By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/tax-cut-coming-for-those-who-inherit-property-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN
 — Those who inherit property in Nebraska would pay less in taxes under a
 bill given final approval Friday by the State Legislature.&nbsp;

Legislative
 Bill 310, introduced by State Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood, would 
increase what is exempt from state inheritance taxes and reduce the 
rates paid by more distant relatives and nonrelatives.

The
 proposal was amended after Nebraska’s counties, which collect about $70
 million a year in inheritance taxes, complained that they would be hurt
 by the senator’s original proposal, which would have made deeper cuts 
in the tax.

Only
 six states levy an inheritance tax, and Iowa will soon eliminate its 
inheritance tax. The changes passed by the Nebraska Legislature apply to
 estates of individuals who died on or after Jan. 1.&nbsp;

Under the amended LB 310, which Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to sign into law:

Douglas
 County, the state’s largest county, estimated it would lose $2 million a
 year in revenue from inheritance taxes, according to a state 
legislative fiscal note. A survey of 14 counties, excluding Douglas and 
Lancaster Counties, estimated the average loss at $90,000 a year.&nbsp; 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644850442991.png" alt="State senators debate on the floor of Nebraska’s unique Unicameral Legislature at the State Capitol. (Rebecca S. Gratz for Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>State senators debate on the floor of Nebraska’s unique Unicameral Legislature at the State Capitol. (Rebecca S. Gratz for Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/tax-cut-coming-for-those-who-inherit-property-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN
 — Those who inherit property in Nebraska would pay less in taxes under a
 bill given final approval Friday by the State Legislature.&nbsp;Legislative
 Bill 310, introduced by State Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood, would 
increase what is exempt from state inheritance taxes and reduce the 
rates paid by more distant relatives and nonrelatives.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644850503722.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood (Courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood (Courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>The
 proposal was amended after Nebraska’s counties, which collect about $70
 million a year in inheritance taxes, complained that they would be hurt
 by the senator’s original proposal, which would have made deeper cuts 
in the tax.Only
 six states levy an inheritance tax, and Iowa will soon eliminate its 
inheritance tax. The changes passed by the Nebraska Legislature apply to
 estates of individuals who died on or after Jan. 1.&nbsp;Under the amended LB 310, which Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to sign into law:<ul>
 <li>Immediate 
relatives, such as children, would continue to pay a 1% inheritance tax,
 but the amount of property that is exempt rises from $40,000 to 
$100,000.</li><li>More remote relatives would pay an 11% tax, down from the current 13%, and get an exemption of $40,000, up from $15,000.</li><li>Nonrelatives who 
inherit property would pay a 15% tax, down from 18%, and their exemption
 would rise to $25,000 from the current $10,000.</li>
 </ul>Douglas
 County, the state’s largest county, estimated it would lose $2 million a
 year in revenue from inheritance taxes, according to a state 
legislative fiscal note. A survey of 14 counties, excluding Douglas and 
Lancaster Counties, estimated the average loss at $90,000 a year.&nbsp;

Tax cut coming for those who inherit property in Nebraska

WASHINGTON — To help taxpayers and tax professionals, the Internal Revenue Service today announced <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/help-for-taxpayers-and-tax-professionals-special-filing-season-alerts">a special new page</a>
 on IRS.gov to provide the latest details and information affecting the 
2022 filing season and ongoing efforts by the agency to address the 
inventory of previously filed tax returns.

During this tax season, taxpayers face a number of issues due to 
critical tax law changes that took place in 2021 and ongoing challenges 
related to the pandemic. To raise awareness about these issues and 
provide people with the latest timely information, the IRS has created a
 special tax season web page. This page will provide people with a quick
 overview of information to help people filing tax returns as well as 
those who have previous year tax returns awaiting processing by the IRS.

"The IRS is taking numerous steps to keep this tax season going 
smoothly while also taking additional action to address the inventory of
 tax returns filed last year," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. 
"We're off to a good start processing tax returns and issuing refunds. 
But we want people to have an easy way to see the latest information. 
This new page provides a one-stop shop for the latest key information 
people and the tax community may need."

The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/help-for-taxpayers-and-tax-professionals-special-filing-season-alerts">"special tax season alerts" page</a> will be available through the IRS.gov home page and shared through social media and other channels.

The page will include the latest filing season updates. The IRS began
 tax season on January 24, and in less than two weeks more than 4 
million tax refunds have <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-by-year">gone out</a> worth nearly $10 billon. Millions more will go out in the weeks ahead as the IRS enters an important period of the tax season.

The page also includes links to important information related to 
ongoing efforts by the IRS to address the inventory of unprocessed tax 
returns filed before this year. This includes steps to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-continues-work-to-help-taxpayers-suspends-mailing-of-additional-letters">stop more than a dozen common letters</a> to taxpayers, and updates on IRS operations and the number of unprocessed tax returns.

"The combination of the pandemic, new tax laws and numerous other 
factors led to an unprecedented amount of unprocessed tax returns and 
correspondence remaining in the IRS inventory during 2021," Rettig said.
 "We must continue pursuing innovative strategies while supporting the 
hard work and dedication of our employees to fulfill our commitment to 
return inventories to a healthy level before entering the 2023 filing 
season. These steps are making a difference. Refunds for tax returns and
 amended tax returns in the inventory continue to flow out to 
taxpayers."

The IRS continues to urge taxpayers to carefully review their tax 
filings for accuracy and file electronically with direct deposit to 
speed refunds. Special tips are available in several places on IRS.gov, 
including <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/top-5-things-to-remember-when-filing-income-tax-returns-in-2022">these top 5 tips</a>; <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-begins-2022-tax-season-urges-extra-caution-for-taxpayers-to-file-accurate-tax-returns-electronically-to-speed-refunds-avoid-delays">basics on the 2022 tax season</a> and IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-time-guide">Tax Time Guide</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — To help taxpayers and tax professionals, the Internal Revenue Service today announced <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/help-for-taxpayers-and-tax-professionals-special-filing-season-alerts">a special new page</a>
 on IRS.gov to provide the latest details and information affecting the 
2022 filing season and ongoing efforts by the agency to address the 
inventory of previously filed tax returns.During this tax season, taxpayers face a number of issues due to 
critical tax law changes that took place in 2021 and ongoing challenges 
related to the pandemic. To raise awareness about these issues and 
provide people with the latest timely information, the IRS has created a
 special tax season web page. This page will provide people with a quick
 overview of information to help people filing tax returns as well as 
those who have previous year tax returns awaiting processing by the IRS."The IRS is taking numerous steps to keep this tax season going 
smoothly while also taking additional action to address the inventory of
 tax returns filed last year," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. 
"We're off to a good start processing tax returns and issuing refunds. 
But we want people to have an easy way to see the latest information. 
This new page provides a one-stop shop for the latest key information 
people and the tax community may need."The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/help-for-taxpayers-and-tax-professionals-special-filing-season-alerts">"special tax season alerts" page</a> will be available through the IRS.gov home page and shared through social media and other channels.The page will include the latest filing season updates. The IRS began
 tax season on January 24, and in less than two weeks more than 4 
million tax refunds have <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-by-year">gone out</a> worth nearly $10 billon. Millions more will go out in the weeks ahead as the IRS enters an important period of the tax season.The page also includes links to important information related to 
ongoing efforts by the IRS to address the inventory of unprocessed tax 
returns filed before this year. This includes steps to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-continues-work-to-help-taxpayers-suspends-mailing-of-additional-letters">stop more than a dozen common letters</a> to taxpayers, and updates on IRS operations and the number of unprocessed tax returns."The combination of the pandemic, new tax laws and numerous other 
factors led to an unprecedented amount of unprocessed tax returns and 
correspondence remaining in the IRS inventory during 2021," Rettig said.
 "We must continue pursuing innovative strategies while supporting the 
hard work and dedication of our employees to fulfill our commitment to 
return inventories to a healthy level before entering the 2023 filing 
season. These steps are making a difference. Refunds for tax returns and
 amended tax returns in the inventory continue to flow out to 
taxpayers."The IRS continues to urge taxpayers to carefully review their tax 
filings for accuracy and file electronically with direct deposit to 
speed refunds. Special tips are available in several places on IRS.gov, 
including <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/top-5-things-to-remember-when-filing-income-tax-returns-in-2022">these top 5 tips</a>; <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-begins-2022-tax-season-urges-extra-caution-for-taxpayers-to-file-accurate-tax-returns-electronically-to-speed-refunds-avoid-delays">basics on the 2022 tax season</a> and IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-time-guide">Tax Time Guide</a>.

