I know what you're thinking. Why should I, someone who lives in the Nebraska Panhandle watch boxing. I promise you, if there was ever a day, ever a fight, it is this Saturday.&nbsp; &nbsp;If you're Nebraskan, you support other Nebraskans, and one of yours is competing in arguably the biggest boxing match a Nebraskan has been in since Max Baer of Omaha defeated&nbsp; Max Schmeling in 1933.&nbsp;

Fast forward to almost 100 years, on Saturday night Omaha's Terence Crawford will battle Dallas's Errol Spence for the Undisputed Welterweight&nbsp; Championship, in a clash years making. ESPN has Crawford the #1 fighter in the&nbsp; world and Spence #4, and the winner of this fight will arguably be named the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, which if Crawford wins would be huge for Nebraska.

If you're still reading this and you're from the Nebraska Panhandle, you might be wondering, if this Terence Crawford guy from Omaha is so good and this is such a big event, why haven't I heard of it?&nbsp; A couple of things, most big fights are on Pay Per View and boxing isn't as accessible as it was years ago, but being the boxing nerd I am, I have followed Crawford's career since about 2015 and all he has done is destroy every opponent he's faced, on his way to winning multiple championships in three weight classes.&nbsp; An issue is his fights have rarely been on TV and despite his greatness, Crawford will always be behind the Cornhuskers and other teams in terms of media coverage in Nebraska.

This fight on Saturday in Las Vegas on Saturday though is different. Crawford's opponent Errol Spence has been a longtime champion at Welterweight and is the naturally bigger fighter in this matchup, but Crawford has that Nebraskan grit that he has shown his entire career.&nbsp;

It's the biggest fight of the year and truly a 50-50 event between two great champions. Unfortunately for some fight fans, some will have to choose between the biggest boxing card of the year and a UFC PPV card on the same night. But with Nebraska's Terence Crawford looking to make history, it should be an easy choice.

By Alex Benzegala Panhandle PostI know what you're thinking. Why should I, someone who lives in the Nebraska Panhandle watch boxing. I promise you, if there was ever a day, ever a fight, it is this Saturday.&nbsp; &nbsp;If you're Nebraskan, you support other Nebraskans, and one of yours is competing in arguably the biggest boxing match a Nebraskan has been in since Max Baer of Omaha defeated&nbsp; Max Schmeling in 1933.&nbsp;Fast forward to almost 100 years, on Saturday night Omaha's Terence Crawford will battle Dallas's Errol Spence for the Undisputed Welterweight&nbsp; Championship, in a clash years making. ESPN has Crawford the #1 fighter in the&nbsp; world and Spence #4, and the winner of this fight will arguably be named the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, which if Crawford wins would be huge for Nebraska.If you're still reading this and you're from the Nebraska Panhandle, you might be wondering, if this Terence Crawford guy from Omaha is so good and this is such a big event, why haven't I heard of it?&nbsp; A couple of things, most big fights are on Pay Per View and boxing isn't as accessible as it was years ago, but being the boxing nerd I am, I have followed Crawford's career since about 2015 and all he has done is destroy every opponent he's faced, on his way to winning multiple championships in three weight classes.&nbsp; An issue is his fights have rarely been on TV and despite his greatness, Crawford will always be behind the Cornhuskers and other teams in terms of media coverage in Nebraska.This fight on Saturday in Las Vegas on Saturday though is different. Crawford's opponent Errol Spence has been a longtime champion at Welterweight and is the naturally bigger fighter in this matchup, but Crawford has that Nebraskan grit that he has shown his entire career.&nbsp;It's the biggest fight of the year and truly a 50-50 event between two great champions. Unfortunately for some fight fans, some will have to choose between the biggest boxing card of the year and a UFC PPV card on the same night. But with Nebraska's Terence Crawford looking to make history, it should be an easy choice.

OPINION: Why Nebraskan's should watch boxing on Saturday

Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts made comments on Wednesday highlighting the efforts of railroads to reduce emissions while supporting the economy.&nbsp;



“In some cases, renewable diesel and biodiesel can reduce carbon emissions by 25%,”&nbsp;Ricketts&nbsp;said.&nbsp;“Utilizing more renewable diesel and biodiesel is a win-win scenario. Renewable diesel and biodiesel are produced from agricultural by-products… Creating value through by-products sustains value for farmers across the country, decreases emissions, and supports renewable refining jobs across rural America."

  Ricketts continued by expressing that renewable fuels&nbsp;are the here and now solution to&nbsp;maintain rail efficiency, while emissions can be decreased by 25%.&nbsp;

&nbsp; The deployment of unique locomotive technology (such as all-electric trains) would creative captive fleets that serve small geographic regions, harming the efficiency of railroad operations and disrupting entire supply chains,”&nbsp;Ricketts said. &nbsp;“State and federal regulations cannot put the cart in front of the horse when it comes to reliability and safety.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Ricketts also said that he has concerns with the current efforts with the electrification of the rail system. 

"

The deployment of unique locomotive technology (such as all-electric trains) would creative captive fleets that serve small geographic regions, harming the efficiency of railroad operations and disrupting entire supply chains,”&nbsp;Ricketts added.&nbsp;

“State and federal regulations cannot put the cart in front of the horse when it comes to reliability and safety.”&nbsp; 

By Alex Benzegala Panhandle PostNebraska Senator Pete Ricketts made comments on Wednesday highlighting the efforts of railroads to reduce emissions while supporting the economy.&nbsp;

“In some cases, renewable diesel and biodiesel can reduce carbon emissions by 25%,”&nbsp;Ricketts&nbsp;said.&nbsp;“Utilizing more renewable diesel and biodiesel is a win-win scenario. Renewable diesel and biodiesel are produced from agricultural by-products… Creating value through by-products sustains value for farmers across the country, decreases emissions, and supports renewable refining jobs across rural America." Ricketts continued by expressing that renewable fuels&nbsp;are the here and now solution to&nbsp;maintain rail efficiency, while emissions can be decreased by 25%.&nbsp;&nbsp; The deployment of unique locomotive technology (such as all-electric trains) would creative captive fleets that serve small geographic regions, harming the efficiency of railroad operations and disrupting entire supply chains,”&nbsp;Ricketts said. &nbsp;“State and federal regulations cannot put the cart in front of the horse when it comes to reliability and safety.”&nbsp;&nbsp;Ricketts also said that he has concerns with the current efforts with the electrification of the rail system. "

The deployment of unique locomotive technology (such as all-electric trains) would creative captive fleets that serve small geographic regions, harming the efficiency of railroad operations and disrupting entire supply chains,”&nbsp;Ricketts added.&nbsp;“State and federal regulations cannot put the cart in front of the horse when it comes to reliability and safety.”&nbsp;

Senator Ricketts comments on renewable fuels and railroad industry

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a massive annual defense bill that would deliver a 5.2% pay raise for service members and keep the nation’s military operating, avoiding partisan policy battles with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.

Senate passage, 86-11, sets up a clash with the House, which passed its own version of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/defense-house-ukraine-mccarthy-abortion-diversity-50a7b843afa02fa7aa85819b074244c5">annual defense bill along party lines</a>&nbsp;earlier this month after pointed debates over social issues like abortion access and diversity initiatives. The sharply partisan arguments over the House legislation veered from a bipartisan tradition of finding consensus on national defense policy.

Both Nebraska Senators supported the bill.&nbsp; On his vote Nebraska junior Senator said,&nbsp; “At a time of growing threats from adversaries like the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, this defense bill focuses on deterring aggression and keeping Americans safe,” said Senator Ricketts. “I was proud to vote to give our troops a well-deserved pay raise, reject Biden’s reckless plan to shrink our Navy, modernize our nuclear deterrent, and ensure oversight of our aid to Ukraine. This bill also directs the president to prevent adversaries from purchasing U.S. farmland and demands the Pentagon focus on readiness instead of letting bureaucrats push divisive Critical Race Theory and DEI practices on our ranks."

“I am also grateful the bill includes Senator Lankford and my amendments to improve customer service and transparency in the Biden administration’s backlogged passport office,” Ricketts added.

The strong bipartisan vote for the legislation in the Senate Thursday evening, just before the Senate left for its August recess, could give it momentum as the two chambers next look to settle their differences in the fall.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said there is a “glaring contrast” between the two chambers' defense bills. The Senate had no “animus or acrimony,” in contrast to the House's partisan battles, he said.

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that “I don’t think either party got exactly what they wanted” in the Senate bill. But he said the legislation would help the military improve recruitment and prevent conflict.

The two chambers will now have to write a final bill, a test of the deeply divided House, in particular, as the traditionally bipartisan legislation was swept up in the disputes over race, equity and women’s health care that have been political priorities for the Republican party.

Wicker said talks with the House will start “very soon” and he feels confident they will be able to pass the legislation, as Congress has annually since 1961.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Armed Services panel, predicted the bipartisan Senate approach would mostly prevail.

“The fact that we’re going to have a strong bipartisan approach on it says that we’re probably closer to where we’re going to end up than what the House has done on a partisan basis,” said Rounds.

The massive Senate defense bill would set defense spending levels at $886 billion for the coming year, similar to President Joe Biden’s budget request. Congress has to pass separate spending legislation to allocate the money, but the defense legislation lays out budget and policy for the Pentagon.

