By:<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/author/katie-mckellar/">Katie McKellar</a><br><a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/">Utah News Dispatch</a>

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced.&nbsp;

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115181934991844419" target="_blank">wrote on Truth Social</a>. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

Videos circulating on social media show students scattering after a popping sound is heard, Kirk appears to be impacted by something, and begins bleeding from his neck. Witnesses say he was answering a question about gang violence and shootings in the moment he was shot.&nbsp;

In a statement, Utah Valley University confirmed Kirk had been shot at about 12:20 p.m. while speaking to the crowd.

Police are investigating and the campus has been closed for the rest of the day.

Adelaide Condie, an 18-year-old Utah Valley University student, was standing on a trash can trying to see Kirk as he answered a question about gun violence when he was hit.

“All of a sudden he got shot … It looked like it was to the chest from where I was, but people are saying it was to the neck … then he went down,” said Condie as she was leaving campus. “Everyone started running, then we all got on lockdown.”&nbsp;

The university initially reported a suspect was in custody, but reports later indicated the individual had been released.

Shooting follows No Kings protest shooting, national political violence

The shooting on the college campus in Orem, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, follows violence this summer in Utah and beyond. In July,&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/14/gunshots-break-out-in-slc-utah-during-no-kings-protest-police-urge-protesters-to-disperse/">shots rang out</a>&nbsp;as more than 10,000 people marched in Salt Lake City as part of the “No Kings” protest of the Trump administration and its policies.

A self-designated “volunteer peacekeeper” fired with a handgun after seeing a man with an AR-15-style rifle, winging him in the side and striking a protester walking by in the head.&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/17/beloved-utah-fashion-designers-friends-remember-his-life-and-his-last-moments/">Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo</a>, a fashion designer and fixture of the Polynesian community in Utah, died from the wound.

On the same day in Wisconsin, Minnesota House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman was&nbsp;<a href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/06/14/minnesota-house-democratic-leader-dead-after-politically-motivated-assassination/" target="_blank">assassinated in her home</a>, along with her husband, Mark Hortman. Police say the accused gunman,&nbsp;<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/07/15/federal-grand-jury-indicts-vance-boelter/" target="_blank">Vance Boelter</a>, disguised himself as a police officer. Boelter is also charged with shooting Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, both of whom survived, in their Champlin home.&nbsp;

Kirk is the founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://tpusa.com/" target="_blank">Turning Point USA</a>, an organization that advocates for conservative politics in educational institutions, and a close ally of the president. He is a widely known internet personality who takes his signature “prove me wrong” debates to college campuses.

His Utah visit wasn’t without controversy. In a&nbsp;<a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a>, students at Utah State University, where Kirk was scheduled to make a second appearance in the state on Sept. 30, said Kirk’s polarizing rhetoric is at odds with the inclusive atmosphere they want to preserve on campus. The petition had more than 6,800 signatures.

FBI Director Kash Patel posted on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1965851035467132940" target="_blank">X</a>&nbsp;that the FBI is “closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.”&nbsp;

“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation,” Patel said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In a statement&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SpencerJCox" target="_blank">posted to social media</a>, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he was being briefed by law enforcement “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk,” and will continue to share updates.&nbsp;

“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life,” Cox wrote. “Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”&nbsp;

On Capitol Hill, dozens of congressional Republicans offered prayers for Kirk, with whom many GOP members have personal relationships.

U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, paused the panel’s consideration of a bill and held a moment of silence after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene informed the committee of the shooting.

Vice President JD Vance offered his own statement of support on X.

“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” he wrote.

<i>Utah News Dispatch journalists McKenzie Romero, Kyle Dunphey and Alixel Cabrera, and States Newsroom reporter Jacob Fischler contributed to this story.</i>

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757541376269.png" alt="Charlie Kirk -image courtesy CSPAN" />
                        <figcaption>Charlie Kirk -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/author/katie-mckellar/">Katie McKellar</a><br><a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/">Utah News Dispatch</a></p><p>Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115181934991844419" target="_blank">wrote on Truth Social</a>. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”</p><p>Videos circulating on social media show students scattering after a popping sound is heard, Kirk appears to be impacted by something, and begins bleeding from his neck. Witnesses say he was answering a question about gang violence and shootings in the moment he was shot.&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement, Utah Valley University confirmed Kirk had been shot at about 12:20 p.m. while speaking to the crowd.</p><p>Police are investigating and the campus has been closed for the rest of the day.</p><p>Adelaide Condie, an 18-year-old Utah Valley University student, was standing on a trash can trying to see Kirk as he answered a question about gun violence when he was hit.</p><p>“All of a sudden he got shot … It looked like it was to the chest from where I was, but people are saying it was to the neck … then he went down,” said Condie as she was leaving campus. “Everyone started running, then we all got on lockdown.”&nbsp;</p><p>The university initially reported a suspect was in custody, but reports later indicated the individual had been released.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757541335583.png" alt="Police respond to the scene of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, who was speaking during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)" />
                        <figcaption>Police respond to the scene of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, who was speaking during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Shooting follows No Kings protest shooting, national political violence</h2><p>The shooting on the college campus in Orem, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, follows violence this summer in Utah and beyond. In July,&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/14/gunshots-break-out-in-slc-utah-during-no-kings-protest-police-urge-protesters-to-disperse/">shots rang out</a>&nbsp;as more than 10,000 people marched in Salt Lake City as part of the “No Kings” protest of the Trump administration and its policies.</p><p>A self-designated “volunteer peacekeeper” fired with a handgun after seeing a man with an AR-15-style rifle, winging him in the side and striking a protester walking by in the head.&nbsp;<a href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/06/17/beloved-utah-fashion-designers-friends-remember-his-life-and-his-last-moments/">Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo</a>, a fashion designer and fixture of the Polynesian community in Utah, died from the wound.</p><p>On the same day in Wisconsin, Minnesota House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman was&nbsp;<a href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/06/14/minnesota-house-democratic-leader-dead-after-politically-motivated-assassination/" target="_blank">assassinated in her home</a>, along with her husband, Mark Hortman. Police say the accused gunman,&nbsp;<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/07/15/federal-grand-jury-indicts-vance-boelter/" target="_blank">Vance Boelter</a>, disguised himself as a police officer. Boelter is also charged with shooting Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, both of whom survived, in their Champlin home.&nbsp;</p><h2>Kirk’s visit to Utah drew criticism</h2><p>Kirk is the founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://tpusa.com/" target="_blank">Turning Point USA</a>, an organization that advocates for conservative politics in educational institutions, and a close ally of the president. He is a widely known internet personality who takes his signature “prove me wrong” debates to college campuses.</p><p>His Utah visit wasn’t without controversy. In a&nbsp;<a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a>, students at Utah State University, where Kirk was scheduled to make a second appearance in the state on Sept. 30, said Kirk’s polarizing rhetoric is at odds with the inclusive atmosphere they want to preserve on campus. The petition had more than 6,800 signatures.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757541297936.png" alt="The Utah Valley University courtyard where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot is pictured in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)" />
                        <figcaption>The Utah Valley University courtyard where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot is pictured in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Concern for Kirk flows in</h2><p>FBI Director Kash Patel posted on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1965851035467132940" target="_blank">X</a>&nbsp;that the FBI is “closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.”&nbsp;</p><p>“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation,” Patel said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>In a statement&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SpencerJCox" target="_blank">posted to social media</a>, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he was being briefed by law enforcement “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk,” and will continue to share updates.&nbsp;</p><p>“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life,” Cox wrote. “Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”&nbsp;</p><p>On Capitol Hill, dozens of congressional Republicans offered prayers for Kirk, with whom many GOP members have personal relationships.</p><p>U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, paused the panel’s consideration of a bill and held a moment of silence after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene informed the committee of the shooting.</p><p>Vice President JD Vance offered his own statement of support on X.</p><p>“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” he wrote.</p><p><i>Utah News Dispatch journalists McKenzie Romero, Kyle Dunphey and Alixel Cabrera, and States Newsroom reporter Jacob Fischler contributed to this story.</i></p>

Charlie Kirk dies after shooting at Utah Valley University

WASHINGTON­—Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) delivered opening remarks at Tuesday’s hearing titled “<a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/restoring-public-trust-through-uap-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection/">Restoring Public Trust Through UFO/UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection</a>.”

In her opening statement, Task Force Chairwoman Luna highlighted the lack of transparency from the federal government and intelligence communities on the research and disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Task Force Chairwoman Luna also reiterated the importance of addressing threats to U.S. national security by (UFOs or now known as UAPs and the need for the federal government to acknowledge them.

Read the Congresswoman's full statement below:

Good morning, and welcome to this hearing regarding UAP disclosures.

For too long, the issue of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – commonly known as UAPs – has been shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and in some cases outright dismissal.&nbsp;

Today, I want to state clearly: this is not science fiction or creating speculation.&nbsp;

This is about national security, government accountability, and the American people’s right to the truth.

I have now spoken to a number of whistleblowers from the military, to include at the infamous Eglin AFB incident that occurred when myself and former Rep Matt Gaetz as well as Rep Burchett followed up on a lead from multiple active-duty air force pilot whistleblowers that alleged that the USAF was covering up UAP activity at Eglin AFB.&nbsp;

We have heard from a number of whistleblowers, specifically military pilots, that the reason for not coming forward publicly is out of fear that speaking out would cost them their flight status, and potentially their careers.&nbsp;

We cannot protect our airspace if our best-trained observers are silenced.&nbsp;

We cannot advance science if we refuse to ask questions.&nbsp;

And we cannot maintain trust in government if we keep the American people in the dark.

