By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/woman-who-shouted-shame-following-critical-gun-bill-passage-is-banned-from-nebraska-capitol/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., kicked off her third campaign for the Senate on Wednesday at the Nebraska State Capitol, where she discussed how she has helped Nebraskans secure federal funding for infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and broadband.

Flanked by more than a few dozen current and former elected officials, including Gov. Jim Pillen; U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.; and former Govs. Kay Orr and Dave Heineman, Fischer highlighted her Senate work on national defense, including helping secure funding for a new runway at Offutt Air Force Base and for new levees to protect the base in the event of flooding.&nbsp;

She pointed to work with public and private partners to build a VA health clinic in Omaha. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she mentioned the importance of upgrading the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

The senator said she knows Nebraskans, “who we are and what we stand for,” because she comes home and hears from them. She touted a voting record that right-wing broadcaster Glenn Beck recently described as more conservative than U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The reference to Beck appeared aimed at some factions within the Republican Party who have echoed former President Donald Trump’s criticisms of GOP House and Senate members who backed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, including Fischer and Bacon. The bill included at least $1.2 billion for Nebraska projects.

Nebraska is expected to receive $405 million on broadband infrastructure because of the bill, the White House announced this week. Fischer also mentioned new investments in drinking water quality and wastewater treatment. Last week, during a visit to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she highlighted important research that the federal government helps fund at Nebraska colleges and universities.

Fischer said she has focused much of her work on confronting China with military strength and economic independence. Like her Senate cohorts, she drew attention to a humanitarian and security “crisis” at the southern U.S. border.

She also said she was “proud to support President Trump’s three nominees to the Supreme Court,” which overturned Roe v. Wade and sent decisions on regulating abortion back to individual states.&nbsp;

I’m proud of my record,” Fischer said. “There’s no question I’m a conservative. … But I also get the job done for Nebraska and take care of our people.”&nbsp;

No challenger to Fischer has filed so far, although the Nebraska Democratic Party has said it is actively recruiting one.&nbsp;

Fischer was elected to the Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2018. In 2024, both Fischer and the state’s junior senator, Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb, will be on the ballot. Pillen appointed Ricketts in January to replace former Sen. Ben Sasse, who quit to run the University of Florida.

Ricketts has to win in 2024 to serve out the remaining two years of Sasse’s term. The seat will be open again in 2026 for a regular six-year term.&nbsp;

Former 1st District House candidate John Glen Weaver, a Republican, has announced he will oppose Ricketts. Two others — Republican Charles Herbster and Democrat Paul Theobald — have said&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/27/herbster-theobald-mull-u-s-senate-bids-against-pete-ricketts/">they are considering runs</a>.

Nebraska Examiner intern Zach Wendling contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687995164421.png" alt="U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., announces her reelection bid for U.S. Senate in the Nebraska State Capitol on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., announces her reelection bid for U.S. Senate in the Nebraska State Capitol on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/woman-who-shouted-shame-following-critical-gun-bill-passage-is-banned-from-nebraska-capitol/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., kicked off her third campaign for the Senate on Wednesday at the Nebraska State Capitol, where she discussed how she has helped Nebraskans secure federal funding for infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and broadband.Flanked by more than a few dozen current and former elected officials, including Gov. Jim Pillen; U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.; and former Govs. Kay Orr and Dave Heineman, Fischer highlighted her Senate work on national defense, including helping secure funding for a new runway at Offutt Air Force Base and for new levees to protect the base in the event of flooding.&nbsp;She pointed to work with public and private partners to build a VA health clinic in Omaha. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she mentioned the importance of upgrading the nation’s nuclear arsenal.The senator said she knows Nebraskans, “who we are and what we stand for,” because she comes home and hears from them. She touted a voting record that right-wing broadcaster Glenn Beck recently described as more conservative than U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.&nbsp;&nbsp;The reference to Beck appeared aimed at some factions within the Republican Party who have echoed former President Donald Trump’s criticisms of GOP House and Senate members who backed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, including Fischer and Bacon. The bill included at least $1.2 billion for Nebraska projects.Nebraska is expected to receive $405 million on broadband infrastructure because of the bill, the White House announced this week. Fischer also mentioned new investments in drinking water quality and wastewater treatment. Last week, during a visit to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she highlighted important research that the federal government helps fund at Nebraska colleges and universities.Fischer said she has focused much of her work on confronting China with military strength and economic independence. Like her Senate cohorts, she drew attention to a humanitarian and security “crisis” at the southern U.S. border.She also said she was “proud to support President Trump’s three nominees to the Supreme Court,” which overturned Roe v. Wade and sent decisions on regulating abortion back to individual states.&nbsp;I’m proud of my record,” Fischer said. “There’s no question I’m a conservative. … But I also get the job done for Nebraska and take care of our people.”&nbsp;No challenger to Fischer has filed so far, although the Nebraska Democratic Party has said it is actively recruiting one.&nbsp;Fischer was elected to the Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2018. In 2024, both Fischer and the state’s junior senator, Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb, will be on the ballot. Pillen appointed Ricketts in January to replace former Sen. Ben Sasse, who quit to run the University of Florida.Ricketts has to win in 2024 to serve out the remaining two years of Sasse’s term. The seat will be open again in 2026 for a regular six-year term.&nbsp;Former 1st District House candidate John Glen Weaver, a Republican, has announced he will oppose Ricketts. Two others — Republican Charles Herbster and Democrat Paul Theobald — have said&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/27/herbster-theobald-mull-u-s-senate-bids-against-pete-ricketts/">they are considering runs</a>.Nebraska Examiner intern Zach Wendling contributed to this report.

