JERUSALEM —Attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continue and U.S. forces continue to attempt to prevent them.

At approximately 9:00 p.m. (Sanaa time) Wednesday, U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes against two Houthi mobile anti-ship cruise missiles prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

At 11:30 p.m. U.S. forces conducted a second strike against a Houthi mobile land attack cruise missile prepared to launch.

CENTCOM identified these missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1701652753204.png" alt="Photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>JERUSALEM —Attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continue and U.S. forces continue to attempt to prevent them.At approximately 9:00 p.m. (Sanaa time) Wednesday, U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes against two Houthi mobile anti-ship cruise missiles prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.At 11:30 p.m. U.S. forces conducted a second strike against a Houthi mobile land attack cruise missile prepared to launch.CENTCOM identified these missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels.

U.S. responds to new Iran-backed rebel threats in Red Sea

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department special counsel investigating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents</a>&nbsp;has completed his inquiry and a report is expected to be made public soon to Congress and the public, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers in a letter Wednesday.

Garland did not detail the conclusions of the report from special counsel Robert Hur, but said he was committed to disclosing as much of the document as possible once the White House completes a review for potential executive privilege concerns. That process is expected to be completed by the end of the week, said Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House counsel's office.

The yearlong investigation centered on the improper retention of classified documents by Biden from his time as a U.S. senator and as vice president. Sensitive records were found at his Delaware home and at a private office that he used in between his service in the Obama administration and becoming president.

The resolution of the investigation arrives in a pivotal year for the president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-election-2024-president-democrats-trump-9c72115656855da89a41cac3f79aa65b">as he pursues reelection in a deeply polarized political time</a>. Though the probe's outcome is expected to lift a legal cloud over Biden, criticism of his handling of classified records could blunt his ability to attack Donald Trump — his presumptive opponent in November — over a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-documents-maralago-politics-florida-charges-bee867f48da593d351c5a91e87c356a9">pending indictment charging the former president with hoarding top-secret files at his Mar-a-Lago estate</a>&nbsp;and obstructing FBI efforts to get them back.

Trump and other Republicans are likely to challenge the legitimacy of the investigation by noting that it was launched by the Biden Justice Department.

But Garland&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd">sought to insulate the department from claims of bias and conflicts of interest by last year appointing Hur</a>, a former U.S. attorney for Maryland during the Trump administration, to handle the Biden investigation and by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-special-counsel-prosecutor-donald-trump-garland-e1fdb71cfc258bc2be48a8b890a9269b">naming a different special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee investigations into Trump</a>.

While the Trump investigation resulted in dozens of felony charges against the ex-president last year, the outcome of the Biden probe is expected to be different. Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president and, unlike in the Trump investigation, no evidence has emerged to suggest that Biden engaged in comparable conduct or willfully held onto records he wasn’t supposed to have.

Even so, the White House's response to the discovery of classified documents early last year was delayed and incomplete.

The White House did not disclose the Justice Department’s investigation until January 2023,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">when it acknowledged the discovery two months earlier</a>&nbsp;of a “small number” of classified documents by Biden lawyers as they closed an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank affiliated with the Ivy League school. Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-us-department-justice-a45855907a73acb256bb7c4dd5a91610">has said he was surprised</a>&nbsp;by the initial trove discovered by his lawyers.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-delaware-0827b59ee141b33af95023377713e075">FBI subsequently conducted a 13-hour, top-to-bottom check of his Wilmington, Delaware, home</a>, where agents located documents with classified markings from his time as a vice president and senator and took possession of some of his handwritten notes. Biden’s personal lawyers have also revealed that they had found a document bearing classified markings&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-0574fd762159e8cb5f31c85205df3dc0">while searching the Wilmington property</a>&nbsp;but said they had not found others during a separate inspection of his Rehoboth Beach home.

The looming conclusion of the investigation had been foreshadowed last fall when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-classified-documents-justice-4c657c8d19e3b1f232952a266eccc9b6">Biden sat for a voluntary interview</a>&nbsp;at the White House with Hur's team. Interviews of key subjects in an investigation are often done near the end.

Justice Department regulations require Congress to be notified of any investigative steps or proposed actions by a special counsel that were rejected by department leadership. There were no such actions, Garland wrote.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673546739694.png" alt="Biden backing his Corvette into the garage next to stacks of boxes where classified documents were found-image from a 2020 Biden for President campaign ad&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Biden backing his Corvette into the garage next to stacks of boxes where classified documents were found-image from a 2020 Biden for President campaign ad&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department special counsel investigating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents</a>&nbsp;has completed his inquiry and a report is expected to be made public soon to Congress and the public, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers in a letter Wednesday.Garland did not detail the conclusions of the report from special counsel Robert Hur, but said he was committed to disclosing as much of the document as possible once the White House completes a review for potential executive privilege concerns. That process is expected to be completed by the end of the week, said Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House counsel's office.The yearlong investigation centered on the improper retention of classified documents by Biden from his time as a U.S. senator and as vice president. Sensitive records were found at his Delaware home and at a private office that he used in between his service in the Obama administration and becoming president.The resolution of the investigation arrives in a pivotal year for the president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-election-2024-president-democrats-trump-9c72115656855da89a41cac3f79aa65b">as he pursues reelection in a deeply polarized political time</a>. Though the probe's outcome is expected to lift a legal cloud over Biden, criticism of his handling of classified records could blunt his ability to attack Donald Trump — his presumptive opponent in November — over a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-documents-maralago-politics-florida-charges-bee867f48da593d351c5a91e87c356a9">pending indictment charging the former president with hoarding top-secret files at his Mar-a-Lago estate</a>&nbsp;and obstructing FBI efforts to get them back.Trump and other Republicans are likely to challenge the legitimacy of the investigation by noting that it was launched by the Biden Justice Department.But Garland&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd">sought to insulate the department from claims of bias and conflicts of interest by last year appointing Hur</a>, a former U.S. attorney for Maryland during the Trump administration, to handle the Biden investigation and by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-special-counsel-prosecutor-donald-trump-garland-e1fdb71cfc258bc2be48a8b890a9269b">naming a different special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee investigations into Trump</a>.While the Trump investigation resulted in dozens of felony charges against the ex-president last year, the outcome of the Biden probe is expected to be different. Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president and, unlike in the Trump investigation, no evidence has emerged to suggest that Biden engaged in comparable conduct or willfully held onto records he wasn’t supposed to have.Even so, the White House's response to the discovery of classified documents early last year was delayed and incomplete.The White House did not disclose the Justice Department’s investigation until January 2023,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">when it acknowledged the discovery two months earlier</a>&nbsp;of a “small number” of classified documents by Biden lawyers as they closed an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank affiliated with the Ivy League school. Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-us-department-justice-a45855907a73acb256bb7c4dd5a91610">has said he was surprised</a>&nbsp;by the initial trove discovered by his lawyers.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-delaware-0827b59ee141b33af95023377713e075">FBI subsequently conducted a 13-hour, top-to-bottom check of his Wilmington, Delaware, home</a>, where agents located documents with classified markings from his time as a vice president and senator and took possession of some of his handwritten notes. Biden’s personal lawyers have also revealed that they had found a document bearing classified markings&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-0574fd762159e8cb5f31c85205df3dc0">while searching the Wilmington property</a>&nbsp;but said they had not found others during a separate inspection of his Rehoboth Beach home.The looming conclusion of the investigation had been foreshadowed last fall when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-classified-documents-justice-4c657c8d19e3b1f232952a266eccc9b6">Biden sat for a voluntary interview</a>&nbsp;at the White House with Hur's team. Interviews of key subjects in an investigation are often done near the end.Justice Department regulations require Congress to be notified of any investigative steps or proposed actions by a special counsel that were rejected by department leadership. There were no such actions, Garland wrote.

AG: Special counsel has finished Biden classified documents probe

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/06/passionate-battle-over-school-choice-resumes-in-nebraska-legislature/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — The battle over school choice returned to the State Legislature on Tuesday over a proposal to allocate $25 million a year directly from state coffers to organizations that hand out scholarships to private and parochial schools.

Legislative Bill 1402 would serve as a replacement, according to its sponsor, for the Opportunity Scholarship Act passed last year by state lawmakers — a law that allows taxpayers to divert up to half of their state income taxes to Scholarship Granting Organizations for tuition to private and parochial schools.

That law is scheduled to appear on the November ballot for the public to decide whether to retain or repeal it&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/10/public-school-advocates-qualify-referendum-on-opportunity-scholarship-law-for-2024-election/">after 117,000 voters signed petitions</a>&nbsp;to force the vote.

Opponents of this year’s proposal called it an “end run” around the “will of the people,” and a university law professor opined that LB 1402 was most likely unconstitutional.

Scott Norby, an attorney for the Nebraska State Education Association,&nbsp; said last year’s law “does indirectly what LB 1402 does directly — the funding of private schools with public dollars.”

Passing LB 1402 would “preempt” the right of the people to vote on the measure, he said.

“The people have decided to decide that issue,” Norby said.

Rita Bennett, one of the petition circulators, compared it to a kids’ game, in which if you’re losing, you change the rules so you win.

“It says that regardless of what the voters say, we’ll find a way,” she said.

But State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, the sponsor of last year’s Opportunity Scholarship law and this year’s LB 1402, called the newest measure “an end run” around a ballot initiative that she said was marred by misinformation and —<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/01/09/sen-linehans-letter-seeks-to-boot-referendum-on-opportunity-scholarships-off-nebraska-ballot/">&nbsp;as she argued in a recent complaint about the ballot issue</a>&nbsp;— should be removed from the ballot.