Now, Congress has tried to fix this problem.

Congress tried to create formal channels – through the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, also known as AARO and the Intelligence Community Inspector General – for service members and officials to make disclosures.

But the reality: the reports that come in are too often brushed aside, slow-walked, or met with skepticism rather than serious investigation. Recently, the former AARO director known as Sean Kirpatrick attacked our witness and members on this committee. It should be noted that he is a documented liar and brings into question what his purpose at AARO really was if it was not to follow up on investigations and disclose his findings to Members of Congress.&nbsp;

A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Chris Mellon, described a report published by ARRO that “found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic-sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology,” as “the most error-ridden and unsatisfactory government report I can recall reading during or after decades of government service.” Mellon further noted that this was the first ARRO report submitted to Congress without the Director of National Intelligence’s sign-off and seemingly excluded input from “any of the scholars or experts who have studied and written extensively on this topic as would normally be the case in another field.” Mellon determined that the report failed to fulfill the congressional mandate under which it was required, omitted entire agencies with “known investigations or activities relating to UAP,” and omitted any discussion of efforts to hide classified or unclassified information about UAP. Such efforts were unaddressed by the report despite the existence of agency records and investigations concerning them, including at US Customs and Border Protection.

If we set up offices and oversight bodies only to let them become graveyards for testimony or worse yet, ruses for pretending to investigate when in actuality, there was no follow up, then we are not doing our jobs.

In recent months, Congress has also been presented with evidence that points to technologies that to our knowledge, are beyond our current capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;

It is our duty as elected representatives to follow the facts, wherever they lead, and to ensure those facts are not buried under classification stamps or bureaucratic excuses.&nbsp;

Let me be clear: whether UAPs represent adversarial technology, natural phenomena, or something beyond current human understanding, Congress has a responsibility to investigate.&nbsp;

If these objects are foreign in origin, they pose a direct threat to our national security.&nbsp;

If they represent something unknown, they demand rigorous scientific inquiry – not ridicule, not secrecy, and not silence.&nbsp;

Adversarial nations are not waiting for us to catch up – they are studying these phenomena aggressively as well and multiple nations have also announced their own parliamentary investigation into this very topic.

If we continue to hide information from ourselves, we risk strategic surprises.&nbsp;

If we continue to ignore our pilots and service members as well as the countless government whistleblowers, we risk losing their trust.&nbsp;

And if we continue to shield the truth from the public, we risk eroding the very foundation of democratic accountability.&nbsp;

This is about demanding basic transparency from the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community and/or military contractors.&nbsp;

It is about asking the questions every American has the right to ask: What do we know? What don’t we know? And why, in a free society are we still being told so little?&nbsp;

A major barrier to the Committee’s inquiry into UAPs has been a lack of cooperation and transparency from the DoD and the Intelligence Community (IC). In preparation for previous UAP hearings, the Committee repeatedly asked DoD to allow Members to view videos and files relating to UAP incidents. Unfortunately, DoD notified Committee staff that due to the Department’s special access program (SAP) rules, only members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee (HAC-D) were allowed to be “read in” on such programs. For a non-committee Member to be allowed to view these documents and videos, individual Members must be approved by the Chairman and Ranking Member of both HASC and HAC-D. Independent SAP oversight has presented a consistent problem for Congress as the program’s budgets are classified. Additionally, oversight reporting to Congress is classified, and is only provided to the authorizing and appropriations committees of jurisdiction.

They do not need to be shielded like children from reality.

What they cannot tolerate – what they will not forgive – is a government that withholds the truth and punishes those who dare to speak out.

Future generations will look back on this moment and ask what we did when presented with the unknown.&nbsp;

Did we look away, embarrassed or afraid? Or did we pursue the truth with courage?&nbsp;

I intend to be on the side of truth, transparency, and accountability, and I hope my colleagues on this Task Force will be as well.&nbsp;

Senator Schumer: “Multiple credible sources” allege a constitutional crisis over UFOs.

Senator Rounds: “They are brilliant individuals.”&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“They’re not making this stuff up.”

Our current Secretary of State Rubio: “Very high clearances and high positions within our government.”

Senator McConnell: “Sane,” “Credible”

The witnesses today are not alone, far from it. In fact, 34 senior military, government, and intelligence officials have broken their silence. This includes Senator Rubio, Senator Rounds, Senator Gillibrand, General Jim Clapper, the former director of the Government’s UAP task force, the former head of aviation security on the White House national security council, a former secretary of defense, and many more.&nbsp; To quote&nbsp;Senator Rubio in the upcoming documentary Age of Disclosure: “even presidents have been operating on a need-to-know basis but that begins to spin out of control.” And to quote Senator Gillibrand who went public in a upcoming documentary, “it’s not acceptable to have secret parts of government that no one ever sees.” It is time for the fundamental truths around UAP to be revealed to our nation’s leaders and to the public.

&nbsp;It is time for the US government to exercise transparency.

<p>WASHINGTON­—Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) delivered opening remarks at Tuesday’s hearing titled “<a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/restoring-public-trust-through-uap-transparency-and-whistleblower-protection/">Restoring Public Trust Through UFO/UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection</a>.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Below is the video I revealed in our <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPoversight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GOPoversight</a> UAP hearing today, made available to the public for the first time.<br><br>October 30th, 2024: MQ-9 Reaper allegedly tracking orb off coast of Yemen. <br><br>Greenlight given to engage, missile appears to be ineffective against the target.… <a href="https://t.co/jxJwl0e00S">pic.twitter.com/jxJwl0e00S</a></p>&mdash; Rep. Eric Burlison (@RepEricBurlison) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepEricBurlison/status/1965438792493355291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔴 UAP HEARING! Watch as <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLuna?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepLuna</a> and the Task Force for the Declassification of Federal Secrets hold a hearing on restoring public trust through UAP transparency and whistleblower protection. <a href="https://t.co/TOLaBHHj9Q">https://t.co/TOLaBHHj9Q</a></p>&mdash; Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPoversight/status/1965412144264151187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>In her opening statement, Task Force Chairwoman Luna highlighted the lack of transparency from the federal government and intelligence communities on the research and disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Task Force Chairwoman Luna also reiterated the importance of addressing threats to U.S. national security by (UFOs or now known as UAPs and the need for the federal government to acknowledge them.</p><p>Read the Congresswoman's full statement below:</p><p>Good morning, and welcome to this hearing regarding UAP disclosures.</p><p>For too long, the issue of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – commonly known as UAPs – has been shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and in some cases outright dismissal.&nbsp;</p><p>Today, I want to state clearly: this is not science fiction or creating speculation.&nbsp;</p><p>This is about national security, government accountability, and the American people’s right to the truth.</p><p>I have now spoken to a number of whistleblowers from the military, to include at the infamous Eglin AFB incident that occurred when myself and former Rep Matt Gaetz as well as Rep Burchett followed up on a lead from multiple active-duty air force pilot whistleblowers that alleged that the USAF was covering up UAP activity at Eglin AFB.&nbsp;</p><p>We have heard from a number of whistleblowers, specifically military pilots, that the reason for not coming forward publicly is out of fear that speaking out would cost them their flight status, and potentially their careers.&nbsp;</p><p>That is unacceptable.&nbsp;</p><p>We cannot protect our airspace if our best-trained observers are silenced.&nbsp;</p><p>We cannot advance science if we refuse to ask questions.&nbsp;</p><p>And we cannot maintain trust in government if we keep the American people in the dark.</p><p>Now, Congress has tried to fix this problem.</p><p>Congress tried to create formal channels – through the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, also known as AARO and the Intelligence Community Inspector General – for service members and officials to make disclosures.</p><p>But the reality: the reports that come in are too often brushed aside, slow-walked, or met with skepticism rather than serious investigation. Recently, the former AARO director known as Sean Kirpatrick attacked our witness and members on this committee. It should be noted that he is a documented liar and brings into question what his purpose at AARO really was if it was not to follow up on investigations and disclose his findings to Members of Congress.&nbsp;</p><p>A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Chris Mellon, described a report published by ARRO that “found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic-sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology,” as “the most error-ridden and unsatisfactory government report I can recall reading during or after decades of government service.” Mellon further noted that this was the first ARRO report submitted to Congress without the Director of National Intelligence’s sign-off and seemingly excluded input from “any of the scholars or experts who have studied and written extensively on this topic as would normally be the case in another field.” Mellon determined that the report failed to fulfill the congressional mandate under which it was required, omitted entire agencies with “known investigations or activities relating to UAP,” and omitted any discussion of efforts to hide classified or unclassified information about UAP. Such efforts were unaddressed by the report despite the existence of agency records and investigations concerning them, including at US Customs and Border Protection.</p><p>If we set up offices and oversight bodies only to let them become graveyards for testimony or worse yet, ruses for pretending to investigate when in actuality, there was no follow up, then we are not doing our jobs.</p><p>In recent months, Congress has also been presented with evidence that points to technologies that to our knowledge, are beyond our current capabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>It is our duty as elected representatives to follow the facts, wherever they lead, and to ensure those facts are not buried under classification stamps or bureaucratic excuses.&nbsp;</p><p>Let me be clear: whether UAPs represent adversarial technology, natural phenomena, or something beyond current human understanding, Congress has a responsibility to investigate.&nbsp;</p><p>If these objects are foreign in origin, they pose a direct threat to our national security.&nbsp;</p><p>If they represent something unknown, they demand rigorous scientific inquiry – not ridicule, not secrecy, and not silence.&nbsp;</p><p>The stakes are high.&nbsp;</p><p>Adversarial nations are not waiting for us to catch up – they are studying these phenomena aggressively as well and multiple nations have also announced their own parliamentary investigation into this very topic.</p><p>If we continue to hide information from ourselves, we risk strategic surprises.&nbsp;</p><p>If we continue to ignore our pilots and service members as well as the countless government whistleblowers, we risk losing their trust.&nbsp;</p><p>And if we continue to shield the truth from the public, we risk eroding the very foundation of democratic accountability.&nbsp;</p><p>That is why this hearing matters.&nbsp;</p><p>This is not about fueling speculation.</p><p>This is about demanding basic transparency from the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community and/or military contractors.&nbsp;</p><p>It is about asking the questions every American has the right to ask: What do we know? What don’t we know? And why, in a free society are we still being told so little?&nbsp;</p><p>A major barrier to the Committee’s inquiry into UAPs has been a lack of cooperation and transparency from the DoD and the Intelligence Community (IC). In preparation for previous UAP hearings, the Committee repeatedly asked DoD to allow Members to view videos and files relating to UAP incidents. Unfortunately, DoD notified Committee staff that due to the Department’s special access program (SAP) rules, only members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee (HAC-D) were allowed to be “read in” on such programs. For a non-committee Member to be allowed to view these documents and videos, individual Members must be approved by the Chairman and Ranking Member of both HASC and HAC-D. Independent SAP oversight has presented a consistent problem for Congress as the program’s budgets are classified. Additionally, oversight reporting to Congress is classified, and is only provided to the authorizing and appropriations committees of jurisdiction.</p><p>The American people are not fragile.</p><p>They do not need to be shielded like children from reality.</p><p>What they cannot tolerate – what they will not forgive – is a government that withholds the truth and punishes those who dare to speak out.</p><p>I want to close with this:</p><p>Future generations will look back on this moment and ask what we did when presented with the unknown.&nbsp;</p><p>Did we look away, embarrassed or afraid? Or did we pursue the truth with courage?&nbsp;</p><p>I intend to be on the side of truth, transparency, and accountability, and I hope my colleagues on this Task Force will be as well.&nbsp;</p><p>To quote a few elected officials:</p><p>Senator Schumer: “Multiple credible sources” allege a constitutional crisis over UFOs.</p><p>Senator Rounds: “They are brilliant individuals.”&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“They’re not making this stuff up.”</p><p>Our current Secretary of State Rubio: “Very high clearances and high positions within our government.”</p><p>Senator McConnell: “Sane,” “Credible”</p><p>The witnesses today are not alone, far from it. In fact, 34 senior military, government, and intelligence officials have broken their silence. This includes Senator Rubio, Senator Rounds, Senator Gillibrand, General Jim Clapper, the former director of the Government’s UAP task force, the former head of aviation security on the White House national security council, a former secretary of defense, and many more.&nbsp; To quote&nbsp;Senator Rubio in the upcoming documentary Age of Disclosure: “even presidents have been operating on a need-to-know basis but that begins to spin out of control.” And to quote Senator Gillibrand who went public in a upcoming documentary, “it’s not acceptable to have secret parts of government that no one ever sees.” It is time for the fundamental truths around UAP to be revealed to our nation’s leaders and to the public.</p><p>&nbsp;It is time for the US government to exercise transparency.</p>