IRS resource page offers latest guidance on tax filing season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A plane flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., was diverted to Kansas City, Missouri, after an unruly passenger reportedly tried to open a door on the aircraft. 

American Airlines says flight 1775 landed safely Sunday afternoon at Kansas City International Airport and law enforcement met the plane upon arrival. 

The FBI says in a statement that the passenger was “interfering with the flight crew” and was taken into custody. Details about the person weren’t immediately released. 

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said on Twitter that the passenger attempted to open a forward passenger door and passengers helped subdue the person. 

The flight, which had originated at Los Angeles International Airport, later continued on to Reagan National Airport.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620062290611.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>From the Associated PressKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A plane flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., was diverted to Kansas City, Missouri, after an unruly passenger reportedly tried to open a door on the aircraft. American Airlines says flight 1775 landed safely Sunday afternoon at Kansas City International Airport and law enforcement met the plane upon arrival. The FBI says in a statement that the passenger was “interfering with the flight crew” and was taken into custody. Details about the person weren’t immediately released. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said on Twitter that the passenger attempted to open a forward passenger door and passengers helped subdue the person. The flight, which had originated at Los Angeles International Airport, later continued on to Reagan National Airport.

Flight diverted to Kansas City due to unruly passenger

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-joe-biden-russia-europe-moscow-dce9b30db290a6e82f5aaa0f35a3125a">Even if a Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>&nbsp;doesn’t happen in the next few days, the crisis is reaching a critical inflection point with European stability and the future of East-West relations hanging in the balance.

A convergence of events over the coming week could determine whether the stalemate is resolved peacefully or Europe is at war. At stake are Europe’s post-Cold War security architecture and long-agreed limits on the deployment of conventional military and nuclear forces there.

“This next 10 days or so will be critical,” said Ian Kelly, a retired career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Georgia who now teaches international relations at Northwestern University.

The Biden administration on Friday said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-boris-johnson-joe-biden-europe-moscow-4d1e75eb68e1396bef885425c65039fb">an invasion could happen at any moment</a>, with a possible target date of Wednesday, according to intelligence picked up by the United States, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-states-europe-russia-kyiv-ff41abf90650aa5f456cbb6aafa4c5b3">Washington was evacuating almost all of its embassy staff&nbsp;</a>in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-joe-biden-emmanuel-macron-europe-moscow-1f353699f0be1609da5435c98cfc8022">A phone call between President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin</a>&nbsp;on Saturday did nothing to ease tensions. Biden and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke on Sunday.

Even before the latest U.S. warnings and diplomatic moves, analysts saw this as a critical week for the future of Ukraine.

“Russia and the United States are approaching a peak of the conflict of their interests regarding a future shape of the European order,” Timofei Bordachev, said head of the Center for European Research at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics. “The parties may take action against each other that will go much farther than what was considered admissible quite recently,” he said in a recent analysis.

In the week ahead,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-72856781c3b92640d03c5e954488ba90">Washington and NATO</a>&nbsp;are expecting Moscow’s formal response after they rejected its main&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-nato-87d17dd0c1943ac40b3903b54f31939a">security demands</a>, and major&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-russia-moscow-europe-belarus-614ecda6a45f8e60bb4322c3ac9c2877">Russian military drills in Belarus</a>, conducted as part of a deployment near Ukraine, are to end. The fate of the Russian troops now in Belarus will be key to judging the Kremlin’s intentions.

At the same time, the Winter Olympics in China,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-putin-xi-meet-0e9127176250c0cab19b36e75800052e">often cited as a potential deterrent to immediate Russian action</a>, will conclude Feb. 20. Although U.S. officials have said they believe an invasion could take place before then, the date is still considered important.

And an important international security conference is taking place in Munich next weekend, with Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top European officials planning to attend.

Putin has warned the West that he will not back down on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-vladimir-putin-soviet-union-4619a72d1597673e4112b673a9f6fd9c">his demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO.&nbsp;</a>While Ukraine has long aspired to join, the alliance is not about to offer an invitation.

Still, he contends that if Ukraine becomes a member and tries to use force to reclaim the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, it would draw Russia and NATO into a conflict.

His foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has asked Western nations to explain how they interpret the principle of the “indivisibility of security” enshrined in international agreements they signed. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it would not accept a collective response from the European Union and NATO, insisting on an individual response from each country.

Seeking to counter NATO’s argument that every nation is free to choose alliances, Moscow has charged that NATO violated the principle and jeopardized Russia’s security by expanding eastward.

“Russia’s bold demands and equally blunt U.S. rejection of them have pushed the international agenda toward the confrontation more than ever since the height of the Cold War,” Bordachev said.

He argued that closer relations with China have strengthened Moscow’s hand. “Whatever goals Russia could pursue now, it can plan its future in conditions of a full rupture of ties with the West,” Bordachev said.

Russian officials have emphasized that negotiating a settlement over Ukraine depends squarely on the United States and that Western allies just march to Washington’s orders.

In the past, Russia had sought to build close contacts with France and Germany in the hope that friendly ties with Europe’s biggest economies would help offset the U.S. pressure. But those ties were strained by the poisoning in 2020 of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who spent five months in Germany convalescing from what he described as a nerve agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin. Russia has denied its involvement.

More recently, Russian officials have criticized the position of France and Germany in the deadlocked peace talks on eastern Ukraine, holding them responsible for the failure to persuade Ukrainian authorities to grant broad self-rule to the Russia-backed separatist region, as required by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-berlin-france-germany-484403ab653ca00e926892f936ccb079">a 2015 agreement</a>.

In a break with diplomatic rules, the Russian Foreign Ministry last fall published confidential letters that Lavrov exchanged with his French and German counterparts in a bid to prove their failure to help make progress in talks.

Speaking after the latest fruitless round of those talks, Kremlin representative Dmitry Kozak bemoaned the failure by French and German envoys to persuade Ukraine to commit to a dialogue with the separatists, as the agreement stipulated.

Despite the tensions with both Paris and Berlin, Putin spent more than five hours talking to French President Emmanuel Macron last Monday and will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday. Putin said he was grateful to Macron for trying to help negotiate a way to ease the tensions and said they would talk again.

