CHICAGO (AP) — A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path is spreading rain, freezing rain and heavy snow further across the country. 

More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without power and flights are disrupted at the busy Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. 

A long stretch of states from New Mexico to Maine remained under winter storm warnings and watches Thursday and the storm's path stretched further from the central U.S. into more of the South and Northeast. 

Forecasters say more heavy snow is expected, while heavy ice buildup was likely from Texas to Pennsylvania.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643906333045.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>CHICAGO (AP) — A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path is spreading rain, freezing rain and heavy snow further across the country. More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without power and flights are disrupted at the busy Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. A long stretch of states from New Mexico to Maine remained under winter storm warnings and watches Thursday and the storm's path stretched further from the central U.S. into more of the South and Northeast. Forecasters say more heavy snow is expected, while heavy ice buildup was likely from Texas to Pennsylvania.

As winter storm moves across US, ice becomes bigger concern

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors say an Omaha man accused of being drunk and driving 20 mph over the speed limit when he fatally hit a woman in the city's Blackstone entertainment district will not face a vehicular homicide charge. 

Police have said 30-year-old William Wright had a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit to drive when he hit 20-year-old Kaitlyn Van Essen of Omaha around 2 a.m. Dec. 4. 

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said in a statement Wednesday that because Van Essen was also drunk and crossing against a “do not walk” sign, he would not be able to prove that Wright's being drunk was the primary cause of her death.

 Kleine said he will recommend DUI and other traffic charges against Wright.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors say an Omaha man accused of being drunk and driving 20 mph over the speed limit when he fatally hit a woman in the city's Blackstone entertainment district will not face a vehicular homicide charge. Police have said 30-year-old William Wright had a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit to drive when he hit 20-year-old Kaitlyn Van Essen of Omaha around 2 a.m. Dec. 4. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said in a statement Wednesday that because Van Essen was also drunk and crossing against a “do not walk” sign, he would not be able to prove that Wright's being drunk was the primary cause of her death. Kleine said he will recommend DUI and other traffic charges against Wright.

Prosecutor: Omaha man won't face homicide charge in woman's death

ATMEH, Syria (AP) — The leader of the violent Islamic State group was killed during an overnight raid carried out by U.S. special forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, President Joe Biden said Thursday.

The raid targeted Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who took over as head of the militant group on Oct. 31, 2019, just days after leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a U.S. raid in the same area. Biden said al-Qurayshi died as al-Baghdadi did, by exploding a bomb that killed himself and members of his family, including women and children, as U.S. forces approached.

The operation came as IS has been trying for a resurgence, with a series of attacks in the region, including an assault late last month to seize a prison in northeast Syria holding at least 3,000 IS detainees, it’s boldest operation in years.

“Thanks to the bravery of our troops this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said. He said al-Qurayshi had been responsible for the prison strike, as well as genocide against the Yazidi people in Iraq in 2014.

U.S. special forces landed in helicopters and assaulted a house in a rebel-held corner of Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen, witnesses said. Residents described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria’s civil war.

Biden said he ordered U.S. forces to “take every precaution available to minimize civilian casualties,” adding that was why they chose not to conduct an airstrike on the home.

First responders reported that 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women.

Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and senior national security aides monitored a live-feed of the operation from the White House Situation Room according to an official.

The operation marked a military success for the United States at an important time after setbacks elsewhere — including the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal — have led allies and opponents to conclude U.S. power globally was weakening.

The house, surrounded by olive trees in fields outside Atmeh, was left with its top floor shattered and blood spattered inside. A journalist on assignment for The Associated Press and several residents said they saw body parts scattered near the site. Most residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

“The mission was successful,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement. “There were no U.S. casualties.”

Idlib is largely controlled by Turkish-backed fighters but is also an al-Qaida stronghold and home to several of its top operatives. Other militants, including extremists from the rival IS group, have also found refuge in the region.

“The first moments were terrifying; no one knew what was happening,” said Jamil el-Deddo, a resident of a nearby refugee camp. “We were worried it could be Syrian aircraft, which brought back memories of barrel bombs that used to be dropped on us,” he added, referring to crude explosives-filled containers used by President Bashar Assad’s forces against opponents during the Syrian conflict.

The top floor of the low house was nearly destroyed; a room there had collapsed, sending white bricks tumbling to the ground below.

Blood could be seen on the walls and floor of the remaining structure. A wrecked bedroom had a child’s wooden crib and a stuffed rabbit doll. On one damaged wall, a blue plastic baby swing was still hanging. Religious books, including a biography of Islam’s Prophet Mohammad, were in the house.

Al-Qurayshi had kept an extremely low profile since he took over leadership of the Islamic State. He had not appeared in public, and rarely released any audio recordings. His influence and day-to-day involvement in the group’s operations was not known and it is difficult to gauge how his death will affect the group.

His killing, however, is a significant blow just as the group had been trying to reassert itself in Syria and Iraq.

The opposition-run Syrian Civil Defense, first responders also known as the White Helmets, said 13 people were killed in shelling and clashes that ensued after the U.S. commando raid.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, also said the strike killed 13 people, including four children and two women. Ahmad Rahhal, a citizen journalist who visited the site, reported seeing 12 bodies.

The Pentagon provided no details on casualties in the raid.

The Observatory said the troops landed in helicopters. Residents and activists described witnessing a large ground assault, with U.S. forces using megaphones urging women and children to leave the area.

Omar Saleh, a resident of a nearby house, said he was asleep when his doors and windows started to rattle to the sound of low-flying aircraft at 1:10 a.m. local time. He ran to open the windows with the lights off, and saw three helicopters. He then heard a man, speaking Arabic with an Iraqi or Saudi accent through a loudspeaker, urging women to surrender or leave the area.

“This went on for 45 minutes. There was no response. Then the machine gun fire erupted,” Saleh said. He said the firing continued for two hours, as aircraft circled low over the area.

Taher al-Omar, an Idlib-based activist, said he witnessed clashes between fighters and the U.S. force. Others reported hearing at least one major explosion during the operation. A U.S. official said that one of the helicopters in the raid suffered a mechanical problem and had to be blown up on the ground.

The military operation got attention on social media, with tweets from the region describing helicopters firing around the building near Atmeh. Flight-tracking data also suggested that multiple drones were circling the city of Sarmada and the village of Salwah, just north of the raid’s location.

Through slickly engineered propaganda, including brutal beheading videos, IS emerged as a dominant global extremist threat in the past decade. Its clarion call to followers in the West to either join its self-described caliphate in Syria, or to commit acts of violence at home, inspired killings in the U.S. as well as thousands of travelers determined to become foreign fighters. The allure of IS to would-be militants has proved challenging for the West to fully stamp out even amid leadership changes and U.S. military strikes and raids.

At the height of its territorial conquests around 2014, the Islamic State controlled more than 40,000 square miles stretching from Syria to Iraq and ruled over 8 million people.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-syria-middle-east-racial-injustice-iraq-e0c9bdc100f6ad74fb52d63a188ac978">Islamic State group has been reasserting itself</a>&nbsp;in Syria and Iraq with increased attacks.

Last month, it carried out its biggest military operation since it was defeated and its members scattered underground in 2019: an attack on a prison in northeast Syria holding at least 3,000 IS detainees. The attack appeared aimed to break free senior IS operatives in the prison.

It took 10 days of fighting for U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces to retake the prison fully, and the force said more than 120 of its fighters and prison workers were killed along with 374 militants. The U.S.-led coalition carried out airstrikes and deployed American personnel in Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the prison area to help the Kurdish forces.

A senior SDF official, Nowruz Ahmad, said Monday that the prison assault was part of a broader plot that IS had been preparing for a long time, including attacks on other neighborhoods in Kurdish-run northeastern Syria and on the al-Hol camp in the south, which houses thousands of families of IS members.

The U.S.-led coalition has targeted high-profile militants on several occasions in recent years, aiming to disrupt what U.S. officials say is a secretive cell known as the Khorasan group that is planning external attacks. A U.S. airstrike killed al-Qaida’s second in command, former bin Laden aide Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, in Syria in 2017.

ATMEH, Syria (AP) — President Joe Biden says a U.S. special forces raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday killed the top leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Biden said all Americans involved in the operation returned safety. Biden said he would address the American people later Thursday on the raid.

 First responders at the scene reported 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women. The operation, which residents say lasted over two hours, jolted the sleepy village of Atmeh near the Turkish border

ATMEH, Syria (AP) — U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday. First responders at the scene reported 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women.

The operation, which residents say lasted over two hours, jolted the sleepy village of Atmeh near the Turkish border — an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria’s civil war. The target of the raid was unclear.

“The mission was successful,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement. “There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”

A journalist on assignment for The Associated Press and several residents said they saw body parts scattered near the site of the raid, a house in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province. Most residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, and said the raid involved helicopters, explosions and machine-gun fire.

It was the largest raid in the province since the 2019&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-syria-ap-top-news-international-news-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-2c2c48e64f934d329c72a7af3dc284b1">Trump-era U.S. assault</a>&nbsp;that killed the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

An Iraqi intelligence official in contact with the U.S.-led coalition said Thursday’s target was a high-ranking militant leader whose identity will be released by the White House later in the day. Information suggests he may be al-Baghdadi’s successor, the current IS leader known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the official added. He spoke on condition of anonymity to divulge sensitive information.

Idlib is broadly controlled by Turkey-backed fighters, but is also an al-Qaida stronghold and home to several of its top operatives. Other militants, including extremists from the rival IS group, have also found refuge in the region.