🎥Scary: Congressman unveils video of missile bouncing off UFO

<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26086948-maha-strategy-report/">Click here to read the report</a>

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757445688539.png" alt="Health and Human Services Secretary&nbsp;Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during the presentation on Tuesday-image from HHS video" />
                        <figcaption>Health and Human Services Secretary&nbsp;Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during the presentation on Tuesday-image from HHS video</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happening Now: MAHA Commission: Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy <a href="https://t.co/675oYf38VC">https://t.co/675oYf38VC</a></p>&mdash; HHS.gov (@HHSGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/HHSGov/status/1965492269001138374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26086948-maha-strategy-report/">Click here to read the report</a></p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757445537005.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure>

Read RFK Jr.'s new MAHA report: Targets vaccines and autism

<i>By:<a href="https://www.morningagclips.com/nebraska-corn-safety-first-avoid-the-worst/"> Morning Ag Clips</a></i>

National Farm Safety and Health Week is September 21-27

LINCOLN, Neb. – As harvest season approaches, the&nbsp;Nebraska&nbsp;Corn Board (NCB) and&nbsp;Nebraska&nbsp;Corn Growers Association (NeCGA) are reminding farmers, rural communities and motorists to prioritize safety during National Farm Safety and Health Week, September 21-27. This year’s theme,&nbsp;“Safety First, Avoid the Worst,”&nbsp;highlights the importance of taking proactive steps to prevent accidents during one of the busiest and most dangerous times of the year in agriculture.

Agriculture remains the backbone of&nbsp;Nebraska’s economy, with one in four jobs tied to the industry. But farming continues to rank among the most hazardous occupations in the United States. Fatigue, stress, heavy equipment and unpredictable conditions all contribute to the risks faced by farmers and rural residents alike.

“Harvest is a season that brings families together across generations, but it also requires us to be more vigilant than ever,” said Brandon Hunnicutt, chairman of NCB. “Taking a few extra moments for safety, whether in the field, on rural roads or around equipment, can save lives and help us avoid the worst.”

Nebraska&nbsp;Corn encourages both farmers and the public to keep these safety reminders top of mind this fall and beyond:

Nebraska&nbsp;Corn also reminds those traveling through rural areas to be patient during harvest traffic and be aware of&nbsp;Nebraska’s updated move-over law. The updated measure requires drivers to slow down and move over for stopped vehicles and vulnerable road users which now includes agricultural vehicles and equipment. Slowing down and staying alert can prevent accidents and help avoid the worst.

The&nbsp;Nebraska&nbsp;Corn Board is funded through a producer checkoff investment of a one-cent-per-bushel on all corn marketed in the state and is managed by nine farmer directors. The mission of the&nbsp;Nebraska&nbsp;Corn Board is to increase the value and sustainability of&nbsp;Nebraska&nbsp;corn through promotion, market development and research.

The&nbsp;Nebraska&nbsp;Corn Growers Association (NeCGA) is a grassroots commodity organization that works to advance&nbsp;Nebraska&nbsp;corn farmers through leadership, policy and education. NeCGA has more than 2,400 dues-paying members in&nbsp;Nebraska. NeCGA is affiliated with the National Corn Growers Association, which has more than 36,000 dues-paying members nationwide.

Nebraska Corn: Safety First, Avoid the Worst

&nbsp;President Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum directing Secretary Kennedy&nbsp;to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising and Dr. Makary&nbsp;at the FDA&nbsp;to enforce the prescription drug advertising provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Read the order from the White House below

In 1962, the Congress vested the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to regulate prescription drug advertising.&nbsp; These advertisements can mislead the public about the risks and benefits, encourage medications over lifestyle changes, inappropriately intervene in the physician-patient relationship, and advantage expensive drugs over cheaper generics.

The FDA has historically stipulated that a manufacturer, packer, or distributor must provide the public with materially complete information that fairly balances both the benefits and the risks of the drug.&nbsp; Over time, however, the FDA’s requirements have permitted drug companies to include less information, particularly in broadcast advertising, and drug manufacturer advertising has skyrocketed in recent decades.<a></a>

My Administration will ensure that the current regulatory framework for drug advertising results in fair, balanced, and complete information for American consumers.&nbsp;

The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall therefore take appropriate action to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising, including by increasing the amount of information regarding any risks associated with the use of any such prescription drug required to be provided in prescription drug advertisements, to the extent permitted by applicable law.&nbsp; The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall take appropriate action to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s prescription drug advertising provisions, and otherwise ensure truthful and non-misleading information in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements. &nbsp;

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757470910499.png" alt="President Trump signs the most significant action in a generation to rein in misleading pharmaceutical ads-Photo by Margo Martin, Special Assistant to the President" />
                        <figcaption>President Trump signs the most significant action in a generation to rein in misleading pharmaceutical ads-Photo by Margo Martin, Special Assistant to the President</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>&nbsp;President Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum directing Secretary Kennedy&nbsp;to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising and Dr. Makary&nbsp;at the FDA&nbsp;to enforce the prescription drug advertising provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;The President just signed an executive order that&#39;s an historic change in the way that pharmaceutical advertising is done on television,&quot; says <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a>.<br><br>Watch him explain the historic order: <a href="https://t.co/e2VJwUFv3M">pic.twitter.com/e2VJwUFv3M</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1965551393726714155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Read the order from the White House below</p><p>In 1962, the Congress vested the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to regulate prescription drug advertising.&nbsp; These advertisements can mislead the public about the risks and benefits, encourage medications over lifestyle changes, inappropriately intervene in the physician-patient relationship, and advantage expensive drugs over cheaper generics.</p><p>The FDA has historically stipulated that a manufacturer, packer, or distributor must provide the public with materially complete information that fairly balances both the benefits and the risks of the drug.&nbsp; Over time, however, the FDA’s requirements have permitted drug companies to include less information, particularly in broadcast advertising, and drug manufacturer advertising has skyrocketed in recent decades.<a></a></p><p>My Administration will ensure that the current regulatory framework for drug advertising results in fair, balanced, and complete information for American consumers.&nbsp;</p><p>The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall therefore take appropriate action to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising, including by increasing the amount of information regarding any risks associated with the use of any such prescription drug required to be provided in prescription drug advertisements, to the extent permitted by applicable law.&nbsp; The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall take appropriate action to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s prescription drug advertising provisions, and otherwise ensure truthful and non-misleading information in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements. &nbsp;</p><p>This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

🎥Trump signs order to crack down on drug ads on TV, social media

&nbsp;U.S. Defense Secretary&nbsp;Pete Hegseth&nbsp;and&nbsp;Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday for an unexpected visit as the U.S. steps up its military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean.