Moscow also just reopened a window for diplomatic contacts with Britain, hosting the foreign and defense secretaries for the first round of talks since ties were ruptured by the 2018 poisoning in Britain of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Lavrov’s meeting with Liz Truss was frosty, but British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s talks with Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, appeared more businesslike, with the parties emphasizing the need to maintain regular contact to reduce the threat of military incidents.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644692713491.png" alt="A phone call between President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin&nbsp;on Saturday did nothing to ease tensions-White House Photo" />
 <figcaption>A phone call between President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin&nbsp;on Saturday did nothing to ease tensions-White House Photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-joe-biden-russia-europe-moscow-dce9b30db290a6e82f5aaa0f35a3125a">Even if a Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>&nbsp;doesn’t happen in the next few days, the crisis is reaching a critical inflection point with European stability and the future of East-West relations hanging in the balance.A convergence of events over the coming week could determine whether the stalemate is resolved peacefully or Europe is at war. At stake are Europe’s post-Cold War security architecture and long-agreed limits on the deployment of conventional military and nuclear forces there.“This next 10 days or so will be critical,” said Ian Kelly, a retired career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Georgia who now teaches international relations at Northwestern University.The Biden administration on Friday said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-boris-johnson-joe-biden-europe-moscow-4d1e75eb68e1396bef885425c65039fb">an invasion could happen at any moment</a>, with a possible target date of Wednesday, according to intelligence picked up by the United States, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-states-europe-russia-kyiv-ff41abf90650aa5f456cbb6aafa4c5b3">Washington was evacuating almost all of its embassy staff&nbsp;</a>in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-joe-biden-emmanuel-macron-europe-moscow-1f353699f0be1609da5435c98cfc8022">A phone call between President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin</a>&nbsp;on Saturday did nothing to ease tensions. Biden and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke on Sunday.Even before the latest U.S. warnings and diplomatic moves, analysts saw this as a critical week for the future of Ukraine.“Russia and the United States are approaching a peak of the conflict of their interests regarding a future shape of the European order,” Timofei Bordachev, said head of the Center for European Research at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics. “The parties may take action against each other that will go much farther than what was considered admissible quite recently,” he said in a recent analysis.In the week ahead,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-72856781c3b92640d03c5e954488ba90">Washington and NATO</a>&nbsp;are expecting Moscow’s formal response after they rejected its main&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-nato-87d17dd0c1943ac40b3903b54f31939a">security demands</a>, and major&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-russia-moscow-europe-belarus-614ecda6a45f8e60bb4322c3ac9c2877">Russian military drills in Belarus</a>, conducted as part of a deployment near Ukraine, are to end. The fate of the Russian troops now in Belarus will be key to judging the Kremlin’s intentions.At the same time, the Winter Olympics in China,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-putin-xi-meet-0e9127176250c0cab19b36e75800052e">often cited as a potential deterrent to immediate Russian action</a>, will conclude Feb. 20. Although U.S. officials have said they believe an invasion could take place before then, the date is still considered important.And an important international security conference is taking place in Munich next weekend, with Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top European officials planning to attend.Putin has warned the West that he will not back down on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-vladimir-putin-soviet-union-4619a72d1597673e4112b673a9f6fd9c">his demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO.&nbsp;</a>While Ukraine has long aspired to join, the alliance is not about to offer an invitation.Still, he contends that if Ukraine becomes a member and tries to use force to reclaim the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, it would draw Russia and NATO into a conflict.His foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has asked Western nations to explain how they interpret the principle of the “indivisibility of security” enshrined in international agreements they signed. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it would not accept a collective response from the European Union and NATO, insisting on an individual response from each country.Seeking to counter NATO’s argument that every nation is free to choose alliances, Moscow has charged that NATO violated the principle and jeopardized Russia’s security by expanding eastward.“Russia’s bold demands and equally blunt U.S. rejection of them have pushed the international agenda toward the confrontation more than ever since the height of the Cold War,” Bordachev said.He argued that closer relations with China have strengthened Moscow’s hand. “Whatever goals Russia could pursue now, it can plan its future in conditions of a full rupture of ties with the West,” Bordachev said.Russian officials have emphasized that negotiating a settlement over Ukraine depends squarely on the United States and that Western allies just march to Washington’s orders.In the past, Russia had sought to build close contacts with France and Germany in the hope that friendly ties with Europe’s biggest economies would help offset the U.S. pressure. But those ties were strained by the poisoning in 2020 of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who spent five months in Germany convalescing from what he described as a nerve agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin. Russia has denied its involvement.More recently, Russian officials have criticized the position of France and Germany in the deadlocked peace talks on eastern Ukraine, holding them responsible for the failure to persuade Ukrainian authorities to grant broad self-rule to the Russia-backed separatist region, as required by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-berlin-france-germany-484403ab653ca00e926892f936ccb079">a 2015 agreement</a>.In a break with diplomatic rules, the Russian Foreign Ministry last fall published confidential letters that Lavrov exchanged with his French and German counterparts in a bid to prove their failure to help make progress in talks.Speaking after the latest fruitless round of those talks, Kremlin representative Dmitry Kozak bemoaned the failure by French and German envoys to persuade Ukraine to commit to a dialogue with the separatists, as the agreement stipulated.Despite the tensions with both Paris and Berlin, Putin spent more than five hours talking to French President Emmanuel Macron last Monday and will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday. Putin said he was grateful to Macron for trying to help negotiate a way to ease the tensions and said they would talk again.Moscow also just reopened a window for diplomatic contacts with Britain, hosting the foreign and defense secretaries for the first round of talks since ties were ruptured by the 2018 poisoning in Britain of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.Lavrov’s meeting with Liz Truss was frosty, but British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s talks with Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, appeared more businesslike, with the parties emphasizing the need to maintain regular contact to reduce the threat of military incidents.___

Biden, Putin phone call did nothing to ease tense Russia standoff

KANSAS CITY —Jackson County Prosecutors filed charges late Friday in the fatal shooting of Riley Youngblood, 23, who was found wounded in his vehicle in Independence, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Joshua A. Mongold, is charged with Murder 2nd Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.

Youngblook was shot just after 8a.m. Jan. 20, at U.S. 40 Highway and Valley View road, according to Independence Police. Investigators asked the public for help to locate a dark grey Chevy pickup seen on security cameras near the victim's vehicle.

Friends have <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-riley-and-his-family-with-medical-expenses">established a GoFundMe </a>page to assist Youngblood's family.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644686453623.png" alt="Mongold-photo Independence Police" />
 <figcaption>Mongold-photo Independence Police</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Jackson County Prosecutors filed charges late Friday in the fatal shooting of Riley Youngblood, 23, who was found wounded in his vehicle in Independence, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Joshua A. Mongold, is charged with Murder 2nd Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.He remains jailed on $500,000 bond.Youngblook was shot just after 8a.m. Jan. 20, at U.S. 40 Highway and Valley View road, according to Independence Police. Investigators asked the public for help to locate a dark grey Chevy pickup seen on security cameras near the victim's vehicle.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644839434617.png" alt="Riley Youngblood photo GoFundMe" />
 <figcaption>Riley Youngblood photo GoFundMe</figcaption>
 </figure>Friends have <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-riley-and-his-family-with-medical-expenses">established a GoFundMe </a>page to assist Youngblood's family.

Suspect charged in road-rage killing of 23-year-old Kan. man

OLATHE —Authorities investigating a fatal Sunday morning plane crash have identified the pilot who died as 51-year-old Robert Douglas Ming of Laguna Nigel, California.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported that just after the 2012 Fixed Wing Single-Engine Piper aircraft took off from the Johnson County Executive airport, it crashed into a field at the end of the runway. The aircraft then became fully engulfed in flames.

Ming was pronounced dead at the scene. The NTSB is investigating.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — No survivors were found after a plane crashed and caught fire Sunday morning at the Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe. The plane crashed shortly before 10:30 a.m. Sunday shortly after taking off. 

The Olathe Fire Department responded and put out the flames and a small grass fire.  Kansas Highway Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Tiffany Bush said it wasn’t immediately clear how many people were aboard the plane when it crashed between the airport and 151st Street but no one survived. The single-engine plane involved was heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico. A large section of 151st Street between Pflumm and Quivira was closed Sunday after the crash, and the airport will be closed for at least 24 hours.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A plane crashed and caught fire Sunday morning at the Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe. The plane crashed shortly before 10:30 a.m. Sunday shortly after taking off from the airport. 

The Olathe Fire Department responded and put out the flames and a small grass fire near the wreckage. The plane involved was a Piper Meridian Turbo Prop heading to Albuquerque. 

It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were aboard the plane when it crashed between the airport and 151st Street. Olathe Fire Captain Mike Hall said a large section of 151st Street between Pflumm and Quivira was closed Sunday after the crash, and the airport was shut down.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644837174279.png" alt="The single-engine plane involved was heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico-photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>The single-engine plane involved was heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico-photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>OLATHE —Authorities investigating a fatal Sunday morning plane crash have identified the pilot who died as 51-year-old Robert Douglas Ming of Laguna Nigel, California.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported that just after the 2012 Fixed Wing Single-Engine Piper aircraft took off from the Johnson County Executive airport, it crashed into a field at the end of the runway. The aircraft then became fully engulfed in flames.Ming was pronounced dead at the scene. The NTSB is investigating.-----------OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — No survivors were found after a plane crashed and caught fire Sunday morning at the Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe. The plane crashed shortly before 10:30 a.m. Sunday shortly after taking off. The Olathe Fire Department responded and put out the flames and a small grass fire. Kansas Highway Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Tiffany Bush said it wasn’t immediately clear how many people were aboard the plane when it crashed between the airport and 151st Street but no one survived. The single-engine plane involved was heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico. A large section of 151st Street between Pflumm and Quivira was closed Sunday after the crash, and the airport will be closed for at least 24 hours.------------OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A plane crashed and caught fire Sunday morning at the Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe. The plane crashed shortly before 10:30 a.m. Sunday shortly after taking off from the airport. The Olathe Fire Department responded and put out the flames and a small grass fire near the wreckage. The plane involved was a Piper Meridian Turbo Prop heading to Albuquerque. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were aboard the plane when it crashed between the airport and 151st Street. Olathe Fire Captain Mike Hall said a large section of 151st Street between Pflumm and Quivira was closed Sunday after the crash, and the airport was shut down.

KHP IDs pilot who died after small plane crash near Kan. airport

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha couple has been charged with intentional child abuse after the man threw his 8-month-old baby against a wall, causing a skull fracture, and the girl's mother did nothing for days after witnessing the attack. 

The Omaha World-Herald reports that prosecutors say both 23-year-old Theodor Hurt and 24-year-old Dakota Vick initially lied about what happened to the girl. 

Hurt eventually told police that he threw his daughter across the room into a crib and the wall because he was frustrated that she was fussy. 