“They don’t want the competition, folks. It’s so clear,” Linehan told members of the Appropriations Committee, referring to public schools.

She added that it was her intention that if LB 1402 was passed this year, she would ask that the Opportunity Scholarship Act be repealed by the Legislature, which would serve to render the November vote on the measure moot.

Article VII-11 of the Nebraska Constitution

Notwithstanding any other provision in the Constitution, appropriation of public funds shall not be made to any school or institution of learning not owned or exclusively controlled by the state or a political subdivision thereof;

Provided,&nbsp;that the Legislature may provide that the state or any political subdivision thereof may contract with institutions not wholly owned or controlled by the state or any political subdivision to provide for educational or other services for the benefit of children under the age of twenty-one years who are handicapped, as that term is from time to time defined by the Legislature, if such services are nonsectarian in nature.

Anthony Schutz, a law professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law who specializes in the State Constitution, told committee members that LB 1402 was, in his opinion, likely unconstitutional because it appropriated public funds for private schools.

A court could always rule otherwise, Schutz said, but because LB 1402 would send state money directly to the scholarship granting groups, it was more likely to be considered an “appropriation” and likely less defensible than last year’s law, which directed taxpayer money to those groups without passing through the state.

The clearest way to make it constitutional, the professor said after the hearing, was to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, so voters could decide whether to allow public funds for private schooling.

But, Schutz said, back in the 1970s when state leaders were considering revisions to the Constitution, the matter of allowing public funds for private schools was dropped as “opening a can of worms” over a variety of issues.

There is also the question of whether voters would approve use of public funds for private schools. Voters in other states have consistently defeated it at the polls.

Voices rose at times during the three hours of often passionate testimony before the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

Supporters, including a majority of the committee’s members, maintained that Nebraska families who lack the financial means to send children to a private school deserve the state’s financial help.

They maintained that the competition would improve lagging academic outcomes in public schools and joined Linehan in criticizing anti-school choice petition circulators, claiming that they convinced people to sign by falsely stating that the ballot issue was about property tax relief.

A handful of students from parochial schools testified that switching from a public school had changed their lives and improved their grades and that their parents could not afford a private school without financial help.

Betzy Bravo, a junior at Omaha Gross Catholic High School, said her grade point average increased from 1.8 on a 4.0 scale, to 3.0 after she transferred from Omaha South.

“There are parents like me who need another option,” said Clarice Jackson, a former Omaha school teacher, who called school choice “educational freedom.”

But opponents of school choice were equally passionate, maintaining that diverting $25 million a year of money intended for the state took away funds from public education and that there was no proof that “competition” from private schools improved educational outcomes.

“This bill does not require one iota of accountability, either academically or attendance, from private schools,” said Kathy Danek, a member of the Lincoln School Board.

Shavonna Holman, a member of the Omaha School Board, said she’s proud of the education provided in public schools in Omaha.

Holman said students already have “choice” in that they can transfer to a different school or, like her daughter, choose to attend one that specializes in science.

“Public schools are the best investment to reach the largest number of children,” Holman said.

Bennett and other petition circulators pushed back on criticism that signers were deceived. They said they were well trained and versed on what the ballot initiative would do. They added that the people who misbehaved were petition “blockers” hired by pro-school choice forces to prevent people from signing, or to sign an unofficial petition supporting choice.

The Appropriations Committee took no action on LB 1402 after the lengthy public hearing, but it appeared certain to have enough votes to advance the bill for debate by the full Legislature. The bill has yet to get priority designation, which would ensure another emotional debate over school choice.

One wild card: Secretary of State Bob Evnen has yet to issue a ruling on a complaint lodged by Linehan a month ago that the Opportunity Scholarship ballot issue should be tossed off the ballot.

A ruling from Evnen could come as early as this week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707335544830.jpeg" alt="Among those testifying in favor of a school choice bill at the State Capitol Tuesday was Betzy Bravo, a junior at Omaha Gross Catholic High School, and her brother, Javier, a second grader at St. Thomas More Catholic School. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Among those testifying in favor of a school choice bill at the State Capitol Tuesday was Betzy Bravo, a junior at Omaha Gross Catholic High School, and her brother, Javier, a second grader at St. Thomas More Catholic School. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/06/passionate-battle-over-school-choice-resumes-in-nebraska-legislature/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — The battle over school choice returned to the State Legislature on Tuesday over a proposal to allocate $25 million a year directly from state coffers to organizations that hand out scholarships to private and parochial schools.Legislative Bill 1402 would serve as a replacement, according to its sponsor, for the Opportunity Scholarship Act passed last year by state lawmakers — a law that allows taxpayers to divert up to half of their state income taxes to Scholarship Granting Organizations for tuition to private and parochial schools.That law is scheduled to appear on the November ballot for the public to decide whether to retain or repeal it&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/10/public-school-advocates-qualify-referendum-on-opportunity-scholarship-law-for-2024-election/">after 117,000 voters signed petitions</a>&nbsp;to force the vote.Opponents of this year’s proposal called it an “end run” around the “will of the people,” and a university law professor opined that LB 1402 was most likely unconstitutional.<h2>‘Preempts’ vote of the people</h2>Scott Norby, an attorney for the Nebraska State Education Association,&nbsp; said last year’s law “does indirectly what LB 1402 does directly — the funding of private schools with public dollars.”Passing LB 1402 would “preempt” the right of the people to vote on the measure, he said.“The people have decided to decide that issue,” Norby said.Rita Bennett, one of the petition circulators, compared it to a kids’ game, in which if you’re losing, you change the rules so you win.“It says that regardless of what the voters say, we’ll find a way,” she said.But State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, the sponsor of last year’s Opportunity Scholarship law and this year’s LB 1402, called the newest measure “an end run” around a ballot initiative that she said was marred by misinformation and —<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/01/09/sen-linehans-letter-seeks-to-boot-referendum-on-opportunity-scholarships-off-nebraska-ballot/">&nbsp;as she argued in a recent complaint about the ballot issue</a>&nbsp;— should be removed from the ballot.<h2>Public schools don’t want competition</h2>“They don’t want the competition, folks. It’s so clear,” Linehan told members of the Appropriations Committee, referring to public schools.She added that it was her intention that if LB 1402 was passed this year, she would ask that the Opportunity Scholarship Act be repealed by the Legislature, which would serve to render the November vote on the measure moot.<h2>Article VII-11 of the Nebraska Constitution</h2>Notwithstanding any other provision in the Constitution, appropriation of public funds shall not be made to any school or institution of learning not owned or exclusively controlled by the state or a political subdivision thereof;Provided,&nbsp;that the Legislature may provide that the state or any political subdivision thereof may contract with institutions not wholly owned or controlled by the state or any political subdivision to provide for educational or other services for the benefit of children under the age of twenty-one years who are handicapped, as that term is from time to time defined by the Legislature, if such services are nonsectarian in nature.Anthony Schutz, a law professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law who specializes in the State Constitution, told committee members that LB 1402 was, in his opinion, likely unconstitutional because it appropriated public funds for private schools.A court could always rule otherwise, Schutz said, but because LB 1402 would send state money directly to the scholarship granting groups, it was more likely to be considered an “appropriation” and likely less defensible than last year’s law, which directed taxpayer money to those groups without passing through the state.The clearest way to make it constitutional, the professor said after the hearing, was to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, so voters could decide whether to allow public funds for private schooling.<h2>‘Opening a can of worms’</h2>But, Schutz said, back in the 1970s when state leaders were considering revisions to the Constitution, the matter of allowing public funds for private schools was dropped as “opening a can of worms” over a variety of issues.There is also the question of whether voters would approve use of public funds for private schools. Voters in other states have consistently defeated it at the polls.Voices rose at times during the three hours of often passionate testimony before the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.<h2>All parents deserve choice</h2>Supporters, including a majority of the committee’s members, maintained that Nebraska families who lack the financial means to send children to a private school deserve the state’s financial help.They maintained that the competition would improve lagging academic outcomes in public schools and joined Linehan in criticizing anti-school choice petition circulators, claiming that they convinced people to sign by falsely stating that the ballot issue was about property tax relief.A handful of students from parochial schools testified that switching from a public school had changed their lives and improved their grades and that their parents could not afford a private school without financial help.Betzy Bravo, a junior at Omaha Gross Catholic High School, said her grade point average increased from 1.8 on a 4.0 scale, to 3.0 after she transferred from Omaha South.“There are parents like me who need another option,” said Clarice Jackson, a former Omaha school teacher, who called school choice “educational freedom.”<h2>No accountability</h2>But opponents of school choice were equally passionate, maintaining that diverting $25 million a year of money intended for the state took away funds from public education and that there was no proof that “competition” from private schools improved educational outcomes.“This bill does not require one iota of accountability, either academically or attendance, from private schools,” said Kathy Danek, a member of the Lincoln School Board.Shavonna Holman, a member of the Omaha School Board, said she’s proud of the education provided in public schools in Omaha.Holman said students already have “choice” in that they can transfer to a different school or, like her daughter, choose to attend one that specializes in science.“Public schools are the best investment to reach the largest number of children,” Holman said.Bennett and other petition circulators pushed back on criticism that signers were deceived. They said they were well trained and versed on what the ballot initiative would do. They added that the people who misbehaved were petition “blockers” hired by pro-school choice forces to prevent people from signing, or to sign an unofficial petition supporting choice.The Appropriations Committee took no action on LB 1402 after the lengthy public hearing, but it appeared certain to have enough votes to advance the bill for debate by the full Legislature. The bill has yet to get priority designation, which would ensure another emotional debate over school choice.One wild card: Secretary of State Bob Evnen has yet to issue a ruling on a complaint lodged by Linehan a month ago that the Opportunity Scholarship ballot issue should be tossed off the ballot.A ruling from Evnen could come as early as this week.

