NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart will no longer sell cigarettes in some of its stores though tobacco sales can be a significant revenue generator.

Wall Street Journal was the first to report the development Monday. It noted some stores in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico were on the list, citing anonymous sources and store visits.

Walmart is not the first national retail chain to cut off cigarette sales even on a trial basis, but it is the largest.

Target ended cigarette sales in 1996 and the drugstore chain CVS Health did the same in 2014.

CVS Health sales in areas outside the pharmacy fell for a few quarters after it pulled tobacco products, and the company had predicted that missing tobacco products would hurt annual earnings by 7 to 8 cents per share.

Overall revenue has grown every year at CVS, however, after a number of acquisitions and changes to its stores bolstered the company’s health care offerings. CVS Health bought the health insurer Aetna in 2017.

Decisions about removing cigarettes at Walmart will be made on a store-by-store basis according to the business and particular market, the company said Monday.

“We are always looking at ways to meet our customers’ needs while still operating an efficient business,” Walmart said in a prepared statement.

Health officials say that cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths in the U.S. each year.

Walmart Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, announced in 2019 that it was getting out of the vaping business and would stop selling electronic cigarettes at its stores and also at Sam’s Clubs. It said at the time the decision was based on “growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648489856274.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By ASSOCIATED PRESSNEW YORK (AP) — Walmart will no longer sell cigarettes in some of its stores though tobacco sales can be a significant revenue generator.Wall Street Journal was the first to report the development Monday. It noted some stores in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico were on the list, citing anonymous sources and store visits.Walmart is not the first national retail chain to cut off cigarette sales even on a trial basis, but it is the largest.Target ended cigarette sales in 1996 and the drugstore chain CVS Health did the same in 2014.CVS Health sales in areas outside the pharmacy fell for a few quarters after it pulled tobacco products, and the company had predicted that missing tobacco products would hurt annual earnings by 7 to 8 cents per share.Overall revenue has grown every year at CVS, however, after a number of acquisitions and changes to its stores bolstered the company’s health care offerings. CVS Health bought the health insurer Aetna in 2017.Decisions about removing cigarettes at Walmart will be made on a store-by-store basis according to the business and particular market, the company said Monday.“We are always looking at ways to meet our customers’ needs while still operating an efficient business,” Walmart said in a prepared statement.Health officials say that cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths in the U.S. each year.Walmart Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, announced in 2019 that it was getting out of the vaping business and would stop selling electronic cigarettes at its stores and also at Sam’s Clubs. It said at the time the decision was based on “growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity.”

Walmart to end cigarette sales in some stores

News Release Nebraska State Patrol

GRAND ISLAND, Neb.-Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested one person after locating more than 100 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80.

At approximately 11:10 a.m. Saturday, a trooper observed an eastbound Chevy Tahoe with a license plate violation traveling near Giltner, at mile marker 324. During the traffic stop the trooper detected criminal activity.

A search of the vehicle revealed 102 pounds of marijuana. The driver, Armando Hernandez-Cruz, 36, of Stockton, California, was arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession with intent to deliver, and no drug tax stamp. He was lodged in Hamilton County Jail.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/6/1561725783210.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>News Release Nebraska State PatrolGRAND ISLAND, Neb.-Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested one person after locating more than 100 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80.At approximately 11:10 a.m. Saturday, a trooper observed an eastbound Chevy Tahoe with a license plate violation traveling near Giltner, at mile marker 324. During the traffic stop the trooper detected criminal activity.A search of the vehicle revealed 102 pounds of marijuana. The driver, Armando Hernandez-Cruz, 36, of Stockton, California, was arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession with intent to deliver, and no drug tax stamp. He was lodged in Hamilton County Jail.

Troopers find over 100 pounds of pot in Hamilton County stop

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden intends to propose a minimum tax of 20% on households worth more than $100 million and cut projected budget deficits by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to a fact sheets released Saturday by the White House budget office.

The introduction of the minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans would represent a significant reorienting of the tax code. It would apply to the top 0.01% of households with half of the expected revenue coming from households worth $1 billion or more. The minimum tax would effectively prevent the wealthiest sliver of America from paying lower rates than families who think of themselves as middle class, while helping to generate revenues to fuel Biden’s domestic ambitions and keep the deficit in check relative to the U.S. economy.

In his proposal expected Monday, the lower deficits also reflect the economy’s resurgence as the United States emerges from the pandemic. It’s a sign that the government’s balance sheet will improve after a historic burst of spending to combat the coronavirus.

The fading of the pandemic and the growth has enabled the deficit to fall from $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 to $2.8 trillion last year and a projected $1.4 trillion this year. That deficit spending paid off in the form of the economy expanding at a 5.7% pace last year, the strongest growth since 1984. But inflation at a 40-year high also accompanied those robust gains as high prices have weighed on Biden’s popularity.

For the Biden administration, the proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 shows that the burst of spending helped to fuel growth and put government finances in a more stable place for years to come as a result. One White House official, insisting on anonymity because the budget has yet to be released, said the proposal shows that Democrats can deliver on what Republicans have promised before without much success: faster growth and falling deficits.

Yet the Biden budget would pledge to do so through a kind of wealth tax that many Republicans say would hurt the economy by diminishing private investment in companies that create jobs and cause the wealthy to put their fortunes to work abroad.

Republican lawmakers have said that the Biden administration’s spending over the past year has led to greater economic pain in the form of higher prices. The inflation that came with reopening the U.S. economy as the closures from the pandemic began to end has been amplified by supply chain issues, low interest rates and, now, disruptions in the oil and natural gas markets because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky pinned the blame solely on Biden’s coronavirus relief as well as his push to move away from fossil fuels.

“Washington Democrats’ response to these hardships has been as misguided as the war on American energy and runaway spending that helped create them,” McConnell said last week. “The Biden administration seems to be willing to try anything but walking back their own disastrous economic policies.”

Biden inherited from the Trump administration a budget deficit that was equal in size to 14.9% of the entire U.S. economy. But the deficit starting in the upcoming budget year will be below 5% of the economy, putting the country on a more sustainable path, according to people familiar with the budget proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss forthcoming details.

The lower deficit totals will also be easier to manage even if interest rates rise.

The expected deficit decrease for fiscal 2022 reflects the solid recovery in hiring that occurred in large part because of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The added jobs mean additional tax revenue, with the government likely collecting $300 billion more in revenues compared to fiscal 2021, a 10% increase.

Still, the country will face several uncertainties that could reshape Biden’s proposed budget, which will have figures that don’t include the spending omnibus recently signed into law. Biden and U.S. allies are also providing aid to Ukrainians who are fighting against Russian forces, a war that could possibly reshape spending priorities and the broader economic outlook.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647908095685.png" alt="The introduction of the minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans would represent a significant reorienting of the tax code.-White House photo&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The introduction of the minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans would represent a significant reorienting of the tax code.-White House photo&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden intends to propose a minimum tax of 20% on households worth more than $100 million and cut projected budget deficits by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to a fact sheets released Saturday by the White House budget office.The introduction of the minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans would represent a significant reorienting of the tax code. It would apply to the top 0.01% of households with half of the expected revenue coming from households worth $1 billion or more. The minimum tax would effectively prevent the wealthiest sliver of America from paying lower rates than families who think of themselves as middle class, while helping to generate revenues to fuel Biden’s domestic ambitions and keep the deficit in check relative to the U.S. economy.In his proposal expected Monday, the lower deficits also reflect the economy’s resurgence as the United States emerges from the pandemic. It’s a sign that the government’s balance sheet will improve after a historic burst of spending to combat the coronavirus.The fading of the pandemic and the growth has enabled the deficit to fall from $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 to $2.8 trillion last year and a projected $1.4 trillion this year. That deficit spending paid off in the form of the economy expanding at a 5.7% pace last year, the strongest growth since 1984. But inflation at a 40-year high also accompanied those robust gains as high prices have weighed on Biden’s popularity.For the Biden administration, the proposal for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 shows that the burst of spending helped to fuel growth and put government finances in a more stable place for years to come as a result. One White House official, insisting on anonymity because the budget has yet to be released, said the proposal shows that Democrats can deliver on what Republicans have promised before without much success: faster growth and falling deficits.Yet the Biden budget would pledge to do so through a kind of wealth tax that many Republicans say would hurt the economy by diminishing private investment in companies that create jobs and cause the wealthy to put their fortunes to work abroad.Republican lawmakers have said that the Biden administration’s spending over the past year has led to greater economic pain in the form of higher prices. The inflation that came with reopening the U.S. economy as the closures from the pandemic began to end has been amplified by supply chain issues, low interest rates and, now, disruptions in the oil and natural gas markets because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky pinned the blame solely on Biden’s coronavirus relief as well as his push to move away from fossil fuels.“Washington Democrats’ response to these hardships has been as misguided as the war on American energy and runaway spending that helped create them,” McConnell said last week. “The Biden administration seems to be willing to try anything but walking back their own disastrous economic policies.”Biden inherited from the Trump administration a budget deficit that was equal in size to 14.9% of the entire U.S. economy. But the deficit starting in the upcoming budget year will be below 5% of the economy, putting the country on a more sustainable path, according to people familiar with the budget proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss forthcoming details.The lower deficit totals will also be easier to manage even if interest rates rise.The expected deficit decrease for fiscal 2022 reflects the solid recovery in hiring that occurred in large part because of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The added jobs mean additional tax revenue, with the government likely collecting $300 billion more in revenues compared to fiscal 2021, a 10% increase.Still, the country will face several uncertainties that could reshape Biden’s proposed budget, which will have figures that don’t include the spending omnibus recently signed into law. Biden and U.S. allies are also providing aid to Ukrainians who are fighting against Russian forces, a war that could possibly reshape spending priorities and the broader economic outlook.