 Sen. Deb Fischer, touting record of results, announces 2024 reelection bid

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years.</a>

<a href="https://www.sba.gov/document/report-23-09-covid-19-pandemic-eidl-ppp-loan-fraud-landscape">The numbers issued Tuesday</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office's previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

The inspector general's report said “at least 17 percent of all COVID-EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed to potentially fraudulent actors.” The fraud estimate for the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is more than $136 billion, which represents 33 percent of the total money spent on that program, according to the report. The Paycheck Protection fraud estimate is $64 billion, the inspector general said.

In comments attached to the report, a senior SBA official disputed the new numbers. Bailey DeVries, SBA's acting associate administrator for capital access, said the inspector general's “approach contains serious flaws that significantly overestimate fraud and unintentionally mislead the public to believe that the work we did together had no significant impact in protecting against fraud.”

The SBA inspector general had previously estimated fraud in the COVID-19 disaster loan program at $86 billion and the Paycheck Protection program at $20 billion.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-fraud-waste-billions-small-business-labor-fb1d9a9eb24857efbe4611344311ae78">The Associated Press reported June 13 that scammers and swindlers potentially swiped about $280 billion in COVID-19 emergency aid</a>; an additional $123 billion was wasted or misspent. The bulk of the potential losses are from the two SBA programs and another to provide unemployment benefits to workers suddenly unemployed by the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic. The three initiatives were begun during the Trump administration and inherited by President Joe Biden. Combined, the loss estimated by AP represents 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in COVID relief aid.

The federal government has now reported $276 billion in potential fraud, a figure that aligns with the AP’s analysis.

Gene Sperling, a senior White House official overseeing pandemic relief spending, said in a interview Tuesday that 86% of the fraud, or potential fraud, in the emergency loan programs happened during the first nine months of the pandemic when President Donald Trump was in office.

“$200 billion is a very big number, but this, again, should be remembered as potential fraud,” Sperling said. “We think the amount of likely or actual fraud is significantly less, significantly under $100 billion, perhaps around $40 billion."

But he added, "whichever it is, it’s unacceptably high.”

The SBA inspector general, Hannibal “Mike” Ware, said in a statement Tuesday that the report "utilizes investigative casework, prior (inspector general) reporting, and cutting-edge data analysis to identify multiple fraud schemes used to potentially steal over $200 billion from American taxpayers and exploit programs meant to help those in need.”

Ware, in an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month, said these latest fraud figures won’t be the last ones issued by his office.

“We will continue to assess fraud until we’re finished with the investigations on these things,” Ware said. That could be a long while. His office has a backlog of more than 90,000 actionable leads into pandemic relief fraud, which amounts to nearly a century's worth of work.

<a href="https://www.sba.gov/document/report-protecting-integrity-pandemic-relief-programs">SBA issued its own report Tuesday detailing anti-fraud measures it has adopted.</a>&nbsp;The agency’s administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman, said in an emailed statement that the report outlines “the effective measures added to fight fraud and hold bad actors responsible.”

SBA previously told The Associated Press the federal government has not developed an accepted system for assessing fraud in federal programs. Previous analyses, the agency said, have pointed to “potential fraud” or “fraud indicators” in a manner that conveys those numbers as a true fraud estimate when they are not. For the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, the agency said it's “working estimate” found $28 billion in likely fraud.

Fraud in pandemic unemployment assistance programs stands at $76 billion, according to congressional testimony from the Labor Department's inspector general, Larry Turner. That’s a conservative estimate. An additional $115 billion mistakenly went to people who should not have received the benefits, according to his testimony.

The Biden administration put in place stricter rules to stem pandemic fraud, including use of a “Do Not Pay” database. Biden also recently proposed a $1.6 billion plan to boost law enforcement efforts to go after pandemic relief fraudsters.

Bob Westbrooks, a former executive director of the federal Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, said in an interview the $200 billion number is “unacceptable, unprecedented and unfathomable.” Westbrooks published a book last week, “Left Holding the Bag: A Watchdog’s Account of How Washington Fumbled its COVID Test.”

“The swift distribution of funds and program integrity are not mutually exclusive,” Westbrooks said Tuesday. “The government can walk and chew gum at the same time. They should have put basic fraud controls in place to verify people’s identity and to make sure targeted relief was getting into the right hands.”

The fraudulent payouts have consequences, said John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business,.

Griffin and colleagues said i&nbsp;<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4487877">n a new paper</a>&nbsp;that pandemic relief fraud inflated house prices.