Initially, Hurt and Vick both initially said the girl had fallen off a couch twice on Nov. 19. They took her to the hospital on Nov. 22.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha couple has been charged with intentional child abuse after the man threw his 8-month-old baby against a wall, causing a skull fracture, and the girl's mother did nothing for days after witnessing the attack. The Omaha World-Herald reports that prosecutors say both 23-year-old Theodor Hurt and 24-year-old Dakota Vick initially lied about what happened to the girl. Hurt eventually told police that he threw his daughter across the room into a crib and the wall because he was frustrated that she was fussy. Initially, Hurt and Vick both initially said the girl had fallen off a couch twice on Nov. 19. They took her to the hospital on Nov. 22.

Omaha couple charged with child abuse after baby thrown into wall

By CINDY GONAZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/10/state-funds-could-help-build-80-million-national-defense-innovation-hub/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

The
 State of Nebraska might pitch in $20 million toward a proposed $80 
million innovation and research hub that would strengthen national 
defense and house hundreds of local professionals earning six-figure 
salaries.

Introduced
 by State Sen. Mike McDonnell, Legislative Bill 1232 was described as an
 opportunity to help create a rare public-private facility, in Bellevue,
 that would prop up the&nbsp; local and state economies, as well as the U.S. 
Strategic Command’s NC3 operations.

NC3
 refers to nuclear command, control and communications — and the new 
facility likely would be called the NC3 Enterprise Center, McDonnell 
said.

Several
 supporters of the proposed facility, whose specific location was not 
disclosed, spoke in favor of the state financial boost during a public 
hearing Thursday before the Appropriations Committee.

Among them was Ted Carter, retired vice admiral and president of the University of Nebraska system.&nbsp;

“This
 is our opportunity to create an innovation hub that will attract major 
defense contractors and small and emerging businesses in the NC3 mission
 space to Nebraska,” Carter said.

An
 economic impact study on the venture is expected to be completed this 
month, Carter said, adding that defense spending typically generates 
“immense economic benefits’” for host communities.

He
 cited a Nebraska Commission on Military and Veteran Affairs report that
 said Bellevue’s Offutt Air Force Base in 2020 provided an economic 
impact of more than $2 billion.

“The
 opportunity for our students and faculty to engage in national 
defense-related research, training and development will pay dividends to
 our state and economy for years to come,” Carter said.

State
 funds that would contribute to the facility would come from a pot of 
money that lawmakers set aside last year for a different military 
project. That U.S. Space Command headquarters project ultimately went to
 a different bidder. Before state funds could be tapped, the facility 
would have to secure matching private funds.

The
 City of Bellevue is prepared to commit $4 million for the land and 
infrastructure, Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike told the committee.

Hike
 said he anticipates the facility would draw 300 to 500 employees — 
graduates of Nebraska universities as well as people from other states —
 who would earn annual salaries in the range of $175,000.

“It’s a great engine for Nebraska to invest in, with a lot of return,” Hike said.

Jennifer
 Creager, speaking on behalf of the Greater Omaha and Nebraska Chambers 
of Commerce, said the project would spur further investment from private
 defense contractors.

Carter said he had a list of contractors who expressed interest in leasing space in such a new facility.

McDonnell
 said the project would build on what already has started in Nebraska. 
He noted that in 2018, the U.S. secretary of defense appointed StratCom 
as the single operational commander for the nation’s NC3 operation.

The
 mission, he said, is to develop a better plan for future satellites, 
radios, aircraft and other systems that connect nuclear platforms and 
weapons to military and national leaders. Additionally, he said, the 
military is exploring how to keep hackers and jammers out as the nuclear
 enterprise connects to the Internet.

Entrepreneurs, workers, economic development

StratCom
 leaders enlisted the NU system and the private sector to help develop a
 private, off-base facility that would bring together entrepreneurs, 
academics and others to elevate the NC3 capabilities, McDonnell said.

“This
 project is unique because it not only provides economic development 
potential for both entrepreneurs and workers, but for our entire state 
in expressing our commitment to U.S. StratCom and retaining the NC3 
mission.”

Also
 Thursday, Bellevue Sen. Rita Sanders asked the committee to support 
Legislative Bill 1233. The measure would shift the remaining $30 million
 of the $50 million that the Legislature had set aside previously for 
the Space Command headquarters project that went elsewhere.

She
 asked that the funds be directed toward a list of amenities that would 
improve life for Bellevue military families and ultimately encourage 
them to remain in the area.

Among
 the proposed projects were improvements to an outdoor pavilion, sports 
courts, youth recreational areas, upgrades to Offutt’s Base Lake grounds
 and Willow Lakes Golf Course.

No one testified in opposition to either the McDonnell or Sanders bills.

Sanders
 said investment in Bellevue’s military base will attract future federal
 projects and missions as well as retain families.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644590229216.png" alt="The Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln. (Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>The Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln. (Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By CINDY GONAZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/10/state-funds-could-help-build-80-million-national-defense-innovation-hub/">Nebraska Examiner</a>The
 State of Nebraska might pitch in $20 million toward a proposed $80 
million innovation and research hub that would strengthen national 
defense and house hundreds of local professionals earning six-figure 
salaries.Introduced
 by State Sen. Mike McDonnell, Legislative Bill 1232 was described as an
 opportunity to help create a rare public-private facility, in Bellevue,
 that would prop up the&nbsp; local and state economies, as well as the U.S. 
Strategic Command’s NC3 operations.NC3
 refers to nuclear command, control and communications — and the new 
facility likely would be called the NC3 Enterprise Center, McDonnell 
said.Several
 supporters of the proposed facility, whose specific location was not 
disclosed, spoke in favor of the state financial boost during a public 
hearing Thursday before the Appropriations Committee.Among them was Ted Carter, retired vice admiral and president of the University of Nebraska system.&nbsp;“This
 is our opportunity to create an innovation hub that will attract major 
defense contractors and small and emerging businesses in the NC3 mission
 space to Nebraska,” Carter said.An
 economic impact study on the venture is expected to be completed this 
month, Carter said, adding that defense spending typically generates 
“immense economic benefits’” for host communities.He
 cited a Nebraska Commission on Military and Veteran Affairs report that
 said Bellevue’s Offutt Air Force Base in 2020 provided an economic 
impact of more than $2 billion.“The
 opportunity for our students and faculty to engage in national 
defense-related research, training and development will pay dividends to
 our state and economy for years to come,” Carter said.<h2>Bellevue to step up with $4 million</h2>State
 funds that would contribute to the facility would come from a pot of 
money that lawmakers set aside last year for a different military 
project. That U.S. Space Command headquarters project ultimately went to
 a different bidder. Before state funds could be tapped, the facility 
would have to secure matching private funds.The
 City of Bellevue is prepared to commit $4 million for the land and 
infrastructure, Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike told the committee.Hike
 said he anticipates the facility would draw 300 to 500 employees — 
graduates of Nebraska universities as well as people from other states —
 who would earn annual salaries in the range of $175,000.“It’s a great engine for Nebraska to invest in, with a lot of return,” Hike said.Jennifer
 Creager, speaking on behalf of the Greater Omaha and Nebraska Chambers 
of Commerce, said the project would spur further investment from private
 defense contractors.Carter said he had a list of contractors who expressed interest in leasing space in such a new facility.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644590294693.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Mike McDonnell. (Courtesy of the Unicameral Information Office)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Mike McDonnell. (Courtesy of the Unicameral Information Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>McDonnell
 said the project would build on what already has started in Nebraska. 
He noted that in 2018, the U.S. secretary of defense appointed StratCom 
as the single operational commander for the nation’s NC3 operation.The
 mission, he said, is to develop a better plan for future satellites, 
radios, aircraft and other systems that connect nuclear platforms and 
weapons to military and national leaders. Additionally, he said, the 
military is exploring how to keep hackers and jammers out as the nuclear
 enterprise connects to the Internet.<h2>Entrepreneurs, workers, economic development</h2>StratCom
 leaders enlisted the NU system and the private sector to help develop a
 private, off-base facility that would bring together entrepreneurs, 
academics and others to elevate the NC3 capabilities, McDonnell said.“This
 project is unique because it not only provides economic development 
potential for both entrepreneurs and workers, but for our entire state 
in expressing our commitment to U.S. StratCom and retaining the NC3 
mission.”Also
 Thursday, Bellevue Sen. Rita Sanders asked the committee to support 
Legislative Bill 1233. The measure would shift the remaining $30 million
 of the $50 million that the Legislature had set aside previously for 
the Space Command headquarters project that went elsewhere.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644590322471.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue. (Craig Chandler / University Communication / Courtesy Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue. (Craig Chandler / University Communication / Courtesy Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>She
 asked that the funds be directed toward a list of amenities that would 
improve life for Bellevue military families and ultimately encourage 
them to remain in the area.Among
 the proposed projects were improvements to an outdoor pavilion, sports 
courts, youth recreational areas, upgrades to Offutt’s Base Lake grounds
 and Willow Lakes Golf Course.No one testified in opposition to either the McDonnell or Sanders bills.Sanders
 said investment in Bellevue’s military base will attract future federal
 projects and missions as well as retain families.