Passionate battle over school choice resumes in Nebraska Legislature

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan border package Wednesday, scuttling months of negotiations with Democrats on legislation intended to cut back record numbers of illegal border crossings.

Many Republicans said the election-year compromise&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-bill-ukraine-b386eae0c4947497da931870dbcb28a0">wasn't enough</a>, even as supporters of the bill insisted it was the best possible in divided government.

The 49-50 vote, far short of the 60 ayes needed to take up the bill, came after most Republicans said they&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-a39e188fa2c6a563203d2c69eaabdc6d">would vote against the legislation,</a>&nbsp;which also includes $60 billion in wartime aid to Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel and was backed by President Joe Biden. GOP lawmakers had insisted that the money for conflicts abroad be paired with help for the U.S. border. Nebraska U.S. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts voted with the majority. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah were the only Republicans who voted to advance.

Forcing the showdown with Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier that he would try to salvage the wartime funding, and would next push ahead on a crucial test vote for tens of billions of dollars for Kyiv, Israel and other U.S. allies — a modified package with the border portion stripped out.

The bipartisan group of senators who negotiated the compromise for the last four months said it was a missed opportunity to try and make some progress toward one of the most intractable issues in American politics.

In a speech on the Senate floor just before the vote, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said that it was a chance for the Senate to decide “if we’re going to do nothing, or something.”

“It’s an issue that’s bedevilled, quite frankly, this body for decades,” Lankford said. “It’s been three decades since we’ve passed anything into law to be able to change border security.”

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona blamed Republicans for not giving the bill a chance.

“Finally, it seemed, we had the opportunity to solve the nightmare my state has lived for over 40 years,” she said.

Four Republicans voted to move forward with the legislation and six Democrats voted against it, some of whom said the border compromise went too far.

It is unclear if enough Republicans will vote to move ahead with the standalone legislation for the wartime aid, which also would need 60 votes in the 51-49 Senate. If it did pass, it would still take days for the Senate to reach a final vote.

As some Republicans have grown skeptical of sending money to Ukraine in its war with Russia, Schumer said that “history will cast a permanent and shameful shadow” on those who attempt to block it.

“Will the Senate stand up to brutish thugs like Vladimir Putin and reassure our friends abroad that America will never abandon them in the hour of need?” Schumer asked as he opened the Senate.

The roughly $60 billion in Ukraine aid has been stalled in Congress for months because of growing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-congress-border-immigration-china-31075fce7dfcb3aaa6d3eb595e62ed09">opposition from hardline conservatives</a>&nbsp;in the House and Senate who criticize it as wasteful and demand an exit strategy for the war.

“We still need to secure America’s borders before sending another dime overseas,” Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wrote in a post on X.

The impasse means that the U.S. has halted arms shipments to Kyiv at a crucial point in the nearly two-year-old conflict, leaving Ukrainian soldiers without ample ammunition and missiles as Russian President Putin has mounted relentless attacks.

Ukraine's cause still enjoys support from many Senate Republicans, including GOP leader Mitch McConnell, but the question vexing lawmakers has always been how to craft a package that could clear the Republican-controlled House.

A pairing of border policies and aid for allies — first proposed by Republicans — was intended to help squeeze the package through the House where archconservatives hold control. But GOP senators —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-15e2e3fac2b29b5b4bbe1eae8eb1c924">some within minutes of the bill's release Sunday</a>&nbsp;— rejected the compromise as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-trump-biden-2d2f804057a77bfaa41e64ab601f9b0e">election-year politics</a>.

The wartime funding also would invest in domestic defense manufacturing, send funding to allies in Asia, and provide $10 billion for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other places.

Schumer said the revamped package would include legislation to authorize sanctions and anti-money laundering tools against criminal enterprises that traffic fentanyl into the U.S. A separate section of the compromise border legislation that would have provided a long-awaited&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghan-allies-kabul-congress-taliban-8ffcd4df9398194f1ed2b5369ba33f6a">pathway to residency for tens of thousands of Afghan refugees</a>&nbsp;was dropped in the slimmed-down bill.

It was not clear whether the new plan, even if it passed the Senate, would gain support from House Speaker Mike Johnson. House Republicans are still insisting on a border plan, even though they rejected the deal negotiated in the Senate as insufficient.

“We'll see what the Senate does,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday morning. “We're going to allow the process to play out.”

Some were skeptical that a standalone aid package would be viable in the House.

“I don’t see how that moves in this chamber. I don’t know how the speaker puts that on the floor,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said, adding that he still wanted tougher border policies attached.

After Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, eviscerated the Senate's bipartisan border proposal, Johnson quickly rejected it. Trump has also led many Republicans to question supporting Ukraine, suggesting he could negotiate an end to the war and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-russia-ukraine-trump-war-130e617cfebebeeba61044a0cb68a933">lavishing praise</a>&nbsp;on Russian President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-dc89488c40360150afeeb25941bd44fc">Vladimir Putin</a>, including after Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Johnson said this week he wanted to handle wartime aid for Israel and Ukraine in separate packages, but a bill he advanced that only included funds for Israel failed on the House floor Tuesday night.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that the “only path forward” is a comprehensive approach that includes funding for U.S. allies around the world, as well as humanitarian support for civilians caught in conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

The White House said that Biden believes there should be new border policy but would also support moving the aid for Ukraine and Israel alone, as he has from the start.

“We support this bill which would protect America’s national security interests by stopping Putin’s onslaught in Ukraine before he turns to other countries, helping Israel defend itself against Hamas terrorists and delivering live-saving humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian civilians," said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.

“Even if some congressional Republicans’ commitment to border security hinges on politics, President Biden’s does not.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707338543070.png" alt="Members of the U.S. Senate during the Wednesday afternoon vote count -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Members of the U.S. Senate during the Wednesday afternoon vote count -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan border package Wednesday, scuttling months of negotiations with Democrats on legislation intended to cut back record numbers of illegal border crossings.Many Republicans said the election-year compromise&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-bill-ukraine-b386eae0c4947497da931870dbcb28a0">wasn't enough</a>, even as supporters of the bill insisted it was the best possible in divided government.The 49-50 vote, far short of the 60 ayes needed to take up the bill, came after most Republicans said they&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-a39e188fa2c6a563203d2c69eaabdc6d">would vote against the legislation,</a>&nbsp;which also includes $60 billion in wartime aid to Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel and was backed by President Joe Biden. GOP lawmakers had insisted that the money for conflicts abroad be paired with help for the U.S. border. Nebraska U.S. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts voted with the majority. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah were the only Republicans who voted to advance.Forcing the showdown with Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier that he would try to salvage the wartime funding, and would next push ahead on a crucial test vote for tens of billions of dollars for Kyiv, Israel and other U.S. allies — a modified package with the border portion stripped out.The bipartisan group of senators who negotiated the compromise for the last four months said it was a missed opportunity to try and make some progress toward one of the most intractable issues in American politics.In a speech on the Senate floor just before the vote, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said that it was a chance for the Senate to decide “if we’re going to do nothing, or something.”“It’s an issue that’s bedevilled, quite frankly, this body for decades,” Lankford said. “It’s been three decades since we’ve passed anything into law to be able to change border security.”Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona blamed Republicans for not giving the bill a chance.“Finally, it seemed, we had the opportunity to solve the nightmare my state has lived for over 40 years,” she said.Four Republicans voted to move forward with the legislation and six Democrats voted against it, some of whom said the border compromise went too far.It is unclear if enough Republicans will vote to move ahead with the standalone legislation for the wartime aid, which also would need 60 votes in the 51-49 Senate. If it did pass, it would still take days for the Senate to reach a final vote.As some Republicans have grown skeptical of sending money to Ukraine in its war with Russia, Schumer said that “history will cast a permanent and shameful shadow” on those who attempt to block it.“Will the Senate stand up to brutish thugs like Vladimir Putin and reassure our friends abroad that America will never abandon them in the hour of need?” Schumer asked as he opened the Senate.The roughly $60 billion in Ukraine aid has been stalled in Congress for months because of growing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-congress-border-immigration-china-31075fce7dfcb3aaa6d3eb595e62ed09">opposition from hardline conservatives</a>&nbsp;in the House and Senate who criticize it as wasteful and demand an exit strategy for the war.“We still need to secure America’s borders before sending another dime overseas,” Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wrote in a post on X.The impasse means that the U.S. has halted arms shipments to Kyiv at a crucial point in the nearly two-year-old conflict, leaving Ukrainian soldiers without ample ammunition and missiles as Russian President Putin has mounted relentless attacks.Ukraine's cause still enjoys support from many Senate Republicans, including GOP leader Mitch McConnell, but the question vexing lawmakers has always been how to craft a package that could clear the Republican-controlled House.A pairing of border policies and aid for allies — first proposed by Republicans — was intended to help squeeze the package through the House where archconservatives hold control. But GOP senators —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-15e2e3fac2b29b5b4bbe1eae8eb1c924">some within minutes of the bill's release Sunday</a>&nbsp;— rejected the compromise as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-trump-biden-2d2f804057a77bfaa41e64ab601f9b0e">election-year politics</a>.The wartime funding also would invest in domestic defense manufacturing, send funding to allies in Asia, and provide $10 billion for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other places.Schumer said the revamped package would include legislation to authorize sanctions and anti-money laundering tools against criminal enterprises that traffic fentanyl into the U.S. A separate section of the compromise border legislation that would have provided a long-awaited&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghan-allies-kabul-congress-taliban-8ffcd4df9398194f1ed2b5369ba33f6a">pathway to residency for tens of thousands of Afghan refugees</a>&nbsp;was dropped in the slimmed-down bill.It was not clear whether the new plan, even if it passed the Senate, would gain support from House Speaker Mike Johnson. House Republicans are still insisting on a border plan, even though they rejected the deal negotiated in the Senate as insufficient.“We'll see what the Senate does,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday morning. “We're going to allow the process to play out.”Some were skeptical that a standalone aid package would be viable in the House.“I don’t see how that moves in this chamber. I don’t know how the speaker puts that on the floor,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said, adding that he still wanted tougher border policies attached.After Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, eviscerated the Senate's bipartisan border proposal, Johnson quickly rejected it. Trump has also led many Republicans to question supporting Ukraine, suggesting he could negotiate an end to the war and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-russia-ukraine-trump-war-130e617cfebebeeba61044a0cb68a933">lavishing praise</a>&nbsp;on Russian President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-dc89488c40360150afeeb25941bd44fc">Vladimir Putin</a>, including after Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Johnson said this week he wanted to handle wartime aid for Israel and Ukraine in separate packages, but a bill he advanced that only included funds for Israel failed on the House floor Tuesday night.House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that the “only path forward” is a comprehensive approach that includes funding for U.S. allies around the world, as well as humanitarian support for civilians caught in conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.The White House said that Biden believes there should be new border policy but would also support moving the aid for Ukraine and Israel alone, as he has from the start.“We support this bill which would protect America’s national security interests by stopping Putin’s onslaught in Ukraine before he turns to other countries, helping Israel defend itself against Hamas terrorists and delivering live-saving humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian civilians," said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.“Even if some congressional Republicans’ commitment to border security hinges on politics, President Biden’s does not.”__