Biden budget seeks minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans

LAWRENCE, Kan., Plastikon Healthcare, LLC is voluntarily recalling three (3) lots of Milk of Magnesia 2400 mg/30 mL Oral Suspension, one (1) lot of Acetaminophen 650mg/ 20.3mL, and six (6) lots of Magnesium Hydroxide 1200mg/Aluminum Hydroxide 1200mg/Simethicone 120mg per 30 mL to the hospital, clinic and patient level, according to a statement from the USDA. The products are being recalled due to microbial contamination and failure to properly investigate failed microbial testing.

Risk Statement: This product potentially could result in illness due to intestinal distress, such as diarrhea or abdominal pain.&nbsp; Individuals with a compromised immune system have a higher probability of developing a wide-spread, potentially life-threatening infection when ingesting or otherwise orally exposed to products contaminated by micro-organisms. To date, Plastikon has not received any customer complaints related to microbial concerns or reports of adverse events related to this recall.

Product indication, lot numbers, expiration dates and NDC information <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/plastikon-healthcare-issues-voluntary-nationwide-recall-milk-magnesia-oral-suspension-2400-mg30-ml-0#recall-photos">are listed here. </a>The product is packaged for institutional use and is sold to clinics and hospitals nationwide in single use cups with a foil lid.&nbsp; The affected lots were distributed to Major Pharmaceuticals Distribution Center (wholesaler) between 5/1/2020 and 6/28/2021, who shipped to hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics nationwide.&nbsp; The products are private labeled for Major Pharmaceuticals.

Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Plastikon by phone at 785-330-7109 or email address (<a href="mailto:sdixon@plastikon.com">sdixon@plastikon.com</a>) Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm CST.&nbsp; Patients are advised to contact their doctor or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product.

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648462934041.png" alt="Image courtesy FDA" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy FDA</figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE, Kan., Plastikon Healthcare, LLC is voluntarily recalling three (3) lots of Milk of Magnesia 2400 mg/30 mL Oral Suspension, one (1) lot of Acetaminophen 650mg/ 20.3mL, and six (6) lots of Magnesium Hydroxide 1200mg/Aluminum Hydroxide 1200mg/Simethicone 120mg per 30 mL to the hospital, clinic and patient level, according to a statement from the USDA. The products are being recalled due to microbial contamination and failure to properly investigate failed microbial testing.Risk Statement: This product potentially could result in illness due to intestinal distress, such as diarrhea or abdominal pain.&nbsp; Individuals with a compromised immune system have a higher probability of developing a wide-spread, potentially life-threatening infection when ingesting or otherwise orally exposed to products contaminated by micro-organisms. To date, Plastikon has not received any customer complaints related to microbial concerns or reports of adverse events related to this recall.Product indication, lot numbers, expiration dates and NDC information <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/plastikon-healthcare-issues-voluntary-nationwide-recall-milk-magnesia-oral-suspension-2400-mg30-ml-0#recall-photos">are listed here. </a>The product is packaged for institutional use and is sold to clinics and hospitals nationwide in single use cups with a foil lid.&nbsp; The affected lots were distributed to Major Pharmaceuticals Distribution Center (wholesaler) between 5/1/2020 and 6/28/2021, who shipped to hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics nationwide.&nbsp; The products are private labeled for Major Pharmaceuticals.Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Plastikon by phone at 785-330-7109 or email address (<a href="mailto:sdixon@plastikon.com">sdixon@plastikon.com</a>) Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm CST.&nbsp; Patients are advised to contact their doctor or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product.Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.<ul>
 <li>Complete and submit the report&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-fda-safety-information-and-adverse-event-reporting-program/reporting-serious-problems-fda">Online</a></li><li>Regular Mail or Fax:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/medical-product-safety-information/medwatch-forms-fda-safety-reporting">Download form</a>&nbsp;or call 1- 800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178</li>
 </ul>This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

FDA: Milk of Magnesia recalled due to bacterial contamination

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea.

Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to sustain a defense as his country continues battling Russia’s invading troops. Russia now says its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine.

Speaking after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-migration-world-war-ii-warsaw-652da1c2ab1c88de3032241089bfa516">U.S. President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-ketanji-brown-jackson-state-of-the-union-address-2022-midterm-elections-46757d4b4b7d4297245d7e6de8f2b290">words the White House immediately sought to downplay&nbsp;</a>— Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians.

“I’ve talked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-edf7240a9d990e7e3e32f82ca351dede">to the defenders of Mariupol&nbsp;</a>today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, referring to the besieged southern city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest deprivations and horrors. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”

Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said.

He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said a vote could take place within a few months of the troops leaving.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled in many areas. Its aim to quickly encircle the capital, Kyiv, and force its surrender has faltered against staunch Ukrainian resistance — bolstered by weapons from the U.S. and other Western allies.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia’s troops are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces facing the two separatist-held areas in the country’s east. That would cut the bulk of Ukraine’s military off from the rest of the country.

Moscow claims its focus is on wresting the entire eastern Donbas region, which has been partially controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014. A high-ranking Russian military official on Friday said that troops were being redirected to the east from other parts of the country.

Russia has supported the separatist rebels in Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk since the insurgency erupted there shortly after Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. In talks with Ukraine, Moscow has demanded Kyiv acknowledge the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, accused Russia of seeking to split Ukraine in two, making the comparison to North and South Korea.

“The occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine,” Budanov said in a statement released by the Defense Ministry. He predicted that guerrilla warfare by Ukrainians would derail such plans.

A Ukrainian delegate in talks with Russia on ending the war, Davyd Arakhamia, said in a Facebook post the countries would meet in Turkey beginning Monday. However, the Russians then announced the talks would start Tuesday. The sides have met previously with no deal reached.

Ukraine’s priorities at the Ukrainian-Russian talks in Turkey this week will be “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zelenskyy told his nation Sunday in his nightly address.

“We are looking for peace, really, without delay,” he said. “There is an opportunity and a need for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey.”

Zelenskyy also signed a law Sunday that bans reporting on troop and equipment movements that haven’t been announced or approved by the military. Journalists who violate the law could face three to eight years in prison. The law does not differentiate between Ukrainian and foreign reporters.

Ukraine says that to defeat Russia, the West must provide fighter jets and not just missiles and other military equipment. A proposal to transfer Polish planes to Ukraine via the United States was scrapped amid NATO concerns about being drawn into direct fighting.

In his pointed remarks, Zelenskyy accused Western governments of being “afraid to prevent this tragedy. Afraid to simply make a decision.”

His plea was echoed Sunday by a priest in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/explosions-in-lviv-ukraine-russia-war-d19574a99afeb4bf964be7c3276c084c">western city of Lviv,&nbsp;</a>which was struck by rockets a day earlier. The aerial assault illustrated that Moscow, despite assertions that it intends to shift the war eastward, is willing to strike anywhere in Ukraine.

“When diplomacy doesn’t work, we need military support,” said the Rev. Yuri Vaskiv, who said fearful parishioners were staying away from his Greek Catholic church.

On the road to Kyiv, residents of a village combed through the wreckage of Russia’s ongoing attacks. Locals in Byshiv, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Kyiv. walked through buildings torn open and destroyed by shelling to salvage what they could, including books, shelving and framed pictures. .

Standing in what used to be a kindergarten classroom, teacher Svetlana Grybovska said too many children have fallen victim.

“It’s not right” Grybovska told British broadcaster Sky News. “Children are not guilty of anything.”

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov confirmed Russia used air-launched cruise missiles to hit a fuel depot and a defense plant in Lyiv, about 45 miles (75 kilometers) from the Polish border. He said another strike with sea-launched missiles destroyed a depot in Plesetske just west of Kyiv, where Ukraine stored air defense missiles.

On Sunday night, a rocket attack hit an oil base in the far northwestern region of Volyn, whose capital, Lutsk, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Lviv.

A chemical smell lingered in Lyiv on Sunday as firefighters trained hoses on flames and black smoke poured from oil storage tanks hit in the attack.

Russia’s back-to-back airstrikes shook the city that has become a haven for an estimated 200,000 people who have fled bombarded towns and cities. Lviv, which has largely been spared bombardment, also has been a waystation for most of the 3.8 million refugees who have left Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

In a dim, crowded bomb shelter under an apartment block near the first blast site, Olana Ukrainets, a 34-year-old information technology professional, said she couldn’t believe she had to hide again after fleeing from the northeastern city of Kharkiv, one of the most bombarded cities.

“We were on one side of the street and saw it on the other side,” she said. “We saw fire. I said to my friend, ‘What’s this?’ Then we heard the sound of an explosion and glass breaking.”