“The first moments were terrifying, no one knew what was happening,” said Jamil el-Deddo, a resident of a nearby refugee camp. “We were worried it could be Syrian aircraft, which brought back memories of barrel bombs that used to be dropped on us,” he added, referring to crude explosives-filled containers used by President Bashar Assad’s forces against opponents during the Syrian conflict.

The top floor of the two-story house, surrounded by olive trees, was almost totally destroyed in Thursday’s raid, with the ceiling and walls knocked out.

Blood could be seen on the walls and floor of the remaining structure, which contained a wrecked bedroom with a child’s wooden crib on the floor. On one damaged wall, a blue plastic swing for children was still hanging. The kitchen was blackened with fire damage.

The opposition-run Syrian Civil Defense, first responders also known as the White Helmets, said 13 people were killed in shelling and clashes that ensued after U.S. the commando raid. They included six children and four women, it said.

The Pentagon provided no details on who was the target of the raid, or if any combatants or civilians on the ground were killed or injured.

Residents and activists described witnessing a large ground assault, with U.S. forces using megaphones urging women and children to leave the area.

Omar Saleh, a nearby resident, said the doors and windows of his house started to rattle to the sound of low-flying aircraft at 1:10 a.m. local time. He then heard a man, speaking Arabic with an Iraqi or Saudi accent through a loudspeaker, urging women to surrender or leave the area.

Others reported hearing at least one major explosion during the operation. A U.S. official said that one of the helicopters in the raid suffered a mechanical problem and had to be blown up on the ground. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the military operation.

The Observatory said troops for the U.S.-led coalition using helicopters landed in the area and attacked a house. It said the force clashed with fighters on the ground. Taher al-Omar, an Idlib-based activist, also said he witnessed clashes between fighters and the U.S. force.

The U.S. has in the past used drones to kill top al-Qaida operatives in Idlib, which at one point was home to the group’s biggest concentration of leaders since the days of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. The fact that special forces landed on the ground suggest the target was believed to be of high value.

A similar attack in Pakistan, in 2011, killed bin Laden.

Thursday’s clandestine operation came as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-syria-middle-east-racial-injustice-iraq-e0c9bdc100f6ad74fb52d63a188ac978">Islamic State group was reasserting itself</a>&nbsp;in Syria and Iraq, carrying out some of its biggest attacks since it was defeated in 2019. In recent weeks and months, the group has launched a series of operations in the region, including a 10-day assault late last month to seize a prison in northeastern Syria.

A U.S.-backed Kurdish-led force said more than 120 of their fighters and prison workers died in the effort to thwart the IS plot, whose goal appeared to free senior IS operatives from the prison. The prison houses at least 3,000 Islamic State group detainees.

The attempted prison break was the biggest military operation by the extremist group since IS was defeated and members scattered to havens in 2019. The U.S.-led coalition carried out airstrikes and deployed American personnel in Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the prison area to help the Kurdish forces.

At a news conference Monday, an SDF senior official Nowruz Ahmad said the prison assault was part of a broader plot that IS had been preparing for a long time, including attacks on other neighborhoods in northeastern Syria and on the al-Hol camp in the south, which houses thousands of families of IS members.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643896451643.png" alt="President Biden, Vice President Harris and members of the President’s national security team observe the counterterrorism operation responsible for removing from the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS.-White House photo " />
 <figcaption>President Biden, Vice President Harris and members of the President’s national security team observe the counterterrorism operation responsible for removing from the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS.-White House photo </figcaption>
 </figure>ATMEH, Syria (AP) — The leader of the violent Islamic State group was killed during an overnight raid carried out by U.S. special forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, President Joe Biden said Thursday.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F3107076899540438%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=160" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>The raid targeted Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who took over as head of the militant group on Oct. 31, 2019, just days after leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a U.S. raid in the same area. Biden said al-Qurayshi died as al-Baghdadi did, by exploding a bomb that killed himself and members of his family, including women and children, as U.S. forces approached.The operation came as IS has been trying for a resurgence, with a series of attacks in the region, including an assault late last month to seize a prison in northeast Syria holding at least 3,000 IS detainees, it’s boldest operation in years.“Thanks to the bravery of our troops this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said. He said al-Qurayshi had been responsible for the prison strike, as well as genocide against the Yazidi people in Iraq in 2014.U.S. special forces landed in helicopters and assaulted a house in a rebel-held corner of Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen, witnesses said. Residents described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria’s civil war.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643902134347.png" alt="President Biden addressed the nation early Thursday-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Biden addressed the nation early Thursday-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Biden said he ordered U.S. forces to “take every precaution available to minimize civilian casualties,” adding that was why they chose not to conduct an airstrike on the home.First responders reported that 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women.Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and senior national security aides monitored a live-feed of the operation from the White House Situation Room according to an official.The operation marked a military success for the United States at an important time after setbacks elsewhere — including the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal — have led allies and opponents to conclude U.S. power globally was weakening.The house, surrounded by olive trees in fields outside Atmeh, was left with its top floor shattered and blood spattered inside. A journalist on assignment for The Associated Press and several residents said they saw body parts scattered near the site. Most residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.“The mission was successful,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement. “There were no U.S. casualties.”Idlib is largely controlled by Turkish-backed fighters but is also an al-Qaida stronghold and home to several of its top operatives. Other militants, including extremists from the rival IS group, have also found refuge in the region.“The first moments were terrifying; no one knew what was happening,” said Jamil el-Deddo, a resident of a nearby refugee camp. “We were worried it could be Syrian aircraft, which brought back memories of barrel bombs that used to be dropped on us,” he added, referring to crude explosives-filled containers used by President Bashar Assad’s forces against opponents during the Syrian conflict.The top floor of the low house was nearly destroyed; a room there had collapsed, sending white bricks tumbling to the ground below.Blood could be seen on the walls and floor of the remaining structure. A wrecked bedroom had a child’s wooden crib and a stuffed rabbit doll. On one damaged wall, a blue plastic baby swing was still hanging. Religious books, including a biography of Islam’s Prophet Mohammad, were in the house.Al-Qurayshi had kept an extremely low profile since he took over leadership of the Islamic State. He had not appeared in public, and rarely released any audio recordings. His influence and day-to-day involvement in the group’s operations was not known and it is difficult to gauge how his death will affect the group.His killing, however, is a significant blow just as the group had been trying to reassert itself in Syria and Iraq.The opposition-run Syrian Civil Defense, first responders also known as the White Helmets, said 13 people were killed in shelling and clashes that ensued after the U.S. commando raid.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, also said the strike killed 13 people, including four children and two women. Ahmad Rahhal, a citizen journalist who visited the site, reported seeing 12 bodies.The Pentagon provided no details on casualties in the raid.The Observatory said the troops landed in helicopters. Residents and activists described witnessing a large ground assault, with U.S. forces using megaphones urging women and children to leave the area.Omar Saleh, a resident of a nearby house, said he was asleep when his doors and windows started to rattle to the sound of low-flying aircraft at 1:10 a.m. local time. He ran to open the windows with the lights off, and saw three helicopters. He then heard a man, speaking Arabic with an Iraqi or Saudi accent through a loudspeaker, urging women to surrender or leave the area.“This went on for 45 minutes. There was no response. Then the machine gun fire erupted,” Saleh said. He said the firing continued for two hours, as aircraft circled low over the area.Taher al-Omar, an Idlib-based activist, said he witnessed clashes between fighters and the U.S. force. Others reported hearing at least one major explosion during the operation. A U.S. official said that one of the helicopters in the raid suffered a mechanical problem and had to be blown up on the ground.The military operation got attention on social media, with tweets from the region describing helicopters firing around the building near Atmeh. Flight-tracking data also suggested that multiple drones were circling the city of Sarmada and the village of Salwah, just north of the raid’s location.Through slickly engineered propaganda, including brutal beheading videos, IS emerged as a dominant global extremist threat in the past decade. Its clarion call to followers in the West to either join its self-described caliphate in Syria, or to commit acts of violence at home, inspired killings in the U.S. as well as thousands of travelers determined to become foreign fighters. The allure of IS to would-be militants has proved challenging for the West to fully stamp out even amid leadership changes and U.S. military strikes and raids.At the height of its territorial conquests around 2014, the Islamic State controlled more than 40,000 square miles stretching from Syria to Iraq and ruled over 8 million people.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-syria-middle-east-racial-injustice-iraq-e0c9bdc100f6ad74fb52d63a188ac978">Islamic State group has been reasserting itself</a>&nbsp;in Syria and Iraq with increased attacks.Last month, it carried out its biggest military operation since it was defeated and its members scattered underground in 2019: an attack on a prison in northeast Syria holding at least 3,000 IS detainees. The attack appeared aimed to break free senior IS operatives in the prison.It took 10 days of fighting for U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces to retake the prison fully, and the force said more than 120 of its fighters and prison workers were killed along with 374 militants. The U.S.-led coalition carried out airstrikes and deployed American personnel in Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the prison area to help the Kurdish forces.A senior SDF official, Nowruz Ahmad, said Monday that the prison assault was part of a broader plot that IS had been preparing for a long time, including attacks on other neighborhoods in Kurdish-run northeastern Syria and on the al-Hol camp in the south, which houses thousands of families of IS members.The U.S.-led coalition has targeted high-profile militants on several occasions in recent years, aiming to disrupt what U.S. officials say is a secretive cell known as the Khorasan group that is planning external attacks. A U.S. airstrike killed al-Qaida’s second in command, former bin Laden aide Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, in Syria in 2017.-------ATMEH, Syria (AP) — President Joe Biden says a U.S. special forces raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday killed the top leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Biden said all Americans involved in the operation returned safety. Biden said he would address the American people later Thursday on the raid. First responders at the scene reported 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women. The operation, which residents say lasted over two hours, jolted the sleepy village of Atmeh near the Turkish border----------ATMEH, Syria (AP) — U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday. First responders at the scene reported 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women.The operation, which residents say lasted over two hours, jolted the sleepy village of Atmeh near the Turkish border — an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria’s civil war. The target of the raid was unclear.“The mission was successful,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement. “There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”A journalist on assignment for The Associated Press and several residents said they saw body parts scattered near the site of the raid, a house in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province. Most residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, and said the raid involved helicopters, explosions and machine-gun fire.It was the largest raid in the province since the 2019&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-syria-ap-top-news-international-news-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-2c2c48e64f934d329c72a7af3dc284b1">Trump-era U.S. assault</a>&nbsp;that killed the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.An Iraqi intelligence official in contact with the U.S.-led coalition said Thursday’s target was a high-ranking militant leader whose identity will be released by the White House later in the day. Information suggests he may be al-Baghdadi’s successor, the current IS leader known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the official added. He spoke on condition of anonymity to divulge sensitive information.Idlib is broadly controlled by Turkey-backed fighters, but is also an al-Qaida stronghold and home to several of its top operatives. Other militants, including extremists from the rival IS group, have also found refuge in the region.“The first moments were terrifying, no one knew what was happening,” said Jamil el-Deddo, a resident of a nearby refugee camp. “We were worried it could be Syrian aircraft, which brought back memories of barrel bombs that used to be dropped on us,” he added, referring to crude explosives-filled containers used by President Bashar Assad’s forces against opponents during the Syrian conflict.The top floor of the two-story house, surrounded by olive trees, was almost totally destroyed in Thursday’s raid, with the ceiling and walls knocked out.Blood could be seen on the walls and floor of the remaining structure, which contained a wrecked bedroom with a child’s wooden crib on the floor. On one damaged wall, a blue plastic swing for children was still hanging. The kitchen was blackened with fire damage.The opposition-run Syrian Civil Defense, first responders also known as the White Helmets, said 13 people were killed in shelling and clashes that ensued after U.S. the commando raid. They included six children and four women, it said.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, also said the strike killed 13 people, including four children and two women. Ahmad Rahhal, a citizen journalist who visited the site, reported seeing 12 bodies.The Pentagon provided no details on who was the target of the raid, or if any combatants or civilians on the ground were killed or injured.Residents and activists described witnessing a large ground assault, with U.S. forces using megaphones urging women and children to leave the area.Omar Saleh, a nearby resident, said the doors and windows of his house started to rattle to the sound of low-flying aircraft at 1:10 a.m. local time. He then heard a man, speaking Arabic with an Iraqi or Saudi accent through a loudspeaker, urging women to surrender or leave the area.“This went on for 45 minutes. There was no response. Then the machine gun fire erupted,” Saleh said. He said the firing continued for two hours, as aircraft circled low over the area.Others reported hearing at least one major explosion during the operation. A U.S. official said that one of the helicopters in the raid suffered a mechanical problem and had to be blown up on the ground. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the military operation.The Observatory said troops for the U.S.-led coalition using helicopters landed in the area and attacked a house. It said the force clashed with fighters on the ground. Taher al-Omar, an Idlib-based activist, also said he witnessed clashes between fighters and the U.S. force.The military operation got attention on social media, with tweets from the region describing helicopters firing around the building near Atmeh. Flight-tracking data also suggested that multiple drones were circling the city of Sarmada and the village of Salwah, just north of the raid’s location.The U.S. has in the past used drones to kill top al-Qaida operatives in Idlib, which at one point was home to the group’s biggest concentration of leaders since the days of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. The fact that special forces landed on the ground suggest the target was believed to be of high value.A similar attack in Pakistan, in 2011, killed bin Laden.Thursday’s clandestine operation came as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-syria-middle-east-racial-injustice-iraq-e0c9bdc100f6ad74fb52d63a188ac978">Islamic State group was reasserting itself</a>&nbsp;in Syria and Iraq, carrying out some of its biggest attacks since it was defeated in 2019. In recent weeks and months, the group has launched a series of operations in the region, including a 10-day assault late last month to seize a prison in northeastern Syria.A U.S.-backed Kurdish-led force said more than 120 of their fighters and prison workers died in the effort to thwart the IS plot, whose goal appeared to free senior IS operatives from the prison. The prison houses at least 3,000 Islamic State group detainees.The attempted prison break was the biggest military operation by the extremist group since IS was defeated and members scattered to havens in 2019. The U.S.-led coalition carried out airstrikes and deployed American personnel in Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the prison area to help the Kurdish forces.At a news conference Monday, an SDF senior official Nowruz Ahmad said the prison assault was part of a broader plot that IS had been preparing for a long time, including attacks on other neighborhoods in northeastern Syria and on the al-Hol camp in the south, which houses thousands of families of IS members.The U.S.-led coalition has targeted high-profile militants on several occasions in recent years, aiming to disrupt what U.S. officials say is a secretive cell known as the Khorasan group that is planning external attacks. A U.S. airstrike killed al-Qaida’s second in command, former bin Laden aide Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, in Syria in 2017.