The study found that people who fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection loans were more likely to buy a house than people who got legitimate loans, and housing prices increased 5.7 percentage points on average in ZIP codes with high amounts of fraud during the pandemic, even after controlling for other factors that affect home prices such as land supply, prior house price growth and the ability to telework. For a $400,000 house, that would add $22,800.

The study also found increases in consumer spending in ZIP codes where people received high amounts of fraudulent funds, which may have fueled inflation more broadly, Griffin said Tuesday.

“If you paid too much for your house because fraudsters pumped up the house prices in your ZIP code and then your house price ends up going down, you could be the victim of an unintended consequence of fraud,” he said in an interview. “It’s another reason why we should care about fraud.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588075781384.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years.</a><a href="https://www.sba.gov/document/report-23-09-covid-19-pandemic-eidl-ppp-loan-fraud-landscape">The numbers issued Tuesday</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office's previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.The inspector general's report said “at least 17 percent of all COVID-EIDL and PPP funds were disbursed to potentially fraudulent actors.” The fraud estimate for the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is more than $136 billion, which represents 33 percent of the total money spent on that program, according to the report. The Paycheck Protection fraud estimate is $64 billion, the inspector general said.In comments attached to the report, a senior SBA official disputed the new numbers. Bailey DeVries, SBA's acting associate administrator for capital access, said the inspector general's “approach contains serious flaws that significantly overestimate fraud and unintentionally mislead the public to believe that the work we did together had no significant impact in protecting against fraud.”The SBA inspector general had previously estimated fraud in the COVID-19 disaster loan program at $86 billion and the Paycheck Protection program at $20 billion.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-fraud-waste-billions-small-business-labor-fb1d9a9eb24857efbe4611344311ae78">The Associated Press reported June 13 that scammers and swindlers potentially swiped about $280 billion in COVID-19 emergency aid</a>; an additional $123 billion was wasted or misspent. The bulk of the potential losses are from the two SBA programs and another to provide unemployment benefits to workers suddenly unemployed by the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic. The three initiatives were begun during the Trump administration and inherited by President Joe Biden. Combined, the loss estimated by AP represents 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in COVID relief aid.The federal government has now reported $276 billion in potential fraud, a figure that aligns with the AP’s analysis.Gene Sperling, a senior White House official overseeing pandemic relief spending, said in a interview Tuesday that 86% of the fraud, or potential fraud, in the emergency loan programs happened during the first nine months of the pandemic when President Donald Trump was in office.“$200 billion is a very big number, but this, again, should be remembered as potential fraud,” Sperling said. “We think the amount of likely or actual fraud is significantly less, significantly under $100 billion, perhaps around $40 billion."But he added, "whichever it is, it’s unacceptably high.”The SBA inspector general, Hannibal “Mike” Ware, said in a statement Tuesday that the report "utilizes investigative casework, prior (inspector general) reporting, and cutting-edge data analysis to identify multiple fraud schemes used to potentially steal over $200 billion from American taxpayers and exploit programs meant to help those in need.”Ware, in an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month, said these latest fraud figures won’t be the last ones issued by his office.“We will continue to assess fraud until we’re finished with the investigations on these things,” Ware said. That could be a long while. His office has a backlog of more than 90,000 actionable leads into pandemic relief fraud, which amounts to nearly a century's worth of work.<a href="https://www.sba.gov/document/report-protecting-integrity-pandemic-relief-programs">SBA issued its own report Tuesday detailing anti-fraud measures it has adopted.</a>&nbsp;The agency’s administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman, said in an emailed statement that the report outlines “the effective measures added to fight fraud and hold bad actors responsible.”SBA previously told The Associated Press the federal government has not developed an accepted system for assessing fraud in federal programs. Previous analyses, the agency said, have pointed to “potential fraud” or “fraud indicators” in a manner that conveys those numbers as a true fraud estimate when they are not. For the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, the agency said it's “working estimate” found $28 billion in likely fraud.Fraud in pandemic unemployment assistance programs stands at $76 billion, according to congressional testimony from the Labor Department's inspector general, Larry Turner. That’s a conservative estimate. An additional $115 billion mistakenly went to people who should not have received the benefits, according to his testimony.The Biden administration put in place stricter rules to stem pandemic fraud, including use of a “Do Not Pay” database. Biden also recently proposed a $1.6 billion plan to boost law enforcement efforts to go after pandemic relief fraudsters.Bob Westbrooks, a former executive director of the federal Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, said in an interview the $200 billion number is “unacceptable, unprecedented and unfathomable.” Westbrooks published a book last week, “Left Holding the Bag: A Watchdog’s Account of How Washington Fumbled its COVID Test.”“The swift distribution of funds and program integrity are not mutually exclusive,” Westbrooks said Tuesday. “The government can walk and chew gum at the same time. They should have put basic fraud controls in place to verify people’s identity and to make sure targeted relief was getting into the right hands.”The fraudulent payouts have consequences, said John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business,.Griffin and colleagues said i&nbsp;<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4487877">n a new paper</a>&nbsp;that pandemic relief fraud inflated house prices.The study found that people who fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection loans were more likely to buy a house than people who got legitimate loans, and housing prices increased 5.7 percentage points on average in ZIP codes with high amounts of fraud during the pandemic, even after controlling for other factors that affect home prices such as land supply, prior house price growth and the ability to telework. For a $400,000 house, that would add $22,800.The study also found increases in consumer spending in ZIP codes where people received high amounts of fraudulent funds, which may have fueled inflation more broadly, Griffin said Tuesday.“If you paid too much for your house because fraudsters pumped up the house prices in your ZIP code and then your house price ends up going down, you could be the victim of an unintended consequence of fraud,” he said in an interview. “It’s another reason why we should care about fraud.”