<p>&nbsp;U.S. Defense Secretary&nbsp;Pete Hegseth&nbsp;and&nbsp;Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday for an unexpected visit as the U.S. steps up its military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome aboard the USS Iwo Jima <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecWar</a> <a href="https://t.co/hx42HBSFez">pic.twitter.com/hx42HBSFez</a></p>&mdash; DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1965133239158440203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">. <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SECWAR</a> aboard the USS Iwo Jima, addressing America’s WARRIORS:<br><br>“What you’re doing right now is NOT training.<br><br>This is a REAL-WORLD EXERCISE on behalf of the vital national interests of the United States of America—to end the POISONING of the American people.” <a href="https://t.co/euQHFPsIll">pic.twitter.com/euQHFPsIll</a></p>&mdash; DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1965152057196957935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A message to our warfighters from the Secretary of War. <a href="https://t.co/UVbsvAuNmR">pic.twitter.com/UVbsvAuNmR</a></p>&mdash; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar/status/1965177415455682691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

 US steps up military operations in the Caribbean

Trump admin is hosting state leadership conference, but political aides are likely to discuss redistricting, too

By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN – A handful of Nebraska lawmakers are set to travel to Washington, D.C., this week for a “state leadership conference” at the White House’s invitation.&nbsp;

But, if what happened with delegations from other red states is an indication, another reason for the trip might be for President Donald Trump and his team to lay groundwork for asking another red state to redistrict congressional boundaries to Republican advantage before the 2026 election.&nbsp;

At least four Nebraska lawmakers confirmed with the Examiner that they are headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The official reason is the leadership conference&nbsp;organized by&nbsp;the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Nebraska and Iowa lawmakers are scheduled to “hear firsthand how President Trump is implementing the America First Agenda,” and how to “advance it at the state and local level.”

Late Monday afternoon, Gov. Jim Pillen’s office confirmed that it is aware of the meeting with lawmakers.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The four-hour conference could be an&nbsp;opportunity for Trump’s team to discuss possible mid-decade redistricting with Nebraska lawmakers,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-hill-leaders-381d5450-8a48-11f0-a469-2f028f32e283.html?chunk=1&amp;utm_term=emshare#story1" target="_blank">according to Axios</a>&nbsp;and other political news outlets. National politics website Punchbowl News had already reported Nebraska as a possible&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/06/nebraska-might-join-national-wildfire-of-mid-decade-redistricting/">target for such a redistricting push</a>. The Axios article mentioned Kansas as well.&nbsp;

The White House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/26/indiana-redistricting-republicans-white-houe-trump-00527817" target="_blank">pressed Indiana lawmakers</a>&nbsp;about redistricting during a visit last month to the nation’s capital. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is widely expected to call a special session this fall, but he has said he wants to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2025/08/12/indiana-redistricting-braun-gop-maps-trump-vance" target="_blank">hear first from statehouse leaders</a>&nbsp;whether they want to move forward with redistricting.

Last month, retiring Nebraska GOP U.S. Rep. Don Bacon confirmed to the Examiner that preliminary discussions had begun about the Legislature perhaps redrawing the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District to make it harder for Democrats to win.&nbsp;

While Republicans hold all of Nebraska’s congressional seats, political experts see the now open-seat 2nd District race as a possible pickup for Democrats in 2026.

After the most recent census, when the GOP-led majority in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature redrew the state’s congressional maps, it did so&nbsp;<a href="https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/new-congressional-map-would-give-gop-slight-advantage-in-ne-2" target="_blank">in a way that shored up</a>&nbsp;the 2nd District by swapping some Democratic-leaning residents in suburban Sarpy County with more reliably Republican residents of rural Saunders County. The changes helped maintain the swing district’s slight Republican lean.

The latest White House push in GOP-led states is part of a national redistricting tit for tat Trump helped start when Texas approved a new map designed to give the GOP up to five additional seats in the U.S. House in next year’s midterms.&nbsp;

California&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/08/california-redistricting-vote/" target="_blank">is trying to combat</a>&nbsp;Texas’s new map with potential changes of its own, as Californians could vote to&nbsp;suspend the state’s current congressional districts, which were drawn by an independent commission, and replace them with a map intended to help Democrats win back the five seats Texas swung the GOP’s way.

The Missouri statehouse also is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2025-09-08/missouri-house-redistricting-initiative-petition-tensions" target="_blank">moving toward a&nbsp;new congressional map</a>&nbsp;that targets its Kansas City-based seat, which could swing it from a heavily Democratic district into a GOP-leaning seat. Ohio is required to redraw its maps this year, which could help the GOP gain two or three seats. Florida recently&nbsp;announced&nbsp;<a href="https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2025-08-07/florida-house-announces-congressional-redistricting-committee" target="_blank">a congressional redistricting committee</a>.&nbsp;

Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said redrawing districts is “on the table,” and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat leading a Democratic-led state, has said, “we are at war” earlier this year as she explores her own response to Texas.&nbsp;

The Nebraska Constitution requires redistricting legislation to come after each census, but the language doesn’t specify whether lawmakers can revisit the maps before the next census. Some have argued that language in the constitution will allow the Legislature to redistrict at different times. Others&nbsp;have argued any effort to redistrict mid-decade would face legal challenges.&nbsp;

Nebraska lawmakers might lack the numbers needed to make the change. A key indicator: Pillen&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/04/08/winner-take-all-bill-stalls-in-nebraska-legislature-a-blow-to-governor/">has failed to pressure</a>&nbsp;enough state lawmakers to alter how the state awards Electoral College votes for president, even with help from Trump, earlier this year. This, despite Republicans holding a thin supermajority.

Nebraska 1st District U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, a former speaker of the Legislature, told Axios he thinks Republican lawmakers lack the votes needed to get redistricting past a filibuster because they lacked the votes to pass the shift to winner-take-all from awarding some electoral votes by congressional district.

One Nebraska GOP state lawmaker questioned privately whether a mid-decade redistricting effort would have 25 votes. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston has said he’s “not a big fan of changing the rules in the middle of the game.”