The House debate earlier this month was marked by amendments from hardline conservatives that were adopted and pushed the bill to the right — including proposals to roll back diversity and inclusion measures at the Pentagon and to block some medical care for transgender personnel.

In the Senate, where most amendments need 60 votes to pass, additions to the bill were bipartisan and more focused on military policy, with many focused on countering potential American adversaries like Russia and China.

One bipartisan provision would require two-thirds of the Senate to approve if a U.S. president tries to withdraw from NATO. Former President Donald Trump, who is running again for his old office, has been deeply critical of the military alliance and repeatedly questioned its value to the U.S.

Rounds also joined with Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana to successfully push an amendment to the bill that would prevent agents of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from purchasing agricultural land in the U.S. Another bipartisan duo, Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas and Bob Casey, D-Pa., pushed an amendment to increase Treasury Department oversight of U.S. investment into Russian and Chinese technology firms that work with “sensitive technology,” such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

Another provision that won support from both parties would allow the Treasury Department to use sanctions against people and organizations involved in the international fentanyl trade.

Also included is language sponsored by Schumer requiring the government to collect records relating to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ufos-uaps-congress-whistleblower-spy-aliens-ba8a8cfba353d7b9de29c3d906a69ba7">unidentified aerial phenomena</a>&nbsp;" — the official term the U.S. government uses instead of unidentified flying objects — and review whether they need to stay classified. The amendment would allow the release of some of those records over time.

Still unresolved, though, is Alabama&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tuberville-military-holds-senate-officers-45c4230a8aee5222bf32b43823e29acc">Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s refusal to allow</a>&nbsp;the quick confirmation of hundreds of military nominations and promotions in the Senate. Tuberville is protesting the Defense Department’s abortion policy, which covers the cost of travel for service members seeking abortion and reproductive care.

Tuberville has shown little interest in backing down even as some of his fellow Republican senators have encouraged him to drop it. He is preventing quick action on over 260 nominations of senior military officers, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marine-commandant-berger-smith-senate-tuberville-8c5d1e51ac8a69254d57f1e98139e294">a commandant for the U.S. Marine Corps</a>&nbsp;and others, frustrating leaders at the Pentagon and his own colleagues.

The House bill contains a provision that would end the Defense Department's new abortion policy. But that would not pass the Democratic-led Senate.

Biden called Tuberville's hold “outrageous” in a speech at the National Archives Thursday evening.

“There is a growing cascade of damage and disruption all because of one senator from Alabama," Biden said.

Biden's administration did appear to work out a deal on nominations with a different Republican senator late Thursday. After meetings with State Department officials during the day, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released his holds on several department nominees. The Senate later confirmed more than a dozen ambassadors, including former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell as ambassador to Italy.

Hours earlier, Paul told reporters he was working with the department to receive more information on projects in China that were funded by the U.S. government.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690539718572.png" alt="Vote counting in the U.S. Senate on the massive defense bill -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Vote counting in the U.S. Senate on the massive defense bill -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a massive annual defense bill that would deliver a 5.2% pay raise for service members and keep the nation’s military operating, avoiding partisan policy battles with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.Senate passage, 86-11, sets up a clash with the House, which passed its own version of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/defense-house-ukraine-mccarthy-abortion-diversity-50a7b843afa02fa7aa85819b074244c5">annual defense bill along party lines</a>&nbsp;earlier this month after pointed debates over social issues like abortion access and diversity initiatives. The sharply partisan arguments over the House legislation veered from a bipartisan tradition of finding consensus on national defense policy.Both Nebraska Senators supported the bill.&nbsp; On his vote Nebraska junior Senator said,&nbsp; “At a time of growing threats from adversaries like the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, this defense bill focuses on deterring aggression and keeping Americans safe,” said Senator Ricketts. “I was proud to vote to give our troops a well-deserved pay raise, reject Biden’s reckless plan to shrink our Navy, modernize our nuclear deterrent, and ensure oversight of our aid to Ukraine. This bill also directs the president to prevent adversaries from purchasing U.S. farmland and demands the Pentagon focus on readiness instead of letting bureaucrats push divisive Critical Race Theory and DEI practices on our ranks."“I am also grateful the bill includes Senator Lankford and my amendments to improve customer service and transparency in the Biden administration’s backlogged passport office,” Ricketts added.The strong bipartisan vote for the legislation in the Senate Thursday evening, just before the Senate left for its August recess, could give it momentum as the two chambers next look to settle their differences in the fall.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690539693355.png" alt="Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after the completion of the vote-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after the completion of the vote-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said there is a “glaring contrast” between the two chambers' defense bills. The Senate had no “animus or acrimony,” in contrast to the House's partisan battles, he said.Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that “I don’t think either party got exactly what they wanted” in the Senate bill. But he said the legislation would help the military improve recruitment and prevent conflict.The two chambers will now have to write a final bill, a test of the deeply divided House, in particular, as the traditionally bipartisan legislation was swept up in the disputes over race, equity and women’s health care that have been political priorities for the Republican party.Wicker said talks with the House will start “very soon” and he feels confident they will be able to pass the legislation, as Congress has annually since 1961.“We always have,” Wicker said.Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Armed Services panel, predicted the bipartisan Senate approach would mostly prevail.“The fact that we’re going to have a strong bipartisan approach on it says that we’re probably closer to where we’re going to end up than what the House has done on a partisan basis,” said Rounds.The massive Senate defense bill would set defense spending levels at $886 billion for the coming year, similar to President Joe Biden’s budget request. Congress has to pass separate spending legislation to allocate the money, but the defense legislation lays out budget and policy for the Pentagon.The House debate earlier this month was marked by amendments from hardline conservatives that were adopted and pushed the bill to the right — including proposals to roll back diversity and inclusion measures at the Pentagon and to block some medical care for transgender personnel.In the Senate, where most amendments need 60 votes to pass, additions to the bill were bipartisan and more focused on military policy, with many focused on countering potential American adversaries like Russia and China.One bipartisan provision would require two-thirds of the Senate to approve if a U.S. president tries to withdraw from NATO. Former President Donald Trump, who is running again for his old office, has been deeply critical of the military alliance and repeatedly questioned its value to the U.S.Rounds also joined with Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana to successfully push an amendment to the bill that would prevent agents of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from purchasing agricultural land in the U.S. Another bipartisan duo, Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas and Bob Casey, D-Pa., pushed an amendment to increase Treasury Department oversight of U.S. investment into Russian and Chinese technology firms that work with “sensitive technology,” such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.Another provision that won support from both parties would allow the Treasury Department to use sanctions against people and organizations involved in the international fentanyl trade.Also included is language sponsored by Schumer requiring the government to collect records relating to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ufos-uaps-congress-whistleblower-spy-aliens-ba8a8cfba353d7b9de29c3d906a69ba7">unidentified aerial phenomena</a>&nbsp;" — the official term the U.S. government uses instead of unidentified flying objects — and review whether they need to stay classified. The amendment would allow the release of some of those records over time.Still unresolved, though, is Alabama&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tuberville-military-holds-senate-officers-45c4230a8aee5222bf32b43823e29acc">Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s refusal to allow</a>&nbsp;the quick confirmation of hundreds of military nominations and promotions in the Senate. Tuberville is protesting the Defense Department’s abortion policy, which covers the cost of travel for service members seeking abortion and reproductive care.Tuberville has shown little interest in backing down even as some of his fellow Republican senators have encouraged him to drop it. He is preventing quick action on over 260 nominations of senior military officers, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marine-commandant-berger-smith-senate-tuberville-8c5d1e51ac8a69254d57f1e98139e294">a commandant for the U.S. Marine Corps</a>&nbsp;and others, frustrating leaders at the Pentagon and his own colleagues.The House bill contains a provision that would end the Defense Department's new abortion policy. But that would not pass the Democratic-led Senate.Biden called Tuberville's hold “outrageous” in a speech at the National Archives Thursday evening.“There is a growing cascade of damage and disruption all because of one senator from Alabama," Biden said.Biden's administration did appear to work out a deal on nominations with a different Republican senator late Thursday. After meetings with State Department officials during the day, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released his holds on several department nominees. The Senate later confirmed more than a dozen ambassadors, including former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell as ambassador to Italy.Hours earlier, Paul told reporters he was working with the department to receive more information on projects in China that were funded by the U.S. government.___

Fischer, Ricketts vote yes as Senate passes $900B defense bill

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 870,000 newer F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S. because the electric parking brakes can turn on unexpectedly.

The recall covers certain pickups from the 2021 through 2023 model years with single exhaust systems. Ford's F-Series pickups are the top-selling vehicles in the U.S.

The company says in&nbsp;<a href="https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2023/RCLRPT-23V509-7019.PDF">documents posted by government safety regulators</a>&nbsp;Friday that a rear wiring bundle can come in contact with the rear axle housing. That can chafe the wiring and cause a short circuit, which can turn on the parking brake without action from the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.

Drivers may see a parking brake warning light and a warning message on the dashboard.

Ford says in documents that it has 918 warranty claims and three field reports of wire chafing in North America. Of these, 299 indicated unexpected parking brake activation, and 19 of these happened while the trucks were being driven.

