c46">dire consequences</a>&nbsp;for the economy. All 12 rail unions must approve their agreements to prevent a strike next month.“It is paramount that these contracts now be ratified, as a rail shutdown would have a significant impact on the U.S. economy and lead to further inflationary pressure,” wrote the group, which includes nearly every major trade group and quite a few state business associations.Biden has been watching the contract dispute closely and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-transportation-strikes-ba718974eb14fcd615d606bfcdffb3d2">appointed</a>&nbsp;a special board of arbitrators this summer to try to help resolve it, but the White House hasn't said whether he will get personally involved again.The railroads have offered 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses in the five-year deal, which would be the biggest increases in more than four decades, but the negotiations hinge on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-government-and-politics-207229bcd558b6a6c1d58f3f85e2d804">quality-of-life concerns</a>. The unions that represent the conductors and engineers who drive the trains want the railroads to ease the punishing schedules that they say keep them on call 24-7, and the other unions want the railroads to add paid sick time.A strike isn’t imminent because the two unions that voted down their deals agreed to retry negotiations before considering a walkout, but the railroads face a Nov. 19 deadline with one of those unions. Six smaller unions have approved their deals while four others are set to vote over the next month, including the two biggest ones and the engineers and conductors in those two unions have the most quality-of-life concerns.The head of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division union that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-government-and-politics-0744cffe919f0d48fcc02d16c8a298b3">rejected</a>&nbsp;its agreement earlier this month said if the railroads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-business-strikes-940da8fc519f8c526ca614e201d01216">won't consider</a>&nbsp;adding sick time he has no choice but to prepare for a strike next month. Union President Tony Cardwell said railroad executives continue to “bow to Wall Street's continued desire for more than its fair share” as they report&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nebraska-omaha-economy-business-483f55c699a94c29f579883e6b87fa85">billions</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/csx-corp-florida-business-earnings-99976c3154d2939f544c2bdfecc77330">profits</a>.Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, CSX and the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-norfolk-government-and-politics-eeedec386f2acba5d63181436ca03f3f">railroads want</a>&nbsp;any deal to closely follow the compromises recommended by arbitrators Biden appointed, so they have rebuffed all pleas for paid sick time. The industry also argues that the unions opted to forego paid sick leave over the years in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits that kick in as soon as four days into an absence and can continue up to a year.Ian Jefferies, who leads the Association of American Railroads trade group, said Thursday the “BMWED's recent proposal was not a realistic offer” because the union “simply demanded more — and they did so with full knowledge that the railroads would not agree.”If both sides can't agree on a deal, Congress may step in and block a strike. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Makers, which endorsed Thursday's letter, is already lobbying lawmakers to make sure they're ready to act because refineries rely on railroads to deliver more than 300,000 barrels of crude oil and other chemicals every day.“We’re heavily stressing the need to avoid a strike at all costs -- not just for our industry. It’s going to affect every industry" said Rob Benedict, vice president of midstream for the AFPM.

Rail strike worry prompts businesses to seek Biden's help 

KANSAS CITY— Kansas City Police Department detectives and the KCPD Crime Lab have determined who was responsible for the double homicide that occurred on or about October 1, in an apartment fire near 41st and Oak in Kansas City, according to Jackson Co. Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

A Kansas City Police Department investigation established that on Oct. 1, 42-year-old Kevin Ray Moore, now deceased, caused the deaths of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stowers.org/gradschool/predocs">Camila Behrensen, 24, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pablo Guzmán Palma, 25, of Santiago, Chile</a>&nbsp;and intentionally set their apartment on fire. &nbsp;

Due to the efforts of KCPD and, in particular, the Crime Lab, KCPD used phone and computer data, surveillance videos, ballistic testing as well as DNA tests to determine the cause of the deaths of Behrensen and Guzman-Palma and to determine that Moore was the suspect. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Police also determined that Moore died as part of a murder-suicide in Clay County on Oct. 16. Moore and 40-year-old Misty Brockman, a mother of five, were found dead in a car near Worlds of Fun. Police continue to investigate their deaths.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1664964531005.png" alt="Pablo Guzmán Palma" />
 <figcaption>Pablo Guzmán Palma</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY— Kansas City Police Department detectives and the KCPD Crime Lab have determined who was responsible for the double homicide that occurred on or about October 1, in an apartment fire near 41st and Oak in Kansas City, according to Jackson Co. Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1664964486674.png" alt="Camila Behrensen" />
 <figcaption>Camila Behrensen</figcaption>
 </figure>A Kansas City Police Department investigation established that on Oct. 1, 42-year-old Kevin Ray Moore, now deceased, caused the deaths of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stowers.org/gradschool/predocs">Camila Behrensen, 24, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pablo Guzmán Palma, 25, of Santiago, Chile</a>&nbsp;and intentionally set their apartment on fire. &nbsp;Due to the efforts of KCPD and, in particular, the Crime Lab, KCPD used phone and computer data, surveillance videos, ballistic testing as well as DNA tests to determine the cause of the deaths of Behrensen and Guzman-Palma and to determine that Moore was the suspect. &nbsp;&nbsp;Police also determined that Moore died as part of a murder-suicide in Clay County on Oct. 16. Moore and 40-year-old Misty Brockman, a mother of five, were found dead in a car near Worlds of Fun. Police continue to investigate their deaths.

