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Walz touts Nebraska roots in visit to his home state where there's a battle over one electoral vote
Read full article: Walz touts Nebraska roots in visit to his home state where there's a battle over one electoral voteTim Walz played up his Nebraska roots in his first trip back to his home state since becoming the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and then drew sharp contrasts between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Republicans block bill to outlaw bump stocks for rifles after Supreme Court lifts Trump-era ban
Read full article: Republicans block bill to outlaw bump stocks for rifles after Supreme Court lifts Trump-era banSenate Republicans have blocked bipartisan legislation that would have outlawed bump stocks after the Supreme Court struck down a ban on the rapid-fire gun accessory.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Nebraska's presidential and state primaries
Read full article: AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Nebraska's presidential and state primariesNebraskans will cast presidential primary ballots Tuesday in a reliably Republican state that could nonetheless be decisive in the race for the White House.
Pete Ricketts sworn in as Nebraska senator, replacing Sasse
Read full article: Pete Ricketts sworn in as Nebraska senator, replacing SasseFormer Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts was sworn into the U.S. Senate on Monday, replacing Republican Sen. Ben Sasse as the Senate returns from several weeks of recess and begins a new session of closely-divided government.
Nebraska struggling to OK ban despite anti-abortion history
Read full article: Nebraska struggling to OK ban despite anti-abortion historyNebraska Republicans are facing a challenge to get enough votes in the Legislature to enact an abortion ban, even though they are expected to easily retain control.
All eyes on Nebraska Gov. Ricketts to replace Sen. Sasse
Read full article: All eyes on Nebraska Gov. Ricketts to replace Sen. SasseSpeculation is rampant that Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is the most likely person to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, who appears ready to resign to become president of the University of Florida.
GOP candidates stress urgency at annual Nevada cookout
Read full article: GOP candidates stress urgency at annual Nevada cookoutAt the 7th annual Basque Fry in Gardnerville, a lineup of GOP national heavyweights and local Nevada politicians fired up a crowd of 1,500 Republicans with a message of urgency.
Abortion ruling prompts variety of reactions from states
Read full article: Abortion ruling prompts variety of reactions from statesWhen the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a right to abortion, it sparked legal changes and court challenges in states nationwide.
Nebraska GOP state Sen. Flood wins ex-congressman’s seat
Read full article: Nebraska GOP state Sen. Flood wins ex-congressman’s seatNebraska state Sen. Mike Flood has won a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a fellow Republican who was sentenced to two years of probation earlier in the day for a conviction on charges that he lied to federal agents.
Takeaways: Trump's big defeat; election denial backfiring
Read full article: Takeaways: Trump's big defeat; election denial backfiringFormer President Donald Trump’s crusade for vengeance suffered two devastating blows when Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won their primaries despite rejecting Trump’s entreaties to reverse his 2020 election loss.
Iowa GOP open to non-Trump prospects as 2024 gets underway
Read full article: Iowa GOP open to non-Trump prospects as 2024 gets underwayFormer President Donald Trump’s persistent flirtation with another White House run is doing little to discourage other potential Republican candidates from stepping up their activity in Iowa, the state that will formally launch the nomination process.
Battle heats up over remaining federal rental assistance
Read full article: Battle heats up over remaining federal rental assistanceA debate is playing out across the country as the Treasury Department begins reallocating some of the $46.5 billion in rental assistance from places slow to spend to others that are running out of funds.
Ex-congressman set for sentence same day replacement picked
Read full article: Ex-congressman set for sentence same day replacement pickedNebraska voters will elect a new member of Congress on the same day a judge in California is scheduled to sentence the Republican who resigned from the position to a possible federal prison sentence.
US Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska announces resignation
Read full article: US Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska announces resignationRepublican U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska says he will resign from office, effective March 31, after a California jury convicted him of lying to federal authorities about an illegal campaign donation from a foreign national.
House leaders call on Nebraska Rep. Fortenberry to resign
Read full article: House leaders call on Nebraska Rep. Fortenberry to resignRepublican U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry is facing growing pressure from congressional leaders and Nebraska’s GOP governor to resign after a California jury found him guilty of lying to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 campaign donation from a Nigerian billionaire.