Report: More than $200 billion in COVID-19 aid may have been stolen

By ASHLEY MURRAY <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 — Democratic U.S. senators want more details about who will be affected by new work requirements for government food assistance that were a Republican demand under a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.penncapital-star.com/dc-bureau/new-work-requirements-for-some-snap-recipients-included-in-debt-limit-deal/">deal</a>&nbsp;to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.

Led by Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, the lawmakers sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SNAP-demographics_FINAL.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;Monday to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting four specific pieces of information:

“We remain concerned about the changes to eligibility and increases to work requirements overall. By their own admission, the individuals who proposed these new work requirements and changes to eligibility did so as an exercise to reduce both the overall cost of SNAP and the number of individuals enrolled,” the members wrote.

“We are pleased at reports suggesting that this attempt to push more Americans into poverty failed, but as it stands, there are still information gaps on how the eligibility changes will impact food security for Americans by age, race, ethnicity, or gender,” they continued.

The letter is signed by Fetterman, chair of the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics and Research of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

All Democratic members of the subcommittee joined the letter. They include Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

The lawmakers requested that Vilsack respond by July 10.

The USDA did not respond to a request for comment.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act — the deal to raise the country’s borrowing limit, or debt ceiling — expands work requirements for adults without dependents age 18 to 55, raising the previous cutoff age of 49.

The additional requirements for this population include mandates to work for pay, attend a training program or volunteer 80 hours a month — though some states can waive these requirements depending on unemployment figures and other factors.

The deal brokered by the White House and GOP House leadership included concessions from both sides.

Biden, who for months called changes in SNAP work requirements a nonstarter, agreed to the expansion but with exemptions for SNAP recipients in that category who are veterans, homeless or are under 24 and aging out of the foster care system. Some exemptions had already applied to this special population of adults — for example, for those who are physically or mentally unable to work.

GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his negotiators originally proposed a version with none of the additional exceptions.

The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/04/26/u-s-house-gop-plan-would-expand-work-requirements-for-food-aid-for-older-adults/">estimated</a>&nbsp;that the original plan would have put food assistance in jeopardy for roughly 1 million adults without dependents.

The GOP had also wanted to expand work requirements for recipients of Medicaid, the government-sponsored health care program for low-income individuals and other special populations.

The welfare changes all together would have cut $100 billion and $120 billion in government spending over the next 10 years, according to respective analyses from the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/whats-limit-save-grow-act">Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.moodysanalytics.com/-/media/article/2023/debt-limit-drama.pdf">Moody’s Analytics</a>.

In the deal that finally made it into law, the SNAP adjustments and changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program will cost the government $2.1 billion over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/how-much-would-fiscal-responsibility-act-save">analysis</a>&nbsp;of the Congressional Budget Office score of the law.

The administration, as of late May when the deal was agreed upon, did not have an estimate of how many people would be affected by the expanded work requirements.