Police learn how 2 South American researchers died in KC fire

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied having any intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine but described the conflict there as part of alleged efforts by the West to secure its global domination, which he insisted are doomed to fail.

Speaking at a conference of international foreign policy experts, Putin said it's pointless for Russia to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons.

“We see no need for that,” Putin said. “There is no point in that, neither political, nor military.”

Putin said an earlier warning of his readiness to use “all means available to protect Russia” didn’t amount to nuclear saber-rattling but was merely a response to Western statements about their possible use of nuclear weapons.

He particularly mentioned Liz Truss saying in August that she would be ready to use nuclear weapons if she became Britain's prime minister, a remark which he said worried the Kremlin.

“What were we supposed to think?” Putin said. “We saw that as a coordinated position, an attempt to blackmail us.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663760963726.jpeg" alt="Image from a video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 21, 2022. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)" />
 <figcaption>Image from a video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 21, 2022. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied having any intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine but described the conflict there as part of alleged efforts by the West to secure its global domination, which he insisted are doomed to fail.Speaking at a conference of international foreign policy experts, Putin said it's pointless for Russia to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons.“We see no need for that,” Putin said. “There is no point in that, neither political, nor military.”Putin said an earlier warning of his readiness to use “all means available to protect Russia” didn’t amount to nuclear saber-rattling but was merely a response to Western statements about their possible use of nuclear weapons.He particularly mentioned Liz Truss saying in August that she would be ready to use nuclear weapons if she became Britain's prime minister, a remark which he said worried the Kremlin.“What were we supposed to think?” Putin said. “We saw that as a coordinated position, an attempt to blackmail us.”In a long speech full of diatribes against the United States and its allies, Putin accused them of trying to dictate their terms to other nations in a “dangerous, bloody and dirty” domination game.Putin, who sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, has cast Western support for Ukraine as part of broad efforts by Washington and its allies to enforce its will upon others through a rules-based world order. He argued that the world has reached a turning point, when “the West is no longer able to dictate its will to humankind but still tries to do it, and the majority of nations no longer want to tolerate it.”The Russian leader claimed that the Western policies will foment more chaos, adding that “he who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind.”Putin claimed that “humankind now faces a choice: accumulate a load of problems that will inevitably crush us all or try to find solutions that may not be ideal but could work and could make the world more stable and secure.”Without offering evidence, the Russian leader repeated Moscow’s unproven allegation that Ukraine was plotting a false flag attack involving a radioactive dirty bomb it would try to pin on Russia.Ukraine has strongly rejected the claim, and its Western allies have dismissed it as “transparently false.” Ukraine argued Russia might be making the unfounded allegation to serve as a cover for its own possible plot to detonate a dirty bomb.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Thursday that the U.S. has still not seen anything to indicate that Putin has decided to use a dirty bomb.Putin said he personally ordered Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to call his foreign counterparts to tell them about the purported plot. He maintained that Russia knows the Ukrainian facilities working on the project.He mocked the allegations by Ukraine and the West that Russia was firing on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine as “ravings.” Russian troops have occupied the plant, Europe's largest, since the early days of the conflict.Putin also expressed bewilderment about Washington's policy on China, noting that tensions sparked by a recent visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi come amid the U.S.-Russian showdown over Ukraine.“Why spoil relations with China at the same time?” Putin said. “It seems to defy logic and common sense. It looks like ravings.”He hailed Russia's relations with China, but said he hadn't warned Chinese President Xi Jinping about his intention to send troops into Ukraine when he visited Beijing days before that to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics.Asked about Washinton's threat to re-evaluate its relationship with Saudi Arabia over the Riyadh-led OPEC+ alliance's move to cut oil production, Putin argued that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was acting in his nation's interests and the need to stabilize global energy markets.“They need to respect the crown prince and Saudi Arabia, and they will respond in kind,” Putin said. “And they will also respond in kind if they are spoken to in a boorish manner.”The Russian leader said Russia isn’t the enemy of the West but will continue to oppose the purported diktat of Western neo-liberal elites, accusing them of trying to subdue Russia.“Their goal is to make Russia more vulnerable and turn it into an instrument for fulfilling their geopolitical tasks, they have failed to achieve it and they will never succeed,” Putin said.Putin reaffirmed his long-held claim that Russians and Ukrainians are part of a single people and again denigrated Ukraine as an “artificial state” that received historic Russian lands from Communist rulers during the Soviet times.In that context, he acknowledged that the fighting in Ukraine effectively amounts to a civil war, although the Kremlin calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation.”Putin said he thinks “all the time” about the casualties that Russia has suffered in Ukraine, but insisted that NATO’s refusal to rule out Ukraine’s prospective membership and Kyiv’s refusal to adhere to a peace deal for its separatist conflict in the country’s east has left Moscow no other choice.He denied underestimating Ukraine’s ability to fight back and insisted that his “special military operation” has proceeded as planned.Putin also acknowledged the challenges posed by Western sanctions, but argued that Russia has proven resilient to foreign pressure and has become more united.John Kirby, a U.S. National Security Council spokesman, responded to Putin’s speech as it was underway.“We don’t believe that Mr. Putin’s strategic goals have changed here. He doesn’t want Ukraine to exist as a sovereign, independent nation state," Kirby said.