Fischer, Ricketts help Senate Republicans block $118B border deal

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has approved an agreement between two tribes and an eastern Nebraska county that gives Native American voters a majority in five of the county's seven board districts.

Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Rossiter Jr. called the agreement a “fair, reasonable and adequate” settlement of a lawsuit in which the Winnebago and Omaha tribes alleged that Thurston County and its board of supervisors violated the Voting Rights Act with a district map adopted in 2022.

“The settlement reasonably resolves difficult voting rights issues in a manner that is fair to all parties,” Rossiter said in his Jan. 26 ruling.

Thurston County is on Nebraska's border with Iowa, between Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa. Much of it overlaps the two tribes’ reservations. Native Americans make up 50.3% of the county’s voting age population, compared to 43% for whites.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-courts/voting-rights-winnebago-omaha-tribe-thurston/article_62e9fc0c-c09f-11ee-8b0f-b31fb6d083cb.html">Sioux City Journal reported</a>&nbsp;that the settlement includes a new district map, which the county has approved for this year’s election.

The tribes and nine individuals sued in January 2023, saying the 2022 map violated federal law because it did not provide Native American voters a fair chance to elect candidates of their choice in at least four of the seven districts. The map gave them a clear majority in only three.

The county board currently has two Native American and five white members.

The parties reached agreement on a redrawn map in November.

“This is the third time the county has been sued under the Voting Rights Act and the third time the county has had to take court-ordered corrective action. Hopefully this is the last time this has to be done,” said Mike Carter, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund.

The county had denied the discrimination claims. But Board Chairman Glen Meyer said the agreement was reached amicably.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has approved an agreement between two tribes and an eastern Nebraska county that gives Native American voters a majority in five of the county's seven board districts.Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Rossiter Jr. called the agreement a “fair, reasonable and adequate” settlement of a lawsuit in which the Winnebago and Omaha tribes alleged that Thurston County and its board of supervisors violated the Voting Rights Act with a district map adopted in 2022.“The settlement reasonably resolves difficult voting rights issues in a manner that is fair to all parties,” Rossiter said in his Jan. 26 ruling.Thurston County is on Nebraska's border with Iowa, between Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa. Much of it overlaps the two tribes’ reservations. Native Americans make up 50.3% of the county’s voting age population, compared to 43% for whites.The&nbsp;<a href="https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-courts/voting-rights-winnebago-omaha-tribe-thurston/article_62e9fc0c-c09f-11ee-8b0f-b31fb6d083cb.html">Sioux City Journal reported</a>&nbsp;that the settlement includes a new district map, which the county has approved for this year’s election.The tribes and nine individuals sued in January 2023, saying the 2022 map violated federal law because it did not provide Native American voters a fair chance to elect candidates of their choice in at least four of the seven districts. The map gave them a clear majority in only three.The county board currently has two Native American and five white members.The parties reached agreement on a redrawn map in November.“This is the third time the county has been sued under the Voting Rights Act and the third time the county has had to take court-ordered corrective action. Hopefully this is the last time this has to be done,” said Mike Carter, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund.The county had denied the discrimination claims. But Board Chairman Glen Meyer said the agreement was reached amicably.

Federal judge approves election map settlement between Nebraska county and 2 tribes

BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. drone strike hit a car in the Iraqi capital Wednesday night, killing three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, officials said.

The strike came on a main thoroughfare in the Mashtal neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. A crowd gathered as emergency response teams picked through the wreckage. Security forces closed off the heavily guarded Green Zone, where a number of diplomatic compounds are located, amid calls for protesters to storm the U.S. embassy.

Two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said that a senior Kataib Hezbollah commander was targeted in a U.S. strike on Wednesday in Iraq. They were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Two officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq said that one of the three killed was Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al-Saadi, the commander in charge of Kataib Hezbollah’s operations in Syria. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to journalists.

The strike came amid roiling tensions in the region and days after the U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-american-service-members-killed-jordan-iran-5cb774fd835a558d840ae91263037489">drone strike that killed three U.S. troops</a>&nbsp;in Jordan in late January.

The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the attack in Jordan, and officials have said they suspect Kataib Hezbollah in particular of leading it.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has regularly claimed strikes on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria against the backdrop of the ongoing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>, saying that they are in retaliation for Washington's support of Israel in its war in Gaza that has killed 27,707 Palestinians, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory</a>.

Kataib Hezbollah had said in a statement that it was suspending attacks on American troops to avoid “embarrassing the Iraqi government” after the strike in Jordan, but others have vowed to continue fighting.

On Sunday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-iraq-sdf-islamic-resistance-us-c621972db21d6b3db7ca1bccd50ce6ef?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=share">claimed a drone attack</a>&nbsp;on a base housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria killed six fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group allied with the United States.

The latest surge in the regional conflict came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-02-07-2024-6ceffca2970243cd039e90268c32c617">rejected terms proposed by Hamas</a>&nbsp;for a hostage-release agreement that would lead to a permanent cease-fire, vowing to continue the war until “absolute victory.”

Also on Wednesday, the media office of the Houthi rebels in Yemen reported two airstrikes in Ras Issa area in Salif district in Hodeida province.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. drone strike hit a car in the Iraqi capital Wednesday night, killing three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, officials said.The strike came on a main thoroughfare in the Mashtal neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. A crowd gathered as emergency response teams picked through the wreckage. Security forces closed off the heavily guarded Green Zone, where a number of diplomatic compounds are located, amid calls for protesters to storm the U.S. embassy.Two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said that a senior Kataib Hezbollah commander was targeted in a U.S. strike on Wednesday in Iraq. They were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.Two officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq said that one of the three killed was Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al-Saadi, the commander in charge of Kataib Hezbollah’s operations in Syria. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to journalists.The strike came amid roiling tensions in the region and days after the U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-american-service-members-killed-jordan-iran-5cb774fd835a558d840ae91263037489">drone strike that killed three U.S. troops</a>&nbsp;in Jordan in late January.The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the attack in Jordan, and officials have said they suspect Kataib Hezbollah in particular of leading it.The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has regularly claimed strikes on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria against the backdrop of the ongoing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>, saying that they are in retaliation for Washington's support of Israel in its war in Gaza that has killed 27,707 Palestinians, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-health-ministry-health-death-toll-59470820308b31f1faf73c703400b033">the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory</a>.Kataib Hezbollah had said in a statement that it was suspending attacks on American troops to avoid “embarrassing the Iraqi government” after the strike in Jordan, but others have vowed to continue fighting.On Sunday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-iraq-sdf-islamic-resistance-us-c621972db21d6b3db7ca1bccd50ce6ef?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=share">claimed a drone attack</a>&nbsp;on a base housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria killed six fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group allied with the United States.The latest surge in the regional conflict came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-02-07-2024-6ceffca2970243cd039e90268c32c617">rejected terms proposed by Hamas</a>&nbsp;for a hostage-release agreement that would lead to a permanent cease-fire, vowing to continue the war until “absolute victory.”Also on Wednesday, the media office of the Houthi rebels in Yemen reported two airstrikes in Ras Issa area in Salif district in Hodeida province.

U.S. drone strike in Baghdad kills high-ranking militia commander

A bill that would allow teachers and other staff in schools to be armed in the hopes of deterring school shootings drew dozens of people and some emotional testimony to the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee on Tuesday.

State Sen. Tom Brewer's bill is among the latest in GOP-led state legislatures across the country embracing bills expanding gun rights.

The Nebraska bill is made up of three parts. It would give local school boards the ability to allow off-duty law enforcement to carry guns onto school property and create detailed maps of schools' buildings and grounds to give to local law enforcement and first responders to use in the event of a school shooting.

It would also allow for teachers or other school staff to be armed, as long as they undertook gun handling and safety training.