State funds could help build $80M national defense 'innovation hub' in Neb.

By DAVID CRARY and PETER SMITH, Associated Press

By the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions in order to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious leaders.

From the Vatican, Pope Francis has defended the vaccines as “the most reasonable solution to the pandemic.” The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America declared categorically that its followers would not be offered religious exemptions. Robert Jeffress, the conservative pastor of a Baptist megachurch in Dallas, voiced similar sentiments.

“Since there is no credible biblical argument against vaccines, we have refused to offer exemptions to the handful of people who have requested them,” Jeffress told The Associated Press via email. “People may have strong medical or political objections to government-mandated vaccines, but just because those objections are strongly felt does not elevate them to a religious belief that should be accommodated.”

Rabbi Sholom Lipskar of The Shul of Bal Harbour, an Orthodox synagogue in Surfside,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/florida">Florida</a>, says he tells congregation members that vaccination should be a matter of free choice.

“But I always recommend that they get a medical opinion from a competent professional,” he added. “In a serious matter, they should get two concurring medical opinions.”

Within the U.S. Catholic Church, there are divisions – even though Pope Francis has been clear in his support for vaccinations. While some bishops have forbidden their priests from assisting in seeking exemptions, other bishops and priests have provided template letters for people claiming conscientious objections from the vaccines on Catholic grounds.

“We have had many requests and have helped quite a number process their letter/request,” the Rev. Bob Stec of St. Ambrose Catholic Parish in Brunswick,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio">Ohio</a>, said via email.

“Vaccination is not a universal obligation and a person must obey the judgment of his or her own informed and certain God-given conscience,” says one of the letters provided by Stec. “If a Catholic comes to an informed and sure judgment in conscience that he or she should not receive a vaccine, then the Catholic Church acknowledges that the person … has the right to refuse the vaccine.”

It’s different in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-jersey">New Jersey</a>’s Archdiocese of Newark, which has advised its priests not to support religious exemptions for their parishioners.

“I have been asked about six times and have declined,” said the Rev. Alexander Santora, pastor of Our Lady of Grace &amp; St. Joseph Parish in Hoboken.

Candice Buchbinder, a spokesperson for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said the denomination is currently studying the question of religious exemptions. She noted that previous ELCA documents opposed broad religious exemptions and viewed medicine as “a gift of God for the good of the community.”

Even before the pandemic, the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council made clear its stance – adopting a resolution in June 2019 calling for stronger government vaccination mandates.

“The Executive Council recognizes no claim of theological or religious exemption from vaccination for our members,” the resolution said.

However, someone from a denomination that encourages vaccines can still seek an exemption based on individual conscience, said Bruce Ledewitz, a law professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

Ledewitz said he would advise a client wanting a religious exemption to say simply, “I have prayed about this, and I have come to the conclusion that God does not want me to take this vaccine.”

Employers have adopted widely varying approaches to such arguments – some granting many exemptions while others, including the U.S. military services, have granted very few.

While reasons for seeking religious exemptions vary, many Christians have cited the COVID-19 vaccines’ remote connection to past abortions. Laboratory-grown cell lines descended from fetuses that were aborted decades ago were used to test the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and to grow viruses used to manufacture the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine. None of those vaccines contain fetal cells.

The Vatican has stated that receiving these COVID-19 vaccines is morally acceptable. While it opposes abortion-related research, it said any vaccine recipient is not culpable for involvement in it, given how remote they are from the abortions involved.

While the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has echoed the Vatican teaching, several bishops have assisted people seeking religious exemptions. So has the National Catholic Bioethics Center, a think tank with prominent bishops on its board.

The center’s template letter says individual Catholics may interpret church teachings to conclude that it’s wrong for them to accept any medical product with a connection to abortion.

The Rev. Tad Pacholczyk, ethicist and director of education at the center, noted that the Vatican specifies that vaccines “must be voluntary.”

The church “strongly encourages the safeguarding of conscience rights” he said in a statement, criticizing a “one size fits all” approach to employer mandates.

“Such decisions properly belong in the hands of the individual patient, who can assess his or her on-the-ground situation more meaningfully than any federal agency, politician or employer,” he said. “Conscience exemptions to vaccine mandates need to be liberally available not only to Catholics but to all individuals.”

The claiming of religious exemptions frustrates some who suspect there are non-religious motivations.

“There is no distinctively Catholic objection to receiving any of the COVID-19 vaccines available,” said Michael Deem, assistant professor of bioethics and human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh.

He said the Vatican has provided detailed moral guidance on the vaccines’ acceptability — considering such things as the lack of alternative vaccines and the benefits of corralling a deadly pandemic.

The relatively low vaccination rate among white evangelicals frustrates Curtis Chang, a theologian whose Redeeming Babel organization launched a Christians and the Vaccine project with evangelical and health-care groups, promoting the COVID-19 vaccines on biblical principles.

Seeking religious exemptions for many “is a hijacking of religion to justify political or cultural stances, and that’s very dangerous,” Chang said. “There is no genuine religious reason for seeking an exemption, especially from employer mandates."

He knows of pastors who favor vaccines but are pressured by congregants to give them letters justifying their vaccine refusal on religious grounds. “I’m encouraging pastors not to give in to that.”

The move for such exemptions is “a danger ultimately to the long-term cause of religious liberty,” he said, because employers and courts may discount the sincerity of employees when they face genuine situations where their faith needs to be accommodated.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614116068039.png" alt="COVID vaccination clinic photo courtesy MDHSS" />
 <figcaption>COVID vaccination clinic photo courtesy MDHSS</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVID CRARY and PETER SMITH, Associated PressBy the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions in order to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious leaders.From the Vatican, Pope Francis has defended the vaccines as “the most reasonable solution to the pandemic.” The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America declared categorically that its followers would not be offered religious exemptions. Robert Jeffress, the conservative pastor of a Baptist megachurch in Dallas, voiced similar sentiments.“Since there is no credible biblical argument against vaccines, we have refused to offer exemptions to the handful of people who have requested them,” Jeffress told The Associated Press via email. “People may have strong medical or political objections to government-mandated vaccines, but just because those objections are strongly felt does not elevate them to a religious belief that should be accommodated.”Rabbi Sholom Lipskar of The Shul of Bal Harbour, an Orthodox synagogue in Surfside,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/florida">Florida</a>, says he tells congregation members that vaccination should be a matter of free choice.“But I always recommend that they get a medical opinion from a competent professional,” he added. “In a serious matter, they should get two concurring medical opinions.”Within the U.S. Catholic Church, there are divisions – even though Pope Francis has been clear in his support for vaccinations. While some bishops have forbidden their priests from assisting in seeking exemptions, other bishops and priests have provided template letters for people claiming conscientious objections from the vaccines on Catholic grounds.“We have had many requests and have helped quite a number process their letter/request,” the Rev. Bob Stec of St. Ambrose Catholic Parish in Brunswick,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio">Ohio</a>, said via email.“Vaccination is not a universal obligation and a person must obey the judgment of his or her own informed and certain God-given conscience,” says one of the letters provided by Stec. “If a Catholic comes to an informed and sure judgment in conscience that he or she should not receive a vaccine, then the Catholic Church acknowledges that the person … has the right to refuse the vaccine.”It’s different in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-jersey">New Jersey</a>’s Archdiocese of Newark, which has advised its priests not to support religious exemptions for their parishioners.“I have been asked about six times and have declined,” said the Rev. Alexander Santora, pastor of Our Lady of Grace &amp; St. Joseph Parish in Hoboken.Candice Buchbinder, a spokesperson for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said the denomination is currently studying the question of religious exemptions. She noted that previous ELCA documents opposed broad religious exemptions and viewed medicine as “a gift of God for the good of the community.”Even before the pandemic, the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council made clear its stance – adopting a resolution in June 2019 calling for stronger government vaccination mandates.“The Executive Council recognizes no claim of theological or religious exemption from vaccination for our members,” the resolution said.However, someone from a denomination that encourages vaccines can still seek an exemption based on individual conscience, said Bruce Ledewitz, a law professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.Ledewitz said he would advise a client wanting a religious exemption to say simply, “I have prayed about this, and I have come to the conclusion that God does not want me to take this vaccine.”Employers have adopted widely varying approaches to such arguments – some granting many exemptions while others, including the U.S. military services, have granted very few.While reasons for seeking religious exemptions vary, many Christians have cited the COVID-19 vaccines’ remote connection to past abortions. Laboratory-grown cell lines descended from fetuses that were aborted decades ago were used to test the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and to grow viruses used to manufacture the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine. None of those vaccines contain fetal cells.The Vatican has stated that receiving these COVID-19 vaccines is morally acceptable. While it opposes abortion-related research, it said any vaccine recipient is not culpable for involvement in it, given how remote they are from the abortions involved.While the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has echoed the Vatican teaching, several bishops have assisted people seeking religious exemptions. So has the National Catholic Bioethics Center, a think tank with prominent bishops on its board.The center’s template letter says individual Catholics may interpret church teachings to conclude that it’s wrong for them to accept any medical product with a connection to abortion.The Rev. Tad Pacholczyk, ethicist and director of education at the center, noted that the Vatican specifies that vaccines “must be voluntary.”The church “strongly encourages the safeguarding of conscience rights” he said in a statement, criticizing a “one size fits all” approach to employer mandates.“Such decisions properly belong in the hands of the individual patient, who can assess his or her on-the-ground situation more meaningfully than any federal agency, politician or employer,” he said. “Conscience exemptions to vaccine mandates need to be liberally available not only to Catholics but to all individuals.”The claiming of religious exemptions frustrates some who suspect there are non-religious motivations.“There is no distinctively Catholic objection to receiving any of the COVID-19 vaccines available,” said Michael Deem, assistant professor of bioethics and human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh.He said the Vatican has provided detailed moral guidance on the vaccines’ acceptability — considering such things as the lack of alternative vaccines and the benefits of corralling a deadly pandemic.The relatively low vaccination rate among white evangelicals frustrates Curtis Chang, a theologian whose Redeeming Babel organization launched a Christians and the Vaccine project with evangelical and health-care groups, promoting the COVID-19 vaccines on biblical principles.Seeking religious exemptions for many “is a hijacking of religion to justify political or cultural stances, and that’s very dangerous,” Chang said. “There is no genuine religious reason for seeking an exemption, especially from employer mandates."He knows of pastors who favor vaccines but are pressured by congregants to give them letters justifying their vaccine refusal on religious grounds. “I’m encouraging pastors not to give in to that.”The move for such exemptions is “a danger ultimately to the long-term cause of religious liberty,” he said, because employers and courts may discount the sincerity of employees when they face genuine situations where their faith needs to be accommodated.___