Also in Kharkiv, Ukrainian firefighters used axes and chainsaws to dig through concrete and other debris Sunday searching for victims of a Russian military strike on the regional administration building. One body was found Saturday, a firefighter said. At least six people died in the March 1 attack — the first time Russian forces hit the center of Kharkiv, once home to 1.5 million people.

In his video address, Zelenskyy angrily warned Moscow that it was sowing a deep hatred for Russia among Ukrainians.

“You are doing everything so that our people themselves leave the Russian language, because the Russian language will now be associated only with you, with your explosions and murders, your crimes,” Zelenskyy said.

Along with the millions of people who have fled Ukraine, the invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, almost one-quarter of Ukraine’s population. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648213777649.png" alt="Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia’s troops are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces facing the two separatist-held areas in the country’s east. That would cut the bulk of Ukraine’s military off from the rest of the country.-Photo courtesy NATO" />
 <figcaption>Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia’s troops are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces facing the two separatist-held areas in the country’s east. That would cut the bulk of Ukraine’s military off from the rest of the country.-Photo courtesy NATO</figcaption>
 </figure>LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea.Zelenskyy made an exasperated plea for fighter jets and tanks to sustain a defense as his country continues battling Russia’s invading troops. Russia now says its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647393225414.png" alt="Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy-photo courtesy Ukraine Presidential press office" />
 <figcaption>Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy-photo courtesy Ukraine Presidential press office</figcaption>
 </figure>Speaking after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-migration-world-war-ii-warsaw-652da1c2ab1c88de3032241089bfa516">U.S. President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-ketanji-brown-jackson-state-of-the-union-address-2022-midterm-elections-46757d4b4b7d4297245d7e6de8f2b290">words the White House immediately sought to downplay&nbsp;</a>— Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians.“I’ve talked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-edf7240a9d990e7e3e32f82ca351dede">to the defenders of Mariupol&nbsp;</a>today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, referring to the besieged southern city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest deprivations and horrors. “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage.”Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said.He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said a vote could take place within a few months of the troops leaving.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled in many areas. Its aim to quickly encircle the capital, Kyiv, and force its surrender has faltered against staunch Ukrainian resistance — bolstered by weapons from the U.S. and other Western allies.Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia’s troops are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces facing the two separatist-held areas in the country’s east. That would cut the bulk of Ukraine’s military off from the rest of the country.Moscow claims its focus is on wresting the entire eastern Donbas region, which has been partially controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014. A high-ranking Russian military official on Friday said that troops were being redirected to the east from other parts of the country.Russia has supported the separatist rebels in Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk since the insurgency erupted there shortly after Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. In talks with Ukraine, Moscow has demanded Kyiv acknowledge the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk.Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, accused Russia of seeking to split Ukraine in two, making the comparison to North and South Korea.“The occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine,” Budanov said in a statement released by the Defense Ministry. He predicted that guerrilla warfare by Ukrainians would derail such plans.A Ukrainian delegate in talks with Russia on ending the war, Davyd Arakhamia, said in a Facebook post the countries would meet in Turkey beginning Monday. However, the Russians then announced the talks would start Tuesday. The sides have met previously with no deal reached.Ukraine’s priorities at the Ukrainian-Russian talks in Turkey this week will be “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zelenskyy told his nation Sunday in his nightly address.“We are looking for peace, really, without delay,” he said. “There is an opportunity and a need for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey.”Zelenskyy also signed a law Sunday that bans reporting on troop and equipment movements that haven’t been announced or approved by the military. Journalists who violate the law could face three to eight years in prison. The law does not differentiate between Ukrainian and foreign reporters.Ukraine says that to defeat Russia, the West must provide fighter jets and not just missiles and other military equipment. A proposal to transfer Polish planes to Ukraine via the United States was scrapped amid NATO concerns about being drawn into direct fighting.In his pointed remarks, Zelenskyy accused Western governments of being “afraid to prevent this tragedy. Afraid to simply make a decision.”His plea was echoed Sunday by a priest in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/explosions-in-lviv-ukraine-russia-war-d19574a99afeb4bf964be7c3276c084c">western city of Lviv,&nbsp;</a>which was struck by rockets a day earlier. The aerial assault illustrated that Moscow, despite assertions that it intends to shift the war eastward, is willing to strike anywhere in Ukraine.“When diplomacy doesn’t work, we need military support,” said the Rev. Yuri Vaskiv, who said fearful parishioners were staying away from his Greek Catholic church.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648213754283.png" alt="Russia’s back-to-back airstrikes shook the city that has become a haven for an estimated 200,000 people who have fled bombarded towns and cities.-photo courtesy NATO" />
 <figcaption>Russia’s back-to-back airstrikes shook the city that has become a haven for an estimated 200,000 people who have fled bombarded towns and cities.-photo courtesy NATO</figcaption>
 </figure>On the road to Kyiv, residents of a village combed through the wreckage of Russia’s ongoing attacks. Locals in Byshiv, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Kyiv. walked through buildings torn open and destroyed by shelling to salvage what they could, including books, shelving and framed pictures. .Standing in what used to be a kindergarten classroom, teacher Svetlana Grybovska said too many children have fallen victim.“It’s not right” Grybovska told British broadcaster Sky News. “Children are not guilty of anything.”Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov confirmed Russia used air-launched cruise missiles to hit a fuel depot and a defense plant in Lyiv, about 45 miles (75 kilometers) from the Polish border. He said another strike with sea-launched missiles destroyed a depot in Plesetske just west of Kyiv, where Ukraine stored air defense missiles.On Sunday night, a rocket attack hit an oil base in the far northwestern region of Volyn, whose capital, Lutsk, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Lviv.A chemical smell lingered in Lyiv on Sunday as firefighters trained hoses on flames and black smoke poured from oil storage tanks hit in the attack.Russia’s back-to-back airstrikes shook the city that has become a haven for an estimated 200,000 people who have fled bombarded towns and cities. Lviv, which has largely been spared bombardment, also has been a waystation for most of the 3.8 million refugees who have left Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.In a dim, crowded bomb shelter under an apartment block near the first blast site, Olana Ukrainets, a 34-year-old information technology professional, said she couldn’t believe she had to hide again after fleeing from the northeastern city of Kharkiv, one of the most bombarded cities.“We were on one side of the street and saw it on the other side,” she said. “We saw fire. I said to my friend, ‘What’s this?’ Then we heard the sound of an explosion and glass breaking.”Also in Kharkiv, Ukrainian firefighters used axes and chainsaws to dig through concrete and other debris Sunday searching for victims of a Russian military strike on the regional administration building. One body was found Saturday, a firefighter said. At least six people died in the March 1 attack — the first time Russian forces hit the center of Kharkiv, once home to 1.5 million people.In his video address, Zelenskyy angrily warned Moscow that it was sowing a deep hatred for Russia among Ukrainians.“You are doing everything so that our people themselves leave the Russian language, because the Russian language will now be associated only with you, with your explosions and murders, your crimes,” Zelenskyy said.Along with the millions of people who have fled Ukraine, the invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, almost one-quarter of Ukraine’s population. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed.___

Ukrainian President accused the west of cowardice

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded retirees who
 turned 72 during the last half of 2021 that, in most cases, Friday, 
April 1, 2022, is the last day to begin receiving payments from 
Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), 401(k)s and similar workplace
 retirement plans.

The payments, called <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds">required minimum distributions (RMDs)</a>,
 are normally made by the end of the year. But anyone who reached age 72
 after June 30, 2021, is covered by a special rule that allows IRA 
account owners and participants in workplace retirement plans to wait 
until as late as April 1, 2022, to take their first RMD. In other words,
 in general, the special April 1 rule applies to IRA owners and other 
participants in these plans who were born after June 30, 1949.

The April 1 RMD deadline only applies to the required distribution 
for the first year. For all later years, the RMD must be made by 
December 31.

This means that taxpayers who turned 72 after June 30, 2021, and 
receive their first required distribution (for 2021) in 2022 on or 
before April 1, must receive their second RMD (for 2022) by December 31,
 2022. Even though the first distribution is actually the required 2021 
distribution, it's taxable in 2022 and reported on the 2022 tax return -
 along with the regular 2022 distribution.

These required distribution rules apply to owners of traditional, SEP
 and SIMPLE IRAs while the original owner is alive. They also apply to 
participants in various workplace retirement plans, including 401(k), 
403(b) and 457(b) plans. RMDs don't apply to Roth IRAs.

An IRA trustee must either report the amount of the RMD to the IRA 
owner or offer to calculate it. Often, the trustee shows the RMD amount 
on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5498">Form 5498</a>
 in Box 12b. For a 2021 RMD, required by April 1, 2022, the RMD amount 
is shown on the 2020 Form 5498, normally issued to the owner during the 
first part of 2021.

Though the April 1 deadline is mandatory for all owners of 
traditional IRAs and most participants in workplace retirement plans, 
some people with workplace plans can wait longer to receive their RMD.

Most participants who are still working for that employer can wait 
until April 1 of the year after they retire to start receiving these 
distributions, if their workplace plan allows. This RMD exception does 
not apply to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">5% owners</a>
 of the business sponsoring the retirement plan or to participants in 
SEP and SIMPLE IRA plans. See Tax on Excess Accumulation in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-575">Publication 575</a> for details.

Employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations with
 403(b) plan accruals before 1987 should check with their employer, plan
 administrator or provider to see how to treat these accruals.

IRS online tools and publications can help

Many answers to questions about RMDs can be found at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">RMD FAQs</a>
 on IRS.gov. Most taxpayers use Table III (Uniform Lifetime) to figure 
their RMD. Married taxpayers whose spouse is more than 10 years younger 
and is their only beneficiary use Table II.

Because this and other life expectancy tables were updated for 2022, 
recipients need to use a different version of this table to figure their
 2021 RMD, compared to their 2022 RMD. The required withdrawals in 2022 
and future years will generally be smaller.

For a 2021 RMD (due April 1, 2022), use the life expectancy tables in Appendix B of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p590b--2020.pdf">Pub. 590-B</a>&nbsp;PDF
 used for preparing 2020 returns. As shown in Table III, the RMD for a 
person age 72 in 2021 will normally be based on a distribution period of
 25.6 years. Divide the December 31, 2020, balance by 25.6 to get the 
RMD for 2021.

For a 2022 RMD (due December 31, 2022), use the revised life expectancy tables in Appendix B of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p590b--2021.pdf">Pub. 590-B</a>&nbsp;PDF
 used for preparing 2021 returns. As shown in the revised Table III, the
 RMD for a person age 72 in 2022 will normally be based on a 
distribution period of 27.4 years. Divide the December 31, 2021, balance
 by 27.4 to get the RMD for 2022.

Pub. 590-B has worksheets, examples and other information that can 
help anyone figure their RMD. Visit IRS.gov for more information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded retirees who
 turned 72 during the last half of 2021 that, in most cases, Friday, 
April 1, 2022, is the last day to begin receiving payments from 
Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), 401(k)s and similar workplace
 retirement plans.The payments, called <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds">required minimum distributions (RMDs)</a>,
 are normally made by the end of the year. But anyone who reached age 72
 after June 30, 2021, is covered by a special rule that allows IRA 
account owners and participants in workplace retirement plans to wait 
until as late as April 1, 2022, to take their first RMD. In other words,
 in general, the special April 1 rule applies to IRA owners and other 
participants in these plans who were born after June 30, 1949.<h2>Two payments in the same year</h2>The April 1 RMD deadline only applies to the required distribution 
for the first year. For all later years, the RMD must be made by 
December 31.This means that taxpayers who turned 72 after June 30, 2021, and 
receive their first required distribution (for 2021) in 2022 on or 
before April 1, must receive their second RMD (for 2022) by December 31,
 2022. Even though the first distribution is actually the required 2021 
distribution, it's taxable in 2022 and reported on the 2022 tax return -
 along with the regular 2022 distribution.<h2>Types of retirement plans requiring RMDs</h2>These required distribution rules apply to owners of traditional, SEP
 and SIMPLE IRAs while the original owner is alive. They also apply to 
participants in various workplace retirement plans, including 401(k), 
403(b) and 457(b) plans. RMDs don't apply to Roth IRAs.An IRA trustee must either report the amount of the RMD to the IRA 
owner or offer to calculate it. Often, the trustee shows the RMD amount 
on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5498">Form 5498</a>
 in Box 12b. For a 2021 RMD, required by April 1, 2022, the RMD amount 
is shown on the 2020 Form 5498, normally issued to the owner during the 
first part of 2021.<h2>Some can delay RMDs</h2>Though the April 1 deadline is mandatory for all owners of 
traditional IRAs and most participants in workplace retirement plans, 
some people with workplace plans can wait longer to receive their RMD.Most participants who are still working for that employer can wait 
until April 1 of the year after they retire to start receiving these 
distributions, if their workplace plan allows. This RMD exception does 
not apply to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">5% owners</a>
 of the business sponsoring the retirement plan or to participants in 
SEP and SIMPLE IRA plans. See Tax on Excess Accumulation in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-575">Publication 575</a> for details.Employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations with
 403(b) plan accruals before 1987 should check with their employer, plan
 administrator or provider to see how to treat these accruals.<h2>IRS online tools and publications can help</h2>Many answers to questions about RMDs can be found at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">RMD FAQs</a>
 on IRS.gov. Most taxpayers use Table III (Uniform Lifetime) to figure 
their RMD. Married taxpayers whose spouse is more than 10 years younger 
and is their only beneficiary use Table II.Because this and other life expectancy tables were updated for 2022, 
recipients need to use a different version of this table to figure their
 2021 RMD, compared to their 2022 RMD. The required withdrawals in 2022 
and future years will generally be smaller.For a 2021 RMD (due April 1, 2022), use the life expectancy tables in Appendix B of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p590b--2020.pdf">Pub. 590-B</a>&nbsp;PDF
 used for preparing 2020 returns. As shown in Table III, the RMD for a 
person age 72 in 2021 will normally be based on a distribution period of
 25.6 years. Divide the December 31, 2020, balance by 25.6 to get the 
RMD for 2021.For a 2022 RMD (due December 31, 2022), use the revised life expectancy tables in Appendix B of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p590b--2021.pdf">Pub. 590-B</a>&nbsp;PDF
 used for preparing 2021 returns. As shown in the revised Table III, the
 RMD for a person age 72 in 2022 will normally be based on a 
distribution period of 27.4 years. Divide the December 31, 2021, balance
 by 27.4 to get the RMD for 2022.Pub. 590-B has worksheets, examples and other information that can 
help anyone figure their RMD. Visit IRS.gov for more information.

IRS: April 1 is last day to start taking money out of IRAs, 401(k)s

The Nebraska State Patrol has completed a three-day search operation as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Linda Dillard. Although the search effort did not locate Dillard’s remains, significant ground was covered that will assist in the investigation.

“What our investigators learned this week directs the case into the next phase,” said Lt. Eric Jones, of NSP Investigative Services. “We are now confident that Linda is not in this large area. Our investigators continue to believe Linda may have been the victim of a crime. We urge anyone with information or anyone who was involved in her disappearance to come forward.”

Numerous tips have been received through Nebraska Crime Stoppers and other avenues in recent days.&nbsp;Nebraska Crime Stoppers continues to offer a reward for information in this investigation. Tips can be made anonymously through Nebraska Crime Stoppers via the&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnebraskacrimestoppers.com%2Fsitemenu.aspx%3FID%3D450%26&amp;data=04%7C01%7CCody.Thomas%40nebraska.gov%7C6739601934704ed3192e08da0dda4284%7C043207dfe6894bf6902001038f11f0b1%7C0%7C0%7C637837528319241270%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=80IHHxHzkjz80pimGYGjKx7ochIEyG0sg7%2Fpy2U9%2BuU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Nebraska Crime Stoppers website,</a>&nbsp;the “P3 Tips” mobile app, or by calling 1-800-422-1494.

Throughout the three-day operation, teams searched more than 1,100 acres of land in and around the Table Rock State Wildlife Management Area, 24 miles of roadside ditches, 1.5 miles of river, 2 local farms, and a local lake area. The search team consisted of 44 law enforcement officers, 65 volunteers and support personnel, 15 mounted patrol teams, and 8 dog teams trained for human remains detection.

“We’d like to thank our partners in this week’s operation,” said Lt. Jones. “This large effort would not have been possible without their assistance.”

The search operation included partners from multiple states, including the Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, NecroSearch International, Brown County (KS) Mounted Search and Rescue, Saline County (KS) Mounted Patrol and Rescue, Sedgwick County (KS) Emergency Management, HRD Canine Search and Rescue Teams, University of Nebraska Department of Forensic Anthropology, Kawasaki of Lincoln, and the Tiger Pride Community Group of Table Rock.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648419914185.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>News Release Nebraska State PatrolThe Nebraska State Patrol has completed a three-day search operation as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Linda Dillard. Although the search effort did not locate Dillard’s remains, significant ground was covered that will assist in the investigation.“What our investigators learned this week directs the case into the next phase,” said Lt. Eric Jones, of NSP Investigative Services. “We are now confident that Linda is not in this large area. Our investigators continue to believe Linda may have been the victim of a crime. We urge anyone with information or anyone who was involved in her disappearance to come forward.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648420084724.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Numerous tips have been received through Nebraska Crime Stoppers and other avenues in recent days.&nbsp;Nebraska Crime Stoppers continues to offer a reward for information in this investigation. Tips can be made anonymously through Nebraska Crime Stoppers via the&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnebraskacrimestoppers.com%2Fsitemenu.aspx%3FID%3D450%26&amp;data=04%7C01%7CCody.Thomas%40nebraska.gov%7C6739601934704ed3192e08da0dda4284%7C043207dfe6894bf6902001038f11f0b1%7C0%7C0%7C637837528319241270%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=80IHHxHzkjz80pimGYGjKx7ochIEyG0sg7%2Fpy2U9%2BuU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Nebraska Crime Stoppers website,</a>&nbsp;the “P3 Tips” mobile app, or by calling 1-800-422-1494.Throughout the three-day operation, teams searched more than 1,100 acres of land in and around the Table Rock State Wildlife Management Area, 24 miles of roadside ditches, 1.5 miles of river, 2 local farms, and a local lake area. The search team consisted of 44 law enforcement officers, 65 volunteers and support personnel, 15 mounted patrol teams, and 8 dog teams trained for human remains detection.“We’d like to thank our partners in this week’s operation,” said Lt. Jones. “This large effort would not have been possible without their assistance.”The search operation included partners from multiple states, including the Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, NecroSearch International, Brown County (KS) Mounted Search and Rescue, Saline County (KS) Mounted Patrol and Rescue, Sedgwick County (KS) Emergency Management, HRD Canine Search and Rescue Teams, University of Nebraska Department of Forensic Anthropology, Kawasaki of Lincoln, and the Tiger Pride Community Group of Table Rock.