Examiner Reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1756996833819.png" alt="White House courtesy photo" />
                        <figcaption>White House courtesy photo</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Trump admin is hosting state leadership conference, but political aides are likely to discuss redistricting, too</h2><p>By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a></p><p>LINCOLN – A handful of Nebraska lawmakers are set to travel to Washington, D.C., this week for a “state leadership conference” at the White House’s invitation.&nbsp;</p><p>But, if what happened with delegations from other red states is an indication, another reason for the trip might be for President Donald Trump and his team to lay groundwork for asking another red state to redistrict congressional boundaries to Republican advantage before the 2026 election.&nbsp;</p><p>At least four Nebraska lawmakers confirmed with the Examiner that they are headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The official reason is the leadership conference&nbsp;organized by&nbsp;the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.</p><p>Nebraska and Iowa lawmakers are scheduled to “hear firsthand how President Trump is implementing the America First Agenda,” and how to “advance it at the state and local level.”</p><p>Late Monday afternoon, Gov. Jim Pillen’s office confirmed that it is aware of the meeting with lawmakers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The four-hour conference could be an&nbsp;opportunity for Trump’s team to discuss possible mid-decade redistricting with Nebraska lawmakers,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-hill-leaders-381d5450-8a48-11f0-a469-2f028f32e283.html?chunk=1&amp;utm_term=emshare#story1" target="_blank">according to Axios</a>&nbsp;and other political news outlets. National politics website Punchbowl News had already reported Nebraska as a possible&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/06/nebraska-might-join-national-wildfire-of-mid-decade-redistricting/">target for such a redistricting push</a>. The Axios article mentioned Kansas as well.&nbsp;</p><p>The White House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/26/indiana-redistricting-republicans-white-houe-trump-00527817" target="_blank">pressed Indiana lawmakers</a>&nbsp;about redistricting during a visit last month to the nation’s capital. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is widely expected to call a special session this fall, but he has said he wants to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2025/08/12/indiana-redistricting-braun-gop-maps-trump-vance" target="_blank">hear first from statehouse leaders</a>&nbsp;whether they want to move forward with redistricting.</p><p>Last month, retiring Nebraska GOP U.S. Rep. Don Bacon confirmed to the Examiner that preliminary discussions had begun about the Legislature perhaps redrawing the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District to make it harder for Democrats to win.&nbsp;</p><p>While Republicans hold all of Nebraska’s congressional seats, political experts see the now open-seat 2nd District race as a possible pickup for Democrats in 2026.</p><p>After the most recent census, when the GOP-led majority in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature redrew the state’s congressional maps, it did so&nbsp;<a href="https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/new-congressional-map-would-give-gop-slight-advantage-in-ne-2" target="_blank">in a way that shored up</a>&nbsp;the 2nd District by swapping some Democratic-leaning residents in suburban Sarpy County with more reliably Republican residents of rural Saunders County. The changes helped maintain the swing district’s slight Republican lean.</p><p>The latest White House push in GOP-led states is part of a national redistricting tit for tat Trump helped start when Texas approved a new map designed to give the GOP up to five additional seats in the U.S. House in next year’s midterms.&nbsp;</p><p>California&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/08/california-redistricting-vote/" target="_blank">is trying to combat</a>&nbsp;Texas’s new map with potential changes of its own, as Californians could vote to&nbsp;suspend the state’s current congressional districts, which were drawn by an independent commission, and replace them with a map intended to help Democrats win back the five seats Texas swung the GOP’s way.</p><p>The Missouri statehouse also is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2025-09-08/missouri-house-redistricting-initiative-petition-tensions" target="_blank">moving toward a&nbsp;new congressional map</a>&nbsp;that targets its Kansas City-based seat, which could swing it from a heavily Democratic district into a GOP-leaning seat. Ohio is required to redraw its maps this year, which could help the GOP gain two or three seats. Florida recently&nbsp;announced&nbsp;<a href="https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2025-08-07/florida-house-announces-congressional-redistricting-committee" target="_blank">a congressional redistricting committee</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said redrawing districts is “on the table,” and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat leading a Democratic-led state, has said, “we are at war” earlier this year as she explores her own response to Texas.&nbsp;</p><p>The Nebraska Constitution requires redistricting legislation to come after each census, but the language doesn’t specify whether lawmakers can revisit the maps before the next census. Some have argued that language in the constitution will allow the Legislature to redistrict at different times. Others&nbsp;have argued any effort to redistrict mid-decade would face legal challenges.&nbsp;</p><p>Nebraska lawmakers might lack the numbers needed to make the change. A key indicator: Pillen&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/04/08/winner-take-all-bill-stalls-in-nebraska-legislature-a-blow-to-governor/">has failed to pressure</a>&nbsp;enough state lawmakers to alter how the state awards Electoral College votes for president, even with help from Trump, earlier this year. This, despite Republicans holding a thin supermajority.</p><p>Nebraska 1st District U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, a former speaker of the Legislature, told Axios he thinks Republican lawmakers lack the votes needed to get redistricting past a filibuster because they lacked the votes to pass the shift to winner-take-all from awarding some electoral votes by congressional district.</p><p>One Nebraska GOP state lawmaker questioned privately whether a mid-decade redistricting effort would have 25 votes. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston has said he’s “not a big fan of changing the rules in the middle of the game.”</p><p>Examiner Reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report.</p>

White House may discuss mid-decade redistricting with Nebraska lawmakers

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704330351229.png" alt="Jeffrey Epstein- New York Sex offender registry" />
                        <figcaption>Jeffrey Epstein- New York Sex offender registry</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨🚨HERE IT IS: We got Trump’s birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn’t exist.<br><br>Trump talks about a “wonderful secret” the two of them shared. What is he hiding? Release the files! <a href="https://t.co/k2Mq8Hu3LY">pic.twitter.com/k2Mq8Hu3LY</a></p>&mdash; Oversight Dems (@OversightDems) <a href="https://twitter.com/OversightDems/status/1965125560016994708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Time for <a href="https://twitter.com/newscorp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@newscorp</a> to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION! <a href="https://t.co/O6iKk4SYF5">https://t.co/O6iKk4SYF5</a> <a href="https://t.co/T0wlp36P9h">pic.twitter.com/T0wlp36P9h</a></p>&mdash; Taylor Budowich (@TayFromCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TayFromCA/status/1965133529177878754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Donald Trump wrote a personalized note in Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book. He’s spent all summer lying about its existence.<br><br>We got a copy. Ranking Member <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRobertGarcia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepRobertGarcia</a> explains what we know and how we got here: <a href="https://t.co/PVbHaVWppw">pic.twitter.com/PVbHaVWppw</a></p>&mdash; Oversight Dems (@OversightDems) <a href="https://twitter.com/OversightDems/status/1965133235685298250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Read the suggestive letter to Epstein Dems says was signed by Trump

Several states say pharmacists must continue providing shots.

By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/schatlani/">Shalina Chatlani</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

Several states, including Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York and Pennsylvania, announced last week that they would be breaking with restrictive eligibility policies unveiled last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines for the fall season.

In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Friday morning to authorize pharmacists to provide the shot to anyone who desires it for the next 30 days, which can be renewed.

“When they said that they are not going to be requiring COVID shots and other vaccinations for our families, I said, ‘No, here in New York we will make parents have the option.’ If you want your child to have a COVID shot, it should be available to you and it should be covered by insurance,” Hochul&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNiPowR3Kso" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;during a news conference Friday morning, where she signed the order.

“So what I’m doing now is signing an executive order, because extreme times call for extreme measures. And this is the power I have to use in the interim until we are able to have the legislature get back in January and pass legislation that mandates this.”

Previous FDA policy recommended that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots be made available to anyone 6 months or older regardless of their health status. But in August, the federal agency announced restrictions for the new shot.

The FDA limited access to the vaccines to people who are 65 and older and to younger people with at least one underlying health condition, such as asthma or obesity, that would put them at risk of developing a severe illness without a booster shot. Children are eligible only if a medical provider is consulted. Additionally, the Pfizer vaccine, one of the three that were approved, will no longer be available for any child under 5.

“The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense. This framework delivers all three,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote on social media platform&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1960742897201872969" target="_blank">X</a>&nbsp;on Aug. 27.

Other states are also taking measures to ensure more people can get access to the vaccines.

On Thursday, Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mass.gov/doc/coverage-for-vaccines-bulletin/download" target="_blank">ordered</a>&nbsp;health insurers in the state to continue covering the vaccine. The state also issued an order to allow pharmacies to continue providing shots to residents above the age of 5.

Massachusetts is “leading efforts to create a public health collaboration with states in New England and across the Northeast committed to safeguarding public health as the federal government backs away from its responsibilities,” the governor’s office said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-announces-immediate-steps-to-ensure-vaccine-availability-in-massachusetts-amid-trump-rfk-rollbacks" target="_blank">release</a>.

This week, the State Board of Pharmacy in Pennsylvania held a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/state-board-of-pharmacy-votes-to-protect-vaccine-access-across-p" target="_blank">special meeting</a>&nbsp;to vote to bypass federal vaccine recommendations and allow pharmacists to continue administering COVID-19 vaccines.

“Health care decisions should be up to individuals — not the federal government and certainly not RFK Jr. My Administration will continue to protect health care access for all Pennsylvanians,” Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/state-board-of-pharmacy-votes-to-protect-vaccine-access-across-p" target="_blank">said</a>.

<a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-access-covid-19-vaccines/" target="_blank">Colorado</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://sourcenm.com/briefs/nm-board-of-pharmacy-expected-to-release-new-protocol-for-covid-19-vaccines-this-week/" target="_blank">New Mexico</a>&nbsp;took similar steps this week, with state officials signing public health orders asking state agencies to take steps necessary to require insurers to cover the vaccines and instructing pharmacists to provide the shots without a doctor’s note.

Stateline reporter Shalina Chatlani can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:schatlani@stateline.org">schatlani@stateline.org</a>.