The company says it doesn't know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.

Dealers will inspect the rear wiring harness. If protective tape is worn through, the harness will be replaced. If the tape isn't worn, dealers will install a protective tie strap and tape wrap.

Owners will be notified by letter starting Sept. 11.

Owners with questions can call Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 870,000 newer F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S. because the electric parking brakes can turn on unexpectedly.The recall covers certain pickups from the 2021 through 2023 model years with single exhaust systems. Ford's F-Series pickups are the top-selling vehicles in the U.S.The company says in&nbsp;<a href="https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2023/RCLRPT-23V509-7019.PDF">documents posted by government safety regulators</a>&nbsp;Friday that a rear wiring bundle can come in contact with the rear axle housing. That can chafe the wiring and cause a short circuit, which can turn on the parking brake without action from the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.Drivers may see a parking brake warning light and a warning message on the dashboard.Ford says in documents that it has 918 warranty claims and three field reports of wire chafing in North America. Of these, 299 indicated unexpected parking brake activation, and 19 of these happened while the trucks were being driven.The company says it doesn't know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.Dealers will inspect the rear wiring harness. If protective tape is worn through, the harness will be replaced. If the tape isn't worn, dealers will install a protective tie strap and tape wrap.Owners will be notified by letter starting Sept. 11.Owners with questions can call Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332.

Recall: F-150 pickup parking brakes can turn on unexpectedly

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;faced new charges Thursday in a case accusing him of illegally possessing classified documents, with prosecutors alleging that he asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct a&nbsp;federal investigation into the records.

<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652.85.0_2.pdf">Click here to read the</a> indictment released late Thursday

The indictment includes new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, adding fresh detail to an indictment issued last month against Trump and a close aide. The additional charges came as a surprise at a time of escalating anticipation of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-investigation-indictment-730455c2b7a684593e41362e4b661cb3">possible additional indictment in Washington</a>&nbsp;over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The updated allegations make clear the vast — and unknown — scope of legal exposure faced by Trump as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024 while fending off criminal cases in multiple cities.

The new allegations from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-special-counsel-prosecutor-donald-trump-garland-e1fdb71cfc258bc2be48a8b890a9269b">special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;center on surveillance footage at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, evidence that has long been vital to the case. Trump is alleged to have asked for the footage to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-merrick-garland-government-and-politics-0486be7d750ae7546c6b9175f4952857">visited in June 2022</a>&nbsp;to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House. The new indictment also charges him with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-trump-audio-recording-classified-documents-case-3f3963a35a5d8ccae407ea4ab9f93082">illegally holding onto a document he's alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey</a>.

A Trump spokesperson dismissed the new charges as “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt” by the Biden administration “to harass President Trump and those around him” and to influence the 2024 presidential race.

Prosecutors accuse Trump of scheming with his valet,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-maralago-justice-department-classified-f5a7b87bbb0234d5504d1c1f92bc857e">Walt Nauta</a>, and a Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, to conceal the footage from federal investigators after they issued a subpoena for it. Video from the property would ultimately play a significant role in the investigation because, prosecutors said, it captured Nauta moving boxes of documents in and out of a storage room — including one such incident a day before a Justice Department visit to the property.

According to the indictment, Nauta met with De Oliveira on June 25, 2022, at Mar-a-Lago, where they went to a security guard booth where surveillance video was displayed on monitors and walked with a flashlight through a tunnel where the storage room was located, observing and pointing out surveillance cameras.

Two days later, according to the indictment, De Oliveira walked with an unidentified Trump employee to an audio room, where De Oliveira asked how many days the server retained footage.

De Oliveira, prosecutors said, told the other employee “that ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted" and asked, “What are we going to do?”

During a voluntary interview with the FBI last January, prosecutors say, De Oliveira lied when he said he “never saw nothing” with regard to boxes at Mar-a-Lago.

De Oliveira was added to the indictment, charged with obstruction and false statements related to an interview he gave the FBI earlier this year. His lawyer declined to comment Thursday evening.

The new charges were filed as Trump is bracing for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jan-6-justice-department-charges-ab1ad197e9abcb3eb9095237b98bee7d">prospect of an additional indictment</a>&nbsp;related to his efforts to undo the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Last week, he revealed he had received a letter from the Justice Department informing him he was a target in that probe, suggesting that charges could be forthcoming, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-investigation-indictment-730455c2b7a684593e41362e4b661cb3">his lawyers met with prosecutors on Smith's office earlier Thursday</a>&nbsp;to discuss that case.

But despite the anticipation, the only charges filed Thursday were in Florida, not Washington.

The superseding indictment also charges Trump with an additional count of willfully retaining national defense information, relating to a document he showed off to visitors at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club during an July 2021 interview for a memoir by his onetime chief of staff Mark Meadows. Prosecutors have described the document as a Pentagon plan of attack and Meadows, in his subsequent book, said the country it concerned was Iran.

According to the indictment, Trump returned that document, which was marked as top secret and not approved to show to foreign nationals, to the federal government on Jan. 17, 2022.

Trump has denied he had secret documents before him when he spoke.

“There wasn’t a document. I had lots of paper. I had copies of newspaper articles, I had copies of magazines, I had copies of everything,” he said in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier.

The count was notable because prosecutors until now had mostly been focused on the records that Trump had refused to return in response to a Justice Department subpoena last year.

Both Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty to the original 38-count indictment. De Oliveira is due in court in Florida on Monday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690507797310.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;faced new charges Thursday in a case accusing him of illegally possessing classified documents, with prosecutors alleging that he asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct a&nbsp;federal investigation into the records.<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652.85.0_2.pdf">Click here to read the</a> indictment released late ThursdayThe indictment includes new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, adding fresh detail to an indictment issued last month against Trump and a close aide. The additional charges came as a surprise at a time of escalating anticipation of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-investigation-indictment-730455c2b7a684593e41362e4b661cb3">possible additional indictment in Washington</a>&nbsp;over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The updated allegations make clear the vast — and unknown — scope of legal exposure faced by Trump as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024 while fending off criminal cases in multiple cities.The new allegations from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jack-smith-special-counsel-prosecutor-donald-trump-garland-e1fdb71cfc258bc2be48a8b890a9269b">special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;center on surveillance footage at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, evidence that has long been vital to the case. Trump is alleged to have asked for the footage to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-merrick-garland-government-and-politics-0486be7d750ae7546c6b9175f4952857">visited in June 2022</a>&nbsp;to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House. The new indictment also charges him with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-trump-audio-recording-classified-documents-case-3f3963a35a5d8ccae407ea4ab9f93082">illegally holding onto a document he's alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey</a>.A Trump spokesperson dismissed the new charges as “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt” by the Biden administration “to harass President Trump and those around him” and to influence the 2024 presidential race.Prosecutors accuse Trump of scheming with his valet,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-maralago-justice-department-classified-f5a7b87bbb0234d5504d1c1f92bc857e">Walt Nauta</a>, and a Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, to conceal the footage from federal investigators after they issued a subpoena for it. Video from the property would ultimately play a significant role in the investigation because, prosecutors said, it captured Nauta moving boxes of documents in and out of a storage room — including one such incident a day before a Justice Department visit to the property.According to the indictment, Nauta met with De Oliveira on June 25, 2022, at Mar-a-Lago, where they went to a security guard booth where surveillance video was displayed on monitors and walked with a flashlight through a tunnel where the storage room was located, observing and pointing out surveillance cameras.Two days later, according to the indictment, De Oliveira walked with an unidentified Trump employee to an audio room, where De Oliveira asked how many days the server retained footage.De Oliveira, prosecutors said, told the other employee “that ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted" and asked, “What are we going to do?”During a voluntary interview with the FBI last January, prosecutors say, De Oliveira lied when he said he “never saw nothing” with regard to boxes at Mar-a-Lago.De Oliveira was added to the indictment, charged with obstruction and false statements related to an interview he gave the FBI earlier this year. His lawyer declined to comment Thursday evening.The new charges were filed as Trump is bracing for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jan-6-justice-department-charges-ab1ad197e9abcb3eb9095237b98bee7d">prospect of an additional indictment</a>&nbsp;related to his efforts to undo the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Last week, he revealed he had received a letter from the Justice Department informing him he was a target in that probe, suggesting that charges could be forthcoming, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-investigation-indictment-730455c2b7a684593e41362e4b661cb3">his lawyers met with prosecutors on Smith's office earlier Thursday</a>&nbsp;to discuss that case.But despite the anticipation, the only charges filed Thursday were in Florida, not Washington.The superseding indictment also charges Trump with an additional count of willfully retaining national defense information, relating to a document he showed off to visitors at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club during an July 2021 interview for a memoir by his onetime chief of staff Mark Meadows. Prosecutors have described the document as a Pentagon plan of attack and Meadows, in his subsequent book, said the country it concerned was Iran.According to the indictment, Trump returned that document, which was marked as top secret and not approved to show to foreign nationals, to the federal government on Jan. 17, 2022.Trump has denied he had secret documents before him when he spoke.“There wasn’t a document. I had lots of paper. I had copies of newspaper articles, I had copies of magazines, I had copies of everything,” he said in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier.The count was notable because prosecutors until now had mostly been focused on the records that Trump had refused to return in response to a Justice Department subpoena last year.Both Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty to the original 38-count indictment. De Oliveira is due in court in Florida on Monday.____

Read the new indictment against Trump in classified documents case

KANSAS CITY (AP) –Lottery players will have another shot at a huge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackpot-lottery-mega-millions-ae5d629b1d4362a268bf490e40037852">Mega Millions jackpot</a>&nbsp;Friday night and a chance to break a stretch of more than three months without a big winner of the game.