The bill is needed in Nebraska's rural districts, Brewer said, where schools can be many miles away from the nearest law enforcement and rarely have access to resource officers that are prevalent in cities like Omaha and Lincoln.

At least 32 states have laws allowing teachers or other school staff to be armed during school hours, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. That includes all of Nebraska's neighboring states, including Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota.

“We are an island that has decided not to protect our children,” he said.

Most of those testifying in favor of the bill focused on its school mapping provision. Even opponents of the bill said they supported its school mapping.

But the sanctioning of armed school staff drew some emotional testimony, including from one teacher who was present for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/eb88a86b47024f28bd370bc2f41952dd">deadly school shooting</a>&nbsp;in Omaha 13 years ago.

Tim Royers, president of the Millard Education Association, told the committee he was in his school's lunchroom overseeing students on Jan. 5, 2011, when someone announced over the school's speakers, “Code Red.”

Royers and other teachers scrambled to gather as many students as possible and search for a room in which to hide.

“I will never forget the looks on those students’ faces,” he said.

Authorities later said that a 17-year-old student — the son of an Omaha police detective — had been suspended from Millard South High School, but he returned that same day with his father's service revolver. He fatally shot the assistant principal and wounded the school's principal before fatally shooting himself.

In the years since, he has never heard any educators express a desire to be armed, Royer said.

“But I've had plenty of them tell me that a provision like this would drive them out of the profession,” he said to the committee.

Brewer said those opposing the bill aren't being fair to schools in rural areas that “are unable to fill law enforcement positions, let alone resource officer positions.”

Brewer has long been an opponent of laws regulating guns. A bill that he pushed since he was first elected in 2016 to allow Nebraska residents to carry concealed guns&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/constitutional-carry-bill-nebraska-a8168215d00c1e4bf51017e82e8da80b">without a permit</a>&nbsp;was passed and enacted last year. Similar to other so-called constitutional carry laws in other states, it allows people to carry guns hidden in their clothing or vehicle without having to pay for a government permit or take a gun safety course.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707335363419.jpeg" alt="FILE - Neb. State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon speaks during debate, Jan. 8, 2018, in the Legislative Chamber in Lincoln, Neb. Brewer's bill, which would allow teachers and other staff in schools to be armed in the hopes of deterring school shootings, drew dozens of people and some emotional testimony to the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - Neb. State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon speaks during debate, Jan. 8, 2018, in the Legislative Chamber in Lincoln, Neb. Brewer's bill, which would allow teachers and other staff in schools to be armed in the hopes of deterring school shootings, drew dozens of people and some emotional testimony to the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>Associated PressA bill that would allow teachers and other staff in schools to be armed in the hopes of deterring school shootings drew dozens of people and some emotional testimony to the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee on Tuesday.State Sen. Tom Brewer's bill is among the latest in GOP-led state legislatures across the country embracing bills expanding gun rights.The Nebraska bill is made up of three parts. It would give local school boards the ability to allow off-duty law enforcement to carry guns onto school property and create detailed maps of schools' buildings and grounds to give to local law enforcement and first responders to use in the event of a school shooting.It would also allow for teachers or other school staff to be armed, as long as they undertook gun handling and safety training.The bill is needed in Nebraska's rural districts, Brewer said, where schools can be many miles away from the nearest law enforcement and rarely have access to resource officers that are prevalent in cities like Omaha and Lincoln.At least 32 states have laws allowing teachers or other school staff to be armed during school hours, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. That includes all of Nebraska's neighboring states, including Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota.“We are an island that has decided not to protect our children,” he said.Most of those testifying in favor of the bill focused on its school mapping provision. Even opponents of the bill said they supported its school mapping.But the sanctioning of armed school staff drew some emotional testimony, including from one teacher who was present for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/eb88a86b47024f28bd370bc2f41952dd">deadly school shooting</a>&nbsp;in Omaha 13 years ago.Tim Royers, president of the Millard Education Association, told the committee he was in his school's lunchroom overseeing students on Jan. 5, 2011, when someone announced over the school's speakers, “Code Red.”Royers and other teachers scrambled to gather as many students as possible and search for a room in which to hide.“I will never forget the looks on those students’ faces,” he said.Authorities later said that a 17-year-old student — the son of an Omaha police detective — had been suspended from Millard South High School, but he returned that same day with his father's service revolver. He fatally shot the assistant principal and wounded the school's principal before fatally shooting himself.In the years since, he has never heard any educators express a desire to be armed, Royer said.“But I've had plenty of them tell me that a provision like this would drive them out of the profession,” he said to the committee.Brewer said those opposing the bill aren't being fair to schools in rural areas that “are unable to fill law enforcement positions, let alone resource officer positions.”Brewer has long been an opponent of laws regulating guns. A bill that he pushed since he was first elected in 2016 to allow Nebraska residents to carry concealed guns&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/constitutional-carry-bill-nebraska-a8168215d00c1e4bf51017e82e8da80b">without a permit</a>&nbsp;was passed and enacted last year. Similar to other so-called constitutional carry laws in other states, it allows people to carry guns hidden in their clothing or vehicle without having to pay for a government permit or take a gun safety course.

A bill that would allow armed teachers in Nebraska schools prompts emotional testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to return to the White House is in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-insurrection-2024-election-0baac5ba0c1868e437e365af17eeab24">hands of the U.S. Supreme Court</a>.

On Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-election-insurrection-719eac1b23ee7103c5d84914156e4236">the justices will hear arguments</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-insurrection-trump-ballot-disqualification-5ba83d718b97150447acf15cee75c7a3">Trump’s appeal</a>&nbsp;of a Colorado Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-d16dd8f354eeaf450558378c65fd79a2">ruling</a>&nbsp;that he is not eligible to run again for president because he violated a provision in the 14th Amendment preventing those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

Many legal observers expect the nation’s highest court will reverse the Colorado ruling rather than remove the leading contender for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elections">Republican presidential nomination</a>&nbsp;from the ballot. But it’s always tricky to try to predict a Supreme Court ruling, and the case against Trump has already broken new legal ground.

Some of the main issues involved in the 14th Amendment case:

It’s called&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">Section 3</a>&nbsp;and it’s pretty brief. It reads:

“No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

Trump’s lawyers say this part of the Constitution wasn’t meant to apply to the president. Notice how it specifically mentions electors, senators and representatives, but not the presidency.

It also says those who take an oath to “support” the United States, but the presidential oath doesn’t use that word. Instead, the Constitution requires presidents to say they will “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution. And finally, Section 3 talks about any other “officer” of the United States, but Trump’s lawyers argue that language is meant to apply to presidential appointees, not the president.

That was enough to convince the Colorado district court judge who initially heard the case. She found that Trump had engaged in insurrection,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-amendment-2024-ballot-colorado-5b6e40f069abc1b8604ec37c46621055">but also agreed</a>&nbsp;that it wasn’t clear that Section 3 applied to the president. That part of her decision was reversed by the Colorado Supreme Court.

The majority of the state’s highest court wrote: “President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oath-breaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land.”

Trump's lawyers contend that the question of who is covered by a rarely used, once obscure clause should be decided by Congress, not unelected judges. They contend that the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">attack on the U.S. Capitol</a>&nbsp;wasn’t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-election-64ea3e076af335a3e1bce6d7620d58a3">an insurrection</a>. They say the attack wasn’t widespread, didn’t involve large amounts of firearms or include other markers of sedition. They say Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-ballot-14th-amendment-colorado-6a8528813e29c9f45a0bb4972369e97e">didn’t “engage”</a>&nbsp;in anything that day other than in exercising his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-speech-colorado-9626b6ae8479e6a4ce34c3391f207426">protected free speech rights</a>.

Others who have been skeptical of applying Section 3 to Trump have made an argument that the dissenting Colorado Supreme Court justices also found persuasive: The way the court went about finding that Trump violated Section 3 violated the former president’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-14th-amendment-insurrection-colorado-280bc28e57a965a8d6e4d3329dc6aa07">due process rights</a>. They contend he was entitled to a structured legal process rather than a court in Colorado trying to figure out if the Constitution applied to him.

That gets at the unprecedented nature of the cases. Section 3 has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-ca5a632f46066bc31349849fe60a781a">rarely been used</a>&nbsp;after an 1872 congressional amnesty excluded most former Confederates from it. The U.S. Supreme Court has never heard such a case.

Arguments about legal precedents go back to a lone 1869 opinion from Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who was hearing an appeal as a circuit judge rather than for the high court.

The Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-supreme-court-colorado-2b9d5b628cb2779fc84212cdc651e4e7">case is historic</a>&nbsp;and is expected to create new law.

Not really. A lot of Democrats are rooting for Trump to get kicked off the ballot and a lot of Republicans are angry about the campaign against him. The case was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group.

But some of the most vocal proponents of removing Trump from the ballot are conservative legal scholars who believe in following the strict words of the Constitution. There’s no way around the insurrection disqualification for Trump, they argue, adding it's there in the plain text and was intended by the authors. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8">plaintiffs in Colorado</a>&nbsp;are all Republicans or unaffiliated voters.

All seven of the justices on Colorado’s Supreme Court were appointed by Democrats. But they split 4-3 on the decision, a stark demonstration that this case doesn’t divide neatly along partisan lines.

The majority quoted a ruling from Neil Gorsuch, one of Trump’s conservative Supreme Court nominees, from when he was a federal judge in Colorado. He ruled then that the state properly kept a naturalized citizen born in Guyana off the presidential ballot because the he didn’t meet the constitutional qualifications.