Shalanda Young, director of the U.S. Office Management and Budget and a negotiator for the deal, said on May 31 that the number of adults ages 49 to 55 who will be subject to the new rules may break even with the number who will now be exempt because of veteran status, homelessness or foster care considerations.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/10/1571410354379.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By ASHLEY MURRAY <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 — Democratic U.S. senators want more details about who will be affected by new work requirements for government food assistance that were a Republican demand under a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.penncapital-star.com/dc-bureau/new-work-requirements-for-some-snap-recipients-included-in-debt-limit-deal/">deal</a>&nbsp;to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.Led by Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, the lawmakers sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SNAP-demographics_FINAL.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;Monday to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting four specific pieces of information:<ul>
 <li>The net change in enrollment for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture implements the changes.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Whether and when USDA will release state-level assessments of the changes.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>The breakdown of net changes to national SNAP enrollment figures by certain demographic categories.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>The USDA’s plan to communicate the eligibility changes to affected populations.</li>
 </ul>“We remain concerned about the changes to eligibility and increases to work requirements overall. By their own admission, the individuals who proposed these new work requirements and changes to eligibility did so as an exercise to reduce both the overall cost of SNAP and the number of individuals enrolled,” the members wrote.“We are pleased at reports suggesting that this attempt to push more Americans into poverty failed, but as it stands, there are still information gaps on how the eligibility changes will impact food security for Americans by age, race, ethnicity, or gender,” they continued.The letter is signed by Fetterman, chair of the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics and Research of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.All Democratic members of the subcommittee joined the letter. They include Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.The lawmakers requested that Vilsack respond by July 10.The USDA did not respond to a request for comment.<h2>Changes in work requirements</h2>The Fiscal Responsibility Act — the deal to raise the country’s borrowing limit, or debt ceiling — expands work requirements for adults without dependents age 18 to 55, raising the previous cutoff age of 49.The additional requirements for this population include mandates to work for pay, attend a training program or volunteer 80 hours a month — though some states can waive these requirements depending on unemployment figures and other factors.The changes will sunset in 2030.The deal brokered by the White House and GOP House leadership included concessions from both sides.Biden, who for months called changes in SNAP work requirements a nonstarter, agreed to the expansion but with exemptions for SNAP recipients in that category who are veterans, homeless or are under 24 and aging out of the foster care system. Some exemptions had already applied to this special population of adults — for example, for those who are physically or mentally unable to work.GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his negotiators originally proposed a version with none of the additional exceptions.The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/04/26/u-s-house-gop-plan-would-expand-work-requirements-for-food-aid-for-older-adults/">estimated</a>&nbsp;that the original plan would have put food assistance in jeopardy for roughly 1 million adults without dependents.The GOP had also wanted to expand work requirements for recipients of Medicaid, the government-sponsored health care program for low-income individuals and other special populations.The welfare changes all together would have cut $100 billion and $120 billion in government spending over the next 10 years, according to respective analyses from the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/whats-limit-save-grow-act">Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.moodysanalytics.com/-/media/article/2023/debt-limit-drama.pdf">Moody’s Analytics</a>.In the deal that finally made it into law, the SNAP adjustments and changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program will cost the government $2.1 billion over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/how-much-would-fiscal-responsibility-act-save">analysis</a>&nbsp;of the Congressional Budget Office score of the law.The administration, as of late May when the deal was agreed upon, did not have an estimate of how many people would be affected by the expanded work requirements.Shalanda Young, director of the U.S. Office Management and Budget and a negotiator for the deal, said on May 31 that the number of adults ages 49 to 55 who will be subject to the new rules may break even with the number who will now be exempt because of veteran status, homelessness or foster care considerations.

Dems want more specifics on SNAP changes resulting from debt deal

By&nbsp;CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/woman-who-shouted-shame-following-critical-gun-bill-passage-is-banned-from-nebraska-capitol/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — At a town hall meeting Tuesday, State Sen. Tony Vargas said he was disappointed that so much of his 2023 legislative session was spent ”fighting on defense” against bills that he said hurt people in his district.

The South Omaha lawmaker said that measures aimed at transgender youths and abortion restrictions, for example, consumed time and also led to a kind of division among colleagues that he hadn’t witnessed before.

But there were bright spots, too, Vargas told the small group gathered in the Bancroft Street Market south of downtown Omaha. Among them was passage of legislation he pushed to help new mothers,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/06/nebraska-lawmaker-revives-attempt-to-support-streamline-permits-for-food-trucks/">food truck</a>&nbsp;entrepreneurs and future economic development projects&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/01/ne-legislative-effort-to-reenergize-north-and-south-omaha-hits-milestone/">in South and North Omaha.</a>

And despite gubernatorial vetoes on such efforts as the Vargas-backed middle-income housing funds, he said he expects redemption next year — in his eighth and last session before he’s term-limited out of the Legislature.

“We’ll focus on actual problems facing Nebraskans,” Vargas said, citing demand for affordable housing and workforce shortages as among top concerns he intends to&nbsp; address.

Vargas spoke for an hour to about 15 people, saying he hoped to have more such&nbsp; “intimate” gatherings to hear constituent concerns that will help shape legislation he introduces in his “last hurrah” session.

Asked whether he plans another run for Congress, Vargas said he had no comment.

Most certainly, Vargas said, he will continue in the next legislative session to push for funding that helps create housing that’s financially accessible to the state’s workforce.

He talked about how close the Legislature got this past session to approving<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/05/31/senators-override-one-gubernatorial-veto-to-grant-additional-funds-for-auditor/">&nbsp;$40 million to expand housing</a>&nbsp;options in rural and urban communities, before Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed the funding.

Pillen at the time said he wanted to protect the state’s cash reserves, which were the source of the housing funds, and didn’t want to “flood the market” with government-funded housing.

The governor also vetoed&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/05/31/senators-override-one-gubernatorial-veto-to-grant-additional-funds-for-auditor/">another measure</a>&nbsp;dear to Vargas that called for a $14.8 million increase in provider rates for hospitals and nursing homes that care for Medicaid recipients.&nbsp;

Vargas said he was disappointed to hear from some colleagues that they supported the legislation but feared “retribution” if they tried to override the governor’s vetoes.

In a more optimistic tone, Vargas said he saw Pillen at a recent event celebrating a new housing project and he said the governor indicated he would work with Vargas next year on housing.

“I’m going to hold him to it,” Vargas said.