Jury set for Nebraska congressman's trial on donation charge
Read full article: Jury set for Nebraska congressman's trial on donation chargeA jury of eight women and four men has been seated in the trial of a little-known Republican congressman from Nebraska who’s accused of lying to federal authorities about illegal campaign contributions from a Nigerian-born billionaire.
Austin to governors: Guard troops must get COVID-19 vaccine
Read full article: Austin to governors: Guard troops must get COVID-19 vaccineDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in letters to seven governors, is reaffirming the need for members of their states' Army and Air National Guards to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine or lose their Guard status.
GOP state officials push back on employer vaccine mandate
Read full article: GOP state officials push back on employer vaccine mandateRepublican governors, lawmakers and attorneys general are forming a wall of opposition to President Joe Biden's plan to require vaccinations or COVID-19 testing at all private employers of 100 workers or more.
In the GOP, voter ID is a slam dunk ... except in Nebraska
Read full article: In the GOP, voter ID is a slam dunk ... except in NebraskaConservative activists in Nebraska are turning to voters to enact a voter identification requirement, an issue that state lawmakers have blocked multiple times even though it's now common in other Republican-led states.
States scale back virus reporting just as cases surge
Read full article: States scale back virus reporting just as cases surgeSeveral states scaled back their reporting on COVID-19 this month just as cases across the country tripled with the delta variant of the virus spreading quickly among the unvaccinated.
President Biden announces ‘zero tolerance’ policy to curb violent crime
Read full article: President Biden announces ‘zero tolerance’ policy to curb violent crimeDeclaring that the federal government was “taking on the bad actors doing bad things to our communities,” President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a series of efforts to stem a rising national tide of violent crime.
Nebraska death sentences continue despite no execution drugs
Read full article: Nebraska death sentences continue despite no execution drugsNebraska prosecutors have been successful in getting death sentences for convicted murderers, but as the state adds to its death row population, many who oversee the state's capital punishment largely ignore the fact that Nebraska has no lethal injection drugs and very likely won’t get any for years, if ever.
As other states close prisons, Nebraska may build a big one
Read full article: As other states close prisons, Nebraska may build a big oneFILE - In this Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, file photo guards observe inmates at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska officials are pushing for a new, $230 million prison to relieve inmate overcrowding, even as prison officials in other states close prisons. Similar attempts to reduce Nebraska's prison population have repeatedly stalled because of opposition from prosecutors and law enforcement. At a minimum, he said, the state needs to replace its oldest prison, the Nebraska State Penitentiary, built in 1869. Nebraska's inmate population grew 27% between 2009 and 2019, while the state's overall population rose by 7%.
The Latest: Wash. state warns hospitals on VIP vaccinations
Read full article: The Latest: Wash. state warns hospitals on VIP vaccinationsThe state crossed that mark Monday, exactly a year after officials reported the first case of a coronavirus infection in Massachusetts. — Maryland’s acting health secretary says the state’s hospitals have received less than half of their expected allocations of second doses of the coronavirus vaccine for front-line health workers this week. Schrader says state officials were talked with the federal Department of Health and Human Services all weekend trying to figure out what happened. The CDC says Iowa has delivered 190,689 first vaccine doses to individuals, or 6,044 per 100,000 people, the third lowest rate in the nation. Ad___PRAGUE — The Czech Republic is not planning to limit use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for elderly people like some other European Union nations.
States impose new rules, plead with public to stop spread
Read full article: States impose new rules, plead with public to stop spreadPete Ricketts warned that he could impose tighter social-distancing restrictions before Thanksgiving if hospitalizations continue to rise. In Washington state, elective procedures such as joint and heart valve replacements and some cancer surgeries could be postponed to make room for coronavirus patients, said Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer. Even so, health officials are trying everything they can to slow the spread and address an even worse surge that many say is inevitable. New York Gov. New York state has averaged nearly 5,500 new cases per day over the past seven days.