In Maine, the Democratic secretary of state also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-trump-presidential-ballot-election-insurrection-081fd38ce1f20be9b8423cb2f8c66dee">removed Trump</a>&nbsp;from the ballot. But in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-ballot-illinois-8709a8dbf12f845ed30fce22c9bff469">Illinois</a>, a Republican retired judge serving as a hearing officer for the state Board of Election suggested keeping Trump on, but only because he thought courts should decide on eligibility. The retired judge found it was likely Trump was disqualified due to Section 3, making him a notable Republican to side with those trying to remove the former president.

The U.S. Supreme Court is comprised of six justices nominating by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/republican-party">Republican presidents</a>, including three by Trump. Partly because this is completely new legal ground, it’s hard to predict how individual justices will rule based on their ideology.

Several outcomes are possible but they generally fall into three areas.

The first is the court could uphold Colorado’s ruling. That would require wins for the plaintiffs on the whole array of Trump's defenses.

The second is the court could rule that Trump cannot be disqualified under Section 3, period. There are a lot of ways the court could do this, but the result would be to end the case against him, as well as dozens of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-michigan-b2a870f98a60dffbe4c9566cfe97457c">similar challenges</a>&nbsp;filed across the country.

The third possibility unnerves a lot of legal experts. The court could effectively punt and not make a final decision on whether Trump is qualified to serve as president. That could kick the question down the road to Jan. 6, 2025, if he wins the election and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-house-speaker-2024-election-certification-8cd7c5a9e6ae69635bbb4624cc78e5c5#:~:text=Mike%20Johnson%2C%20the%20Louisiana%20congressman,Biden's%202020%20presidential%20election%20win">Congress has to decide</a>&nbsp;whether to certify his victory.

It also would keep alive many of the challenges across the country. A number of them are on hold because state courts are waiting to see what the U.S. Supreme Court will do. Places where a Trump challenge could be rekindled if the high court doesn’t squelch it include&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-ballot-illinois-8709a8dbf12f845ed30fce22c9bff469">Illinois</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-election-president-f6b72c94bb351c1b870d4884e54f6a75">Minnesota</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-oregon-14th-amendment-supreme-court-f9e80393633c3f232c2225b91928e75a">Oregon</a>. It could add further pressure to challenge Trump’s position on the ballot in other Democratic strongholds such as California and New York, where there have been pushes to invalidate his candidacy that have been comparatively muted.

While the Trump campaign says more than 60 Section 3 cases have been filed nationally, most are by low-profile figures and have generally been dismissed for procedural issues. Uncertainty from the nation's highest court could encourage a new wave of cases in those states, too.

The lack of a clear ruling also could create counter-challenges. Republicans have warned that Section 3 also can be applied to Democrats.

Some already have proposed filing against Biden under the theory that his inability to stem the flow of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border amounts to providing “aid and comfort” to the country’s enemies. Vice President Kamala Harris also could be targeted under the theory that her raising bail money for people arrested during the protests over George Floyd’s 2020 murder by Minneapolis police amounts to “engaging in insurrection.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1706097331546.png" alt="File -Trump celebrating his primary election victory i New Hampshire last month-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File -Trump celebrating his primary election victory i New Hampshire last month-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to return to the White House is in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-insurrection-2024-election-0baac5ba0c1868e437e365af17eeab24">hands of the U.S. Supreme Court</a>.On Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-election-insurrection-719eac1b23ee7103c5d84914156e4236">the justices will hear arguments</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-insurrection-trump-ballot-disqualification-5ba83d718b97150447acf15cee75c7a3">Trump’s appeal</a>&nbsp;of a Colorado Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-d16dd8f354eeaf450558378c65fd79a2">ruling</a>&nbsp;that he is not eligible to run again for president because he violated a provision in the 14th Amendment preventing those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.Many legal observers expect the nation’s highest court will reverse the Colorado ruling rather than remove the leading contender for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elections">Republican presidential nomination</a>&nbsp;from the ballot. But it’s always tricky to try to predict a Supreme Court ruling, and the case against Trump has already broken new legal ground.Some of the main issues involved in the 14th Amendment case:WHAT DID TRUMP POTENTIALLY VIOLATE?It’s called&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">Section 3</a>&nbsp;and it’s pretty brief. It reads:“No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability.”Nice and simple, right?Not so fast, Trump’s lawyers say.TRUMP’S DEFENSETrump’s lawyers say this part of the Constitution wasn’t meant to apply to the president. Notice how it specifically mentions electors, senators and representatives, but not the presidency.It also says those who take an oath to “support” the United States, but the presidential oath doesn’t use that word. Instead, the Constitution requires presidents to say they will “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution. And finally, Section 3 talks about any other “officer” of the United States, but Trump’s lawyers argue that language is meant to apply to presidential appointees, not the president.That was enough to convince the Colorado district court judge who initially heard the case. She found that Trump had engaged in insurrection,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-amendment-2024-ballot-colorado-5b6e40f069abc1b8604ec37c46621055">but also agreed</a>&nbsp;that it wasn’t clear that Section 3 applied to the president. That part of her decision was reversed by the Colorado Supreme Court.The majority of the state’s highest court wrote: “President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oath-breaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land.”OTHER TRUMP ARGUMENTSTrump's lawyers contend that the question of who is covered by a rarely used, once obscure clause should be decided by Congress, not unelected judges. They contend that the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">attack on the U.S. Capitol</a>&nbsp;wasn’t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-election-64ea3e076af335a3e1bce6d7620d58a3">an insurrection</a>. They say the attack wasn’t widespread, didn’t involve large amounts of firearms or include other markers of sedition. They say Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-ballot-14th-amendment-colorado-6a8528813e29c9f45a0bb4972369e97e">didn’t “engage”</a>&nbsp;in anything that day other than in exercising his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-speech-colorado-9626b6ae8479e6a4ce34c3391f207426">protected free speech rights</a>.Others who have been skeptical of applying Section 3 to Trump have made an argument that the dissenting Colorado Supreme Court justices also found persuasive: The way the court went about finding that Trump violated Section 3 violated the former president’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-14th-amendment-insurrection-colorado-280bc28e57a965a8d6e4d3329dc6aa07">due process rights</a>. They contend he was entitled to a structured legal process rather than a court in Colorado trying to figure out if the Constitution applied to him.That gets at the unprecedented nature of the cases. Section 3 has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-ca5a632f46066bc31349849fe60a781a">rarely been used</a>&nbsp;after an 1872 congressional amnesty excluded most former Confederates from it. The U.S. Supreme Court has never heard such a case.Arguments about legal precedents go back to a lone 1869 opinion from Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who was hearing an appeal as a circuit judge rather than for the high court.The Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-supreme-court-colorado-2b9d5b628cb2779fc84212cdc651e4e7">case is historic</a>&nbsp;and is expected to create new law.ISN’T THIS JUST A PARTISAN CASE?Not really. A lot of Democrats are rooting for Trump to get kicked off the ballot and a lot of Republicans are angry about the campaign against him. The case was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group.But some of the most vocal proponents of removing Trump from the ballot are conservative legal scholars who believe in following the strict words of the Constitution. There’s no way around the insurrection disqualification for Trump, they argue, adding it's there in the plain text and was intended by the authors. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8">plaintiffs in Colorado</a>&nbsp;are all Republicans or unaffiliated voters.All seven of the justices on Colorado’s Supreme Court were appointed by Democrats. But they split 4-3 on the decision, a stark demonstration that this case doesn’t divide neatly along partisan lines.The majority quoted a ruling from Neil Gorsuch, one of Trump’s conservative Supreme Court nominees, from when he was a federal judge in Colorado. He ruled then that the state properly kept a naturalized citizen born in Guyana off the presidential ballot because the he didn’t meet the constitutional qualifications.In Maine, the Democratic secretary of state also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-trump-presidential-ballot-election-insurrection-081fd38ce1f20be9b8423cb2f8c66dee">removed Trump</a>&nbsp;from the ballot. But in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-ballot-illinois-8709a8dbf12f845ed30fce22c9bff469">Illinois</a>, a Republican retired judge serving as a hearing officer for the state Board of Election suggested keeping Trump on, but only because he thought courts should decide on eligibility. The retired judge found it was likely Trump was disqualified due to Section 3, making him a notable Republican to side with those trying to remove the former president.The U.S. Supreme Court is comprised of six justices nominating by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/republican-party">Republican presidents</a>, including three by Trump. Partly because this is completely new legal ground, it’s hard to predict how individual justices will rule based on their ideology.WHAT COULD THE COURT DO?Several outcomes are possible but they generally fall into three areas.The first is the court could uphold Colorado’s ruling. That would require wins for the plaintiffs on the whole array of Trump's defenses.The second is the court could rule that Trump cannot be disqualified under Section 3, period. There are a lot of ways the court could do this, but the result would be to end the case against him, as well as dozens of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-michigan-b2a870f98a60dffbe4c9566cfe97457c">similar challenges</a>&nbsp;filed across the country.The third possibility unnerves a lot of legal experts. The court could effectively punt and not make a final decision on whether Trump is qualified to serve as president. That could kick the question down the road to Jan. 6, 2025, if he wins the election and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-house-speaker-2024-election-certification-8cd7c5a9e6ae69635bbb4624cc78e5c5#:~:text=Mike%20Johnson%2C%20the%20Louisiana%20congressman,Biden's%202020%20presidential%20election%20win">Congress has to decide</a>&nbsp;whether to certify his victory.It also would keep alive many of the challenges across the country. A number of them are on hold because state courts are waiting to see what the U.S. Supreme Court will do. Places where a Trump challenge could be rekindled if the high court doesn’t squelch it include&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-ballot-illinois-8709a8dbf12f845ed30fce22c9bff469">Illinois</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-election-president-f6b72c94bb351c1b870d4884e54f6a75">Minnesota</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-oregon-14th-amendment-supreme-court-f9e80393633c3f232c2225b91928e75a">Oregon</a>. It could add further pressure to challenge Trump’s position on the ballot in other Democratic strongholds such as California and New York, where there have been pushes to invalidate his candidacy that have been comparatively muted.While the Trump campaign says more than 60 Section 3 cases have been filed nationally, most are by low-profile figures and have generally been dismissed for procedural issues. Uncertainty from the nation's highest court could encourage a new wave of cases in those states, too.The lack of a clear ruling also could create counter-challenges. Republicans have warned that Section 3 also can be applied to Democrats.Some already have proposed filing against Biden under the theory that his inability to stem the flow of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border amounts to providing “aid and comfort” to the country’s enemies. Vice President Kamala Harris also could be targeted under the theory that her raising bail money for people arrested during the protests over George Floyd’s 2020 murder by Minneapolis police amounts to “engaging in insurrection.”