🎥 Pres. Biden on raid in Syria that killed ISIS leader, women and children

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/03/herbster-gave-himself-96-of-his-4-9-million-in-fundraising-last-year/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN
 — Charles Herbster personally bankrolled $4.7 million of the $4.9 
million he raised last year in his bid for the GOP governor’s 
nomination.

His
 top primary opponent, Jim Pillen, gave his own campaign $1 million. But
 Pillen raised another $4.4 million from individual donors, for a total 
of $5.4 million.&nbsp;

Herbster’s
 self-funding puts him in rarefied air surpassed only by Gov. Pete 
Ricketts in 2006, when Ricketts loaned his U.S. Senate campaign $12 
million of the $13 million it raised.&nbsp;

Ricketts, who lost that year to incumbent Sen. Ben Nelson,&nbsp;said
 he hasn’t forgotten why: Self-funding looks to many Nebraskans like 
“you’re trying to buy the race,” he told the Nebraska Examiner on 
Tuesday.

“Ultimately,
 that’s not a successful strategy,” said Ricketts, who endorsed Pillen 
last month. “You want to engage Nebraskans across the state to invest in
 your campaign. And clearly Charles Herbster is not getting Nebraskans 
to invest in his campaign.”

Herbster
 said Nebraskans should view his personal contributions to his campaign 
as financial independence from special interests.&nbsp;

“My
 time in this campaign is not spent fundraising, it’s spent learning 
about the people of Nebraska,” Herbster said in a statement. “For this 
reason, I am primarily self-funding this campaign. I refuse to let 
donors control my priorities or legislative agenda.”&nbsp;

Herbster,
 an agribusiness and roofing company owner from Falls City, raised 
$200,000 from individual donors in 2021, campaign finance statements 
show. Half of those dollars came from out of state.

Pillen,
 who runs a large hog operation based in Columbus, raised a lot of his 
money from Omaha business leaders. Of his 1,393 donors, 95% listed 
Nebraska addresses.

“Our
 supporters are amazing, and the strength of Team Pillen throughout 
Nebraska is one of the reasons we’re going to win this race,” Pillen 
said in a statement.

Both
 candidates’ fundraising totals eclipsed Ricketts’ record for off-year 
fundraising in a Nebraska governor’s race, set in 2017. Ricketts raised 
$1.7 million that year.&nbsp;

Herbster
 reported having $637,000 cash on hand at the end of the year. He spent 
more than $4 million in 2021, mainly on political consultants, 
television ads and digital advertising. Those investments helped him 
build his name ID and an early lead in primary polling.&nbsp;

Pillen
 reported having $4.2 million in cash at year’s end. He’s ramping up TV 
spending now, with a pair of ads, including one showing him with a 
shotgun in a field. He’s been in second place in primary polling.

In a field of seven Republican candidates, only two others reported raising more than six figures last year.&nbsp;

Omaha
 State Sen. Brett Lindstrom posted a $1.6 million fundraising total. 
Much of that came from his ties to the Omaha tech industry.&nbsp;

A
 number of Nebraska campaign consultants told the Nebraska Examiner that
 level of funding makes Lindstrom competitive. His campaign manager, 
Tori Mahoney, said his “new generation of conservative leadership” is 
resonating with voters. Lindstrom had $1.4 million cash on hand at 
year’s end, and he launched his first TV ad late last month.

“Nebraskans deserve to have their voice represented by someone who has earned, not bought it,” Mahoney said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Former
 State Sen. Theresa Thibodeau, an Omaha businesswoman who got into the 
race in November, raised $113,000 by the end of the year and had $87,000
 cash on hand.

“I
 am grateful and humbled by the confidence placed in me by my fellow 
Nebraskans, who have and continue to give generously to this effort,” 
Thibodeau said.

Three
 other Republican candidates didn’t raise the $5,000 minimum that 
triggers the need to file campaign finance reports with the state.&nbsp;

The
 lone Democrat in the governor’s race, State Sen. Carol Blood of 
Bellevue, raised $76,000 in 2021 and had $37,000 cash on hand.&nbsp;

Nebraska’s primary election is May 10. Early voting starts in April.