Some GOP governors shift on mask mandates as hospitals fill
Read full article: Some GOP governors shift on mask mandates as hospitals fill“If our health care system exceeds capacity, it’s not just COVID-19 we’ll be fighting. GOP governors in Ohio and West Virginia have also recently strengthened existing mask mandates, while Mississippi's governor expanded the state’s partial mandate to cover more counties. Still, 13 other states with GOP governors still have no statewide mask mandates, and many of them have affirmed their opposition in recent days even as cases, hospitalizations and deaths rise in their states. “I don’t think mask mandates are appropriate,” Nebraska Gov. “Mask mandates will likely have the opposite effect of what was intended,” Rep. Steven Holt, chair of the Iowa House Judiciary committee, wrote on his Facebook page.
Virus surge breaking infection records across the US
Read full article: Virus surge breaking infection records across the USCases per day are on the rise in 49 states, and deaths per day are climbing in 39. A month ago, the U.S. was seeing about 730 COVID-19 deaths per day on average; that has now surpassed 970. He said this summer’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota was “absolutely unnecessary” and helped spread the virus beyond that state. — North Carolina reported its highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 3,119 people — 8% of those tested — testing positive for the virus. — Kentucky posted a record daily high for new confirmed cases, at 2,700, as the governor implored people to wear masks to counter the accelerating outbreak.
The Latest: Hong Kong, Singapore plan 'air travel bubble'
Read full article: The Latest: Hong Kong, Singapore plan 'air travel bubble'Hong Kong and Singapore say they have agreed to a bilateral air travel bubble, re-establishing travel links as coronavirus infections in both cities decline. -- Maryland will reduce indoor operations for bars and restaurants from 75% to 50% in response to rising coronavirus cases and increased hospitalizations. Maryland also reported 1,338 new coronavirus cases Tuesday — the seventh straight day of at least 1,000 cases. ___WASHINGTON — The U.S. has surpassed 1 million new confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of November. The El Paso County sheriff’s office says two of the employees were hospitalized over the weekend as coronavirus cases surged at the facility.
As cases rise, states say they'll work with Biden on virus
Read full article: As cases rise, states say they'll work with Biden on virusGary Herbert speaks as he joins state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn at a press conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, clarifying the state's mask mandate on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Minnesota’s per-capita new case counts are better than neighboring Wisconsin and the Dakotas, which have some of the country’s highest transmission rates, but have still raised alarm with the state's health officials. In Idaho, where 1 of every 223 residents tested positive for the virus over the last week, Republican Gov. With Trump still not conceding the race, some Republican governors have greeted Biden’s efforts in a more measured way. In Oklahoma, where cases also are on the rise, Republican Gov.
Midwestern states with few virus rules have low unemployment
Read full article: Midwestern states with few virus rules have low unemploymentMidwest governors credit their lack of restrictions for low unemployment rates, but economists and others say other factors might be more important in the states low jobless rates. That would be very deadly and push unemployment rates back up,” said Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha. That contrasts with states that rely on tourism, such as California, Nevada and Hawaii, which have the nation’s highest unemployment rates. More recently, though, many of those rural areas have seen some of the nation’s highest virus rates. Despite the low unemployment figures, all of the states now have fewer jobs than before the pandemic hit.
The Latest: Australia prioritizes air service to 3 countries
Read full article: The Latest: Australia prioritizes air service to 3 countriesThat means health care professionals account for about 15% of all Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus cases, and about 18% of all COVID-19 deaths. Active-service health care workers largely mirrored Mexico’s over-all fatality rate of almost 67 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The state’s average number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased from 476 cases a day on Sept. 29 to 685 cases on Oct. 13. Before then, the only confirmed coronavirus death in a Missouri veterans home was in April in north St. Louis County. There were an additional 1,121 confirmed cases, bringing the total to 102,614 since the pandemic began.
Nebraska to end nearly all social distancing restrictions
Read full article: Nebraska to end nearly all social distancing restrictionsPete Ricketts will end nearly all of his state's social-distancing restrictions on Monday even as the number of new coronavirus cases has trended upward over the last few months. “We are loosening the restrictions further on Sept. 14,” Ricketts said at a news conference. Nebraska will also allow smaller indoor facilities, such as bars, restaurants, churches, gyms and hair salons, to operate with no formal restrictions. For several days before that, the state's public health data system wasn't receiving results even though laboratories were processing tests. Nebraska ranks 15th highest in the rate of positive cases as of this week, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.