One woman in the audience said she was “terrified” that she’ll see “Round 2” of a “hyperpartisan” legislative debate in the officially nonpartisan Legislature — and asked Vargas how he sees that tone changing for a smoother next session.

Vargas said he hopes fellow lawmakers will take more time to recognize the consequences of passing certain laws.

On a personal note, he said he is spending time this summer visiting with colleagues, including those with whom he has conflicted, in hopes of building and strengthening relationships.

Vargas said bright spots of the session included passage of legislation he introduced or helped push. Among those bills was a package that included expansion of Medicaid postpartum coverage for new mothers, from two months to at least six months.&nbsp;

He said he is looking forward to the implementation of the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/01/ne-legislative-effort-to-reenergize-north-and-south-omaha-hits-milestone/">Economic Recovery Act</a>, which&nbsp; is to send hundreds of millions of dollars to economic development projects in South and North Omaha.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687964369336.png" alt=" State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha meets with constituents in South Omaha. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha meets with constituents in South Omaha. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/woman-who-shouted-shame-following-critical-gun-bill-passage-is-banned-from-nebraska-capitol/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — At a town hall meeting Tuesday, State Sen. Tony Vargas said he was disappointed that so much of his 2023 legislative session was spent ”fighting on defense” against bills that he said hurt people in his district.The South Omaha lawmaker said that measures aimed at transgender youths and abortion restrictions, for example, consumed time and also led to a kind of division among colleagues that he hadn’t witnessed before.But there were bright spots, too, Vargas told the small group gathered in the Bancroft Street Market south of downtown Omaha. Among them was passage of legislation he pushed to help new mothers,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/06/nebraska-lawmaker-revives-attempt-to-support-streamline-permits-for-food-trucks/">food truck</a>&nbsp;entrepreneurs and future economic development projects&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/01/ne-legislative-effort-to-reenergize-north-and-south-omaha-hits-milestone/">in South and North Omaha.</a>And despite gubernatorial vetoes on such efforts as the Vargas-backed middle-income housing funds, he said he expects redemption next year — in his eighth and last session before he’s term-limited out of the Legislature.“We’ll focus on actual problems facing Nebraskans,” Vargas said, citing demand for affordable housing and workforce shortages as among top concerns he intends to&nbsp; address.<h2>‘Last hurrah’ in Legislature</h2>Vargas spoke for an hour to about 15 people, saying he hoped to have more such&nbsp; “intimate” gatherings to hear constituent concerns that will help shape legislation he introduces in his “last hurrah” session.Asked whether he plans another run for Congress, Vargas said he had no comment.Most certainly, Vargas said, he will continue in the next legislative session to push for funding that helps create housing that’s financially accessible to the state’s workforce.He talked about how close the Legislature got this past session to approving<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/05/31/senators-override-one-gubernatorial-veto-to-grant-additional-funds-for-auditor/">&nbsp;$40 million to expand housing</a>&nbsp;options in rural and urban communities, before Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed the funding.Pillen at the time said he wanted to protect the state’s cash reserves, which were the source of the housing funds, and didn’t want to “flood the market” with government-funded housing.The governor also vetoed&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/05/31/senators-override-one-gubernatorial-veto-to-grant-additional-funds-for-auditor/">another measure</a>&nbsp;dear to Vargas that called for a $14.8 million increase in provider rates for hospitals and nursing homes that care for Medicaid recipients.&nbsp;Vargas said he was disappointed to hear from some colleagues that they supported the legislation but feared “retribution” if they tried to override the governor’s vetoes.In a more optimistic tone, Vargas said he saw Pillen at a recent event celebrating a new housing project and he said the governor indicated he would work with Vargas next year on housing.“I’m going to hold him to it,” Vargas said.One woman in the audience said she was “terrified” that she’ll see “Round 2” of a “hyperpartisan” legislative debate in the officially nonpartisan Legislature — and asked Vargas how he sees that tone changing for a smoother next session.Vargas said he hopes fellow lawmakers will take more time to recognize the consequences of passing certain laws.On a personal note, he said he is spending time this summer visiting with colleagues, including those with whom he has conflicted, in hopes of building and strengthening relationships.Vargas said bright spots of the session included passage of legislation he introduced or helped push. Among those bills was a package that included expansion of Medicaid postpartum coverage for new mothers, from two months to at least six months.&nbsp;He said he is looking forward to the implementation of the&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/01/ne-legislative-effort-to-reenergize-north-and-south-omaha-hits-milestone/">Economic Recovery Act</a>, which&nbsp; is to send hundreds of millions of dollars to economic development projects in South and North Omaha.<h2>Other highlights of his year include:</h2><ul>
 <li>Legislative Bill 740, amended into LB 562, which standardizes and eases the permit and inspection process for food trucks. Vargas said the long-fought battle encourages entrepreneurship and provides options for diners. He said his district has the highest concentration of food trucks in the state.</li><li>LB 756, which ensures continuation of and improves the Nebraska historic tax credit program.</li><li>LB 802, which appropriates funds to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for research and treatment of pediatric cancer research.</li><li>LB 75, amended into LB 227, which grants the maternal death review team authority to conduct reviews on instances of severe maternal morbidity in Nebraska.&nbsp;</li><li>LB 201, which, starting in 2024, requires students to complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) prior to high school graduation. It can be waived by a parent or guardian.</li><li>LB 539, which transfers dollars from the Juul Tobacco settlement to help reduce tobacco use by youth.</li><li>LB 570, amended into LB 227, which calls for expert teams to review overdose fatalities with an eye toward preventing future drug overdose deaths through policy changes.</li>
 </ul>