All
 five major candidates are expected to participate in a candidate forum 
Thursday in Lincoln hosted by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643903320906.jpeg" alt="Charles Herbster (Courtesy of Charles Herbster for Governor)" />
 <figcaption>Charles Herbster (Courtesy of Charles Herbster for Governor)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/03/herbster-gave-himself-96-of-his-4-9-million-in-fundraising-last-year/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN
 — Charles Herbster personally bankrolled $4.7 million of the $4.9 
million he raised last year in his bid for the GOP governor’s 
nomination.His
 top primary opponent, Jim Pillen, gave his own campaign $1 million. But
 Pillen raised another $4.4 million from individual donors, for a total 
of $5.4 million.&nbsp;Herbster’s
 self-funding puts him in rarefied air surpassed only by Gov. Pete 
Ricketts in 2006, when Ricketts loaned his U.S. Senate campaign $12 
million of the $13 million it raised.&nbsp;Ricketts, who lost that year to incumbent Sen. Ben Nelson,&nbsp;said
 he hasn’t forgotten why: Self-funding looks to many Nebraskans like 
“you’re trying to buy the race,” he told the Nebraska Examiner on 
Tuesday.“Ultimately,
 that’s not a successful strategy,” said Ricketts, who endorsed Pillen 
last month. “You want to engage Nebraskans across the state to invest in
 your campaign. And clearly Charles Herbster is not getting Nebraskans 
to invest in his campaign.”Herbster
 said Nebraskans should view his personal contributions to his campaign 
as financial independence from special interests.&nbsp;“My
 time in this campaign is not spent fundraising, it’s spent learning 
about the people of Nebraska,” Herbster said in a statement. “For this 
reason, I am primarily self-funding this campaign. I refuse to let 
donors control my priorities or legislative agenda.”&nbsp;Herbster,
 an agribusiness and roofing company owner from Falls City, raised 
$200,000 from individual donors in 2021, campaign finance statements 
show. Half of those dollars came from out of state.Pillen,
 who runs a large hog operation based in Columbus, raised a lot of his 
money from Omaha business leaders. Of his 1,393 donors, 95% listed 
Nebraska addresses.“Our
 supporters are amazing, and the strength of Team Pillen throughout 
Nebraska is one of the reasons we’re going to win this race,” Pillen 
said in a statement.Both
 candidates’ fundraising totals eclipsed Ricketts’ record for off-year 
fundraising in a Nebraska governor’s race, set in 2017. Ricketts raised 
$1.7 million that year.&nbsp;Herbster
 reported having $637,000 cash on hand at the end of the year. He spent 
more than $4 million in 2021, mainly on political consultants, 
television ads and digital advertising. Those investments helped him 
build his name ID and an early lead in primary polling.&nbsp;Pillen
 reported having $4.2 million in cash at year’s end. He’s ramping up TV 
spending now, with a pair of ads, including one showing him with a 
shotgun in a field. He’s been in second place in primary polling.In a field of seven Republican candidates, only two others reported raising more than six figures last year.&nbsp;Omaha
 State Sen. Brett Lindstrom posted a $1.6 million fundraising total. 
Much of that came from his ties to the Omaha tech industry.&nbsp;A
 number of Nebraska campaign consultants told the Nebraska Examiner that
 level of funding makes Lindstrom competitive. His campaign manager, 
Tori Mahoney, said his “new generation of conservative leadership” is 
resonating with voters. Lindstrom had $1.4 million cash on hand at 
year’s end, and he launched his first TV ad late last month.“Nebraskans deserve to have their voice represented by someone who has earned, not bought it,” Mahoney said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Former
 State Sen. Theresa Thibodeau, an Omaha businesswoman who got into the 
race in November, raised $113,000 by the end of the year and had $87,000
 cash on hand.“I
 am grateful and humbled by the confidence placed in me by my fellow 
Nebraskans, who have and continue to give generously to this effort,” 
Thibodeau said.Three
 other Republican candidates didn’t raise the $5,000 minimum that 
triggers the need to file campaign finance reports with the state.&nbsp;The
 lone Democrat in the governor’s race, State Sen. Carol Blood of 
Bellevue, raised $76,000 in 2021 and had $37,000 cash on hand.&nbsp;Nebraska’s primary election is May 10. Early voting starts in April.All
 five major candidates are expected to participate in a candidate forum 
Thursday in Lincoln hosted by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.

Herbster gave himself 96% of his $4.9M in fundraising last year

(AP)-Many American hospitals are looking abroad for health care workers, saying they're facing a dire shortage of nurses amid the slogging pandemic. 

It could be just in time as there's an unusually high number of green cards available this year for foreign professionals seeking to move to the United States. 

The reason is U.S. consulates were closed during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving tens of thousands of unused visa slots for eligible workers. 

The Biden administration has taken some steps to try to help foreign health care workers get here more quickly. But some hospitals say they're still waiting on consular interviews to bring in nurses.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643815066180.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>(AP)-Many American hospitals are looking abroad for health care workers, saying they're facing a dire shortage of nurses amid the slogging pandemic. It could be just in time as there's an unusually high number of green cards available this year for foreign professionals seeking to move to the United States. The reason is U.S. consulates were closed during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving tens of thousands of unused visa slots for eligible workers. The Biden administration has taken some steps to try to help foreign health care workers get here more quickly. But some hospitals say they're still waiting on consular interviews to bring in nurses.

Strained US hospitals seek foreign nurses amid visa windfall

United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Warren Lee Mackey, 68, of Niobrara, Nebraska, was sentenced on January 27, 2022, by Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon to 30 years’ imprisonment for aggravated sexual abuse of a child and 10 years imprisonment for sexual abuse of a child, to be served concurrently. Mackey will be on supervised release for 5 years after his release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

A jury found Mackey guilty in October 2021 for an offense that occurred on the Santee Sioux Nation Indian Reservation. &nbsp;The charges stemmed from a disclosure made by an 11-year-old child that the defendant touched her clitoris and her breast. The defendant claimed during an interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he was asleep and did not know whether he had done anything to the child, but was dreaming about an adult female.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit&nbsp;www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Warren Lee Mackey, 68, of Niobrara, Nebraska, was sentenced on January 27, 2022, by Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon to 30 years’ imprisonment for aggravated sexual abuse of a child and 10 years imprisonment for sexual abuse of a child, to be served concurrently. Mackey will be on supervised release for 5 years after his release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.A jury found Mackey guilty in October 2021 for an offense that occurred on the Santee Sioux Nation Indian Reservation. &nbsp;The charges stemmed from a disclosure made by an 11-year-old child that the defendant touched her clitoris and her breast. The defendant claimed during an interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he was asleep and did not know whether he had done anything to the child, but was dreaming about an adult female.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit&nbsp;www.projectsafechildhood.gov.This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Nebraska man sentenced to 30 years for sexual abuse of a minor

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A jury has acquitted a 25-year-old man in the shooting death of his half-brother.

Cody Huninghake, of rural Leavenworth, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Robert Nelson. 

A Leavenworth County jury found him not guilty on Tuesday. Nelson was shot in the head July 3 at the family's home. 

Huninghake testified that he shot Smith accidentally when a shotgun went off as he lost his balance and fell against a wall. Huninghake was released from the Leavenworth County Jail after the verdict was announced.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1625590667977.png" alt="HUNINGHAKE photo Leavenworth Co." />
 <figcaption>HUNINGHAKE photo Leavenworth Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A jury has acquitted a 25-year-old man in the shooting death of his half-brother.Cody Huninghake, of rural Leavenworth, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Robert Nelson. A Leavenworth County jury found him not guilty on Tuesday. Nelson was shot in the head July 3 at the family's home. Huninghake testified that he shot Smith accidentally when a shotgun went off as he lost his balance and fell against a wall. Huninghake was released from the Leavenworth County Jail after the verdict was announced.

Jury: Kan. man not guilty in half- brother's shooting death

Sometimes you need extra cash to tide you over to payday. 
Several apps are eager to provide that service, marketing themselves as 
an easy, no interest way to get a small loan.&nbsp; However, not all cash 
advance apps were created equal. Before signing up for one, research it 
first and watch out for hidden fees and other pitfalls.

What to know before using a cash advance app

Consider these tips before you use a cash advance or <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/tips/18628-bbb-tip-payday-loans" target="_blank">payday loan</a> app:

Get further insight by reading <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/tips/14101-bbb-tip-loans" target="_blank">BBB’s tip on loans</a>. Read more tips on our <a href="https://www.bbb.org/news" target="_blank">BBB news feed</a>.

Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbb-accreditation-standards">BBB Accreditation Standards</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/standards-for-trust">BBB Standards for Trust</a>.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579883951052.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BBBSometimes you need extra cash to tide you over to payday. 
Several apps are eager to provide that service, marketing themselves as 
an easy, no interest way to get a small loan.&nbsp; However, not all cash 
advance apps were created equal. Before signing up for one, research it 
first and watch out for hidden fees and other pitfalls.<h2>What to know before using a cash advance app</h2>Consider these tips before you use a cash advance or <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/tips/18628-bbb-tip-payday-loans" target="_blank">payday loan</a> app:<ul>
 <li>Understand how cash advance loan apps work. <a href="https://thecollegeinvestor.com/32291/cash-advance-apps/" target="_blank">TheCollegeInvestor.com</a>
 defines cash advance loan apps as, “apps that allow you to deposit 
money that you’ve already earned into your checking account before 
payday.” Some cash advance apps work based on earned wages by partnering
 with employers, while others work directly with consumers. After 
calculating your current earnings, apps grant you a small loan. The 
amount of your loan is then deducted from your next paycheck. Some apps 
require monthly membership fees. Others charge fixed fees for loans or 
allow you to make voluntary “tips.” </li><li>Get to know the lender. If you decide to use an app to get a cash advance, look up the financing company on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/search" target="_blank">BBB.org</a> first. Make sure the company has a reputation for honest business practices. In addition, <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-should-i-consider-if-im-thinking-about-getting-a-payday-loan-online-en-1617/" target="_blank">ConsumerFinance.gov</a> recommends finding out if the lender is licensed by your state, which means better protection for you as well. </li><li>Read the terms carefully. Take your time reading 
the terms of the loan carefully. Be sure to understand when the loan 
must be repaid and how much you will owe if you don’t pay on time. </li><li>Find out about fees. Be suspicious of cash advance apps that claim to be totally free. That means there are usually hidden fees and costs, warns <a href="https://time.com/nextadvisor/banking/cash-advance-apps/" target="_blank">NextAdvisor</a>.
 Fees may be disguised under other names – including “tips,” 
“donations,” “membership fees,” or “premium account access.” Find out 
what you’ll pay and be aware that fees that seem small can add up over 
time. For example, <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/loans/personal-loans/earnin-personal-loans" target="_blank">Nerd Wallet</a>
 points out that paying $2 to withdraw $20 for two weeks comes out to an
 annual percentage rate of 260%. That’s comparable to what traditional 
payday lenders charge. </li><li>Be careful with your personal information. Most 
cash advance loan apps need access to your banking information to work. 
Make sure the company’s website and connections are secure and read 
their data privacy policies before sharing your information. </li><li>Never pay upfront fees. If a lender asks you to pay
 fees before giving you any money, don’t agree. Charging consumers 
undisclosed upfront fees is illegal and <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/16919-bbb-tip-advance-fee-loan-scams" target="_blank">a sign of a scam</a>. </li><li>Budget accordingly. Always remember that getting 
early access to your money through a cash advance loan means your next 
paycheck will be smaller. While this kind of loan can be helpful if you 
find yourself in a small financial emergency before payday, you’ll need 
to plan ahead to make ends meet during your next pay period. </li><li>Keep your documentation. BBB has received reports of <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/23300-bbb-tip-what-you-need-to-know-about-zombie-debt" target="_blank">consumers getting calls from collections agencies</a>
 years after they repaid a payday loan. Some calls were a result of 
human error, but others were attempts to scam consumers out of money. 
Stay safe by keeping documentation that states your loans were paid in 
full. </li><li>Consider alternatives to a loan. Cash advance loans can become very expensive, especially if you miss your repayment date. <a href="https://www.consumer.gov/articles/1011-payday-loans-and-cash-advances" target="_blank">Consumer.gov</a>
 recommends considering other ways to borrow money, including using your
 credit card, asking family or friends for a loan, or inquiring about a 
loan at your bank or credit union. If you need a loan because you are 
unable to pay one of your regular bills, try calling the company and 
asking for assistance. For example, many lenders and creditors are 
helping borrowers affected by COVID-19 by offering deferment on mortgage
 loans or credit card debt. </li>
 </ul><h2>For More Information</h2>Get further insight by reading <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/tips/14101-bbb-tip-loans" target="_blank">BBB’s tip on loans</a>. Read more tips on our <a href="https://www.bbb.org/news" target="_blank">BBB news feed</a>.Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbb-accreditation-standards">BBB Accreditation Standards</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/standards-for-trust">BBB Standards for Trust</a>.&nbsp;

BBB Tip: Using a cash advance loan app? Proceed with caution

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday set&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-reignites-cancer-moonshot-to-end-cancer-as-we-know-it/" target="_blank">a 25-year timeline to cut in half the cancer death rate</a>, a lofty but perhaps unrealistic goal that is meant to “supercharge” an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7de1dc1fab1b4d46a9a6e582f67576dd">initiative started when he was vice president to eradicate the disease</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d8f69eb645d74b7886387f713981b739">killed his older son, Beau.</a>

“This can really be an American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things,” Biden told a crowd of lawmakers, administration officials, researchers and others at the White House.

The new push, which comes without any new money, arrives more than 50 years after President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act and launched a war on the disease. The benefits of that act were also seen in areas outside of cancer, such as the vaccines developed to combat the coronavirus.

Personal connections to the fight against cancer were evident throughout the White House event. First lady Jill Biden spoke of how the death of Beau from brain cancer in 2015 had “stolen our joy” and “left us broken in our grief.” Vice President Kamala Harris spoke of how her mother’s work as a cancer researcher had helped “save women’s lives.”

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 1,918,030 new cancer cases and 609,360 cancer deaths this year. Biden is essentially aiming to to save more than 300,000 lives annually, which the administration believes is possible because the age-adjusted death rate has already fallen by roughly 25% over the past two decades. The cancer death rate is currently 146 per 100,000 people, compared with nearly 200 in 2000.

Dr. Otis Brawley, a professor of oncology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University and former chief medical and scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, said advances in medical research have led to a “better understanding of the biology of cancer and will do even more for us in the future.”

“The progress in cancer research is slow — some of the fruits of Nixon’s 1971 declaration were only harvested with the development of the COVID mRNA vaccine,” he said.

Looking forward, better public health practices, reducing cancer risks such as smoking and informing people about the best cancer research could mean fewer deaths. Brawley said one of his studies found that 130,000 people die annually from cancer because they do not benefit from known science.

Dr. Barron Lerner, a professor of medicine and population health at New York University Langone Health, said “hyperbolic goals” can help draw public attention to the problem but achieving the 50% reduction is “extremely unlikely.”

“Similar past efforts like the ‘War on Cancer’ have made gains, but they have been more modest,” said Lerner, author of “The Breast Cancer Wars.” “Cancer is many diseases and requires very complicated research. Translating these advances to the clinical setting is never easy either.”

There were no new funding commitments announced Wednesday. But the administration believes it can curb cancer through efforts such as increased screening and removing inequities in treatment.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">The coronavirus pandemic</a>&nbsp;has consumed health care resources and caused people to miss more than 9.5 million cancer screenings.

President Barack Obama&nbsp;<a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/01/fact-sheet-investing-national-cancer-moonshot" target="_blank">announced the cancer “moonshot” program</a>&nbsp;during his final full year in office and secured $1.8 billion over seven years to fund research. Obama designated Biden, then his vice president, to run “mission control,” a recognition of Biden’s grief as a parent and desire to do something about it. Biden wrote in his memoir “Promise Me, Dad” that he chose not to run for president in 2016 primarily because of Beau’s death.

When Biden announced he was not seeking the Democratic nomination in 2016, he said his big regret was that “I would have wanted to have been the president who ended cancer, because it’s possible.”

The effort fell somewhat out of the public focus when Donald Trump became president, though Trump, a Republican, proposed $500 million over 10 years for pediatric cancer research in his 2019 State of the Union address.

Biden continued the work as a private citizen by establishing the Biden Cancer Initiative to help organize resources to improve cancer care. When Biden did&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-pa-state-wire-joe-biden-ap-top-news-donald-trump-d5c415b99a6945dbbecf60d57bcf68cb">seek the presidency</a>&nbsp;in 2020, he had tears in his eyes as he said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “Beau should be running for president, not me.”

Beau Biden’s doctor was in the audience Wednesday and was cited by the president.

“Doctor, I love you,” Biden said. “The whole family loves you.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643850145534.png" alt="First lady Jill Biden spoke of how the death of Beau from brain cancer in 2015 had “stolen our joy” and “left us broken in our grief.”-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>First lady Jill Biden spoke of how the death of Beau from brain cancer in 2015 had “stolen our joy” and “left us broken in our grief.”-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday set&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-reignites-cancer-moonshot-to-end-cancer-as-we-know-it/" target="_blank">a 25-year timeline to cut in half the cancer death rate</a>, a lofty but perhaps unrealistic goal that is meant to “supercharge” an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7de1dc1fab1b4d46a9a6e582f67576dd">initiative started when he was vice president to eradicate the disease</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d8f69eb645d74b7886387f713981b739">killed his older son, Beau.</a><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F543342663300718%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=1068" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>“This can really be an American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things,” Biden told a crowd of lawmakers, administration officials, researchers and others at the White House.The new push, which comes without any new money, arrives more than 50 years after President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act and launched a war on the disease. The benefits of that act were also seen in areas outside of cancer, such as the vaccines developed to combat the coronavirus.Personal connections to the fight against cancer were evident throughout the White House event. First lady Jill Biden spoke of how the death of Beau from brain cancer in 2015 had “stolen our joy” and “left us broken in our grief.” Vice President Kamala Harris spoke of how her mother’s work as a cancer researcher had helped “save women’s lives.”The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 1,918,030 new cancer cases and 609,360 cancer deaths this year. Biden is essentially aiming to to save more than 300,000 lives annually, which the administration believes is possible because the age-adjusted death rate has already fallen by roughly 25% over the past two decades. The cancer death rate is currently 146 per 100,000 people, compared with nearly 200 in 2000.Dr. Otis Brawley, a professor of oncology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University and former chief medical and scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, said advances in medical research have led to a “better understanding of the biology of cancer and will do even more for us in the future.”“The progress in cancer research is slow — some of the fruits of Nixon’s 1971 declaration were only harvested with the development of the COVID mRNA vaccine,” he said.Looking forward, better public health practices, reducing cancer risks such as smoking and informing people about the best cancer research could mean fewer deaths. Brawley said one of his studies found that 130,000 people die annually from cancer because they do not benefit from known science.Dr. Barron Lerner, a professor of medicine and population health at New York University Langone Health, said “hyperbolic goals” can help draw public attention to the problem but achieving the 50% reduction is “extremely unlikely.”“Similar past efforts like the ‘War on Cancer’ have made gains, but they have been more modest,” said Lerner, author of “The Breast Cancer Wars.” “Cancer is many diseases and requires very complicated research. Translating these advances to the clinical setting is never easy either.”There were no new funding commitments announced Wednesday. But the administration believes it can curb cancer through efforts such as increased screening and removing inequities in treatment.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">The coronavirus pandemic</a>&nbsp;has consumed health care resources and caused people to miss more than 9.5 million cancer screenings.President Barack Obama&nbsp;<a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/01/fact-sheet-investing-national-cancer-moonshot" target="_blank">announced the cancer “moonshot” program</a>&nbsp;during his final full year in office and secured $1.8 billion over seven years to fund research. Obama designated Biden, then his vice president, to run “mission control,” a recognition of Biden’s grief as a parent and desire to do something about it. Biden wrote in his memoir “Promise Me, Dad” that he chose not to run for president in 2016 primarily because of Beau’s death.When Biden announced he was not seeking the Democratic nomination in 2016, he said his big regret was that “I would have wanted to have been the president who ended cancer, because it’s possible.”The effort fell somewhat out of the public focus when Donald Trump became president, though Trump, a Republican, proposed $500 million over 10 years for pediatric cancer research in his 2019 State of the Union address.Biden continued the work as a private citizen by establishing the Biden Cancer Initiative to help organize resources to improve cancer care. When Biden did&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-pa-state-wire-joe-biden-ap-top-news-donald-trump-d5c415b99a6945dbbecf60d57bcf68cb">seek the presidency</a>&nbsp;in 2020, he had tears in his eyes as he said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “Beau should be running for president, not me.”Beau Biden’s doctor was in the audience Wednesday and was cited by the president.“Doctor, I love you,” Biden said. “The whole family loves you.”