Patrol ends 3-day search for missing Neb. woman; no remains found

KANSAS CITY (AP) — After her home flooded five times in the past year, Tilicia Owens was on edge with every impending storm and ready to leave her Detroit neighborhood behind.

But then the 40-year-old quality engineer heard the city had a program that could prevent heavy rains from inundating her basement and damaging her furniture, photos and exercise equipment. The city is tapping $2.5 million in federal stimulus money as part of a $15 million effort to provide pumps and other equipment to help prevent flooding in 11 neighborhoods.

“That would mean the world to me,” said Owens, who has applied to the city’s Basement Backup Protection Program, which would provide homeowners a pump to remove floodwaters or a valve outside the home to prevent water from entering.

“I have invested so much into my home," she added. “I want to protect that and I want to protect my investment. It would take away all my anxiety.”

Detroit has turned to the $350 billion in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to partly finance the project. Part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-congress-310542ef5cddc914104960a00ae356e0">$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan</a>&nbsp;approved last year, the money is meant to help communities recover from the pandemic and can be used for everything from job creation to child care to housing.

More than 60 states, counties and cities, including Detroit, are tapping the funds for housing programs.

With President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill floundering and federal Emergency Rental Assistance running out in some places, the funds have become a critical source of money to address a shortage of affordable housing and a growing homelessness crisis. Prioritizing housing is also a reminder that the long-running shortage of affordable housing, especially in communities of color, has worsened during the pandemic, a time when a looming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-bd61b8a59126081bb09ef9515d09866f">eviction crisis</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-us-news-miami-florida-a4717c05df3cb0530b73a4fe998ec5d1">rising housing</a>&nbsp;prices threatened millions of families.

“There was already growing awareness before the pandemic in states and cities around the country that affordable housing problems that always existed were reaching an all time level and just had to be addressed,” said Stockton Williams, the executive director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies. “The pandemic has shown a brighter light on that, especially as they relate to the most vulnerable renters and homeowners.”

For many communities, the amount of money available in the state and local fiscal recovery funds is also historic and more than many have spent on housing in a year or even a decade.

“This is certainly transformational funding,” Jacqueline Edwards, the director of the Maricopa County Human Services Department in Arizona, said of the nearly $85 million it has to spend on everything from new housing to additional shelter beds to helping homeowners repair their air conditioning and stay in their homes when temperatures heat up. Typically, the county has a few million dollars to spend each year on these services.

“We’ll be able to make significant changes, not just that will impact today, but will impact lives for years to come,” she added.

But advocates say it still is only a start and significant federal investment — much of it in the Build Back Better bill, passed by the House but currently held up in the Senate — is necessary to fix the problem.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1 in 4 families eligible for federal rental assistance received it before the pandemic. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that $86 billion annually is needed over the next decade for universal housing vouchers and housing funds. Another $70 billion is needed for public housing repairs.

So far, more than $11 billion from the state and local fiscal recovery funds have been committed to housing-related programs, according to the Center, which is tracking&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/resource-lists/fiscal-recovery-funds-in-the-american-rescue-plan">spending</a>.

States in the West, Midwest and East have already made significant commitments, according to a February&nbsp;<a href="https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/ARPA_State-Local-Housing.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Southern states, long known for having among the weakest tenant protections, have committed very little.

Among the biggest areas of investment is a promise to build more affordable housing.

Massachusetts has allotted nearly $600 million to affordable housing, including $150 million for new housing and $150 million to maintain public housing. Colorado lawmakers have proposed spending $400 million and Washington, D.C., has set aside $323 million, including $17 million for community groups to provide housing for victims of domestic violence. Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas, whose tourist economy was hammered by the pandemic, plans to spend more than a third of its funds, or $157 million, on housing.

Others states, led by Washington, Oregon and New Jersey, are working to shore up their eviction protections — something the U.S. Treasury Department has encouraged.

Washington is spending $403 million to bolster its emergency rental assistance program and $174 million for homeowner assistance. New York City plans to spend nearly $329 million to increase access to rental assistance vouchers. New Jersey is spending $750 million in rental and utility assistance and creating a statewide eviction prevention program.

“A lot of people who never thought they would be housing unstable ... are in this situation. And so it is scary and people don’t know quite where to turn,” said Janel Winter, the director of New Jersey's Division of Housing and Community Resources.

“This provides them with that assistance. ... So everybody who is in that court understands their rights, understands their responsibilities, is able to take advantage of whatever protections are there for them.”

Several communities are using the funds to help the homeless.

North Carolina has set aside $15 million to rapidly rehouse people at risk of homelessness because of the pandemic. Clark County, Washington, is spending $4.4 million to fund homeless outreach teams while Burlington, Vermont, plans to use $1.4 million on 30 shelter pods for people to sleep in and store their belongings.

Austin, Texas, which has hundreds of homeless encampments and upwards of 2,500 people sleeping on the street most nights, is putting more than $106 million towards homelessness. That is in addition to the $110 million that Travis County, home to Austin, is putting towards the problem.

The funds will help move the homeless into temporary housing and eventually into permanent units that offer services like counseling and rental assistance. There is also funding for 1,300 new housing units set aside for the homeless and the city has acquired several hotels with the money.

“We are focused on building a system that doesn’t just move people off the streets into shelters but is focused on resolving their housing crisis,” said Dianna Grey, the city's homeless strategy officer.

Several cities are using the funds to save homes battered by years of neglect and to ensure impoverished families can remain housed. Milwaukee wants to spend $15 million to rehabilitate up to 150 city-owned, foreclosed houses.

Detroit has set aside more than $83 million for housing-related spending, including $27.5 million to repair 1,000 roofs — tripling the amount it spends on its low-income home-repair program. It's also spending $14.2 million to renovate vacant homes and $6.4 million to set up an online system allowing residents to find and apply for low-income housing.

Deputy Mayor Conrad Mallett said the spending priorities are aimed at preventing further declines in the city's population, which has dropped dramatically since the 1950s.

“If we are going to maintain population and attract new people to the city, it is going to be because of the housing opportunities that we can provide," he said, adding that the city also has to help those who have remained in Detroit.

“We are going to deliver service to the people who stayed," he said. "We are not simply going to say to the people who endured, that you have no place. We want you to stay. We want you to succeed."