Neb. lawmaker recaps this year’s highs and lows, looks ahead to ‘last hurrah’ in Legislature

WASHINGTON —The Defense Department announced an additional security assistance package of up to $500 million aimed at providing key capabilities to support Ukraine's counteroffensive operations and defend against Russia's war of aggression, according to a media release from the Defense Department.

(click below to watch the White House announcement on the package)

The package includes additional armored vehicles, antiarmor systems and critical munitions for U.S.-provided Patriot air defense systems and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems among other items.&nbsp;

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder underscored the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine in announcing the latest round of aid. &nbsp;

"As we have since the beginning of Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, the U.S. will continue to work with our allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements," he said. &nbsp;

The Biden administration has committed more than $40.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion in February 2022.

The latest round of assistance marks the 41st drawdown of equipment from DOD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. It comes amid a period of upheaval within Russia's borders following an armed revolt by Wagner Group mercenaries.

President Joe Biden said on Monday the U.S. remains focused on coordinating with allies and supporting Ukraine as his national security team monitors the fallout from the weekend's events.&nbsp;

Biden said he would stay in "constant contact" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and affirmed the United States' continued commitment to supporting Ukraine. &nbsp;

Ryder reiterated today that the U.S. will remain focused on providing Ukraine with the assistance needed to defend itself from Russia's ongoing aggression. &nbsp;

"As it relates to Ukraine, the war there continues; Russia's illegal occupation continues. And, so, we are not going to lose sight of that fact," Ryder said. "And we're going to continue to work closely with them [the Ukrainians] to provide them with the kinds of capabilities that they need to execute the operation that they planned and that they're conducting."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687903092268.png" alt=" U.S. Air Force airmen assigned to the 721st Aerial Port Squadron load pallets of ammunition on a 60K Tunner to be transferred to a C-130 Hercules on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 7, 2022. Air Mobility Command's global air mobility support system is critical to the Defense Departments ability to rapidly fulfill Ukraine’s priority security assistance requests.&nbsp;Photo By:&nbsp;Air Force Capt. Emma Quirk&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption> U.S. Air Force airmen assigned to the 721st Aerial Port Squadron load pallets of ammunition on a 60K Tunner to be transferred to a C-130 Hercules on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 7, 2022. Air Mobility Command's global air mobility support system is critical to the Defense Departments ability to rapidly fulfill Ukraine’s priority security assistance requests.&nbsp;Photo By:&nbsp;Air Force Capt. Emma Quirk&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —The Defense Department announced an additional security assistance package of up to $500 million aimed at providing key capabilities to support Ukraine's counteroffensive operations and defend against Russia's war of aggression, according to a media release from the Defense Department.(click below to watch the White House announcement on the package)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F807523504300114%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=189" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>The package includes additional armored vehicles, antiarmor systems and critical munitions for U.S.-provided Patriot air defense systems and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems among other items.&nbsp;Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder underscored the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine in announcing the latest round of aid. &nbsp;"As we have since the beginning of Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, the U.S. will continue to work with our allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements," he said. &nbsp;The Biden administration has committed more than $40.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion in February 2022.The latest round of assistance marks the 41st drawdown of equipment from DOD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. It comes amid a period of upheaval within Russia's borders following an armed revolt by Wagner Group mercenaries.President Joe Biden said on Monday the U.S. remains focused on coordinating with allies and supporting Ukraine as his national security team monitors the fallout from the weekend's events.&nbsp;Biden said he would stay in "constant contact" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and affirmed the United States' continued commitment to supporting Ukraine. &nbsp;Ryder reiterated today that the U.S. will remain focused on providing Ukraine with the assistance needed to defend itself from Russia's ongoing aggression. &nbsp;"As it relates to Ukraine, the war there continues; Russia's illegal occupation continues. And, so, we are not going to lose sight of that fact," Ryder said. "And we're going to continue to work closely with them [the Ukrainians] to provide them with the kinds of capabilities that they need to execute the operation that they planned and that they're conducting."

🎥 $40 Billion: U.S. sending Ukraine more military aid 

HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — Bluegrass musician Bobby Osborne, who helped popularize the song “Rocky Top,” died early Tuesday, according to a statement from the college where he worked. He was 91.

Osborne and his brother Sonny made up “The Osborne Brothers,” and their version of the song “Rocky Top” in 1967 became an official state song of Tennessee, his website said. Osborne was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

“To say he was a legend falls short of the impact he had on all of us,” said Paul Schiminger, interim executive director at the International Bluegrass Music Association. “An innovative musical pioneer, Bobby set and held the gold standard for bluegrass vocals.”