The estimated $910 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.

The jackpot is now the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-10-us-lottery-jackpots-b24950a388d0a0f6544d2276956ff220">eighth-largest ever</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. It comes a little over a week after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">someone in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. It's still a mystery who won that prize.

Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-mega-millions-winning-odds-numbers-a3e5a8e8e7ed15d7500c1d6acdab6785">1 in 302.6 million.</a>

The $910 million prize would be for a sole winner choosing to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-annuity-vs-cash-0e741f164106c0f4dba89707c5763c99">paid through an annuity</a>&nbsp;with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Friday night's drawing would be an estimated $464.2 million.

Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, while many states also tax lottery winnings.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Island

KANSAS CITY (AP) –Lottery players will have another shot at a huge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackpot-lottery-mega-millions-ae5d629b1d4362a268bf490e40037852">Mega Millions jackpot</a>&nbsp;Friday night and a chance to break a stretch of more than three months without a big winner of the game.The estimated $910 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.The jackpot is now the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-10-us-lottery-jackpots-b24950a388d0a0f6544d2276956ff220">eighth-largest ever</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. It comes a little over a week after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">someone in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. It's still a mystery who won that prize.Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-mega-millions-winning-odds-numbers-a3e5a8e8e7ed15d7500c1d6acdab6785">1 in 302.6 million.</a>The $910 million prize would be for a sole winner choosing to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-annuity-vs-cash-0e741f164106c0f4dba89707c5763c99">paid through an annuity</a>&nbsp;with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Friday night's drawing would be an estimated $464.2 million.Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, while many states also tax lottery winnings.Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Island

The Mega Millions jackpot is now $910 million after months without a big winner

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/27/congressional-delegation-working-to-save-mobile-homes-from-removal/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A reprieve appears to be coming for trailer owners faced with removing their summer cabins from alongside two southwest Nebraska reservoirs.

After a group of about 20 people traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this month, Nebraska’s congressional delegation pledged to introduce legislation that would allow about 181 mobile homes to remain at Swanson and Red Willow Reservoirs.

The legislation would transfer management of the two concession areas that hold the trailers from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the reservoirs, to Hitchcock County and Frontier County, where the two reservoirs are located.

The two county governments would negotiate leases with concessionaires at the two reservoirs, who, in turn, would manage leases with the trailer owners, allowing them to remain.

“Local, as opposed to federal control, is best, and community members have indicated they support transferring the land to the relevant county entities,” said Nathaniel Sizemore, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer.

Fischer, along with U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, met July 12 with about 20 southwest Nebraskans, who argued that&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/08/upset-mobile-home-owners-seek-reprieve-from-federal-agencys-order-to-move-out/">removing the two trailer communities</a>&nbsp;would hurt local businesses and end a tradition of allowing the mobile homes that stretched back 50 years.

“It’s a win-win for sure, for us and the counties,” said Dawna Vap, whose family has operated the concession at Swanson Reservoir near Trenton, the Good Life Marina &amp; Restaurant, for 13 years.

The concessionaires currently lease their sites from the Bureau of Reclamation and manage leases with 110 trailer sites at Swanson and 71 at Red Willow.

The Bureau, as part of an improvement plan, had announced that the trailers needed to be removed by November 2024 to make way for construction of new campgrounds, rental cabins, playgrounds, picnic areas and walking trails.

Hitchcock County Commissioner Paul Nichols, who was among those who traveled to Washington, said that during summer months, the two trailer areas are among the largest “communities” in the area, pumping dollars into the local economy.

This week, Nichols said he was encouraged by the response of Nebraska’s congressional delegation.

At Swanson, he said, a transfer would involve Hitchcock County assuming management of about 19 acres of property.

Nichols said the county would receive a portion of the gross sales generated by the concessionaire — the portion that now goes to the Bureau. He said no county tax dollars would be expended.

The trailer owners and concessionaire would handle road maintenance, as in the past, Nichols said, adding that the county would need to adopt a process to award trailer lots if someone gave up a lease.

Frontier County would act in the same capacity with the concessionaire and the trailer area at Red Willow Reservoir.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission would continue to operate campgrounds at both reservoirs. Nichols said if the Bureau of Reclamation wanted to build new facilities, it still could.

&nbsp;“We have hundreds and hundreds of people who support us on this (land transfer),” he said.

Sizemore, the spokesman with Sen. Fischer, said that the entire Nebraska congressional delegation would work on the land transfer legislation. He did not have a timeline for when it would be introduced.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690484140138.jpeg" alt="&nbsp;Swanson Reservoir is a 5,000-acre lake popular with fishermen and boaters near Trenton, in southwest Nebraska (Courtesy of Dawna Vap)&nbsp;&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Swanson Reservoir is a 5,000-acre lake popular with fishermen and boaters near Trenton, in southwest Nebraska (Courtesy of Dawna Vap)&nbsp;&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/07/27/congressional-delegation-working-to-save-mobile-homes-from-removal/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A reprieve appears to be coming for trailer owners faced with removing their summer cabins from alongside two southwest Nebraska reservoirs.After a group of about 20 people traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this month, Nebraska’s congressional delegation pledged to introduce legislation that would allow about 181 mobile homes to remain at Swanson and Red Willow Reservoirs.<h2>Counties would assume management</h2>The legislation would transfer management of the two concession areas that hold the trailers from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the reservoirs, to Hitchcock County and Frontier County, where the two reservoirs are located.The two county governments would negotiate leases with concessionaires at the two reservoirs, who, in turn, would manage leases with the trailer owners, allowing them to remain.“Local, as opposed to federal control, is best, and community members have indicated they support transferring the land to the relevant county entities,” said Nathaniel Sizemore, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer.Fischer, along with U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, met July 12 with about 20 southwest Nebraskans, who argued that&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/08/upset-mobile-home-owners-seek-reprieve-from-federal-agencys-order-to-move-out/">removing the two trailer communities</a>&nbsp;would hurt local businesses and end a tradition of allowing the mobile homes that stretched back 50 years.<h2>A ‘win-win’</h2>“It’s a win-win for sure, for us and the counties,” said Dawna Vap, whose family has operated the concession at Swanson Reservoir near Trenton, the Good Life Marina &amp; Restaurant, for 13 years.The concessionaires currently lease their sites from the Bureau of Reclamation and manage leases with 110 trailer sites at Swanson and 71 at Red Willow.The Bureau, as part of an improvement plan, had announced that the trailers needed to be removed by November 2024 to make way for construction of new campgrounds, rental cabins, playgrounds, picnic areas and walking trails.But local officials balked at the plan.Hitchcock County Commissioner Paul Nichols, who was among those who traveled to Washington, said that during summer months, the two trailer areas are among the largest “communities” in the area, pumping dollars into the local economy.This week, Nichols said he was encouraged by the response of Nebraska’s congressional delegation.<h2>19 acres transferred at Swanson</h2>At Swanson, he said, a transfer would involve Hitchcock County assuming management of about 19 acres of property.Nichols said the county would receive a portion of the gross sales generated by the concessionaire — the portion that now goes to the Bureau. He said no county tax dollars would be expended.The trailer owners and concessionaire would handle road maintenance, as in the past, Nichols said, adding that the county would need to adopt a process to award trailer lots if someone gave up a lease.Frontier County would act in the same capacity with the concessionaire and the trailer area at Red Willow Reservoir.The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission would continue to operate campgrounds at both reservoirs. Nichols said if the Bureau of Reclamation wanted to build new facilities, it still could.&nbsp;“We have hundreds and hundreds of people who support us on this (land transfer),” he said.Sizemore, the spokesman with Sen. Fischer, said that the entire Nebraska congressional delegation would work on the land transfer legislation. He did not have a timeline for when it would be introduced.

Congressional delegation working to save mobile homes from removal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct the federal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-indictment-miami-court-e9412bb71b63ab1b7cfb8e8b122e9809">investigation into his possession of classified documents</a>, according to an updated indictment unsealed Thursday that adds new charges against the former president and names an additional defendant.

The indictment includes new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, compounding Trump's legal jeopardy even as he braces for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-investigation-indictment-730455c2b7a684593e41362e4b661cb3">possible additional indictment in Washington</a>&nbsp;over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The additional counts underscore the extent of the yearlong investigation into Trump that first produced charges last month in the form of a 38-count indictment against Trump and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-maralago-justice-department-classified-f5a7b87bbb0234d5504d1c1f92bc857e">valet, Walt Nauta</a>.

The classified records were taken by Trump to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House in January 2021.

The superseding indictment charges Trump with an additional count of willfully retaining national defense information relating to the former president discussing U.S. military plans to attack another country during an interview in July 2021 at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. The interview was for a memoir being written by his onetime chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who in his subsequent book named the country as Iran.