🎥 Bidens set goal to reduce cancer deaths over next 25 years

WASHINGTON — As the new year begins, the Internal Revenue Service 
reminds taxpayers to protect their personal and financial information 
throughout the year and watch out for IRS impersonation scams, along 
with other schemes, that try to trick people out of their hard-earned 
money.

These schemes can involve text message scams, e-mail schemes and 
phone scams. This tax season, the IRS also warns people to watch out for
 signs of potential unemployment fraud.

"With filing season underway, this is a prime period for identity 
thieves to hit people with realistic-looking emails and texts about 
their tax returns and refunds," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. 
"Watching out for these common scams can keep people from becoming 
victims of identity theft and protect their sensitive personal 
information that can be used to file tax returns and steal refunds."

The IRS, state tax agencies and the nation's tax industry – working together in the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit initiative</a>
 – have taken numerous steps since 2015 to protect taxpayers, businesses
 and the tax system from identity thieves. Summit partners continue to 
warn people to watch out for common scams and schemes this tax season.

Last year, there was an uptick in text messages that impersonated the
 IRS. These scams are sent to taxpayers' smartphones and have referenced
 COVID-19 and/or "stimulus payments." These messages often contain bogus
 links claiming to be IRS websites or other online tools. Other than IRS
 Secure Access, the IRS does not use text messages to discuss personal 
tax issues, such as those involving bills or refunds. The IRS also will 
not send taxpayers messages via social media platforms.

If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited SMS/text that appears to be 
from either the IRS or a program closely linked to the IRS, the taxpayer
 should take a screenshot of the text message and include the screenshot
 in an email to <a href="mailto:phishing@irs.gov">phishing@irs.gov</a> with the following information:

The IRS reminds everyone NOT to click links or open attachments 
in unsolicited, suspicious or unexpected text messages – whether from 
the IRS, state tax agencies or others in the tax community.

As a new tax season begins, the IRS reminds workers to watch out for 
claims of unemployment or other benefit payments for which they never 
applied. States have experienced a surge in fraudulent unemployment 
claims filed by organized crime rings using stolen identities. Criminals
 are using these stolen identities to fraudulently collect benefits.

Because unemployment benefits are taxable income, states issue Form 
1099-G, Certain Government Payments, to recipients and to the IRS to 
report the amount of taxable compensation received and any withholding. 
Any worker receiving a fraudulent or inaccurate 1099-G should report it 
to the issuing state agency and request a corrected Form 1099-G.

For details on how to report fraud to state workforce agencies, how 
to obtain a corrected Form 1099-G, how to find a list of state contacts 
and other steps to take related to unemployment fraud, taxpayers can 
visit the U.S. Department of Labor's <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/UIIDtheft">DOL.gov/fraud</a> page.

Individuals may be victims of unemployment identity theft if they received:

A notice from their employer indicating the employer received a request for information about an unemployment claim.

The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request 
personal or financial information. The IRS initiates most contacts 
through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service.

If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited email that appears to be from 
either the IRS or a program closely linked to the IRS that is 
fraudulent, report it by sending it as an attachment to <a href="mailto:phishing@irs.gov">phishing@irs.gov</a>. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing">Report Phishing and Online Scams</a> page at IRS.gov provides complete details.

There are special circumstances when the IRS will call or come to a 
home or business. These visits include times when a taxpayer has an 
overdue tax bill, a delinquent tax return or a delinquent employment tax
 payment. The IRS may also visit if it needs to tour a business as part 
of a civil investigation (such as an audit or collection case) or during
 a criminal investigation. The IRS provides specific guidance on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/how-to-know-its-really-the-irs-calling-or-knocking-on-your-door">how to know it's really the IRS knocking on your door</a>.

The IRS does not leave pre-recorded, urgent or threatening messages. 
In many variations of the phone scam, victims are told if they do not 
call back, a warrant will be issued for their arrest. Other verbal 
threats include law-enforcement agency intervention, deportation or 
revocation of licenses.

Criminals can fake or "spoof" caller ID numbers to appear to be 
anywhere in the country, including from an IRS office. This prevents 
taxpayers from being able to verify the true call number. Fraudsters 
also have spoofed local sheriff's offices, state departments of motor 
vehicles, federal agencies and others to convince taxpayers the call is 
legitimate.

The IRS (and its authorized private collection agencies) will never:

Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who 
owes taxes. All tax payments should only be made payable to the U.S. 
Treasury and checks should never be made payable to third parties.

For anyone who doesn't owe taxes and has no reason to think they do:

For anyone who owes tax or thinks they do:

Unfortunately, scams and schemes can often lead to identity theft. 
While identity theft can have many consequences, the IRS focuses on 
tax-related identity theft.

Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses an individual's 
stolen Social Security number (SSN) to file a tax return claiming a 
fraudulent refund. Taxpayers may be unaware of this activity until they 
e-file a tax return and discover that a return has already been filed 
using their SSN. Or, the IRS may send them a letter saying it has 
identified a suspicious return using their SSN.

If a taxpayer learns their SSN has been compromised, or they know or 
suspect they are a victim of tax-related identity theft, the IRS 
recommends these additional steps:

More information is available at: <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central">IRS.gov/identitytheft</a> or the Federal Trade Commission's <a href="https://www.identitytheft.gov/">IdentityTheft.gov</a>.

The official IRS website is IRS.gov. People should be aware of 
imitation websites ending in .com. This applies to other IRS tools, too,
 like <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;they all end in .gov.