KANSAS CITY (AP) — After her home flooded five times in the past year, Tilicia Owens was on edge with every impending storm and ready to leave her Detroit neighborhood behind.But then the 40-year-old quality engineer heard the city had a program that could prevent heavy rains from inundating her basement and damaging her furniture, photos and exercise equipment. The city is tapping $2.5 million in federal stimulus money as part of a $15 million effort to provide pumps and other equipment to help prevent flooding in 11 neighborhoods.“That would mean the world to me,” said Owens, who has applied to the city’s Basement Backup Protection Program, which would provide homeowners a pump to remove floodwaters or a valve outside the home to prevent water from entering.“I have invested so much into my home," she added. “I want to protect that and I want to protect my investment. It would take away all my anxiety.”Detroit has turned to the $350 billion in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to partly finance the project. Part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-congress-310542ef5cddc914104960a00ae356e0">$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan</a>&nbsp;approved last year, the money is meant to help communities recover from the pandemic and can be used for everything from job creation to child care to housing.More than 60 states, counties and cities, including Detroit, are tapping the funds for housing programs.With President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill floundering and federal Emergency Rental Assistance running out in some places, the funds have become a critical source of money to address a shortage of affordable housing and a growing homelessness crisis. Prioritizing housing is also a reminder that the long-running shortage of affordable housing, especially in communities of color, has worsened during the pandemic, a time when a looming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-bd61b8a59126081bb09ef9515d09866f">eviction crisis</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-us-news-miami-florida-a4717c05df3cb0530b73a4fe998ec5d1">rising housing</a>&nbsp;prices threatened millions of families.“There was already growing awareness before the pandemic in states and cities around the country that affordable housing problems that always existed were reaching an all time level and just had to be addressed,” said Stockton Williams, the executive director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies. “The pandemic has shown a brighter light on that, especially as they relate to the most vulnerable renters and homeowners.”For many communities, the amount of money available in the state and local fiscal recovery funds is also historic and more than many have spent on housing in a year or even a decade.“This is certainly transformational funding,” Jacqueline Edwards, the director of the Maricopa County Human Services Department in Arizona, said of the nearly $85 million it has to spend on everything from new housing to additional shelter beds to helping homeowners repair their air conditioning and stay in their homes when temperatures heat up. Typically, the county has a few million dollars to spend each year on these services.“We’ll be able to make significant changes, not just that will impact today, but will impact lives for years to come,” she added.But advocates say it still is only a start and significant federal investment — much of it in the Build Back Better bill, passed by the House but currently held up in the Senate — is necessary to fix the problem.According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1 in 4 families eligible for federal rental assistance received it before the pandemic. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that $86 billion annually is needed over the next decade for universal housing vouchers and housing funds. Another $70 billion is needed for public housing repairs.So far, more than $11 billion from the state and local fiscal recovery funds have been committed to housing-related programs, according to the Center, which is tracking&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/resource-lists/fiscal-recovery-funds-in-the-american-rescue-plan">spending</a>.States in the West, Midwest and East have already made significant commitments, according to a February&nbsp;<a href="https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/ARPA_State-Local-Housing.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Southern states, long known for having among the weakest tenant protections, have committed very little.Among the biggest areas of investment is a promise to build more affordable housing.Massachusetts has allotted nearly $600 million to affordable housing, including $150 million for new housing and $150 million to maintain public housing. Colorado lawmakers have proposed spending $400 million and Washington, D.C., has set aside $323 million, including $17 million for community groups to provide housing for victims of domestic violence. Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas, whose tourist economy was hammered by the pandemic, plans to spend more than a third of its funds, or $157 million, on housing.Others states, led by Washington, Oregon and New Jersey, are working to shore up their eviction protections — something the U.S. Treasury Department has encouraged.Washington is spending $403 million to bolster its emergency rental assistance program and $174 million for homeowner assistance. New York City plans to spend nearly $329 million to increase access to rental assistance vouchers. New Jersey is spending $750 million in rental and utility assistance and creating a statewide eviction prevention program.“A lot of people who never thought they would be housing unstable ... are in this situation. And so it is scary and people don’t know quite where to turn,” said Janel Winter, the director of New Jersey's Division of Housing and Community Resources.“This provides them with that assistance. ... So everybody who is in that court understands their rights, understands their responsibilities, is able to take advantage of whatever protections are there for them.”Several communities are using the funds to help the homeless.North Carolina has set aside $15 million to rapidly rehouse people at risk of homelessness because of the pandemic. Clark County, Washington, is spending $4.4 million to fund homeless outreach teams while Burlington, Vermont, plans to use $1.4 million on 30 shelter pods for people to sleep in and store their belongings.Austin, Texas, which has hundreds of homeless encampments and upwards of 2,500 people sleeping on the street most nights, is putting more than $106 million towards homelessness. That is in addition to the $110 million that Travis County, home to Austin, is putting towards the problem.The funds will help move the homeless into temporary housing and eventually into permanent units that offer services like counseling and rental assistance. There is also funding for 1,300 new housing units set aside for the homeless and the city has acquired several hotels with the money.“We are focused on building a system that doesn’t just move people off the streets into shelters but is focused on resolving their housing crisis,” said Dianna Grey, the city's homeless strategy officer.Several cities are using the funds to save homes battered by years of neglect and to ensure impoverished families can remain housed. Milwaukee wants to spend $15 million to rehabilitate up to 150 city-owned, foreclosed houses.Detroit has set aside more than $83 million for housing-related spending, including $27.5 million to repair 1,000 roofs — tripling the amount it spends on its low-income home-repair program. It's also spending $14.2 million to renovate vacant homes and $6.4 million to set up an online system allowing residents to find and apply for low-income housing.Deputy Mayor Conrad Mallett said the spending priorities are aimed at preventing further declines in the city's population, which has dropped dramatically since the 1950s.“If we are going to maintain population and attract new people to the city, it is going to be because of the housing opportunities that we can provide," he said, adding that the city also has to help those who have remained in Detroit.“We are going to deliver service to the people who stayed," he said. "We are not simply going to say to the people who endured, that you have no place. We want you to stay. We want you to succeed."

Affordable housing, long overlooked, getting federal boost

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thanks to a sudden $140 million cash infusion, officials in Broward County, Florida, recently broke ground on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.broward.org/CCExpansion/pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">high-end hotel</a>&nbsp;that will have views of the Atlantic Ocean and an 11,000-square-foot spa.

In New York, Dutchess County pledged $12 million for renovations of a&nbsp;<a href="https://dutchesstourism.com/listingsv/dutchess-stadium" target="_blank">minor league baseball stadium</a>&nbsp;to meet requirements the New York Yankees set for their farm teams.

And in Massachusetts, lawmakers delivered $5 million to pay off debts of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.emkinstitute.org/" target="_blank">Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate</a>&nbsp;in Boston, a nonprofit established to honor the late senator that has struggled financially.

The three distinctly different outlays have one thing in common: Each is among the scores of projects that state and local governments across the United States are funding with federal coronavirus relief money despite having little to do with combating the pandemic, a review by The Associated Press has found.

The expenditures amount to a fraction of the $350 billion made available through last year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-funds" target="_blank">American Rescue Plan</a>&nbsp;to help state and local governments weather the crisis. But they are examples of uses of the aid that are inconsistent with the rationale that Democrats offered for the record $1.9 trillion bill: The cash was desperately needed to save jobs, help those in distress, open schools and increase vaccinations.

Republicans are already balking at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-congress-e5b411a879b2becf3e342fea3b0df981">additional money for pandemic relief that President Joe Biden has requested,</a>&nbsp;and programs that seem far removed from ones that directly combat the virus will probably add to the resistance in the GOP.

“They need to give us an accounting,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who tried unsuccessfully to amend the Democrats’ bill last year to add more limits on how the money could be spent. “Show us how you’ve already spent the money Congress gave you,” he said, adding, “It’s hard to imagine how a four-star hotel is helping to solve the pain of COVID.”

Many of the projects identified by the AP echo pork-barrel spending disasters such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fe1ef497194642dab18792e14a61e27a">Alaska’s $398 million “Bridge to Nowhere,”</a>&nbsp;which was canceled in 2007 after a public uproar.

But with permissive Treasury Department rules governing how the pandemic money can be spent, state and local governments face few limitations. New Jersey allocated $15 million for upgrades to sweeten the state’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup. In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, officials allocated $53,000 for a remodeling of City Hall.

“Outrageous” and “just nuts” is how Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., described some of the expenditures, which she said were an affront to responsible local governments.

“Our hospitals were overwhelmed because of the pandemic and somebody now has a hotel somewhere?” she added.

Included among the projects and expenditures identified by the AP:

—$400 million&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-prisons-montgomery-kay-ivey-8a7d30c43f4e61987051368a9604fda9">to build new prisons in Alabama</a>, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total aid the state will receive through the program.

—tens of millions of dollars for tourism marketing campaigns in Puerto Rico ($70 million), Washington, D.C. ($8 million) and Tucson, Arizona ($2 million). The city of Alexandria, Virginia, also announced it would spend $120,000 to give its tourism website a makeover.

—$6.6 million to replace irrigation systems at two golf courses in Colorado Springs.

—$5 million approved by Birmingham, Alabama, to support the 2022 World Games. The event features niche sporting contests such as DanceSport, korfball and flying disc.

—$2.5 million to hire new parking enforcement officers in Washington, D.C.

—$2 million to help Pottawattamie County, Iowa, purchase a privately owned ski area.

—$1 million to pay off overdue child support in St. Louis. A city memo states that owing child support stops some people from looking for work because the overdue payments are garnished from paychecks; the program would “empower individuals” by paying down a portion.

—$300,000 to establish a museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, honoring Major Taylor, a famed Black bicycle rider from the turn of the 20th century known as the “Worcester Whirlwind” who died in 1932.

Liz Bourgeois, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, called the program a success that allowed state and local governments to “recover from financial distress” and “achieve their own strategies for restoring jobs and industries hit by the pandemic.”

“Ultimately local governments are accountable to their communities on their decisions on how best to use their funds,” Bourgeois said in a statement.

In Broward County, officials defended their planned 29-story, 800-room hotel, which will be owned by the county but operated by a private management group.

They also contest whether federal money is technically being used for the project. Broward County initially routed $140 million in federal coronavirus aid to the project, which ran against Treasury Department rules that generally bar spending the money on large capital projects.

To get around the prohibition, the county adopted a common workaround.

<a href="https://broward.legistar1.com/broward/meetings/2022/2/1096_A_County_Commission_22-02-22_Regular_Meeting_Agenda.pdf" target="_blank">The agenda from a Feb. 22 county board meeting</a>&nbsp;details how: In a back-to-back series of unopposed votes, commissioners clawed back the federal money they had given to the hotel. They then transferred it to the county’s general fund, describing it as a federal payment to cover lost tax revenue, which is an acceptable use. Then the cash was transferred from the general fund right back to the project.

County Administrator Monica Cepero insisted “no federal funds will be used to pay any of the cost of developing the Hotel Project.”

“The County has reviewed the Treasury guidance and modified its use of (the) funds,” she said in a statement.

Some lawmakers in Congress, however, are nonplussed.

“They are basically money laundering funding that is meant to help communities that are suffering,” said Spanberger, who called for more oversight.

Local officials in New York’s Dutchess County, home to the $12 million minor league stadium project, said in a statement that the expenditure was “completely and absolutely consistent” with Congress’ intent for the money.