According to the indictment, Trump returned that document, which was marked as top secret and not approved to show to foreign nationals, to the federal government on Jan. 17. 2022.

It marks a notable shift in the prosecution’s approach to Trump’s case, charging him for retaining a document it alleges the former president knew was highly sensitive after he left office — and not just for failing to return it to the government when asked.

Both Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661941600753.jpeg" alt="This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 2022 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.&nbsp; (Department of Justice via AP)" />
 <figcaption>This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 2022 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.&nbsp; (Department of Justice via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct the federal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-indictment-miami-court-e9412bb71b63ab1b7cfb8e8b122e9809">investigation into his possession of classified documents</a>, according to an updated indictment unsealed Thursday that adds new charges against the former president and names an additional defendant.The indictment includes new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, compounding Trump's legal jeopardy even as he braces for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-investigation-indictment-730455c2b7a684593e41362e4b661cb3">possible additional indictment in Washington</a>&nbsp;over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The additional counts underscore the extent of the yearlong investigation into Trump that first produced charges last month in the form of a 38-count indictment against Trump and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-maralago-justice-department-classified-f5a7b87bbb0234d5504d1c1f92bc857e">valet, Walt Nauta</a>.A Trump spokesperson dismissed the new charges as “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt” by the Biden administration “to harass President Trump and those around him” and to influence the 2024 presidential race.The classified records were taken by Trump to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House in January 2021.The superseding indictment charges Trump with an additional count of willfully retaining national defense information relating to the former president discussing U.S. military plans to attack another country during an interview in July 2021 at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. The interview was for a memoir being written by his onetime chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who in his subsequent book named the country as Iran.According to the indictment, Trump returned that document, which was marked as top secret and not approved to show to foreign nationals, to the federal government on Jan. 17. 2022.It marks a notable shift in the prosecution’s approach to Trump’s case, charging him for retaining a document it alleges the former president knew was highly sensitive after he left office — and not just for failing to return it to the government when asked.Both Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty.

New accusations against Donald Trump in classified documents case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell briefly left his own press conference Wednesday after stopping his remarks midsentence and staring off into space for several seconds.

McConnell approached the podium for his weekly press conference and began speaking about the annual defense bill on the floor, which he said was proceeding with “good bipartisan cooperation.” But he then appeared to lose his train of thought, trailing off with a drawn-out “uh.”

The Kentucky senator then appeared to freeze up and stared vacantly for around 20 seconds before his colleagues in Republican leadership, who were standing behind him and could not see his face, grabbed his elbows and asked if he wanted to go back to his office.

He did not answer, but slowly walked back to his office with an aide and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a former orthopedic surgeon who is the No. 3 Republican in the Senate. After sitting down in his office for several minutes, McConnell later returned to the press conference and answered questions from the press.

McConnell, 81, was out of the Senate for almost six weeks earlier this year after falling and hitting his head after a dinner event at a hotel. He was hospitalized for several days, and his office later said he suffered a concussion and fractured a rib. His speech has sounded more halting in recent weeks, prompting questions among some of his colleagues about his health.

When he returned to answer questions, McConnell said he was “fine.” Asked if he is still able to do his job, he said, “Yeah.”

McConnell's office declined to say whether he was seen by a doctor after the episode.

After the press conference, Barrasso told reporters he “wanted to make sure everything was fine” and walked McConnell down the hall to his office.

Barrasso said he has been concerned since McConnell was injured earlier this year, “and I continue to be concerned.”

But asked about his particular concerns, Barrasso said: “I said I was concerned when he fell and hit his head a number of months ago and was hospitalized. And I think he's made a remarkable recovery, he's doing a great job leading our conference and was able to answer every question the press asked him today.”

Walking out of his office Wednesday evening, McConnell again told reporters he was fine. He said President Joe Biden had called him.

“The president called to check up on me, and I told him I got sandbagged,” McConnell joked, referencing a quote from Biden in June after he tripped over a sandbag and fell while onstage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation.

First elected to the Senate in 1984, McConnell became the longest-serving Senate party leader in history in January. He was easily reelected to his leadership post that same month, despite a challenge from Florida Sen. Rick Scott.

Still, several Republicans, including No. 2 Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Barrasso, are seen as waiting in the wings to someday replace him.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is also seen as a potential candidate to succeed McConnell, told reporters after the episode, “I support Senator McConnell as long as he wants to serve as leader.”

McConnell had polio in his early childhood and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in climbing stairs. In addition to his fall in March, he also tripped and fell four years ago at his home in Kentucky, causing a shoulder fracture that required surgery.

The Republican leader is one of several senators who have been absent due to health issues this year. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, 90, was out of the Senate for more than two months as she recovered from a bout of shingles. And Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., 53, took leave for several weeks to get treatment for clinical depression.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell briefly left his own press conference Wednesday after stopping his remarks midsentence and staring off into space for several seconds.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to have a health issue while speaking during a press conference in the U.S. Capitol. About 12 minutes later, the Minority Leader returned to the press conference and, when asked about what happened, said, &quot;I&#39;m fine.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/EU7zDzGT0m">pic.twitter.com/EU7zDzGT0m</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1684278322098761728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>McConnell approached the podium for his weekly press conference and began speaking about the annual defense bill on the floor, which he said was proceeding with “good bipartisan cooperation.” But he then appeared to lose his train of thought, trailing off with a drawn-out “uh.”The Kentucky senator then appeared to freeze up and stared vacantly for around 20 seconds before his colleagues in Republican leadership, who were standing behind him and could not see his face, grabbed his elbows and asked if he wanted to go back to his office.He did not answer, but slowly walked back to his office with an aide and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a former orthopedic surgeon who is the No. 3 Republican in the Senate. After sitting down in his office for several minutes, McConnell later returned to the press conference and answered questions from the press.McConnell, 81, was out of the Senate for almost six weeks earlier this year after falling and hitting his head after a dinner event at a hotel. He was hospitalized for several days, and his office later said he suffered a concussion and fractured a rib. His speech has sounded more halting in recent weeks, prompting questions among some of his colleagues about his health.When he returned to answer questions, McConnell said he was “fine.” Asked if he is still able to do his job, he said, “Yeah.”McConnell's office declined to say whether he was seen by a doctor after the episode.After the press conference, Barrasso told reporters he “wanted to make sure everything was fine” and walked McConnell down the hall to his office.Barrasso said he has been concerned since McConnell was injured earlier this year, “and I continue to be concerned.”But asked about his particular concerns, Barrasso said: “I said I was concerned when he fell and hit his head a number of months ago and was hospitalized. And I think he's made a remarkable recovery, he's doing a great job leading our conference and was able to answer every question the press asked him today.”Walking out of his office Wednesday evening, McConnell again told reporters he was fine. He said President Joe Biden had called him.“The president called to check up on me, and I told him I got sandbagged,” McConnell joked, referencing a quote from Biden in June after he tripped over a sandbag and fell while onstage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation.First elected to the Senate in 1984, McConnell became the longest-serving Senate party leader in history in January. He was easily reelected to his leadership post that same month, despite a challenge from Florida Sen. Rick Scott.Still, several Republicans, including No. 2 Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Barrasso, are seen as waiting in the wings to someday replace him.Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is also seen as a potential candidate to succeed McConnell, told reporters after the episode, “I support Senator McConnell as long as he wants to serve as leader.”McConnell had polio in his early childhood and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in climbing stairs. In addition to his fall in March, he also tripped and fell four years ago at his home in Kentucky, causing a shoulder fracture that required surgery.The Republican leader is one of several senators who have been absent due to health issues this year. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, 90, was out of the Senate for more than two months as she recovered from a bout of shingles. And Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., 53, took leave for several weeks to get treatment for clinical depression.

🎥 GOP Senate leader has health scare during presser; says he’s ‘fine’

By ARIANA FIGUEROA&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday faced off with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, who did not directly call for his impeachment but strongly criticized his oversight of the agency.

“I know that today Secretary Mayorkas is going to try to paint a rosy picture of this disastrous mismanagement of our border. But nothing about the Biden administration’s policy is safe, orderly, or humane,” Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said. “The numbers don’t lie.”

House Republicans have held multiple hearings about immigration at the Southern border as part of their broader strategy to impeach Mayorkas on the grounds that he has failed to enforce U.S. law. Multiple impeachment resolutions have been introduced and co-sponsored by dozens of Republicans.

House GOP members have also floated the idea of impeaching President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland. During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, suggested that House Republicans could be headed toward impeachment hearings for Biden.

On Tuesday, McCarthy again floated the idea that impeachment of Biden could be considered in light of questions Republicans are raising about Biden family finances,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-impeachment-mccarthy-hannity-78e4c7efeb030b29e1576f868257179b">The Associated Press reported.</a>

Democrats spent much of the five-hour-plus Judiciary hearing pushing back against Republicans’ claims about migration at the U.S. Southern border and defending DHS practices.

The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, said Republicans used the hearing as a “baseless attempt to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.”

“To be clear, Republicans have not established any legitimate grounds to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, they’ve not uncovered evidence of wrongdoing or malfeasance of any kind,” Nadler said. “They have policy disagreements with this secretary.”