<h2>Several states say pharmacists must continue providing shots.</h2><p>By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/schatlani/">Shalina Chatlani</a><br><a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a></p><p>Several states, including Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York and Pennsylvania, announced last week that they would be breaking with restrictive eligibility policies unveiled last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines for the fall season.</p><p>In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Friday morning to authorize pharmacists to provide the shot to anyone who desires it for the next 30 days, which can be renewed.</p><p>“When they said that they are not going to be requiring COVID shots and other vaccinations for our families, I said, ‘No, here in New York we will make parents have the option.’ If you want your child to have a COVID shot, it should be available to you and it should be covered by insurance,” Hochul&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNiPowR3Kso" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;during a news conference Friday morning, where she signed the order.</p><p>“So what I’m doing now is signing an executive order, because extreme times call for extreme measures. And this is the power I have to use in the interim until we are able to have the legislature get back in January and pass legislation that mandates this.”</p><p>Previous FDA policy recommended that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots be made available to anyone 6 months or older regardless of their health status. But in August, the federal agency announced restrictions for the new shot.</p><p>The FDA limited access to the vaccines to people who are 65 and older and to younger people with at least one underlying health condition, such as asthma or obesity, that would put them at risk of developing a severe illness without a booster shot. Children are eligible only if a medical provider is consulted. Additionally, the Pfizer vaccine, one of the three that were approved, will no longer be available for any child under 5.</p><p>“The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense. This framework delivers all three,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote on social media platform&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1960742897201872969" target="_blank">X</a>&nbsp;on Aug. 27.</p><p>Other states are also taking measures to ensure more people can get access to the vaccines.</p><p>On Thursday, Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mass.gov/doc/coverage-for-vaccines-bulletin/download" target="_blank">ordered</a>&nbsp;health insurers in the state to continue covering the vaccine. The state also issued an order to allow pharmacies to continue providing shots to residents above the age of 5.</p><p>Massachusetts is “leading efforts to create a public health collaboration with states in New England and across the Northeast committed to safeguarding public health as the federal government backs away from its responsibilities,” the governor’s office said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-announces-immediate-steps-to-ensure-vaccine-availability-in-massachusetts-amid-trump-rfk-rollbacks" target="_blank">release</a>.</p><p>This week, the State Board of Pharmacy in Pennsylvania held a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/state-board-of-pharmacy-votes-to-protect-vaccine-access-across-p" target="_blank">special meeting</a>&nbsp;to vote to bypass federal vaccine recommendations and allow pharmacists to continue administering COVID-19 vaccines.</p><p>“Health care decisions should be up to individuals — not the federal government and certainly not RFK Jr. My Administration will continue to protect health care access for all Pennsylvanians,” Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/state-board-of-pharmacy-votes-to-protect-vaccine-access-across-p" target="_blank">said</a>.</p><p><a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-access-covid-19-vaccines/" target="_blank">Colorado</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://sourcenm.com/briefs/nm-board-of-pharmacy-expected-to-release-new-protocol-for-covid-19-vaccines-this-week/" target="_blank">New Mexico</a>&nbsp;took similar steps this week, with state officials signing public health orders asking state agencies to take steps necessary to require insurers to cover the vaccines and instructing pharmacists to provide the shots without a doctor’s note.</p><p>Stateline reporter Shalina Chatlani can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:schatlani@stateline.org">schatlani@stateline.org</a>.</p>

States break with FDA restrictions on COVID vaccines, ensuring broader access

BUTLER COUNTY —Three people avoided injury after an unusual accident that occurred just after 5p.m. Sunday in Butler County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1943 Boeing Aircraft piloted by Ryan Stewart, 68, Benton, was on a short approach to the south facing runway at Stearman Field in Benton.&nbsp;

 The aircraft's landing gear struck a 2020 Toyota Corolla driven by Rebeca Rodriguez, 71, Benton, who was eastbound on Southwest 30th Street. The impact caused the aircraft to strike the ground and flip over on to its top.

The pilot, a passenger on plane and Rodriguez were not injured. The accident remains under investigation.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757325450093.png" alt="Photo courtesy KWCH" />
                        <figcaption>Photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>BUTLER COUNTY —Three people avoided injury after an unusual accident that occurred just after 5p.m. Sunday in Butler County.</p><p>The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1943 Boeing Aircraft piloted by Ryan Stewart, 68, Benton, was on a short approach to the south facing runway at Stearman Field in Benton.&nbsp;</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757325430779.png" alt="Photo courtesy KWCH" />
                        <figcaption>Photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
                    </figure><p> The aircraft's landing gear struck a 2020 Toyota Corolla driven by Rebeca Rodriguez, 71, Benton, who was eastbound on Southwest 30th Street. The impact caused the aircraft to strike the ground and flip over on to its top.</p><p>The pilot, a passenger on plane and Rodriguez were not injured. The accident remains under investigation.</p>

Small plane clips car while landing at Kansas airport

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> arrives at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the U.S. Open Men’s Championship 🇺🇸🎾 <a href="https://t.co/riWkxXAYDr">pic.twitter.com/riWkxXAYDr</a></p>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1964747853601071372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> is signing supporters hats at the U.S. Open 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/gXav5Ita2h">pic.twitter.com/gXav5Ita2h</a></p>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1964807955544756305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Donald Trump is in attendance at the US Open men&#39;s final. <a href="https://t.co/Tl6mpqFlcZ">pic.twitter.com/Tl6mpqFlcZ</a></p>&mdash; ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1964761370416615585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By no means do I intend to have anyone’s head explode🤯but THE KING👑OF QUEENS is back🎾 <a href="https://t.co/F01YG2XeaP">pic.twitter.com/F01YG2XeaP</a></p>&mdash; Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1964831966060269986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cheers from the audience as President Donald J. Trump enters Arthur Ashe Stadium for the <a href="https://twitter.com/usopen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usopen</a> 🎾🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/TsXbMJZ59x">pic.twitter.com/TsXbMJZ59x</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964750248393490669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;There he is — the second sitting U.S. President to attend the <a href="https://twitter.com/usopen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usopen</a>.&quot; 🎾🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/K3aojqQODm">pic.twitter.com/K3aojqQODm</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964747849683308921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> takes his seat at the <a href="https://twitter.com/usopen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usopen</a> men&#39;s final 🎾 <a href="https://t.co/xtnRiHTx0C">pic.twitter.com/xtnRiHTx0C</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964759087700455869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Not every day that happens. Queens boy!” <a href="https://twitter.com/usopen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usopen</a> 🎾 <a href="https://t.co/V1Pn1ZzF5J">pic.twitter.com/V1Pn1ZzF5J</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964801620270854233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 Trump at the U.S. Open final: Cheers, boos and long security lines

By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

Gov. Jim Pillen, a former regent, says Regent Elizabeth O’Connor should ‘reflect on whether she should remain in a position of public trust’ if allegations are true

OMAHA —&nbsp;A Nebraska state senator is taking the first steps toward pursuing impeachment proceedings against a University of Nebraska regent charged with driving drunk in a crash that caused serious injuries.

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha confirmed Examiner reporting that she is exploring what the Nebraska Legislature needs to do to consider&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/articles.php?article=III-17" target="_blank">articles of impeachment&nbsp;</a>against NU Regent Elizabeth O’Connor of Omaha.

Kauth confirmed Saturday that she has discussed her plans with the Governor’s Office and top legislative leadership.

“This is such a grotesque abuse of public trust that it needs to be addressed,” Kauth told the Nebraska Examiner on Saturday.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, who served as an NU regent between 2013 and 2023, including four years with O’Connor, told the Examiner that the charges against her are “extremely serious” while noting she remains innocent until proven guilty.

“If she knows the allegations against her to be true, I urge her to reflect on whether she should remain in a position of public trust,” Pillen said in a statement. “In any event, the question of impeachment is entrusted by our Constitution to the Legislature, and I respect the judgment of that body on this matter.”

Kauth is expected to announce her plans Sunday in her regular email to her constituents and supporters. Kauth is an influential lawmaker and committee chair, and her push marks the first legislative move toward removing O’Connor from office. Only the Legislature can do so if O’Connor doesn’t resign.

Authorities allege that O’Connor had a blood alcohol concentration of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,196" target="_blank">four times the legal limit</a>, or 0.321%, at the time of a May 21 crash in Omaha’s Benson neighborhood in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/media/images/maps/2021/regents/omaha.pdf" target="_blank">O’Connor’s district</a>.

Kauth noted that a criminal trial could take time to resolve and said the Legislature should act now because lawmakers do not condone O’Connor’s alleged actions. Kauth said no one is above the law and that elected officials must be held to the highest standards.

Kauth added she is “appalled” that O’Connor has not resigned or made any indication she would resign for allegations Kauth called&nbsp;“absolutely inexcusable.” The senator called resigning the “honorable choice.”

“I’m willing to start the proceedings so we can make sure that at some point in time she is no longer representing the university,” Kauth said.

O’Connor, reelected in November to a second six-year term, has pleaded not guilty. Neither O’Connor nor her attorney had an immediate comment Saturday.

“My attorney has advised me of my rights, including the right to a jury trial; my right to confront accusers; to subpoena witnesses; to remain silent; to counsel; … and my right to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” O’Connor said in a May 28 filing in Douglas County District Court.

O’Connor, 35, is&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/12/nu-regent-faces-felony-dui-charge-after-crash-that-could-jeopardize-her-office/">charged</a>&nbsp;with one&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,198#:~:text=60%2D6%2C198.,bodily%20injury%3B%20violation%3B%20penalty." target="_blank">Class IIIA felony alleging that she drove under the influence and caused serious injury</a>. A passenger in the opposing car suffered a broken back and pelvis, according to police and court records. Four others were in that car, including three young children. Both cars were totaled.

The father of the children injured in the crash started an online petition in recent weeks calling for O’Connor to lose her law license and resign as a regent after details of the case became public. As of Saturday, the petition had gathered nearly 800 signatures.

“These actions will not only hold her accountable but also serve as a firm reminder that such behavior is unacceptable for someone in her position,” the petition states.

Prosecutors filed charges against O’Connor July 30. Investigators transferred the case from the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, which normally handles felony charges, to the Omaha City Prosecutor’s Office because O’Connor, until early August, had worked as a deputy county attorney.

O’Connor and her attorney have yet to publicly discuss her fate as a regent. She has continued attending board meetings, including in June to&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/19/regents-approve-5-tuition-increase-20-million-in-cuts-for-university-of-nebraska/#:~:text=By:%20Zach%20Wendling%20%2D%20June%2019%2C%202025%205:08%20pm&amp;text=LINCOLN%20%E2%80%94%20The%20University%20of%20Nebraska,%E2%80%9Cstate%2Daided%20budget.%E2%80%9D">approve the university’s budget</a>.&nbsp;

NU campuses are considering more than&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/04/nu-president-budget-cuts-incredibly-painful-but-necessary-for-university-survival/">$40 million in cuts</a>. Regents are set to vote on the reductions package by the end of the year.