Many faith leaders wary of religious exemptions for vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's puppy Commander will make his TV debut on Super Bowl Sunday.

The German shepherd will appear with Biden's wife, Jill, in a video message about pet love during Sunday's broadcast of “Puppy Bowl XVIII” on Animal Planet. The first lady's office tweeted the video Thursday.

Both contests will be held on the day before Valentine's Day, which is Monday.

“Hi there. I'm Jill Biden, here at the White House with our new puppy Commander,” the first lady says. “You know, Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays because it's all about love.”

The first lady, wearing a gray turtleneck sweater with “AMOUR” in pink letters across the front, is seated in the White House movie theater with Commander by her side.

“What's so wonderful about having pets is they bring us unconditional love, joy and comfort every day,” she adds. “All of us are wishing you a very happy Valentine's Day.”

Other footage shows the two playing in a White House hallway.

Last year, Jill Biden filmed a public service announcement focused on mask-wearing in a pandemic to air during Puppy Bowl XVII. She was surrounded in that ad by the family's German shepherds, Champ and Major.

Champ died last year; Major now lives in Delaware after behaving aggressively at the White House.

The Bidens recently welcomed a cat named Willow to the White House.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644616712398.png" alt="Commander -photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>Commander -photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's puppy Commander will make his TV debut on Super Bowl Sunday.The German shepherd will appear with Biden's wife, Jill, in a video message about pet love during Sunday's broadcast of “Puppy Bowl XVIII” on Animal Planet. The first lady's office tweeted the video Thursday.Both contests will be held on the day before Valentine's Day, which is Monday.“Hi there. I'm Jill Biden, here at the White House with our new puppy Commander,” the first lady says. “You know, Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays because it's all about love.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644616777097.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The first lady, wearing a gray turtleneck sweater with “AMOUR” in pink letters across the front, is seated in the White House movie theater with Commander by her side.“What's so wonderful about having pets is they bring us unconditional love, joy and comfort every day,” she adds. “All of us are wishing you a very happy Valentine's Day.”Other footage shows the two playing in a White House hallway.Last year, Jill Biden filmed a public service announcement focused on mask-wearing in a pandemic to air during Puppy Bowl XVII. She was surrounded in that ad by the family's German shepherds, Champ and Major.Champ died last year; Major now lives in Delaware after behaving aggressively at the White House.The Bidens recently welcomed a cat named Willow to the White House.

Biden's dog to make TV debut during 'Puppy Bowl'

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would cause “widespread human suffering” and that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but “equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House said Saturday. It offered no suggestion that the hourlong call diminished the threat of an imminent war in Europe.

Biden also said the United States and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” if the Kremlin attacked its neighbor, according to the White House.

The two presidents spoke a day after Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned that U.S. intelligence shows a Russian invasion could begin within days and before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end on Feb. 20.

Russia denies it intends to invade but has massed well over 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and has sent troops to exercises in neighboring Belarus, encircling Ukraine on three sides. U.S. officials say Russia’s buildup of firepower has reached the point where it could invade on short notice.

The conversation came at a critical moment for what has become the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. U.S. officials believe they have mere days to prevent an invasion and enormous bloodshed in Ukraine. And while the U.S. and its NATO allies have no plans to send troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, an invasion and resulting punishing sanctions could reverberate far beyond the former Soviet republic, affecting energy supplies, global markets and the power balance in Europe.

“President Biden was clear with President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our Allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House statement said.

The call was “professional and substantive” but produced “no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks,” according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters following the call on condition of anonymity.

The official added that it remains unclear whether Putin has made a final decision to move forward with military action.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, said that while tensions have been escalating for months, in recent days “the situation has simply been brought to the point of absurdity.”

He said Biden mentioned the possible sanctions that could be imposed on Russia, but “this issue was not the focus during a fairly long conversation with the Russian leader.”

Before talking to Biden, Putin had a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with him in Moscow earlier in the week to try to resolve the crisis. A Kremlin summary of the call suggested that little progress was made toward cooling down the tensions.

Putin complained in the call that the United States and NATO have not responded satisfactorily to Russian demands that Ukraine be prohibited from joining the military alliance and that NATO pull back forces from Eastern Europe.

In a sign that American officials are getting ready for a worst-case scenario, the United States announced plans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-states-europe-russia-kyiv-ff41abf90650aa5f456cbb6aafa4c5b3">to evacuate most of its staff from the embassy</a>&nbsp;in the Ukrainian capital, and Britain joined other European nations in urging its citizens to leave Ukraine.

The timing of any possible Russian military action remained a key question.

The U.S. picked up intelligence that Russia is looking at Wednesday as a target date, according to a U.S. official familiar with the findings. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so only on condition of anonymity, would not say how definitive the intelligence was.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he told his Russian counterpart Saturday that “further Russian aggression would be met with a resolute, massive and united trans-Atlantic response.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried to project calm as he observed military exercises Saturday near Crimea, the peninsula that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

“We are not afraid, we’re without panic, all is under control,” he said.

Ukrainian armed forces chief commander Lt. Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov issued a more defiant joint statement.

“We are ready to meet the enemy, and not with flowers, but with Stingers, Javelins and NLAWs” — anti-tank and -aircraft weapons, they said. “Welcome to hell!”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, also held telephone discussions on Saturday.

Further U.S.-Russia tensions arose on Saturday when the Defense Ministry summoned the U.S. embassy’s military attache after it said the navy detected an American submarine in Russian waters near the Kuril Islands in the Pacific. The submarine declined orders to leave, but departed after the navy used unspecified “appropriate means,” the ministry said.

Adding to the sense of crisis, the Pentagon ordered an additional 3,000 U.S. troops to Poland to reassure allies.

The U.S. has urged all American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately, and Sullivan said those who remain should not expect the U.S. military to rescue them in the event that air and rail transportation is severed after a Russian invasion.

The Biden administration has been warning for weeks that Russia could invade Ukraine soon, but U.S. officials had previously said the Kremlin would likely wait until after the Winter Games ended so as not to antagonize China.

Sullivan told reporters on Friday that U.S. intelligence shows that Russia could take invade during the Olympics. He said military action could start with missile and air attacks, followed by a ground offensive.

“Russia has all the forces it needs to conduct a major military action,” Sullivan said, adding that “Russia could choose, in very short order, to commence a major military action against Ukraine.” He said the scale of such an invasion could range from a limited incursion to a strike on Kyiv, the capital.