Mayorkas argued that the Biden administration’s policies at the border are working to deter unauthorized immigration, citing the use of parole programs for certain nationals and a new policy established after the end of pandemic-era immigration enforcement tool known as Title 42 that restricts asylum.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/federal-judge-blocks-biden-rule-limits-asylum-migrants-border">A federal judge Tuesday blocked that policy</a>, and the Department of Justice has appealed the decision.

“Under President Biden’s leadership, we have led the largest expansion of lawful, safe and orderly pathways for people to seek humanitarian relief under our laws, at the same time imposing tougher consequences on those who instead resort to the ruthless smuggling organizations that prey on the most vulnerable,” Mayorkas said.

There has been a decline in recent months in unauthorized border crossings, with the most recent data from May showing a 15% decrease compared to May 2022, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-releases-may-2023-monthly-operational-update">U.S. Customs and Border Protection data</a>

Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania said that each day hundreds of people die from overdoses, with a majority of those from illicit fentanyl. Mayorkas said that DHS has focused on seizing fentanyl at ports of entry.

“We have a serious problem,” Dean said. “We don’t have folks on the other side of the aisle serious about solving it.”

The National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates">found</a>&nbsp;that deaths “involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021.”

“We are leading an unprecedented effort to interdict the flow of fentanyl into our communities, which has escalated for more than five years,” Mayorkas said.

Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado told Mayorkas that his constituents consider Mayorkas a “traitor” because of the fentanyl crisis.

Republican Rep. Thomas Tiffany of Wisconsin accused Mayorkas of having an “open border policy,” and asked him if that has led to an increase in fentanyl in the U.S.

“We have interdicted more fentanyl at the ports of entry than in the prior administration,” Mayorkas said, adding that there is not an open border policy.

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Jordan grilled Mayorkas on his&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/guidelines-civilimmigrationlaw.pdf">directive</a>&nbsp;that focuses on removing undocumented people with a criminal record.

<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/23/us-supreme-court-turns-down-push-by-states-to-challenge-biden-deportation-policy/">The Supreme Court in June overwhelmingly agreed</a>&nbsp;that the Biden administration has the legal authority to prioritize arresting and deporting noncitizens who have recently crossed the border without authorization and noncitizens who pose a threat to public safety.

“So long as you don’t commit a crime, you get to stay here and burden our schools, burden our social services, burden our jails,” Gaetz said.

Mayorkas said because there are anywhere between 11 and 12 million undocumented people in the country, it would not be feasible for the agency to focus its resources on deporting people who have not committed a crime. He added that the agency has deported more than 1.4 million people who did not have legal status.

Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia pushed back and said that “MAGA Republican extremists want to sell us on an apocalyptic fantasy,” and “want us to believe that the border is out of control.”

“But in reality, the greatest threat facing our homeland is white nationalist ideology,” Johnson said.

Republican Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina asked Mayokras if under his tenure the cartels have “become stronger or weaker.”

“Our efforts have weakened those cartels by the investigations and prosecutions that we have conducted with our international partners,” he said.

Democrats argued that there is only so much that DHS can do, because Congress has failed to update immigration laws.

“Our colleagues across the aisle have made clear with their tone and questions today that their primary interest is in scapegoating you and the Biden administration for the consequences of Congress failing for decades to address either the root causes of immigration at our Southern border … and (the) all but complete collapse of the U.S. immigration system,” Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania said.

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said with the issues Mayorkas inherited from the Trump administration and Congress’ inability to pass immigration reform, it’s led to record levels of backlogs in the immigration system.

She asked Mayorkas about the impact of expanding legal pathways such as the parole systems that allow up to 30,000 migrants each month from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua who have U.S.-based financial sponsors and pass a background check.

“Our approach is to expand lawful pathways so that individuals who qualify for relief under the laws of this Congress do not have to place their lives and their life savings in the hands of unscrupulous smugglers,” Mayorkas said.

Several Republicans such as Reps. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Thomas Massie of Kentucky pressed Mayorkas about the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

CISA was formed in 2018. The agency is tasked with improving the government’s cybersecurity against private and foreign hackers, along with overall strengthening of the government’s cyber infrastructure across all agencies.

Johnson charged that CISA suppresses speech online, mainly that of conservative voices. He&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/judge-limits-biden-administration-contact-with-social-media-platforms-in-censorship-case/">cited a case</a>&nbsp;filed by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt,in which a federal judge earlier this month prohibited the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about “protected speech.”

Mayorkas said the agency does not “censor free speech,” and that the purpose of the CISA is to identify and track adverse nations that weaponize disinformation, which is when someone purposely spreads false information.

Massie asked Mayorkas if it was illegal to “undermine public trust in government institutions.”

Mayorkas said that DHS does not get involved in speech surrounding ideology, only if that ideology is connected to violence. He said the agency does evaluate certain ideologies.

“What we get engaged in is a connectivity to violence,” he said. “It is our responsibility to prevent violence from occurring.”

An example he gave was the c<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8576388/">onspiracy theory that 5G cell towers</a>&nbsp;were connected to the coronavirus. DHS became involved and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-to-advise-telecom-firms-on-preventing-5g-cell-tower-attacks-linked-to-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories/2020/05/13/6aa9eaa6-951f-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html">issued warnings to the telecom industry</a>&nbsp;because they believed there could be attacks to cell towers.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690419772316.png" alt=" Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee. (Screenshot from committee webcast)" />
 <figcaption> Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee. (Screenshot from committee webcast)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ARIANA FIGUEROA&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday faced off with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, who did not directly call for his impeachment but strongly criticized his oversight of the agency.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RogerMarshallMD</a> calls out Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas for fueling the worst border crisis in U.S. history, and for their complete refusal to secure the border. <a href="https://t.co/OwTzV4tjWA">pic.twitter.com/OwTzV4tjWA</a>&mdash; GOP (@GOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1682435857649737728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“I know that today Secretary Mayorkas is going to try to paint a rosy picture of this disastrous mismanagement of our border. But nothing about the Biden administration’s policy is safe, orderly, or humane,” Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said. “The numbers don’t lie.”House Republicans have held multiple hearings about immigration at the Southern border as part of their broader strategy to impeach Mayorkas on the grounds that he has failed to enforce U.S. law. Multiple impeachment resolutions have been introduced and co-sponsored by dozens of Republicans.House GOP members have also floated the idea of impeaching President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland. During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, suggested that House Republicans could be headed toward impeachment hearings for Biden.On Tuesday, McCarthy again floated the idea that impeachment of Biden could be considered in light of questions Republicans are raising about Biden family finances,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-impeachment-mccarthy-hannity-78e4c7efeb030b29e1576f868257179b">The Associated Press reported.</a>Democrats spent much of the five-hour-plus Judiciary hearing pushing back against Republicans’ claims about migration at the U.S. Southern border and defending DHS practices.The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, said Republicans used the hearing as a “baseless attempt to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.”“To be clear, Republicans have not established any legitimate grounds to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, they’ve not uncovered evidence of wrongdoing or malfeasance of any kind,” Nadler said. “They have policy disagreements with this secretary.”Mayorkas argued that the Biden administration’s policies at the border are working to deter unauthorized immigration, citing the use of parole programs for certain nationals and a new policy established after the end of pandemic-era immigration enforcement tool known as Title 42 that restricts asylum.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/federal-judge-blocks-biden-rule-limits-asylum-migrants-border">A federal judge Tuesday blocked that policy</a>, and the Department of Justice has appealed the decision.“Under President Biden’s leadership, we have led the largest expansion of lawful, safe and orderly pathways for people to seek humanitarian relief under our laws, at the same time imposing tougher consequences on those who instead resort to the ruthless smuggling organizations that prey on the most vulnerable,” Mayorkas said.There has been a decline in recent months in unauthorized border crossings, with the most recent data from May showing a 15% decrease compared to May 2022, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-releases-may-2023-monthly-operational-update">U.S. Customs and Border Protection data</a><h2>Fentanyl crisis</h2>Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania said that each day hundreds of people die from overdoses, with a majority of those from illicit fentanyl. Mayorkas said that DHS has focused on seizing fentanyl at ports of entry.“We have a serious problem,” Dean said. “We don’t have folks on the other side of the aisle serious about solving it.”The National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates">found</a>&nbsp;that deaths “involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021.”“We are leading an unprecedented effort to interdict the flow of fentanyl into our communities, which has escalated for more than five years,” Mayorkas said.Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado told Mayorkas that his constituents consider Mayorkas a “traitor” because of the fentanyl crisis.Republican Rep. Thomas Tiffany of Wisconsin accused Mayorkas of having an “open border policy,” and asked him if that has led to an increase in fentanyl in the U.S.“We have interdicted more fentanyl at the ports of entry than in the prior administration,” Mayorkas said, adding that there is not an open border policy.<h2>Outdated immigration system</h2>Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Jordan grilled Mayorkas on his&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/guidelines-civilimmigrationlaw.pdf">directive</a>&nbsp;that focuses on removing undocumented people with a criminal record.<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/23/us-supreme-court-turns-down-push-by-states-to-challenge-biden-deportation-policy/">The Supreme Court in June overwhelmingly agreed</a>&nbsp;that the Biden administration has the legal authority to prioritize arresting and deporting noncitizens who have recently crossed the border without authorization and noncitizens who pose a threat to public safety.“So long as you don’t commit a crime, you get to stay here and burden our schools, burden our social services, burden our jails,” Gaetz said.Mayorkas said because there are anywhere between 11 and 12 million undocumented people in the country, it would not be feasible for the agency to focus its resources on deporting people who have not committed a crime. He added that the agency has deported more than 1.4 million people who did not have legal status.Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia pushed back and said that “MAGA Republican extremists want to sell us on an apocalyptic fantasy,” and “want us to believe that the border is out of control.”“But in reality, the greatest threat facing our homeland is white nationalist ideology,” Johnson said.Republican Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina asked Mayokras if under his tenure the cartels have “become stronger or weaker.”“Our efforts have weakened those cartels by the investigations and prosecutions that we have conducted with our international partners,” he said.Democrats argued that there is only so much that DHS can do, because Congress has failed to update immigration laws.“Our colleagues across the aisle have made clear with their tone and questions today that their primary interest is in scapegoating you and the Biden administration for the consequences of Congress failing for decades to address either the root causes of immigration at our Southern border … and (the) all but complete collapse of the U.S. immigration system,” Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania said.Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said with the issues Mayorkas inherited from the Trump administration and Congress’ inability to pass immigration reform, it’s led to record levels of backlogs in the immigration system.She asked Mayorkas about the impact of expanding legal pathways such as the parole systems that allow up to 30,000 migrants each month from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua who have U.S.-based financial sponsors and pass a background check.“Our approach is to expand lawful pathways so that individuals who qualify for relief under the laws of this Congress do not have to place their lives and their life savings in the hands of unscrupulous smugglers,” Mayorkas said.<h2>Questions about speech online</h2>Several Republicans such as Reps. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Thomas Massie of Kentucky pressed Mayorkas about the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.CISA was formed in 2018. The agency is tasked with improving the government’s cybersecurity against private and foreign hackers, along with overall strengthening of the government’s cyber infrastructure across all agencies.Johnson charged that CISA suppresses speech online, mainly that of conservative voices. He&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/judge-limits-biden-administration-contact-with-social-media-platforms-in-censorship-case/">cited a case</a>&nbsp;filed by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt,in which a federal judge earlier this month prohibited the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about “protected speech.”Mayorkas said the agency does not “censor free speech,” and that the purpose of the CISA is to identify and track adverse nations that weaponize disinformation, which is when someone purposely spreads false information.Massie asked Mayorkas if it was illegal to “undermine public trust in government institutions.”Mayorkas said that DHS does not get involved in speech surrounding ideology, only if that ideology is connected to violence. He said the agency does evaluate certain ideologies.“What we get engaged in is a connectivity to violence,” he said. “It is our responsibility to prevent violence from occurring.”An example he gave was the c<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8576388/">onspiracy theory that 5G cell towers</a>&nbsp;were connected to the coronavirus. DHS became involved and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-to-advise-telecom-firms-on-preventing-5g-cell-tower-attacks-linked-to-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories/2020/05/13/6aa9eaa6-951f-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html">issued warnings to the telecom industry</a>&nbsp;because they believed there could be attacks to cell towers.