For more information, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts">Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts</a> on IRS.gov. Additional information about tax scams is available on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-social-media">IRS social media sites</a>, including YouTube videos.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — As the new year begins, the Internal Revenue Service 
reminds taxpayers to protect their personal and financial information 
throughout the year and watch out for IRS impersonation scams, along 
with other schemes, that try to trick people out of their hard-earned 
money.These schemes can involve text message scams, e-mail schemes and 
phone scams. This tax season, the IRS also warns people to watch out for
 signs of potential unemployment fraud."With filing season underway, this is a prime period for identity 
thieves to hit people with realistic-looking emails and texts about 
their tax returns and refunds," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. 
"Watching out for these common scams can keep people from becoming 
victims of identity theft and protect their sensitive personal 
information that can be used to file tax returns and steal refunds."The IRS, state tax agencies and the nation's tax industry – working together in the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit initiative</a>
 – have taken numerous steps since 2015 to protect taxpayers, businesses
 and the tax system from identity thieves. Summit partners continue to 
warn people to watch out for common scams and schemes this tax season.<h2>Text message scams</h2>Last year, there was an uptick in text messages that impersonated the
 IRS. These scams are sent to taxpayers' smartphones and have referenced
 COVID-19 and/or "stimulus payments." These messages often contain bogus
 links claiming to be IRS websites or other online tools. Other than IRS
 Secure Access, the IRS does not use text messages to discuss personal 
tax issues, such as those involving bills or refunds. The IRS also will 
not send taxpayers messages via social media platforms.If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited SMS/text that appears to be 
from either the IRS or a program closely linked to the IRS, the taxpayer
 should take a screenshot of the text message and include the screenshot
 in an email to <a href="mailto:phishing@irs.gov">phishing@irs.gov</a> with the following information:<ul>
 <li>Date/time/time zone they received the text message</li><li>Phone number that received the text message</li>
 </ul>The IRS reminds everyone NOT to click links or open attachments 
in unsolicited, suspicious or unexpected text messages – whether from 
the IRS, state tax agencies or others in the tax community.<h2>Unemployment fraud</h2>As a new tax season begins, the IRS reminds workers to watch out for 
claims of unemployment or other benefit payments for which they never 
applied. States have experienced a surge in fraudulent unemployment 
claims filed by organized crime rings using stolen identities. Criminals
 are using these stolen identities to fraudulently collect benefits.Because unemployment benefits are taxable income, states issue Form 
1099-G, Certain Government Payments, to recipients and to the IRS to 
report the amount of taxable compensation received and any withholding. 
Any worker receiving a fraudulent or inaccurate 1099-G should report it 
to the issuing state agency and request a corrected Form 1099-G.For details on how to report fraud to state workforce agencies, how 
to obtain a corrected Form 1099-G, how to find a list of state contacts 
and other steps to take related to unemployment fraud, taxpayers can 
visit the U.S. Department of Labor's <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/UIIDtheft">DOL.gov/fraud</a> page.<h2>Individuals may be victims of unemployment identity theft if they received:</h2><ul>
 <li>Mail from a government agency about an unemployment claim or 
payment for which they did not file. This includes unexpected payments 
or debit cards and could be from any state.</li><li>An IRS Form 1099-G reflecting unemployment benefits they weren't 
expecting or didn't receive. Box 1 on this form may show unemployment 
benefits they did not receive or an amount that exceeds their records 
for benefits they did receive. The form itself may be from a state in 
which they did not file for benefits.</li>
 </ul>A notice from their employer indicating the employer received a request for information about an unemployment claim.<h2>Email phishing scams</h2>The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request 
personal or financial information. The IRS initiates most contacts 
through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service.If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited email that appears to be from 
either the IRS or a program closely linked to the IRS that is 
fraudulent, report it by sending it as an attachment to <a href="mailto:phishing@irs.gov">phishing@irs.gov</a>. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing">Report Phishing and Online Scams</a> page at IRS.gov provides complete details.There are special circumstances when the IRS will call or come to a 
home or business. These visits include times when a taxpayer has an 
overdue tax bill, a delinquent tax return or a delinquent employment tax
 payment. The IRS may also visit if it needs to tour a business as part 
of a civil investigation (such as an audit or collection case) or during
 a criminal investigation. The IRS provides specific guidance on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/how-to-know-its-really-the-irs-calling-or-knocking-on-your-door">how to know it's really the IRS knocking on your door</a>.<h2>Phone scams</h2>The IRS does not leave pre-recorded, urgent or threatening messages. 
In many variations of the phone scam, victims are told if they do not 
call back, a warrant will be issued for their arrest. Other verbal 
threats include law-enforcement agency intervention, deportation or 
revocation of licenses.Criminals can fake or "spoof" caller ID numbers to appear to be 
anywhere in the country, including from an IRS office. This prevents 
taxpayers from being able to verify the true call number. Fraudsters 
also have spoofed local sheriff's offices, state departments of motor 
vehicles, federal agencies and others to convince taxpayers the call is 
legitimate.<h2>The IRS (and its authorized private collection agencies) will never:</h2><ul>
 <li>Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method
 such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. The IRS does 
not use these methods for tax payments.</li><li>Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.</li><li>Demand that taxes be paid without giving the taxpayer the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.</li><li>Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.</li>
 </ul>Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who 
owes taxes. All tax payments should only be made payable to the U.S. 
Treasury and checks should never be made payable to third parties.<h2>For anyone who doesn't owe taxes and has no reason to think they do:</h2><ul>
 <li>Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.</li><li>Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the call at <a href="https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/reportcrime_misconduct.shtml">IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting</a>.</li><li>Report the caller ID and/or callback number to the IRS by sending it to <a href="mailto:phishing@irs.gov">phishing@irs.gov</a> (Subject: IRS Phone Scam).</li><li><a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/">Report it to the Federal Trade Commission</a> on FTC.gov. Add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes.</li>
 </ul><h2>For anyone who owes tax or thinks they do:</h2><ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account">View tax account information</a> online at IRS.gov to see the actual amount owed. Taxpayers can also review their payment options.</li><li>Call the number on the billing notice or</li><li>Call the IRS at <a href="tel:800-829-1040">800-829-1040</a>. IRS employees can help.</li>
 </ul><h2>Help for victims of ID theft</h2>Unfortunately, scams and schemes can often lead to identity theft. 
While identity theft can have many consequences, the IRS focuses on 
tax-related identity theft.Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses an individual's 
stolen Social Security number (SSN) to file a tax return claiming a 
fraudulent refund. Taxpayers may be unaware of this activity until they 
e-file a tax return and discover that a return has already been filed 
using their SSN. Or, the IRS may send them a letter saying it has 
identified a suspicious return using their SSN.If a taxpayer learns their SSN has been compromised, or they know or 
suspect they are a victim of tax-related identity theft, the IRS 
recommends these additional steps:<ul>
 <li>Individuals should respond immediately to any IRS notice; call the number provided.</li><li>Taxpayers should complete IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf">Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit</a>&nbsp;PDF,
 if an e-file tax return rejects because of a duplicate filing under 
their SSN or they are instructed to do so by the IRS. Individuals can 
use a fillable form at IRS.gov, then print and attach the form to their 
paper return and mail according to instructions.</li><li>Victims of tax-related identity theft should continue to pay their 
taxes and file their tax return, even if they must do so by paper.</li><li>Taxpayers who previously contacted the IRS about tax-related 
identity theft and did not have a resolution should call for specialized
 assistance at <a href="tel:800-908-4490">800-908-4490</a>.</li>
 </ul>More information is available at: <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central">IRS.gov/identitytheft</a> or the Federal Trade Commission's <a href="https://www.identitytheft.gov/">IdentityTheft.gov</a>.The official IRS website is IRS.gov. People should be aware of 
imitation websites ending in .com. This applies to other IRS tools, too,
 like <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;they all end in .gov.For more information, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts">Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts</a> on IRS.gov. Additional information about tax scams is available on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-social-media">IRS social media sites</a>, including YouTube videos.

IRS: Impersonators increasingly using tax scams to steal your info

Recently, BBB has received additional reports that 
scammers are impersonating the Better Business Bureau via phone calls 
and emails. If you are unsure of who is contacting you, reach out to 
your <a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbb-directory" target="_blank">local Better Business Bureau</a>. See more information below.

An impostor is a person who pretends to be someone else. They may 
pretend to be someone you know; like a family member, a friend, a person
 you feel like you know but have not met in person. They may pretend to 
be working for the government or from a company you trust, or a company 
with which you do business on a regular basis, such as a computer 
software company.

Impostors are dishonest people who want to steal your money or 
personal information and will try to do this through a phone call, text 
message, or email. The phone calls may appear to be a local number, text
 messages appear to be from real companies, or emails with entirely 
believable government logos or a familiar business on them.

Impersonation is a very common tactic used by scammers, according to the <a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbbscamtrackerriskreport/" target="_blank">BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report</a>. Impostor scams come in all shapes and sizes with the same intent - to trick you out of your money and/or personal information.

Learn more tips on how to avoid scams by going to <a href="https://www.bbb.org/scamtips" target="_blank">BBB.org/ScamTips</a>. If you have been the victim of this or another scam, make others aware by filing a report on <a href="https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker/us/" target="_blank">BBB.org/ScamTracker</a>.

Visit <a href="https://www.bbb.org" target="_blank">BBB.org</a> to look up a business, file a complaint, write a customer review, read tips, follow us on social media, and more.