“It’s ironic that this criticism emanates from the same congressional members who have brought back pork barrel earmarks,” said Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro.

The Edward Kennedy Institute did not respond to messages seeking comment on the $5 million in coronavirus aid received from Massachusetts. The institute operated at a $27 million loss between 2015 and 2019, according to tax filings from those years, the most recent that are publicly available.

Even in cases where local and state officials may have violated the spending rules, the sheer volume of money pumped out presents a challenge for government oversight offices that are often understaffed and poorly funded.

“The amount of money that went out was so massive and so far beyond anything that has ever been spent in our country before, that our capacity to audit every dollar spent is clearly stretched,” Romney said.

But groups that lobby on behalf of local governments in Washington say the spending rules were written permissively in order to give as much flexibility as possible.

“Counties should be able to determine what’s best for them,” said Mark Ritacco, director of government affairs for the National Association of Counties. “Their residents will decide whether that was appropriate or not at the ballot box.”

The new findings track closely with AP’s previous reporting, which found in October that states and large cities had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-states-cities-spend-federal-pandemic-funds-191dce8c75b0f5159691f0606d910d74">spent just a tiny fraction of their relief funding</a>&nbsp;six months after it was approved. That was despite their pleas for the emergency cash when Congress was still debating it.

Some school districts also had so much extra federal pandemic cash that they spent it on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-school-funding-sports-5b468b260ebd2593e53f03f9104d9bca">new sports stadiums, arenas and football turf.</a>&nbsp;In other instances, states used discretionary funding to further&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-school-choice-efe85ad624d092b6eff700b635103a02">school choice initiatives</a>&nbsp;that they had failed to get through their legislatures.

Rich Delmar, the deputy inspector general for the Treasury Department, declined to say whether the office had any active investigations into uses of the state and local pot of money.

“All projects are potentially subject to audit and investigation,” Delmar said in an email, adding that “we are actively engaging in oversight.”

Biden, meanwhile, has said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-congress-7bba01ec15bdc406c793bc835f717cd1">his administration urgently needs more money</a>&nbsp;to pay for things that are directly related to the pandemic.

Without it, the White House says, the administration won’t be able to replenish depleted stockpiles of vaccines and therapeutics. Republican say winning their support will hinge on it being paid for with money that was already appropriated.

A deal that leaders struck this month would have been paid for by recouping some aid intended for states. But the agreement fell apart after several governors objected and rank-and-file House Democrats rebelled.

At least one Democrat sought to raise campaign cash off her opposition to clawing local money back.

“We had a bit of a fight when they tried to take money away from Michigan,” reads a fundraising email from Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell. “I was not going to let the Midwest get harmed. We won.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1638285832314.png" alt="“Outrageous” and “just nuts” is how Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., described some of the expenditures, which she said were an affront to responsible local governments." />
 <figcaption>“Outrageous” and “just nuts” is how Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., described some of the expenditures, which she said were an affront to responsible local governments.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Thanks to a sudden $140 million cash infusion, officials in Broward County, Florida, recently broke ground on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.broward.org/CCExpansion/pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">high-end hotel</a>&nbsp;that will have views of the Atlantic Ocean and an 11,000-square-foot spa.In New York, Dutchess County pledged $12 million for renovations of a&nbsp;<a href="https://dutchesstourism.com/listingsv/dutchess-stadium" target="_blank">minor league baseball stadium</a>&nbsp;to meet requirements the New York Yankees set for their farm teams.And in Massachusetts, lawmakers delivered $5 million to pay off debts of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.emkinstitute.org/" target="_blank">Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate</a>&nbsp;in Boston, a nonprofit established to honor the late senator that has struggled financially.The three distinctly different outlays have one thing in common: Each is among the scores of projects that state and local governments across the United States are funding with federal coronavirus relief money despite having little to do with combating the pandemic, a review by The Associated Press has found.The expenditures amount to a fraction of the $350 billion made available through last year’s&nbsp;<a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-funds" target="_blank">American Rescue Plan</a>&nbsp;to help state and local governments weather the crisis. But they are examples of uses of the aid that are inconsistent with the rationale that Democrats offered for the record $1.9 trillion bill: The cash was desperately needed to save jobs, help those in distress, open schools and increase vaccinations.Republicans are already balking at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-congress-e5b411a879b2becf3e342fea3b0df981">additional money for pandemic relief that President Joe Biden has requested,</a>&nbsp;and programs that seem far removed from ones that directly combat the virus will probably add to the resistance in the GOP.“They need to give us an accounting,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who tried unsuccessfully to amend the Democrats’ bill last year to add more limits on how the money could be spent. “Show us how you’ve already spent the money Congress gave you,” he said, adding, “It’s hard to imagine how a four-star hotel is helping to solve the pain of COVID.”Many of the projects identified by the AP echo pork-barrel spending disasters such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fe1ef497194642dab18792e14a61e27a">Alaska’s $398 million “Bridge to Nowhere,”</a>&nbsp;which was canceled in 2007 after a public uproar.But with permissive Treasury Department rules governing how the pandemic money can be spent, state and local governments face few limitations. New Jersey allocated $15 million for upgrades to sweeten the state’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup. In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, officials allocated $53,000 for a remodeling of City Hall.“Outrageous” and “just nuts” is how Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., described some of the expenditures, which she said were an affront to responsible local governments.“Our hospitals were overwhelmed because of the pandemic and somebody now has a hotel somewhere?” she added.Included among the projects and expenditures identified by the AP:—$400 million&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-prisons-montgomery-kay-ivey-8a7d30c43f4e61987051368a9604fda9">to build new prisons in Alabama</a>, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total aid the state will receive through the program.—tens of millions of dollars for tourism marketing campaigns in Puerto Rico ($70 million), Washington, D.C. ($8 million) and Tucson, Arizona ($2 million). The city of Alexandria, Virginia, also announced it would spend $120,000 to give its tourism website a makeover.—$6.6 million to replace irrigation systems at two golf courses in Colorado Springs.—$5 million approved by Birmingham, Alabama, to support the 2022 World Games. The event features niche sporting contests such as DanceSport, korfball and flying disc.—$2.5 million to hire new parking enforcement officers in Washington, D.C.—$2 million to help Pottawattamie County, Iowa, purchase a privately owned ski area.—$1 million to pay off overdue child support in St. Louis. A city memo states that owing child support stops some people from looking for work because the overdue payments are garnished from paychecks; the program would “empower individuals” by paying down a portion.—$300,000 to establish a museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, honoring Major Taylor, a famed Black bicycle rider from the turn of the 20th century known as the “Worcester Whirlwind” who died in 1932.Liz Bourgeois, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, called the program a success that allowed state and local governments to “recover from financial distress” and “achieve their own strategies for restoring jobs and industries hit by the pandemic.”“Ultimately local governments are accountable to their communities on their decisions on how best to use their funds,” Bourgeois said in a statement.In Broward County, officials defended their planned 29-story, 800-room hotel, which will be owned by the county but operated by a private management group.They also contest whether federal money is technically being used for the project. Broward County initially routed $140 million in federal coronavirus aid to the project, which ran against Treasury Department rules that generally bar spending the money on large capital projects.To get around the prohibition, the county adopted a common workaround.<a href="https://broward.legistar1.com/broward/meetings/2022/2/1096_A_County_Commission_22-02-22_Regular_Meeting_Agenda.pdf" target="_blank">The agenda from a Feb. 22 county board meeting</a>&nbsp;details how: In a back-to-back series of unopposed votes, commissioners clawed back the federal money they had given to the hotel. They then transferred it to the county’s general fund, describing it as a federal payment to cover lost tax revenue, which is an acceptable use. Then the cash was transferred from the general fund right back to the project.County Administrator Monica Cepero insisted “no federal funds will be used to pay any of the cost of developing the Hotel Project.”“The County has reviewed the Treasury guidance and modified its use of (the) funds,” she said in a statement.Some lawmakers in Congress, however, are nonplussed.“They are basically money laundering funding that is meant to help communities that are suffering,” said Spanberger, who called for more oversight.Local officials in New York’s Dutchess County, home to the $12 million minor league stadium project, said in a statement that the expenditure was “completely and absolutely consistent” with Congress’ intent for the money.“It’s ironic that this criticism emanates from the same congressional members who have brought back pork barrel earmarks,” said Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro.The Edward Kennedy Institute did not respond to messages seeking comment on the $5 million in coronavirus aid received from Massachusetts. The institute operated at a $27 million loss between 2015 and 2019, according to tax filings from those years, the most recent that are publicly available.Even in cases where local and state officials may have violated the spending rules, the sheer volume of money pumped out presents a challenge for government oversight offices that are often understaffed and poorly funded.“The amount of money that went out was so massive and so far beyond anything that has ever been spent in our country before, that our capacity to audit every dollar spent is clearly stretched,” Romney said.But groups that lobby on behalf of local governments in Washington say the spending rules were written permissively in order to give as much flexibility as possible.“Counties should be able to determine what’s best for them,” said Mark Ritacco, director of government affairs for the National Association of Counties. “Their residents will decide whether that was appropriate or not at the ballot box.”The new findings track closely with AP’s previous reporting, which found in October that states and large cities had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-states-cities-spend-federal-pandemic-funds-191dce8c75b0f5159691f0606d910d74">spent just a tiny fraction of their relief funding</a>&nbsp;six months after it was approved. That was despite their pleas for the emergency cash when Congress was still debating it.Some school districts also had so much extra federal pandemic cash that they spent it on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-school-funding-sports-5b468b260ebd2593e53f03f9104d9bca">new sports stadiums, arenas and football turf.</a>&nbsp;In other instances, states used discretionary funding to further&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-school-choice-efe85ad624d092b6eff700b635103a02">school choice initiatives</a>&nbsp;that they had failed to get through their legislatures.Rich Delmar, the deputy inspector general for the Treasury Department, declined to say whether the office had any active investigations into uses of the state and local pot of money.“All projects are potentially subject to audit and investigation,” Delmar said in an email, adding that “we are actively engaging in oversight.”Biden, meanwhile, has said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-congress-7bba01ec15bdc406c793bc835f717cd1">his administration urgently needs more money</a>&nbsp;to pay for things that are directly related to the pandemic.Without it, the White House says, the administration won’t be able to replenish depleted stockpiles of vaccines and therapeutics. Republican say winning their support will hinge on it being paid for with money that was already appropriated.A deal that leaders struck this month would have been paid for by recouping some aid intended for states. But the agreement fell apart after several governors objected and rank-and-file House Democrats rebelled.At least one Democrat sought to raise campaign cash off her opposition to clawing local money back.“We had a bit of a fight when they tried to take money away from Michigan,” reads a fundraising email from Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell. “I was not going to let the Midwest get harmed. We won.”