Biden border policies ripped by U.S. House GOP; impeachment threats ramp up 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7227512231fa206da624f813455c2f0b">unidentified flying objects</a>, a former Air Force intelligence officer testified Wednesday to Congress. The Pentagon has denied his claims.

(Click below to watch a replay of the hearing)

Retired Maj. David Grusch's highly anticipated testimony before a House Oversight subcommittee was Congress'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-politics-government-and-congress-4234f7cd9379fa1cc4ffd3cf8d5b230a">latest foray into the world of UAPs</a>&nbsp;— or “unidentified aerial phenomena," which is the official term the U.S. government uses instead of UFOs. While the study of mysterious aircraft or objects often evokes talk of aliens and “little green men,” Democrats and Republicans in recent years have pushed for more research as a national security matter due to concerns that sightings observed by pilots may be tied to U.S. adversaries.

Grusch said he was asked in 2019 by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-government-and-politics-f5f24502d97072fd4bef34b6fe36c81d">the head of a government task force on UAPs</a>&nbsp;to identify all highly classified programs relating to the task force's mission. At the time, Grusch was detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that operates U.S. spy satellites.

“I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access,” he said.

Asked whether the U.S. government had information about extraterrestrial life, Grusch said the U.S. likely has been aware of “non-human” activity since the 1930s.

The Pentagon has denied Grusch's claims of a coverup. In a statement, Defense Department spokeswoman Sue Gough said investigators have not discovered “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.” The statement did not address UFOs that are not suspected of being extraterrestrial objects.

Grusch says he became a government whistleblower after his discovery and has faced retaliation for coming forward. He declined to be more specific about the retaliatory tactics, citing an ongoing investigation.

“It was very brutal and very unfortunate, some of the tactics they used to hurt me both professionally and personally,” he said.

Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., chaired the panel's hearing and joked to a packed audience, “Welcome to the most exciting subcommittee in Congress this week.” But members of both parties asked Grusch about his study of UFOs and the consequences he faced.

“I take it that you’re arguing what we need is real transparency and reporting systems so we can get some clarity on what’s going on out there,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

Some lawmakers criticized the Pentagon for not providing more details in a classified briefing or releasing images that could be shown to the public. In previous hearings,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-politics-government-and-congress-4234f7cd9379fa1cc4ffd3cf8d5b230a">Pentagon officials showed</a>&nbsp;a video taken from an F-18 military plane that showed an image of one balloon-like shape.

Pentagon officials in December said they had received “several hundreds” of new reports since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7227512231fa206da624f813455c2f0b">launching a renewed effort</a>&nbsp;to investigate reports of UFOs.

At that point, “we have not seen anything, and we’re still very early on, that would lead us to believe that any of the objects that we have seen are of alien origin,” said Ronald Moultrie, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security. “Any unauthorized system in our airspace we deem as a threat to safety.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690390765039.png" alt="Retired Maj. David Grusch's highly anticipated testimony before a House Oversight subcommittee was Congress'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-politics-government-and-congress-4234f7cd9379fa1cc4ffd3cf8d5b230a">latest foray into the world of UAPs</a>&nbsp;— or “unidentified aerial phenomena," which is the official term the U.S. government uses instead of UFOs.-image House Oversight Committee" />
 <figcaption>Retired Maj. David Grusch's highly anticipated testimony before a House Oversight subcommittee was Congress'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-politics-government-and-congress-4234f7cd9379fa1cc4ffd3cf8d5b230a">latest foray into the world of UAPs</a>&nbsp;— or “unidentified aerial phenomena," which is the official term the U.S. government uses instead of UFOs.-image House Oversight Committee</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7227512231fa206da624f813455c2f0b">unidentified flying objects</a>, a former Air Force intelligence officer testified Wednesday to Congress. The Pentagon has denied his claims.(Click below to watch a replay of the hearing)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KQ7Dw-739VY?start=1197" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Retired Maj. David Grusch's highly anticipated testimony before a House Oversight subcommittee was Congress'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-politics-government-and-congress-4234f7cd9379fa1cc4ffd3cf8d5b230a">latest foray into the world of UAPs</a>&nbsp;— or “unidentified aerial phenomena," which is the official term the U.S. government uses instead of UFOs. While the study of mysterious aircraft or objects often evokes talk of aliens and “little green men,” Democrats and Republicans in recent years have pushed for more research as a national security matter due to concerns that sightings observed by pilots may be tied to U.S. adversaries.Grusch said he was asked in 2019 by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-government-and-politics-f5f24502d97072fd4bef34b6fe36c81d">the head of a government task force on UAPs</a>&nbsp;to identify all highly classified programs relating to the task force's mission. At the time, Grusch was detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that operates U.S. spy satellites.“I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access,” he said.Asked whether the U.S. government had information about extraterrestrial life, Grusch said the U.S. likely has been aware of “non-human” activity since the 1930s.The Pentagon has denied Grusch's claims of a coverup. In a statement, Defense Department spokeswoman Sue Gough said investigators have not discovered “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.” The statement did not address UFOs that are not suspected of being extraterrestrial objects.Grusch says he became a government whistleblower after his discovery and has faced retaliation for coming forward. He declined to be more specific about the retaliatory tactics, citing an ongoing investigation.“It was very brutal and very unfortunate, some of the tactics they used to hurt me both professionally and personally,” he said.Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., chaired the panel's hearing and joked to a packed audience, “Welcome to the most exciting subcommittee in Congress this week.” But members of both parties asked Grusch about his study of UFOs and the consequences he faced.“I take it that you’re arguing what we need is real transparency and reporting systems so we can get some clarity on what’s going on out there,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.Some lawmakers criticized the Pentagon for not providing more details in a classified briefing or releasing images that could be shown to the public. In previous hearings,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-politics-government-and-congress-4234f7cd9379fa1cc4ffd3cf8d5b230a">Pentagon officials showed</a>&nbsp;a video taken from an F-18 military plane that showed an image of one balloon-like shape.Pentagon officials in December said they had received “several hundreds” of new reports since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7227512231fa206da624f813455c2f0b">launching a renewed effort</a>&nbsp;to investigate reports of UFOs.At that point, “we have not seen anything, and we’re still very early on, that would lead us to believe that any of the objects that we have seen are of alien origin,” said Ronald Moultrie, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security. “Any unauthorized system in our airspace we deem as a threat to safety.”