<a href="https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-serving-canton-region-and-greater-west-virginia" target="_blank">BBB Serving Canton Region &amp; Greater West Virginia</a> contributed to this article.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579883951052.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BBBRecently, BBB has received additional reports that 
scammers are impersonating the Better Business Bureau via phone calls 
and emails. If you are unsure of who is contacting you, reach out to 
your <a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbb-directory" target="_blank">local Better Business Bureau</a>. See more information below.An impostor is a person who pretends to be someone else. They may 
pretend to be someone you know; like a family member, a friend, a person
 you feel like you know but have not met in person. They may pretend to 
be working for the government or from a company you trust, or a company 
with which you do business on a regular basis, such as a computer 
software company.Impostors are dishonest people who want to steal your money or 
personal information and will try to do this through a phone call, text 
message, or email. The phone calls may appear to be a local number, text
 messages appear to be from real companies, or emails with entirely 
believable government logos or a familiar business on them.Impersonation is a very common tactic used by scammers, according to the <a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbbscamtrackerriskreport/" target="_blank">BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report</a>. Impostor scams come in all shapes and sizes with the same intent - to trick you out of your money and/or personal information.IMPOSTOR SCAMS &amp; HOW THEY WORK:<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/16907-bbb-tip-utility-imposter-scam" target="_blank">Power/utility scam</a>:
 Utility company impostors typically reach out via a telephone call or 
knock on your door claiming to be a representative from the local water,
 electric, or gas company. In the most common scenario, the fraudster 
will say a payment is overdue and the utility will be shut off if you 
don’t pay up immediately.</li><li><a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/18596-scam-alert-hit-delete-on-phony-banking-texts" target="_blank">Phony banking texts/Phishing schemes</a>:
 You receive a text message allegedly from a bank, alerting you of 
fraudulent activity on your account. You may or may not have an account 
at that bank. The con artists might even know your account number. They 
use a variety of messages and techniques, but the desired outcome is the
 same. They want you to give them information, the key to your money.</li><li><a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/tips/13995-bbb-tip-tax-scams" target="_blank">IRS impostors</a>:
 There are many ways to tell if a call about tax debt is a fraudulent 
IRS call. According to the IRS, people with overdue taxes will always 
receive multiple contacts, including letters and phone calls, from the 
IRS first. The IRS will also notify taxpayers before sending their 
accounts to a private collection agency. If you get a call first and had
 no idea you owed taxes, be cautious and skeptical.</li><li><a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/16918-bbb-tip-emergency-scams" target="_blank">Emergency scam</a> (also called grandparent scams or family/friend scams): This scheme involves the impersonation of a friend or family member in a fabricated urgent
 or dire situation.&nbsp;Emergency calls prey on a person’s kind nature and 
willingness to help friends and family in need. Con artists impersonate 
their targets’ loved ones, make up an urgent situation, and plead for 
help and money. Thanks to social media sites, these people can offer 
plausible stories and incorporate nicknames and real travel plans into 
the con to convince their targets.</li><li><a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/26316-bbb-scam-alert-dont-do-this-friend-a-favor-its-really-a-clever-scam" target="_blank">Favor for a friend scam</a>.
 This is a version of an emergency scam. However, instead of a major 
crisis, the scammers is asking for a small favor. It can be easy to fall
 for these cons because the stories are believable and the money amounts
 are much lower. For example, <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/24773-bbb-scam-alert-dont-send-money-to-fake-friends-on-venmo" target="_blank">in this scam</a>,
 a "friend" needs money for groceries after misplacing their wallet. 
Just like with an emergency scam, always check directly with your friend
 before sending any cash.</li><li><a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/16553-bbb-tip-tech-support-scams" target="_blank">Tech Support scams</a>:
 A tech support rep calls you at home and offers to fix a computer bug 
that you haven’t even noticed, or a popup warning appears on your screen
 instructing you to dial a number for help. In this con, scammers pose 
as tech support employees of well-known computer companies and hassle 
victims into paying for their “support.”</li><li><a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/16887-bbb-scam-alert-beware-of-bbb-imposter" target="_blank">Better Business Bureau</a>.
 That’s right, BBB is an often-impersonated company. Many of these scams
 target small businesses. Scammers call, text, or email to collect 
unpaid “dues” or email dangerous links or attachments that they claim 
are related to “complaints," or various other excuses. While a BBB 
office may indeed contact a business for a variety of reasons, you 
should never give personal or financial information over the phone 
during an unsolicited call from someone you do not know. End the call or
 close the email, and call back through the number listed in the <a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbb-directory" target="_blank">BBB.org Directory.</a></li>
 </ul>TIPS TO AVOID IMPOSTOR SCAMS:<ul>
 <li>Stay calm. If you receive any of these impostor 
calls, resist the urge to act immediately, no matter how dramatic the 
story is or how threatening or intimidating the caller sounds.</li><li>Don't reply directly. Don’t respond to the call, text, or email. Instead, call the company or person directly to verify the message that was sent or the phone call received.</li><li>Go to the source or get help. When in doubt, call a friend, loved one or your <a href="https://www.bbb.org/bbb-directory" target="_blank">local BBB </a>to ask for a second opinion. Regardless of what is said in the phone conversation, tell someone.</li>
 </ul>FOR MORE INFORMATION: Learn more tips on how to avoid scams by going to <a href="https://www.bbb.org/scamtips" target="_blank">BBB.org/ScamTips</a>. If you have been the victim of this or another scam, make others aware by filing a report on <a href="https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker/us/" target="_blank">BBB.org/ScamTracker</a>.FOR BBB INFORMATION: Visit <a href="https://www.bbb.org" target="_blank">BBB.org</a> to look up a business, file a complaint, write a customer review, read tips, follow us on social media, and more.<a href="https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-serving-canton-region-and-greater-west-virginia" target="_blank">BBB Serving Canton Region &amp; Greater West Virginia</a> contributed to this article.&nbsp;

BBB Tip: How to avoid impostor scams

SARCOXIE, Mo. (AP) — A former southwest Missouri teacher who was charged with having sexual relations with a student is no longer facing prosecution because she and the student have married, prosecutors said.

Baylee A. Turner, 26, was charged in February 2019 with having sexual contact with a male student while she was in her first year of teaching English at Sarcoxie High School.

Nate Dally, an assistant Jasper County prosecutor, said the charge was dismissed because the marriage means the former student can no longer be compelled to testify against Turner, which makes prosecuting the case difficult, The Joplin Globe&nbsp;<a href="https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/teachers-marriage-to-student-results-in-dismissal-of-charge/article_70c097d2-82ee-11ec-84ed-d7fe467d4a85.html">reported.</a>

Turner has surrendered her state teaching license, which was the prosecutor's main concern, Dally said.

The probable cause affidavit in the case does not say how old the student was at the time Turner was charged.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643738235192.png" alt="Turner photo Jasper Co." />
 <figcaption>Turner photo Jasper Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SARCOXIE, Mo. (AP) — A former southwest Missouri teacher who was charged with having sexual relations with a student is no longer facing prosecution because she and the student have married, prosecutors said.Baylee A. Turner, 26, was charged in February 2019 with having sexual contact with a male student while she was in her first year of teaching English at Sarcoxie High School.Nate Dally, an assistant Jasper County prosecutor, said the charge was dismissed because the marriage means the former student can no longer be compelled to testify against Turner, which makes prosecuting the case difficult, The Joplin Globe&nbsp;<a href="https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/teachers-marriage-to-student-results-in-dismissal-of-charge/article_70c097d2-82ee-11ec-84ed-d7fe467d4a85.html">reported.</a>Turner has surrendered her state teaching license, which was the prosecutor's main concern, Dally said.The probable cause affidavit in the case does not say how old the student was at the time Turner was charged.

Sex crime charge dropped against teacher after she marries student

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a road-rage shooting.

Just after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, police were dispatched to a shooting near the intersection of Central and Ridge in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.

Officers arrived and located a 35-year-old man with a single gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.

It is believed that this is a road-rage incident involving two drivers.

Investigators learned that the 35-year-old man was westbound on Central when he got into a verbal altercation with another westbound driver. The two vehicles stopped on Central, and the 35-year-old exited his vehicle and approached the other driver’s window.

An altercation ensued, which led to a single shot being fired. The man then returned to his vehicle, and both drivers pulled into the parking lot on the NW corner of Central and Ridge, where they made contact with officers. 

The second driver, a 39-year-old male uniformed security officer, remained on scene and was questioned by detectives.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643837260688.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation photo courtesy KAKE" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation photo courtesy KAKE</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a road-rage shooting.Just after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, police were dispatched to a shooting near the intersection of Central and Ridge in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.Officers arrived and located a 35-year-old man with a single gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.It is believed that this is a road-rage incident involving two drivers.Investigators learned that the 35-year-old man was westbound on Central when he got into a verbal altercation with another westbound driver. The two vehicles stopped on Central, and the 35-year-old exited his vehicle and approached the other driver’s window.An altercation ensued, which led to a single shot being fired. The man then returned to his vehicle, and both drivers pulled into the parking lot on the NW corner of Central and Ridge, where they made contact with officers. The second driver, a 39-year-old male uniformed security officer, remained on scene and was questioned by detectives.

Police: Man wounded during Kansas road-rage shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army said Wednesday it will&nbsp;<a href="https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN34562-ARMY_DIR_2022-02-000-WEB-1.pdf" target="_blank">immediately begin discharging soldiers who have refused to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine</a>, putting more than 3,300 service members at risk of being thrown out soon.

The Army’s announcement makes it the final military service to lay out its discharge policy for vaccine refusers. The Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy have already discharged active-duty troops or entry-level personnel at boot camps for refusing the shots. So far, the Army has not discharged any.

According to data released by the Army last week, more than 3,300 soldiers have refused to get the vaccine. The Army has said that more than 3,000 soldiers have been issued official written reprimands, which suggests they are already identified in the disciplinary process, and some of them could be among the first to be discharged.

The Pentagon has ordered all service members — active-duty, National Guard and Reserves — to get the vaccine, saying it is critical to maintaining the health and readiness of the force. COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the country as a result of the omicron variant.

Roughly 97% of all Army soldiers have gotten at least one shot. More than 3,000 have requested medical or religious exemptions.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth issued the directive Wednesday ordering commanders to begin involuntary separation proceedings against those who have refused the shots and do not have a pending or approved exemption.

“Army readiness depends on soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” she said. “Unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1635861962000.png" alt="The Pentagon has ordered all service members — active-duty, National Guard and Reserves — to get the vaccine- photo Dept. of Defense.&nbsp;&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The Pentagon has ordered all service members — active-duty, National Guard and Reserves — to get the vaccine- photo Dept. of Defense.&nbsp;&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army said Wednesday it will&nbsp;<a href="https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN34562-ARMY_DIR_2022-02-000-WEB-1.pdf" target="_blank">immediately begin discharging soldiers who have refused to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine</a>, putting more than 3,300 service members at risk of being thrown out soon.The Army’s announcement makes it the final military service to lay out its discharge policy for vaccine refusers. The Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy have already discharged active-duty troops or entry-level personnel at boot camps for refusing the shots. So far, the Army has not discharged any.According to data released by the Army last week, more than 3,300 soldiers have refused to get the vaccine. The Army has said that more than 3,000 soldiers have been issued official written reprimands, which suggests they are already identified in the disciplinary process, and some of them could be among the first to be discharged.The Pentagon has ordered all service members — active-duty, National Guard and Reserves — to get the vaccine, saying it is critical to maintaining the health and readiness of the force. COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the country as a result of the omicron variant.Roughly 97% of all Army soldiers have gotten at least one shot. More than 3,000 have requested medical or religious exemptions.Army Secretary Christine Wormuth issued the directive Wednesday ordering commanders to begin involuntary separation proceedings against those who have refused the shots and do not have a pending or approved exemption.“Army readiness depends on soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” she said. “Unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”The order includes active-duty soldiers, reserves serving on active duty, and cadets at the Military Academy at West Point, its prepatory school and ROTC.The detailed order said soldiers will be discharged for misconduct, and noted that those who are eligible to retire may do so before July 1.Overall, nearly 600 Marines, airmen and sailors have been thrown out of the military or dismissed from entry-level training at boot camps as of last week.The military services have been going through a methodical process to deal with those who refuse the vaccine as well as those who request medical, administrative or religious exemptions. The reviews require counseling with medical personnel and chaplains as well as senior commanders.