Pandemic relief spending had little to do with combating pandemic

By DARRELL EHRLICK <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2022/03/01/on-150th-anniversary-new-book-looks-back-at-the-founding-of-yellowstone-national-park/">Daily Montanan</a>

When educators cover American 
history, the Civil War period usually gives way to the westward 
expansion. Often, Reconstruction, the period directly following the 
Civil War, is glossed over or only presented as a movement in the U.S. 
South.

However, Megan Kate Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize nominee for history, has
 tackled the period, taking aim at the creation of Yellowstone National 
Park. Her latest book, “Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation
 in Reconstruction America,” demonstrates that the idea of changing 
America and rebuilding it in a better image didn’t just happen in the 
South, but was part of a larger Republican ideal that led to the 
founding of America’s first national park.

And yet, the book is told from three perspectives, including that of 
explorer Ferdinand Hayden, who saw illustrations and paintings of 
Yellowstone and wanted it preserved as a testament to the country. 
Meanwhile, railroad magnate and financier Jay Cooke saw the park as a 
tourist destination and economic engine for railroads. And Sitting Bull,
 the powerful Lakota leader, saw the land as desperately needing 
protection from the hordes of settlers who would otherwise lay claim to 
the area, which had held deep religious significance for generations of 
different Native tribes.

The book illustrates how different motives and interests led to an 
ultimately conflicted view of the park, which has been dubbed the “crown
 jewel” of the country’s national park system.

“The Civil War period with its battles and violence really continued 
into the Western expansion and ‘Indian Wars,’” Nelson said. “A lot of 
educators bolt through Reconstruction to get to the West. The Western 
expansion is more compelling, but it shouldn’t be. Four million people 
got new freedom, and there was pushback, which needs to be explored.”

Part of that pushback and freedom involves questions of why settlers 
went West and what happened as they encroached on Native lands.

And yet, the nascent idea of creating Yellowstone National Park was meant to be an act of unity.

“This is a Republican Party, which is asserting new ideals and trying
 to bring people back together again. This was supposed to give all 
Americans something to be proud of. This was supposed to be ‘Nature’s 
Nation.’ While we didn’t have claim to Roman ruins, we had these amazing
 natural wonders like Niagara Falls, Yosemite and Yellowstone,” Nelson 
said.

But these Republicans would shape the nation by more than just creating national tourist attractions.

“These ‘Radical Republicans’ also gave us the 13th, 14th, and 15th
 Amendments, which were galvanizing events that helped to fight the 
growing racial threats in the South like the Ku Klux Klan,” Nelson said.

And even though the Ulysses S. Grant administration ran on a platform
 of peace, for people of color, including Native Americans, it was 
anything but peaceful.

“They were fighting for emancipation and Black rights in the South 
while also discussing extermination of indigenous peoples in the West,” 
Nelson said.

It was Sitting Bull who also had an outsized influence in the 
creation of the park as hostile tribes that fought along the Bozeman 
Trail stymied earlier exploration of the land around Yellowstone prior 
and during the Civil War. Meanwhile, it was Cooke and the completion of 
the transcontinental railroad that helped travel to these previously 
remote locations possible.

“Before then, who has the time and money to take that kind of vacation?” Nelson said.

Yet, with the completion of the railroad, going from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean could happen in less than a week.

“And people saw all these amazing landscapes,” Nelson said. “And they had never seen anything like it.”

Because of that, Cooke invested heavily in creating a more robust western railroad.

“He really believed it was a good investment. It was not. There 
wasn’t a lot there,” Nelson said. “The investment was based on a future 
dream, but it destroyed him because he couldn’t let go of it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648219242155.png" alt="“Saving Yellowstone” by Megan Kate Nelson (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). " />
 <figcaption>“Saving Yellowstone” by Megan Kate Nelson (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). </figcaption>
 </figure>By DARRELL EHRLICK <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2022/03/01/on-150th-anniversary-new-book-looks-back-at-the-founding-of-yellowstone-national-park/">Daily Montanan</a>When educators cover American 
history, the Civil War period usually gives way to the westward 
expansion. Often, Reconstruction, the period directly following the 
Civil War, is glossed over or only presented as a movement in the U.S. 
South.However, Megan Kate Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize nominee for history, has
 tackled the period, taking aim at the creation of Yellowstone National 
Park. Her latest book, “Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation
 in Reconstruction America,” demonstrates that the idea of changing 
America and rebuilding it in a better image didn’t just happen in the 
South, but was part of a larger Republican ideal that led to the 
founding of America’s first national park.And yet, the book is told from three perspectives, including that of 
explorer Ferdinand Hayden, who saw illustrations and paintings of 
Yellowstone and wanted it preserved as a testament to the country. 
Meanwhile, railroad magnate and financier Jay Cooke saw the park as a 
tourist destination and economic engine for railroads. And Sitting Bull,
 the powerful Lakota leader, saw the land as desperately needing 
protection from the hordes of settlers who would otherwise lay claim to 
the area, which had held deep religious significance for generations of 
different Native tribes.The book illustrates how different motives and interests led to an 
ultimately conflicted view of the park, which has been dubbed the “crown
 jewel” of the country’s national park system.“The Civil War period with its battles and violence really continued 
into the Western expansion and ‘Indian Wars,’” Nelson said. “A lot of 
educators bolt through Reconstruction to get to the West. The Western 
expansion is more compelling, but it shouldn’t be. Four million people 
got new freedom, and there was pushback, which needs to be explored.”Part of that pushback and freedom involves questions of why settlers 
went West and what happened as they encroached on Native lands.And yet, the nascent idea of creating Yellowstone National Park was meant to be an act of unity.“This is a Republican Party, which is asserting new ideals and trying
 to bring people back together again. This was supposed to give all 
Americans something to be proud of. This was supposed to be ‘Nature’s 
Nation.’ While we didn’t have claim to Roman ruins, we had these amazing
 natural wonders like Niagara Falls, Yosemite and Yellowstone,” Nelson 
said.But these Republicans would shape the nation by more than just creating national tourist attractions.“These ‘Radical Republicans’ also gave us the 13th, 14th, and 15th
 Amendments, which were galvanizing events that helped to fight the 
growing racial threats in the South like the Ku Klux Klan,” Nelson said.And even though the Ulysses S. Grant administration ran on a platform
 of peace, for people of color, including Native Americans, it was 
anything but peaceful.“They were fighting for emancipation and Black rights in the South 
while also discussing extermination of indigenous peoples in the West,” 
Nelson said.It was Sitting Bull who also had an outsized influence in the 
creation of the park as hostile tribes that fought along the Bozeman 
Trail stymied earlier exploration of the land around Yellowstone prior 
and during the Civil War. Meanwhile, it was Cooke and the completion of 
the transcontinental railroad that helped travel to these previously 
remote locations possible.“Before then, who has the time and money to take that kind of vacation?” Nelson said.Yet, with the completion of the railroad, going from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean could happen in less than a week.“And people saw all these amazing landscapes,” Nelson said. “And they had never seen anything like it.”Because of that, Cooke invested heavily in creating a more robust western railroad.“He really believed it was a good investment. It was not. There 
wasn’t a lot there,” Nelson said. “The investment was based on a future 
dream, but it destroyed him because he couldn’t let go of it.”Throughout the book, there are circumstances of chance, places where 
characters keeping on popping up coincidentally, for example, Hayden and
 Cooke both being at the same Union League meeting in Philadelphia.The book also helps put the Native perspective into the narrative, as
 most histories speak of Yellowstone National Park being “discovered” 
even though tribes had been attached to the area for centuries.“It really shows the regional impact that these players had. They have an outsized influence on the story,” Nelson said.