Russia scoffed at the U.S. talk of urgency.

“The hysteria of the White House is more indicative than ever,” said Maria Zakharova, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. “The Anglo-Saxons need a war. At any cost. Provocations, misinformation and threats are a favorite method of solving their own problems.”

Zakharova said her country had “optimized” staffing at its own embassy in Kyiv in response to concerns about possible military actions from the Ukrainian side.

In addition to the more than 100,000 ground troops that U.S. officials say Russia has assembled along Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders, the Russians have deployed missile, air, naval and special operations forces, as well as supplies to sustain a war. This week, Russia moved six amphibious assault ships into the Black Sea, augmenting its capability to land marines on the coast.

Biden has bolstered the U.S. military presence in Europe as reassurance to allies on NATO’s eastern flank. The 3,000 additional soldiers ordered to Poland come on top of 1,700 who are on their way there. The U.S. Army also is shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania, which like Poland shares a border with Ukraine.

Russia is demanding that the West keep former Soviet countries out of NATO. It also wants NATO to refrain from deploying weapons near its border and to roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe — demands flatly rejected by the West.

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from office by a popular uprising. Moscow responded by annexing the Crimean Peninsula and then backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people.

A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale battles, but regular skirmishes have continued, and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644692713491.png" alt="Biden also said the United States and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” if the Kremlin attacked its neighbor, according to the White House.-photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>Biden also said the United States and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” if the Kremlin attacked its neighbor, according to the White House.-photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would cause “widespread human suffering” and that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but “equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House said Saturday. It offered no suggestion that the hourlong call diminished the threat of an imminent war in Europe.Biden also said the United States and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” if the Kremlin attacked its neighbor, according to the White House.The two presidents spoke a day after Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned that U.S. intelligence shows a Russian invasion could begin within days and before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end on Feb. 20.Russia denies it intends to invade but has massed well over 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and has sent troops to exercises in neighboring Belarus, encircling Ukraine on three sides. U.S. officials say Russia’s buildup of firepower has reached the point where it could invade on short notice.The conversation came at a critical moment for what has become the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. U.S. officials believe they have mere days to prevent an invasion and enormous bloodshed in Ukraine. And while the U.S. and its NATO allies have no plans to send troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, an invasion and resulting punishing sanctions could reverberate far beyond the former Soviet republic, affecting energy supplies, global markets and the power balance in Europe.“President Biden was clear with President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our Allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House statement said.The call was “professional and substantive” but produced “no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks,” according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters following the call on condition of anonymity.The official added that it remains unclear whether Putin has made a final decision to move forward with military action.Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, said that while tensions have been escalating for months, in recent days “the situation has simply been brought to the point of absurdity.”He said Biden mentioned the possible sanctions that could be imposed on Russia, but “this issue was not the focus during a fairly long conversation with the Russian leader.”Before talking to Biden, Putin had a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with him in Moscow earlier in the week to try to resolve the crisis. A Kremlin summary of the call suggested that little progress was made toward cooling down the tensions.Putin complained in the call that the United States and NATO have not responded satisfactorily to Russian demands that Ukraine be prohibited from joining the military alliance and that NATO pull back forces from Eastern Europe.In a sign that American officials are getting ready for a worst-case scenario, the United States announced plans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-states-europe-russia-kyiv-ff41abf90650aa5f456cbb6aafa4c5b3">to evacuate most of its staff from the embassy</a>&nbsp;in the Ukrainian capital, and Britain joined other European nations in urging its citizens to leave Ukraine.The timing of any possible Russian military action remained a key question.The U.S. picked up intelligence that Russia is looking at Wednesday as a target date, according to a U.S. official familiar with the findings. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so only on condition of anonymity, would not say how definitive the intelligence was.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he told his Russian counterpart Saturday that “further Russian aggression would be met with a resolute, massive and united trans-Atlantic response.”Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried to project calm as he observed military exercises Saturday near Crimea, the peninsula that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.“We are not afraid, we’re without panic, all is under control,” he said.Ukrainian armed forces chief commander Lt. Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov issued a more defiant joint statement.“We are ready to meet the enemy, and not with flowers, but with Stingers, Javelins and NLAWs” — anti-tank and -aircraft weapons, they said. “Welcome to hell!”U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, also held telephone discussions on Saturday.Further U.S.-Russia tensions arose on Saturday when the Defense Ministry summoned the U.S. embassy’s military attache after it said the navy detected an American submarine in Russian waters near the Kuril Islands in the Pacific. The submarine declined orders to leave, but departed after the navy used unspecified “appropriate means,” the ministry said.Adding to the sense of crisis, the Pentagon ordered an additional 3,000 U.S. troops to Poland to reassure allies.The U.S. has urged all American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately, and Sullivan said those who remain should not expect the U.S. military to rescue them in the event that air and rail transportation is severed after a Russian invasion.The Biden administration has been warning for weeks that Russia could invade Ukraine soon, but U.S. officials had previously said the Kremlin would likely wait until after the Winter Games ended so as not to antagonize China.Sullivan told reporters on Friday that U.S. intelligence shows that Russia could take invade during the Olympics. He said military action could start with missile and air attacks, followed by a ground offensive.“Russia has all the forces it needs to conduct a major military action,” Sullivan said, adding that “Russia could choose, in very short order, to commence a major military action against Ukraine.” He said the scale of such an invasion could range from a limited incursion to a strike on Kyiv, the capital.Russia scoffed at the U.S. talk of urgency.“The hysteria of the White House is more indicative than ever,” said Maria Zakharova, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. “The Anglo-Saxons need a war. At any cost. Provocations, misinformation and threats are a favorite method of solving their own problems.”Zakharova said her country had “optimized” staffing at its own embassy in Kyiv in response to concerns about possible military actions from the Ukrainian side.In addition to the more than 100,000 ground troops that U.S. officials say Russia has assembled along Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders, the Russians have deployed missile, air, naval and special operations forces, as well as supplies to sustain a war. This week, Russia moved six amphibious assault ships into the Black Sea, augmenting its capability to land marines on the coast.Biden has bolstered the U.S. military presence in Europe as reassurance to allies on NATO’s eastern flank. The 3,000 additional soldiers ordered to Poland come on top of 1,700 who are on their way there. The U.S. Army also is shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania, which like Poland shares a border with Ukraine.Russia is demanding that the West keep former Soviet countries out of NATO. It also wants NATO to refrain from deploying weapons near its border and to roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe — demands flatly rejected by the West.Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from office by a popular uprising. Moscow responded by annexing the Crimean Peninsula and then backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people.A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale battles, but regular skirmishes have continued, and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.___

Phone call: Biden warns Putin again on Ukraine invasion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is set to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv as Western intelligence officials warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly imminent.

U.S. officials said the State Department plans to announce early Saturday that virtually all American staff at the Kyiv embassy will be required to leave ahead of a feared Russian invasion.

A small number of officials may remain in Kyiv but the vast majority of the almost 200 Americans at the embassy will be sent out or relocated to Ukraine’s far west, near the Polish border, so the U.S. can retain a diplomatic presence in the country.

The department had earlier ordered families of U.S. embassy staffers in Kyiv to leave. But it had left it to the discretion of nonessential personnel if they wanted to depart. The new move comes as Washington has ratcheted up its warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said a small number of U.S. diplomats may be relocated to Ukraine’s far west, near the border with Poland, a NATO ally, so the U.S. could retain a diplomatic presence in the country.

The Pentagon announced Friday it is sending another 3,000 combat troops to Poland to join 1,700 who already are assembling there in a demonstration of American commitment to NATO allies worried at the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine.

The additional soldiers will depart their post at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, over the next couple days and should be in Poland by early next week, according to a defense official, who provided the information under ground rules set by the Pentagon. They are the remaining elements of an infantry brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Their mission will be to train and provide deterrence but not to engage in combat in Ukraine.

That announcement came shortly after Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, issued a public warning for all American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible. Sullivan said Russian President Vladimir Putin could give the order to launch an invasion of Ukraine any day now.

In addition to the U.S. troops deploying to Poland, about 1,000 U.S. soldiers based in Germany are shifting to Romania in a similar mission of reassurance to a NATO ally. Also, 300 soldiers of an 18th Airborne Corps headquarters unit have arrived in Germany, commanded by Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla.

The American troops are to train with host-nation forces but not enter Ukraine for any purpose.