🎥Whistleblower tells Congress: US is hiding program that captures UFOs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday for the 11th time in 17 months, a streak of hikes that are intended to curb inflation but that also carry the risk of going too far and triggering a recession.

The move lifted the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate from roughly 5.1% to 5.3% — its highest level since 2001. Coming on top of its previous rate hikes, the Fed’s latest move could lead to further increases in the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms">mortgages,</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/interest-rates-federal-reserve-increase-7b1a9fc9d7f95cb6adb67b98483e83c0">auto loans, credit cards</a>&nbsp;and business borrowing.

Though inflation has eased to its slowest pace in two years, Wednesday’s hike reflects the concern of Fed officials that the economy is still growing too fast for inflation to fall back to their 2% target. With&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-consumer-confidence-inflation-interest-rates-567ac06e3d904967ab76b429ca777b00">consumer confidence</a>&nbsp;reaching its highest level in two years, Americans keep spending —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-airlines-profit-travel-a499c45f793adf7ffb429d245a106055">crowding airplanes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/european-tourism-summer-travel-pandemic-recovery-ee4416b151618fce3bf6cb5e3ff24d99">traveling overseas</a>&nbsp;and flocking to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-tour-eras-concert-setlist-37bfc86a4550b4aafed499fbabd6a417">concerts</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/barbie-oppenheimer-barbenheimer-box-office-3ff25c0a3acf7b568866c2ff307d0108">movie theaters</a>. Most crucially, businesses keep hiring, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-hiring-unemployment-inflation-economy-federal-reserve-e49ffbccbbd841c838ead1601dd8825b">unemployment rate still near half-century lows</a>.

In a statement, the Fed said the economy “has been expanding at a moderate pace,” a slight upgrade from its assessment in June.

Speaking at a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the Fed’s staff economists no longer foresee a recession. In April, the minutes of the central bank’s March meeting had revealed that the staff economists envisioned a “mild” recession later this year.

“Given the resilience of the economy recently,” he said, “they are no longer forecasting a recession.”

A key question swirling around the Fed is whether Wednesday’s increase will be its last or whether it will hike again later this year. Speaking at a news conference after the Fed announced its latest hike, Powell said the central bank has made no decisions about any future rate increases. But he made clear that the fight against inflation isn't over.

“The process of getting inflation down to 2% has a long way to go,” Powell said.

He stressed that the Fed's policymakers will assess a range of incoming economic data in determining what action, if any, to take at their next policy meeting. When the officials last met in June, they signaled that they expected to raise rates twice more. By the time they meet again Sept. 19-20, Powell noted Wednesday, they will have much more data in hand: Two more inflation reports, two reports on hiring and unemployment and updated figures on consumer spending and wages.

Some economists think the Fed might decide to forgo a rate increase in September before weighing a possible hike at its meeting in November.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday for the 11th time in 17 months, a streak of hikes that are intended to curb inflation but that also carry the risk of going too far and triggering a recession.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Fed Chair Powell: &quot;Since early last year, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FOMC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FOMC</a> has significantly tightened the stance of monetary policy. Today, we took another step by raising our policy interest rate a quarter percentage point...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/EvgtI4EBOs">pic.twitter.com/EvgtI4EBOs</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1684275561021992960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The move lifted the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate from roughly 5.1% to 5.3% — its highest level since 2001. Coming on top of its previous rate hikes, the Fed’s latest move could lead to further increases in the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms">mortgages,</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/interest-rates-federal-reserve-increase-7b1a9fc9d7f95cb6adb67b98483e83c0">auto loans, credit cards</a>&nbsp;and business borrowing.Though inflation has eased to its slowest pace in two years, Wednesday’s hike reflects the concern of Fed officials that the economy is still growing too fast for inflation to fall back to their 2% target. With&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-consumer-confidence-inflation-interest-rates-567ac06e3d904967ab76b429ca777b00">consumer confidence</a>&nbsp;reaching its highest level in two years, Americans keep spending —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-airlines-profit-travel-a499c45f793adf7ffb429d245a106055">crowding airplanes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/european-tourism-summer-travel-pandemic-recovery-ee4416b151618fce3bf6cb5e3ff24d99">traveling overseas</a>&nbsp;and flocking to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-tour-eras-concert-setlist-37bfc86a4550b4aafed499fbabd6a417">concerts</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/barbie-oppenheimer-barbenheimer-box-office-3ff25c0a3acf7b568866c2ff307d0108">movie theaters</a>. Most crucially, businesses keep hiring, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-hiring-unemployment-inflation-economy-federal-reserve-e49ffbccbbd841c838ead1601dd8825b">unemployment rate still near half-century lows</a>.In a statement, the Fed said the economy “has been expanding at a moderate pace,” a slight upgrade from its assessment in June.Speaking at a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the Fed’s staff economists no longer foresee a recession. In April, the minutes of the central bank’s March meeting had revealed that the staff economists envisioned a “mild” recession later this year.“Given the resilience of the economy recently,” he said, “they are no longer forecasting a recession.”A key question swirling around the Fed is whether Wednesday’s increase will be its last or whether it will hike again later this year. Speaking at a news conference after the Fed announced its latest hike, Powell said the central bank has made no decisions about any future rate increases. But he made clear that the fight against inflation isn't over.“The process of getting inflation down to 2% has a long way to go,” Powell said.He stressed that the Fed's policymakers will assess a range of incoming economic data in determining what action, if any, to take at their next policy meeting. When the officials last met in June, they signaled that they expected to raise rates twice more. By the time they meet again Sept. 19-20, Powell noted Wednesday, they will have much more data in hand: Two more inflation reports, two reports on hiring and unemployment and updated figures on consumer spending and wages.Some economists think the Fed might decide to forgo a rate increase in September before weighing a possible hike at its meeting in November.In recent weeks, several Fed officials have said they worry that the still-brisk pace of job growth will lead workers to demand higher pay to make up for two years of inflationary prices. Sharp wage gains can perpetuate inflation if companies respond by raising prices for their customers.At the same time, the steady easing of inflation pressures has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-interest-rates-economy-recession-c08901d250144a322f4c423517112e5e">lifted hopes that the Fed can pull off a difficult “soft landing,”</a>&nbsp;in which its rate hikes would continue to cool inflation without sending the economy tumbling into a painful recession.Economists at Goldman Sachs have downgraded the likelihood of recession to just 20%, from 35% earlier this year. Those at Deutsche Bank, among the first large banks to forecast a recession, have also been encouraged by the economy’s direction, though they still expect a downturn later this year.Matthew Luzzetti, Deutsche Bank’s chief U.S. economist, has pointed to durable consumer spending as a key driver of growth. Many Americans still have savings stemming from the pandemic, when the government distributed stimulus checks and people saved by spending less on travel, restaurants and entertainment.Hiring has remained healthy, with employers having added 209,000 jobs in June, with the jobless rate reaching an ultra-low 3.6%. That’s about where it was when the Fed began raising rates in March 2022 — a sign of economic resilience that almost no one had foreseen.Year-over-year inflation in June&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-interest-rates-economy-federal-reserve-53d93610b5ccaacd097853593f29bc26">was 3%</a>, according to the government, down sharply from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022. One cautionary note is that a “core” inflation measure that is preferred by the Fed, which excludes volatile food and energy costs,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-gas-federal-reserve-rates-economy-8aa95d83361fce15571690496e5abd61">was still up 4.6% in May</a>&nbsp;from a year earlier.“Core is still quite elevated," Powell said at his news conference.Some Fed officials, including Christopher Waller, an outspoken member of its Board of Governors, and Lorie Logan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, have said they think the cumulative effects of the previous rate hikes have already been baked into the economy. With inflation still above the Fed’s target, they think additional hikes may be needed to further slow price pressures.Powell echoed that point Wednesday. The Fed's rate hikes, he said, have “not been restrictive enough for long enough” to exert their full effect.“The process still has a long way to go," he said.Some analysts caution that the drop in year-over-year inflation from roughly 9% to 3% was the relatively easy part, Getting it down to the Fed’s 2% target will be harder and take longer.Other experts say they think the recent mild inflation readings can be sustained. Rental cost increases, which have already fallen, should drop further as more apartment buildings are completed.Though the Fed began tightening credit before central banks in many other developed countries did, most others are now following suit. The European Central Bank is expected to announce its own quarter-point rate hike on Thursday. Though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-europe-food-prices-interest-rates-579394c34425c25e209d69dff44e462c">inflation has declined</a>&nbsp;in the 20 countries that use the euro, it remains higher there than in the United States.The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its policies unchanged when it meets next week even though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-economy-inflation-wages-prices-tourism-fe102635931a2cee79760cbae83d0100">prices there are creeping higher</a>&nbsp;after roughly two decades of declining prices. The Bank of England has been among the most aggressive in Europe, having&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bank-of-england-interest-rates-inflation-a87fa97e33df6e79f7097cc2acd955fa">raised its key rate last month by a half-point</a>&nbsp;to a 15-year high of 5%. Year-over-year inflation in the U.K. reached a painful 8.7% in May.