Under the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/articles.php?article=XV-2" target="_blank">Nebraska Constitution</a>, someone convicted of a felony&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=29-112" target="_blank">cannot hold public office</a>. Constitutional officers can only be removed from office via legislative impeachment if they don’t resign.

If the Legislature impeaches O’Connor or she resigns, Pillen would choose her successor.

Speaker John Arch of La Vista had no immediate comment.

The Legislature can impeach an officeholder via a legislative resolution, which can be brought during a regular or special session. In the past, such resolutions have always followed a legislative investigation.

Past investigations have followed the formation of a special investigatory committee, a designated group of lawmakers who would investigate the incident and recommend whether to impeach a state official. Legislative rules require such a committee to be established during a legislative session, yet the committee could work only while lawmakers are out of session.

Lawmakers adjourned in June for the year and are not set to return until January.

Another option: An existing legislative committee with jurisdiction — possibly the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee —&nbsp;could hold a public hearing on whether to pursue a legislative investigation. Both approaches could have subpoena power.

It would take 25 legislative votes to impeach, a simple majority. Nothing would prevent Kauth or another lawmaker from pursuing a vote for impeachment without first pursuing an investigation, but the Nebraska Supreme Court requires “clear and convincing” legislative evidence to convict on articles of impeachment.

Nebraska’s 49-member Legislature, which is officially nonpartisan, has 33 registered Republicans, 15 Democrats and one nonpartisan progressive.

If the Legislature impeaches a state official, that person is barred from performing official duties until the state’s high court weighs in. At least five of seven justices would need to agree.

The Nebraska Legislature last impeached a state official in 2006. Lawmakers passed&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/99/PDF/Journal/r2journal.pdf#page=1554" target="_blank">10 articles of impeachment</a>&nbsp;against then-NU Regent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/07/10/nebraska-regent-ousted" target="_blank">C. David Hergert</a>&nbsp;related to alleged campaign finance violations by a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/99/PDF/Journal/r2journal.pdf#page=1628" target="_blank">25-22 vote</a>. Six Supreme Court justices&nbsp;<a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/nebraska/supreme-court/2006/425-0.html" target="_blank">convicted Hergert</a>, removing and disqualifying him from public office.

O’Connor was elected in 2018 as the youngest regent ever, at 28 years old, and as one of just a handful of women to serve. She is a former University of Nebraska at Omaha student regent.

Regent Barbara Weitz of Omaha has defended O’Connor, saying the regent “takes responsibility for making a bad choice, but she’s also doing everything she can to make it right.” Weitz has described O’Connor as an “outstanding” regent who has NU’s best interests in mind.

“Of all the people I know who deserve second chances, she tops the list,” Weitz said previously.&nbsp;

The NU Board of Regents is officially nonpartisan but consists of 6 registered Republicans and 2 Democrats. Weitz and O’Connor are Democrats. Kauth and Pillen are Republicans.

Regents most often vote as one, and over the past seven years, across hundreds of votes, the board split 6-2 along party lines once. That was in April, when the regents amended NU bylaws to try to comply with an order from President Donald Trump’s administration against higher education diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Weitz and O’Connor&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/04/11/university-of-nebraska-regents-amend-bylaws-to-comply-with-federal-anti-dei-mandate/">opposed the changes</a>.

Kauth said O’Connor’s continued service risks an appearance that elected officials get a “free pass.” She said she is also concerned about the message to college students, that if they get drunk, “blitzed out of your mind and nearly kill someone” it could be seen as “no big deal.”

No state lawmaker believes a drunken driver should have more rights than injured victims facing a “cascading effect” of trauma, Kauth said. The senator said she would call for a Republican to resign if facing similar charges.

“Everyone has hard times,” Kauth said. “It does not excuse anyone from drinking and getting in a car, period.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1757255826809.png" alt=" University of Nebraska Regent Elizabeth O’Connor of Omaha. Oct. 5, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
                        <figcaption> University of Nebraska Regent Elizabeth O’Connor of Omaha. Oct. 5, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/zachwendling/">Zach Wendling</a><br><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/17/lincoln-senators-clash-over-nebraska-school-retirement-bill-as-school-leaders-weigh-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a></p><h2>Gov. Jim Pillen, a former regent, says Regent Elizabeth O’Connor should ‘reflect on whether she should remain in a position of public trust’ if allegations are true</h2><p>OMAHA —&nbsp;A Nebraska state senator is taking the first steps toward pursuing impeachment proceedings against a University of Nebraska regent charged with driving drunk in a crash that caused serious injuries.</p><p>State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha confirmed Examiner reporting that she is exploring what the Nebraska Legislature needs to do to consider&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/articles.php?article=III-17" target="_blank">articles of impeachment&nbsp;</a>against NU Regent Elizabeth O’Connor of Omaha.</p><p>Kauth confirmed Saturday that she has discussed her plans with the Governor’s Office and top legislative leadership.</p><p>“This is such a grotesque abuse of public trust that it needs to be addressed,” Kauth told the Nebraska Examiner on Saturday.</p><p>Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, who served as an NU regent between 2013 and 2023, including four years with O’Connor, told the Examiner that the charges against her are “extremely serious” while noting she remains innocent until proven guilty.</p><p>“If she knows the allegations against her to be true, I urge her to reflect on whether she should remain in a position of public trust,” Pillen said in a statement. “In any event, the question of impeachment is entrusted by our Constitution to the Legislature, and I respect the judgment of that body on this matter.”</p><h2>‘Willing to start the proceedings’</h2><p>Kauth is expected to announce her plans Sunday in her regular email to her constituents and supporters. Kauth is an influential lawmaker and committee chair, and her push marks the first legislative move toward removing O’Connor from office. Only the Legislature can do so if O’Connor doesn’t resign.</p><p>Authorities allege that O’Connor had a blood alcohol concentration of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,196" target="_blank">four times the legal limit</a>, or 0.321%, at the time of a May 21 crash in Omaha’s Benson neighborhood in&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/media/images/maps/2021/regents/omaha.pdf" target="_blank">O’Connor’s district</a>.</p><p>Kauth noted that a criminal trial could take time to resolve and said the Legislature should act now because lawmakers do not condone O’Connor’s alleged actions. Kauth said no one is above the law and that elected officials must be held to the highest standards.</p><p>Kauth added she is “appalled” that O’Connor has not resigned or made any indication she would resign for allegations Kauth called&nbsp;“absolutely inexcusable.” The senator called resigning the “honorable choice.”</p><p>“I’m willing to start the proceedings so we can make sure that at some point in time she is no longer representing the university,” Kauth said.</p><h2>Impact of a felony charge</h2><p>O’Connor, reelected in November to a second six-year term, has pleaded not guilty. Neither O’Connor nor her attorney had an immediate comment Saturday.</p><p>“My attorney has advised me of my rights, including the right to a jury trial; my right to confront accusers; to subpoena witnesses; to remain silent; to counsel; … and my right to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” O’Connor said in a May 28 filing in Douglas County District Court.</p><p>O’Connor, 35, is&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/12/nu-regent-faces-felony-dui-charge-after-crash-that-could-jeopardize-her-office/">charged</a>&nbsp;with one&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,198#:~:text=60%2D6%2C198.,bodily%20injury%3B%20violation%3B%20penalty." target="_blank">Class IIIA felony alleging that she drove under the influence and caused serious injury</a>. A passenger in the opposing car suffered a broken back and pelvis, according to police and court records. Four others were in that car, including three young children. Both cars were totaled.</p><p>The father of the children injured in the crash started an online petition in recent weeks calling for O’Connor to lose her law license and resign as a regent after details of the case became public. As of Saturday, the petition had gathered nearly 800 signatures.</p><p>“These actions will not only hold her accountable but also serve as a firm reminder that such behavior is unacceptable for someone in her position,” the petition states.</p><p>Prosecutors filed charges against O’Connor July 30. Investigators transferred the case from the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, which normally handles felony charges, to the Omaha City Prosecutor’s Office because O’Connor, until early August, had worked as a deputy county attorney.</p><h2>Impact of a felony</h2><p>O’Connor and her attorney have yet to publicly discuss her fate as a regent. She has continued attending board meetings, including in June to&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/06/19/regents-approve-5-tuition-increase-20-million-in-cuts-for-university-of-nebraska/#:~:text=By:%20Zach%20Wendling%20%2D%20June%2019%2C%202025%205:08%20pm&amp;text=LINCOLN%20%E2%80%94%20The%20University%20of%20Nebraska,%E2%80%9Cstate%2Daided%20budget.%E2%80%9D">approve the university’s budget</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>NU campuses are considering more than&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/04/nu-president-budget-cuts-incredibly-painful-but-necessary-for-university-survival/">$40 million in cuts</a>. Regents are set to vote on the reductions package by the end of the year.</p><p>Under the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/articles.php?article=XV-2" target="_blank">Nebraska Constitution</a>, someone convicted of a felony&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=29-112" target="_blank">cannot hold public office</a>. Constitutional officers can only be removed from office via legislative impeachment if they don’t resign.</p><p>If the Legislature impeaches O’Connor or she resigns, Pillen would choose her successor.</p><p>Speaker John Arch of La Vista had no immediate comment.</p><h2>Impeachment steps</h2><p>The Legislature can impeach an officeholder via a legislative resolution, which can be brought during a regular or special session. In the past, such resolutions have always followed a legislative investigation.</p><p>Past investigations have followed the formation of a special investigatory committee, a designated group of lawmakers who would investigate the incident and recommend whether to impeach a state official. Legislative rules require such a committee to be established during a legislative session, yet the committee could work only while lawmakers are out of session.</p><p>Lawmakers adjourned in June for the year and are not set to return until January.</p><p>Another option: An existing legislative committee with jurisdiction — possibly the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee —&nbsp;could hold a public hearing on whether to pursue a legislative investigation. Both approaches could have subpoena power.</p><p>It would take 25 legislative votes to impeach, a simple majority. Nothing would prevent Kauth or another lawmaker from pursuing a vote for impeachment without first pursuing an investigation, but the Nebraska Supreme Court requires “clear and convincing” legislative evidence to convict on articles of impeachment.</p><p>Nebraska’s 49-member Legislature, which is officially nonpartisan, has 33 registered Republicans, 15 Democrats and one nonpartisan progressive.</p><p>If the Legislature impeaches a state official, that person is barred from performing official duties until the state’s high court weighs in. At least five of seven justices would need to agree.</p><p>The Nebraska Legislature last impeached a state official in 2006. Lawmakers passed&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/99/PDF/Journal/r2journal.pdf#page=1554" target="_blank">10 articles of impeachment</a>&nbsp;against then-NU Regent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/07/10/nebraska-regent-ousted" target="_blank">C. David Hergert</a>&nbsp;related to alleged campaign finance violations by a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/99/PDF/Journal/r2journal.pdf#page=1628" target="_blank">25-22 vote</a>. Six Supreme Court justices&nbsp;<a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/nebraska/supreme-court/2006/425-0.html" target="_blank">convicted Hergert</a>, removing and disqualifying him from public office.</p><h2>‘Second chances’</h2><p>O’Connor was elected in 2018 as the youngest regent ever, at 28 years old, and as one of just a handful of women to serve. She is a former University of Nebraska at Omaha student regent.</p><p>Regent Barbara Weitz of Omaha has defended O’Connor, saying the regent “takes responsibility for making a bad choice, but she’s also doing everything she can to make it right.” Weitz has described O’Connor as an “outstanding” regent who has NU’s best interests in mind.</p><p>“Of all the people I know who deserve second chances, she tops the list,” Weitz said previously.&nbsp;</p><p>The NU Board of Regents is officially nonpartisan but consists of 6 registered Republicans and 2 Democrats. Weitz and O’Connor are Democrats. Kauth and Pillen are Republicans.</p><p>Regents most often vote as one, and over the past seven years, across hundreds of votes, the board split 6-2 along party lines once. That was in April, when the regents amended NU bylaws to try to comply with an order from President Donald Trump’s administration against higher education diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Weitz and O’Connor&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/04/11/university-of-nebraska-regents-amend-bylaws-to-comply-with-federal-anti-dei-mandate/">opposed the changes</a>.</p><h2>Message of continued service</h2><p>Kauth said O’Connor’s continued service risks an appearance that elected officials get a “free pass.” She said she is also concerned about the message to college students, that if they get drunk, “blitzed out of your mind and nearly kill someone” it could be seen as “no big deal.”</p><p>No state lawmaker believes a drunken driver should have more rights than injured victims facing a “cascading effect” of trauma, Kauth said. The senator said she would call for a Republican to resign if facing similar charges.</p><p>“Everyone has hard times,” Kauth said. “It does not excuse anyone from drinking and getting in a car, period.</p>