Trump's presidential ballot future set for Supreme Court hearing 

&nbsp;(COLUMBUS, NEB.)&nbsp;&nbsp;— The Nebraska State Patrol Special Investigations Team is investigating a Columbus Police Department officer-involved shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon at a residence in the 3900 block of 38th&nbsp;Street. The Columbus Police Department was conducting a welfare check on a subject following a report of potential self-harm.

During the incident, an officer-involved shooting occurred. The subject, a 17-year-old male, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The Columbus Police Department requested the Nebraska State Patrol to conduct the in-custody death investigation. That investigation is ongoing. Additional information will be released when possible.

The Columbus Police Department has placed the involved officer on administrative leave.

Cody ThomasNebraska State Patrol&nbsp;(COLUMBUS, NEB.)&nbsp;&nbsp;— The Nebraska State Patrol Special Investigations Team is investigating a Columbus Police Department officer-involved shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon.The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon at a residence in the 3900 block of 38th&nbsp;Street. The Columbus Police Department was conducting a welfare check on a subject following a report of potential self-harm.During the incident, an officer-involved shooting occurred. The subject, a 17-year-old male, was pronounced deceased at the scene.The Columbus Police Department requested the Nebraska State Patrol to conduct the in-custody death investigation. That investigation is ongoing. Additional information will be released when possible.The Columbus Police Department has placed the involved officer on administrative leave.

Nebraska State Patrol Investigating Columbus PD Officer-Involved Shooting

U.S Drug Enforcement - Omaha Division

OMAHA, Neb. –&nbsp;The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has launched a new campaign encouraging the public to Make Every Day Take Back Day by utilizing year-round collection sites to dispose of unneeded and unwanted medications.

The DEA has registered a record 17,000 pharmacies nationwide, including 1,106 within the five state DEA Omaha Division, as authorized collectors to help Americans dispose of unused prescription drugs any day of the year. These safe disposal receptacles, in addition to DEA’s annual Take Back Day events, provide the public with an easy, no-cost opportunity to anonymously dispose of medications that are no longer needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We are truly grateful for the registrants hosting these year-round collection sites within our Midwestern communities,” DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Steven T. Bell said. “This is a tremendous example of communities working together to help remove the temptation to experiment from medicine cabinets across the country.”

For more than a decade, the DEA has worked with state and local law enforcement partners to host National Prescription Drug Take Back Days that allow Americans an opportunity to rid their homes of unneeded medications. The Take Back program has received an overwhelming response from communities across the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a>In 2023, the DEA Omaha Division collected nearly 31,000 pounds of unneeded medications at more than 350 sites during two, one-day events.&nbsp;</a>

Take Back Day has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unwanted or expired medications. These medications can be a gateway to addiction and have helped fuel the opioid epidemic. According to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a majority of people who use a prescription medication for a nonmedical purpose obtained that medication from a family member or friend.&nbsp; Removing unnecessary medications from the home can help prevent situations involving not taking medication as intended or dosed; taking someone else’s prescription; and taking the medicine for euphoric effects rather than medicinal purposes.

Help Make Every Day Take Back Day and use the&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main;jsessionid=xsdyiPoTdyxhMFpuuXipOF5RD1K6-SLqCq6xtYbQ.web2?execution=e1s1" target="_blank">locator site</a>&nbsp;to find a pharmacy, hospital or business with a DEA-registered year-round collection near you.&nbsp;<a>In addition, many local police departments provide year-round drug disposal boxes.</a>

U.S Drug Enforcement - Omaha DivisionOMAHA, Neb. –&nbsp;The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has launched a new campaign encouraging the public to Make Every Day Take Back Day by utilizing year-round collection sites to dispose of unneeded and unwanted medications.The DEA has registered a record 17,000 pharmacies nationwide, including 1,106 within the five state DEA Omaha Division, as authorized collectors to help Americans dispose of unused prescription drugs any day of the year. These safe disposal receptacles, in addition to DEA’s annual Take Back Day events, provide the public with an easy, no-cost opportunity to anonymously dispose of medications that are no longer needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We are truly grateful for the registrants hosting these year-round collection sites within our Midwestern communities,” DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Steven T. Bell said. “This is a tremendous example of communities working together to help remove the temptation to experiment from medicine cabinets across the country.”For more than a decade, the DEA has worked with state and local law enforcement partners to host National Prescription Drug Take Back Days that allow Americans an opportunity to rid their homes of unneeded medications. The Take Back program has received an overwhelming response from communities across the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a>In 2023, the DEA Omaha Division collected nearly 31,000 pounds of unneeded medications at more than 350 sites during two, one-day events.&nbsp;</a>Take Back Day has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unwanted or expired medications. These medications can be a gateway to addiction and have helped fuel the opioid epidemic. According to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a majority of people who use a prescription medication for a nonmedical purpose obtained that medication from a family member or friend.&nbsp; Removing unnecessary medications from the home can help prevent situations involving not taking medication as intended or dosed; taking someone else’s prescription; and taking the medicine for euphoric effects rather than medicinal purposes.Help Make Every Day Take Back Day and use the&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main;jsessionid=xsdyiPoTdyxhMFpuuXipOF5RD1K6-SLqCq6xtYbQ.web2?execution=e1s1" target="_blank">locator site</a>&nbsp;to find a pharmacy, hospital or business with a DEA-registered year-round collection near you.&nbsp;<a>In addition, many local police departments provide year-round drug disposal boxes.</a>

DEA Encourages Communities to Make Every Day Take Back Day

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Two ships traveling in Middle East waters were targeted by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-houthis-red-sea-jake-sullivan-yemen-ff507d06a7a44d6f3644f128e7766b3d">Yemen Houthi rebel</a>&nbsp;ballistic missile fire early Tuesday, authorities said, in the latest assaults in the Iranian-backed fighters' campaign of targeting vessels over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The first attack happened in the southern part of the Red Sea, west of the Yemeni port of Hodeida, with the projectile causing “slight damage” to the Barbados-flagged, United Kingdom-owned cargo ship Morning Tide's bridge windows, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. A small vessel had been nearby the ship before the attack, it added.

The Houthis carried out the attack using three anti-ship ballistic missiles, the United States military's Central Command said early Wednesday.

The Morning Tide’s owner, British firm Furadino Shipping, told The Associated Press no one was hurt in the attack and the ship was continuing onward to Singapore.

A second ship, the Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Star Nasia, also came under fire from three Houthi ballistic missiles, Central Command said. The USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, shot down one missile, the military said. An explosion from one of the missiles caused “minor damage but no injuries” on the Star Narsia, the Central Command said.

A military spokesperson of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed both attacks in a statement.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s offensive in Gaza</a>. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks.

The U.S. and Britain struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday. An air assault Friday in Iraq and Syria targeted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">other Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-american-service-members-killed-jordan-iran-5cb774fd835a558d840ae91263037489">drone strike that killed three U.S. troops</a>&nbsp;in Jordan.

Central Command also acknowledged an attack Monday on the Houthis, in which they attacked what they described as two Houthi drone boats loaded with explosives.

American forces “determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region,” the military said. “These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels.”

Separately, the White House on Tuesday walked back an earlier statement that it had alerted the Iraqi government prior to carrying out Friday's Iraq and Syria strikes. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters shortly after the strikes that Iraqi official were given advance warning about the U.S.-led operation. He said the assertion was based on information that was provided to him by U.S. officials.

“Turns out that information was incorrect,” said Kirby. He added that he regretted the error.

Kirby’s initial comments generated controversy in Iraq and vehement denials by officials in Baghdad. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has sought to walk a delicate line between the U.S. and Iran-backed armed groups in his country, many of which have associated political parties in the coalition that brought his government to power.

Sudani has condemned attacks on American troops, but has also pushed back against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-jordan-dignified-transfer-dover-140000aa392fee8175616d8af813c0eb">U.S. retaliatory strikes</a>. Some of those strikes have hit facilities connected to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite, Iran-backed militias that was officially made part of the Iraqi military after joining the fight against the Islamic State in 2014 — although in practice, the militias continue to operate largely outside of state control.

Sudani has also called for an end to a U.S.-led coalition formed to fight IS. Some 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq as part of the mission. In late January, Iraqi and U.S. military officials launched a series of formal discussions on winding down the coalition’s presence. The talks were then suspended after the Jan. 28 strike in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops, but are expected to resume again in the coming weeks.