The U.S. already has about 80,000 troops throughout Europe at permanent stations and on rotational deployments.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644673881346.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is set to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv as Western intelligence officials warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly imminent.U.S. officials said the State Department plans to announce early Saturday that virtually all American staff at the Kyiv embassy will be required to leave ahead of a feared Russian invasion.A small number of officials may remain in Kyiv but the vast majority of the almost 200 Americans at the embassy will be sent out or relocated to Ukraine’s far west, near the Polish border, so the U.S. can retain a diplomatic presence in the country.The State Department would not comment.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, the <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StateDept</a> ordered non-emergency U.S. employees at the Embassy to depart due to continued reports of a Russian military build-up on the border with Ukraine, indicating potential for significant military action. <a href="https://t.co/6IgLvE4PJS">https://t.co/6IgLvE4PJS</a>&mdash; U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) <a href="https://twitter.com/USEmbassyKyiv/status/1492442539072233481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The department had earlier ordered families of U.S. embassy staffers in Kyiv to leave. But it had left it to the discretion of nonessential personnel if they wanted to depart. The new move comes as Washington has ratcheted up its warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said a small number of U.S. diplomats may be relocated to Ukraine’s far west, near the border with Poland, a NATO ally, so the U.S. could retain a diplomatic presence in the country.The Pentagon announced Friday it is sending another 3,000 combat troops to Poland to join 1,700 who already are assembling there in a demonstration of American commitment to NATO allies worried at the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine.The additional soldiers will depart their post at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, over the next couple days and should be in Poland by early next week, according to a defense official, who provided the information under ground rules set by the Pentagon. They are the remaining elements of an infantry brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division.Their mission will be to train and provide deterrence but not to engage in combat in Ukraine.That announcement came shortly after Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, issued a public warning for all American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible. Sullivan said Russian President Vladimir Putin could give the order to launch an invasion of Ukraine any day now.In addition to the U.S. troops deploying to Poland, about 1,000 U.S. soldiers based in Germany are shifting to Romania in a similar mission of reassurance to a NATO ally. Also, 300 soldiers of an 18th Airborne Corps headquarters unit have arrived in Germany, commanded by Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla.The American troops are to train with host-nation forces but not enter Ukraine for any purpose.The U.S. already has about 80,000 troops throughout Europe at permanent stations and on rotational deployments.___

US to evacuate Ukraine embassy amid Russian invasion fears

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/10/big-sandpit-lake-proposal-hits-choppy-waters-one-landowner-says-hes-not-selling/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN
 — A proposal to build a 4,000-acre sandpit lake between Omaha and 
Lincoln ran into some choppy waters Thursday, with one owner of land on 
the preferred site saying his property wasn’t for sale.

Dan
 Bundy, whose family has farmed west of Gretna for more than a century, 
also wondered whether the state would be utilizing eminent domain to 
take his farm ground for the sandpit lake, saying he’s had land 
condemned for less than it’s worth in the past.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644590042966.png" alt="Backers of a 4,000-acre lake proposed between Omaha and Lincoln are eyeing a location in Sarpy County, north and south of Linoma Beach. (Courtesy of PlanPreservePlayNE.com)" />
 <figcaption>Backers of a 4,000-acre lake proposed between Omaha and Lincoln are eyeing a location in Sarpy County, north and south of Linoma Beach. (Courtesy of PlanPreservePlayNE.com)</figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/10/big-sandpit-lake-proposal-hits-choppy-waters-one-landowner-says-hes-not-selling/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN
 — A proposal to build a 4,000-acre sandpit lake between Omaha and 
Lincoln ran into some choppy waters Thursday, with one owner of land on 
the preferred site saying his property wasn’t for sale.Dan
 Bundy, whose family has farmed west of Gretna for more than a century, 
also wondered whether the state would be utilizing eminent domain to 
take his farm ground for the sandpit lake, saying he’s had land 
condemned for less than it’s worth in the past.“There
 is little doubt that this lake would be a huge windfall for the State 
of Nebraska … but what about those of us, like myself and my family, who
 would be under the lake?” Bundy asked.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644590103570.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Mike Hilgers of Lincoln presents proposals Thursday to enhance state recreation and economic development. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Mike Hilgers of Lincoln presents proposals Thursday to enhance state recreation and economic development. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>The
 massive sandpit lake was one of several recommendations that grew out 
of a special legislative study last year on how to enhance recreation in
 the state and thus encourage economic development and keep more young 
people in the state.<h2>Size similar to Lake Okoboji</h2>The
 $200 million worth of suggestions include improvements at Lake 
McConaughy, Niobrara State Park and Lewis &amp; Clark Lake. But the idea
 that has drawn the most conversation is building a 7-mile-long sandpit 
lake, comparable to the size of Iowa’s Lake Okoboji, between the state’s
 two largest cities.&nbsp;“It’s
 hard to state in economic terms what these projects will generate,” 
said State Sen. Mike Hilgers of Lincoln. “This is an opportunity to do a
 big swing for the State of Nebraska.”While similar proposals in the past have 
failed because they involved damming the Platte, drawing opposition from
 citizens of Ashland and others, this one seems to have legs since it 
doesn’t involve a dam and because the state is flush with excess funds 
and federal stimulus money.Hilgers led the legislative study, dubbed the STAR WARS committee, or the Statewide
 Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability, 
which recommended the big lake and the other recreation projects as 
“transformation” steps to grow population and economic activity.&nbsp;He
 said backers are seeking to form a public-private partnership, with the
 private partner financing 90% of the estimated $1 billion cost of the 
lake. All the Star Wars proposals combined could generate $150 million in annual economic benefits, Hilgers said.&nbsp;At
 a legislative hearing on the proposals Thursday, it was revealed that 
the preferred site for the huge Nebraska lake is on the east side of the
 Platte River, north and south of the Linoma Beach area, in Sarpy 
County. U.S. Highway 6 runs through the proposed lake site, and 
presumably it would be raised to allow boats to access waters on either 
side.Representatives
 of the Ogallala and Niobrara areas praised the improvements planned in 
their areas, and economic development officials lauded the plan as a 
much needed catalyst for growth in population and commerce.<h2>Wiser investments?</h2>But
 several questions were raised by groups including the Sierra Club, 
Audubon Society and Nebraska Farmers Union about building a brand-new 
lake. They questioned whether it might be wiser to spend the $46 million
 earmarked for initial steps for the big lake on smaller projects and 
improvements at existing parks and trails.Others
 said the big lake would have no significant flood-control benefits and,
 because it would be built in a floodplain, it might silt in or sweep 
away “McMansions” planned on its banks.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644590137898.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>State
 Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha questioned how much public access there 
would be to the lake and whether it would be managed by the state or 
some private interest.“Are we just building this lake for millionaires to build homes around?” Wayne asked, outside the public hearing.Hilgers, who is also Speaker of the Legislature, rejected that suggestion. The
 senator, who is running for Nebraska attorney general, said that “a 
significant portion” of the lake would be set aside for public access 
and that the state would own the lake. He added, however, that private 
homes would also built along the shores of the lake, which would be just
 upstream of the Platte River bridge on Interstate 80.Bundy,
 as well as Phil Young, a representative of the 29-lot Beacon View cabin
 development just north of Linoma Beach, questioned how building such a 
huge lake would impact their properties and possibly increase flood 
dangers.Officials
 with the Lincoln Water System and Metropolitan Utilities District — 
which both have well fields near the proposed lake site to draw drinking
 water — also expressed concerns. They called for studies on the 
potential impact of the quality and quantity of groundwater that 
supplies more than half of the state’s population.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We need to take a deep dive into what consequences this reservoir could have,” said Rick Kubat of MUD.Hilgers sought to assuage concerns. He said a planned $20 million study would address the issues raised by the water systems.He
 also said the Sarpy County site hasn’t been “fully settled” as the 
location. Hilgers said sites on the west side of the Platte, presumably 
in Saunders County, had also been explored.<h2>Willing sellers preferred</h2>He said it is hoped that the lake site could be purchased from willing sellers.&nbsp;When
 asked if eminent domain — which involves getting a court order to take 
land for a public purpose — could be used for a project that’s mostly 
about recreation, Hilgers, who is a lawyer, said he’s hoping eminent 
domain would not have to be considered.Eminent
 domain is mostly used for projects such as road construction, but its 
threatened use helped increase opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. 
Bundy said he had a bad experience when a portion of his land was taken 
for the Nebraska National Guard camp near Ashland.Hilgers
 said the big lake and other STAR WARS projects would proceed on two 
tracks. One is getting the $200 million appropriated for the projects. 
The other is ensuring that the project is feasible and that a private 
developer can be found to finance the bulk of the project.The
 Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee took no action on the STAR 
WARS proposals, contained in Legislative Bill 1023, following a 
three-hour hearing.&nbsp;