State Sen. Kauth takes steps toward impeaching NU regent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Saturday amplified his promises to send National Guard&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-baltimore-law-enforcement-6d7c80258f17c3d679358467531f7e9d">troops and immigration agents</a>&nbsp;to Chicago by posting a parody image from “Apocalypse Now” featuring a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the nation’s third-largest city.

“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

The president offered no details beyond the label “Chipocalypse Now,” a play on the title of Francis Ford Coppola’s dystopian 1979 film set in the Vietnam war, in which a character says: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

In response to the post, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called Trump a “wannabe dictator.”

Trump on Friday signed an executive order seeking to rename the Defense Department the Department of War, after months of campaigning to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. The renaming requires congressional approval.

The illustration in Trump’s post shows him against a backdrop of the Chicago skyline, wearing a hat matching that of the movie’s war-loving and amoral Lt. Col. Kilgore, played by Robert Duvall.

Trump’s weekend post follows his repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he’s targeted for expanded federal enforcement. His administration is set to step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, as it did in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bovino-border-patrol-immigration-los-angeles-chicago-03b908a84106fae80a80b2837625eef7">Los Angeles</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-baltimore-law-enforcement-6d7c80258f17c3d679358467531f7e9d">deploy National Guard troops</a>.

In addition to sending troops to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-newsom-los-angeles-national-guard-d6c8450a3ac2de34e669ef0836d22cbc">Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;in June, Trump has deployed them since last month in Washington, as part of his unprecedented&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-washington-dc-national-guard-democrats-politics-03e3f73a6d0eacd9754618e555349b27">law enforcement takeover</a>&nbsp;of the nation’s capital.

He’s also suggested that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-baltimore-law-enforcement-6d7c80258f17c3d679358467531f7e9d">Baltimore</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-guard-new-orleans-chicago-baltimore-c9df92974b9fbb2f3be0bb015a512eff">New Orleans</a>&nbsp;could get the same treatment, and on Friday even mentioned federal authorities possibly heading for Portland, Oregon, to “wipe ’em out,” meaning protesters. He could have been mistakenly describing video from demonstrations in that city years ago.

Details about Trump’s promised Chicago operation have been sparse, but there’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-trump-national-guard-crime-illinois-ef8f6e337e0a120634a350db84d60f46">already widespread opposition</a>. City and state leaders have said they plan to sue the Trump administration. Pritzker, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, is also fiercely opposed to it.

The president “is threatening to go to war with an American city,” Pritzker wrote on X over an image of Trump’s post. “This is not a joke. This is not normal.”

He added: “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”

Trump has suggested that he has nearly limitless powers when it comes to deploying the National Guard. At times he’s even touched on questions about his being a dictator.

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Saturday amplified his promises to send National Guard&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-baltimore-law-enforcement-6d7c80258f17c3d679358467531f7e9d">troops and immigration agents</a>&nbsp;to Chicago by posting a parody image from “Apocalypse Now” featuring a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the nation’s third-largest city.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="qme" dir="ltr">🚁🚁🚁 <a href="https://t.co/6LSUCBcDQK">pic.twitter.com/6LSUCBcDQK</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1964359754458833028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”</p><p>The president offered no details beyond the label “Chipocalypse Now,” a play on the title of Francis Ford Coppola’s dystopian 1979 film set in the Vietnam war, in which a character says: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”</p><p>In response to the post, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called Trump a “wannabe dictator.”</p><p>Trump on Friday signed an executive order seeking to rename the Defense Department the Department of War, after months of campaigning to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. The renaming requires congressional approval.</p><p>The illustration in Trump’s post shows him against a backdrop of the Chicago skyline, wearing a hat matching that of the movie’s war-loving and amoral Lt. Col. Kilgore, played by Robert Duvall.</p><p>Trump’s weekend post follows his repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he’s targeted for expanded federal enforcement. His administration is set to step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, as it did in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bovino-border-patrol-immigration-los-angeles-chicago-03b908a84106fae80a80b2837625eef7">Los Angeles</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-baltimore-law-enforcement-6d7c80258f17c3d679358467531f7e9d">deploy National Guard troops</a>.</p><p>In addition to sending troops to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-newsom-los-angeles-national-guard-d6c8450a3ac2de34e669ef0836d22cbc">Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;in June, Trump has deployed them since last month in Washington, as part of his unprecedented&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-washington-dc-national-guard-democrats-politics-03e3f73a6d0eacd9754618e555349b27">law enforcement takeover</a>&nbsp;of the nation’s capital.</p><p>He’s also suggested that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-baltimore-law-enforcement-6d7c80258f17c3d679358467531f7e9d">Baltimore</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-guard-new-orleans-chicago-baltimore-c9df92974b9fbb2f3be0bb015a512eff">New Orleans</a>&nbsp;could get the same treatment, and on Friday even mentioned federal authorities possibly heading for Portland, Oregon, to “wipe ’em out,” meaning protesters. He could have been mistakenly describing video from demonstrations in that city years ago.</p><p>Details about Trump’s promised Chicago operation have been sparse, but there’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-trump-national-guard-crime-illinois-ef8f6e337e0a120634a350db84d60f46">already widespread opposition</a>. City and state leaders have said they plan to sue the Trump administration. Pritzker, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, is also fiercely opposed to it.</p><p>The president “is threatening to go to war with an American city,” Pritzker wrote on X over an image of Trump’s post. “This is not a joke. This is not normal.”</p><p>He added: “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”</p><p>Trump has suggested that he has nearly limitless powers when it comes to deploying the National Guard. At times he’s even touched on questions about his being a dictator.</p><p>“Most people are saying, ‘If you call him a dictator, if he stops crime, he can be whatever he wants’ — I am not a dictator, by the way,” Trump said last month. He added, “Not that I don’t have — I would — the right to do anything I want to do.”</p>