Iraq’s representative to the United Nations, Abbas Kadhim Obaid, speaking Tuesday as the U.N. Security Council met, condemned the U.S. strikes, as well as recent strikes launched by Turkey and Iran on Iraqi turf, as a breach of the country’s sovereignty.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707001115180.png" alt="Image from video of launches from US. Warships supporting strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi targets over the weekend-U.S. Central CommandU.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Image from video of launches from US. Warships supporting strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi targets over the weekend-U.S. Central CommandU.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Two ships traveling in Middle East waters were targeted by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-houthis-red-sea-jake-sullivan-yemen-ff507d06a7a44d6f3644f128e7766b3d">Yemen Houthi rebel</a>&nbsp;ballistic missile fire early Tuesday, authorities said, in the latest assaults in the Iranian-backed fighters' campaign of targeting vessels over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.The first attack happened in the southern part of the Red Sea, west of the Yemeni port of Hodeida, with the projectile causing “slight damage” to the Barbados-flagged, United Kingdom-owned cargo ship Morning Tide's bridge windows, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. A small vessel had been nearby the ship before the attack, it added.The Houthis carried out the attack using three anti-ship ballistic missiles, the United States military's Central Command said early Wednesday.The Morning Tide’s owner, British firm Furadino Shipping, told The Associated Press no one was hurt in the attack and the ship was continuing onward to Singapore.A second ship, the Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Star Nasia, also came under fire from three Houthi ballistic missiles, Central Command said. The USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, shot down one missile, the military said. An explosion from one of the missiles caused “minor damage but no injuries” on the Star Narsia, the Central Command said.A military spokesperson of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed both attacks in a statement.Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s offensive in Gaza</a>. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks.The U.S. and Britain struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday. An air assault Friday in Iraq and Syria targeted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-hezbollah-houthis-iran-militant-groups-745bfc36e23997ee3f0bc499a9f5c16d">other Iranian-backed militias</a>&nbsp;and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-american-service-members-killed-jordan-iran-5cb774fd835a558d840ae91263037489">drone strike that killed three U.S. troops</a>&nbsp;in Jordan.Central Command also acknowledged an attack Monday on the Houthis, in which they attacked what they described as two Houthi drone boats loaded with explosives.American forces “determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region,” the military said. “These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels.”Separately, the White House on Tuesday walked back an earlier statement that it had alerted the Iraqi government prior to carrying out Friday's Iraq and Syria strikes. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters shortly after the strikes that Iraqi official were given advance warning about the U.S.-led operation. He said the assertion was based on information that was provided to him by U.S. officials.“Turns out that information was incorrect,” said Kirby. He added that he regretted the error.Kirby’s initial comments generated controversy in Iraq and vehement denials by officials in Baghdad. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has sought to walk a delicate line between the U.S. and Iran-backed armed groups in his country, many of which have associated political parties in the coalition that brought his government to power.Sudani has condemned attacks on American troops, but has also pushed back against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-jordan-dignified-transfer-dover-140000aa392fee8175616d8af813c0eb">U.S. retaliatory strikes</a>. Some of those strikes have hit facilities connected to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite, Iran-backed militias that was officially made part of the Iraqi military after joining the fight against the Islamic State in 2014 — although in practice, the militias continue to operate largely outside of state control.Sudani has also called for an end to a U.S.-led coalition formed to fight IS. Some 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq as part of the mission. In late January, Iraqi and U.S. military officials launched a series of formal discussions on winding down the coalition’s presence. The talks were then suspended after the Jan. 28 strike in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops, but are expected to resume again in the coming weeks.Iraq’s representative to the United Nations, Abbas Kadhim Obaid, speaking Tuesday as the U.N. Security Council met, condemned the U.S. strikes, as well as recent strikes launched by Turkey and Iran on Iraqi turf, as a breach of the country’s sovereignty.

More ships targeted in Red Sea as U.S. walks back statement on Friday attack 

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a dramatic setback, House Republicans failed Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forced to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707265437141.png" alt="House Speaker Mike Johnson announcing the final vote totals -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Mike Johnson announcing the final vote totals -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — In a dramatic setback, House Republicans failed Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forced to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan.The stunning roll call fell just a few votes short of impeaching Mayorkas, stalling the Republicans’ drive to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border. With Democrats united against the charges, the Republicans needed almost every vote from their slim majority to approve the articles of impeachment.The final vote was 214-216. The GOP member of the Nebraska and Kansas delegations voted for impeachment.Four Republicans — Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, Utah Rep. Blake Moore and California Rep. Tom McClintock — joined the Democrats in voting against the resolution to impeach.The House is likely to revisit plans to impeach Mayorkas, but next steps are highly uncertain.House Speaker Mike Johnson, who could lose only a few Republicans from his slim majority, said he personally spoke to the GOP holdouts acknowledging the “heavy, heavy” vote as he sought their support.“It’s an extreme measure,” said Johnson, R-La.. “But extreme times call for extreme measures.”Not since 1876 has a Cabinet secretary faced impeachment charges and it's the first time a sitting secretary is being impeached — 148 years ago, Secretary of War William Belknap resigned just before the vote.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mayorkas-homeland-security-impeachment-congress-f369f4b6270e59cb7b7003bc9d7ce448">impeachment charges</a>&nbsp;against Mayorkas come as border security is fast becoming a top political issue in the 2024 election, a particularly potent line of attack being leveled at President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;by Republicans, led by the party's front-runner for the presidential nomination,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>.Record numbers of people have been arriving at the southern border, many fleeing countries around the world, in what Mayorkas calls an era of global migration. Many migrants are claiming asylum and being conditionally released into the U.S., arriving in cities that are underequipped to provide housing and other aid while they await judicial proceedings which can take years to determine whether they may remain.The House Democrats united against the two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, calling the proceedings a sham designed to please Trump, charges that do not rise to the Constitution's bar of treason, bribery or “high crimes and misdemeanors.”“A bunch of garbage,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. He called Mayorkas “a good man, a decent man,” who is simply trying to do his job.Even if Republicans are able to impeach Mayorkas, he is not expected to be convicted in a Senate trial where Republican senators have been cool to the effort. The Senate could simply refer the matter to a committee for its own investigation, delaying immediate action.The impeachment of Mayorkas landed quickly onto the House agenda after Republican efforts to impeach Biden over the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, hit a lull, and the investigation into the Biden family drags.The Committee on Homeland Security under Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., had been investigating the secretary for much of the past year, including probing the flow of deadly fentanyl into the U.S. But a resolution from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a Trump ally, pushed it to the fore. The panel swiftly held a pair of hearings in January before announcing the two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.Unlike other moments in impeachment history, the arguments played out to an almost empty chamber, without the fervor or solemnity of past proceedings.Greene, who was named to be one of the impeachment managers for the Senate trial, rose to blame Mayorkas for the “invasion” of migrants coming to the U.S.Republican Rep. Eli Crane if Arizona said Mayorkas had committed a “dereliction of duty.”Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the Mayorkas impeachment vote was a stunt designed by Republicans to sow “chaos and confusion" and appease Trump — rather than to govern.“No reasonable American can conclude that you're making life better for them by this sham impeachment,” Jeffries said.A former federal prosecutor, the secretary never testified on his own behalf, but submitted a rare letter to the panel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/impeaching-mayorkas-homeland-security-immigration-border-89c898c58b214acf83eecb21c1d8a9ef">defending his work</a>.Tuesday's vote arrives at a politically odd juncture for Mayorkas, who has been shuttling to the Senate to negotiate a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-border-package-asylum-ukraine-1dde30b223ebe854a48fde0497c9f227">bipartisan border security package</a>, earning high marks from a group of senators involved.But that legislation, which emerged Sunday as one of the most ambitious immigration overhauls in years, is heading toward instant defeat in a Wednesday test vote. Trump sharply criticized the bipartisan effort, other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-a39e188fa2c6a563203d2c69eaabdc6d">Republicans are panning it</a>&nbsp;and Speaker Johnson says it's “dead on arrival.”One Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Ca., announced his opposition saying the charges “fail to identify an impeachable crime that Mayorkas has committed.”The conservative McClintock said in a lengthy memo that the articles of impeachment from the committee explain the problems at the border under Biden's watch. But he said, “they stretch and distort the Constitution.”Another Republican, retiring Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, also said he was against impeaching Mayorkas.Impeachment,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/impeachment-house-censure-schiff-biden-boebert-70a2206fc0c543a307fc3ec63d5287e9">once rare</a>&nbsp;in the U.S., has been used as both a constitutional check on the executive and increasingly as a political weapon.The House Republicans have put a priority this session of Congress on impeachments, censures and other rebukes of officials and lawmakers, setting a new standard that is concerning scholars and others for the ways in which they can dole out punishments for perceived transgressions.Experts have argued that Mayorkas has simply been snared in a policy dispute with Republicans who disapprove of the Biden administration's approach to the border situation.Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley said impeachment is not to be used for being “a bad Cabinet member.” Lawyer Alan Dershowitz wrote, "Whatever else Mayorkas may or may not have done, he has not committed bribery, treason, or high crimes and misdemeanors."Scholars point out that the Constitution's framers initially considered “maladministration” as an impeachable offense, but dropped it over concern of giving the legislative branch too much sway over the executive and disrupting the balance of power.Three former secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, Janet Napolitano and Jeh Johnson, said in a letter Tuesday that impeaching the Cabinet official over policy disputes would “jeopardize our national security.”Senators have shown little interest in a potential impeachment trial. “I don’t think the House should do anything that’s dead on arrival in the Senate,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.Trump as president was twice impeached — first in 2019 on abuse of power over his phone call with the Ukrainian president seeking a favor to dig up dirt on then-rival Biden, and later on the charge of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol. He was acquitted on both impeachments in the Senate.