While Osborne and his brother will be remembered by many for the song “Rocky Top,” Schiminger said that barely scratches the surface of the many songs they recorded and performed.

A native of Hyden, Kentucky, Osborne taught at the Hazard Community and Technical College’s Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in Leslie County for several years.

In January, he received the Governor’s Awards in the Arts for his dedication to sharing Kentucky’s rich history in the arts around the world.

Osborne was still performing and teaching last year when he told WYMT-TV that “as long as I can open my mouth and sing, I ain’t going to quit.”

Hazard Community and Technical College President Jennifer Lindon said the school was deeply saddened to learn about Osborne’s death.

“He was a pioneer in the bluegrass music industry and a champion for Eastern Kentucky,” she said.

HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — Bluegrass musician Bobby Osborne, who helped popularize the song “Rocky Top,” died early Tuesday, according to a statement from the college where he worked. He was 91.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHazardCTC%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0DniJdHRbuBzpjHkXeXw9oFMWW8qEtQNruDytbJjAXa6s2cLdGQXuAdVfPdgpgDFHl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="696" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>Osborne and his brother Sonny made up “The Osborne Brothers,” and their version of the song “Rocky Top” in 1967 became an official state song of Tennessee, his website said. Osborne was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.“To say he was a legend falls short of the impact he had on all of us,” said Paul Schiminger, interim executive director at the International Bluegrass Music Association. “An innovative musical pioneer, Bobby set and held the gold standard for bluegrass vocals.”While Osborne and his brother will be remembered by many for the song “Rocky Top,” Schiminger said that barely scratches the surface of the many songs they recorded and performed.A native of Hyden, Kentucky, Osborne taught at the Hazard Community and Technical College’s Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in Leslie County for several years.In January, he received the Governor’s Awards in the Arts for his dedication to sharing Kentucky’s rich history in the arts around the world.Osborne was still performing and teaching last year when he told WYMT-TV that “as long as I can open my mouth and sing, I ain’t going to quit.”Hazard Community and Technical College President Jennifer Lindon said the school was deeply saddened to learn about Osborne’s death.“He was a pioneer in the bluegrass music industry and a champion for Eastern Kentucky,” she said.

Bluegrass musician who helped popularize song ‘Rocky Top’ dies

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security downplayed or ignored “a massive amount of intelligence information” ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">attack on the U.S Capitol</a>, according to the chairman of a Senate panel that on Tuesday released a new report on the intelligence failures ahead of the insurrection.

The report details how the agencies failed to recognize and warn of the potential for violence as some of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters openly planned the siege in messages and forums online.

Among the multitude of intelligence that was overlooked was a December 2020 tip to the FBI that members of the far-right extremist group&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-enrique-tarrio-seditious-conspiracy-trial-f8738f17552cda21eef6d89504da2a0e">Proud Boys</a>&nbsp;planned to be in Washington, D.C., for the certification of Joe Biden’s victory and their "plan is to literally kill people," the report said. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said the agencies were also aware of many social media posts that foreshadowed violence, some calling on Trump’s supporters to “come armed” and storm the Capitol, kill lawmakers or “burn the place to the ground.”

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the Democratic chairman of the Homeland panel, said the breakdown was “largely a failure of imagination to see threats that the Capitol could be breached as credible,” echoing the findings of the Sept. 11 commission about intelligence failures ahead of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The report by the panel’s majority staff says the intelligence community has not entirely recalibrated to focus on the threats of domestic, rather than international, terrorism. And government intelligence leaders failed to sound the alarm “in part because they could not conceive that the U.S. Capitol Building would be overrun by rioters.”

Still, Peters said, the reasons for dismissing what he called a “massive” amount of intelligence “defies an easy explanation.”

While several other reports have examined the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-riots-donald-trump-congress-433501bc3152f036e818f22bb702942e">intelligence failures</a>&nbsp;around Jan. 6 -- including a bipartisan&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-government-and-politics-96054d62518a7be4c3f30231f51beaf5">2021 Senate report</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-donald-trump-2b406a42f8be60fb46443495b08ae0cb">House Jan. 6 committee</a>&nbsp;last year and several separate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-police-riot-security-failures-3309c46a9e0bc21c2b6f3287a2e3b831">internal assessments</a>&nbsp;by the Capitol Police and other government agencies — the latest investigation is the first congressional report to focus solely on the actions of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

In the wake of the attack, Peters said the committee interviewed officials at both agencies and found what was “pretty constant finger pointing” at each other.

“Everybody should be accountable because everybody failed,” Peters said.

Using emails and interviews collected by the Senate committee and others, including from the House Jan. 6 panel, the report lays out in detail the intelligence the agencies received in the weeks ahead of the attack.

There was not a failure to obtain evidence, the report says, but the agencies “failed to fully and accurately assess the severity of the threat identified by that intelligence, and formally disseminate guidance to their law enforcement partners."

As Trump, a Republican, falsely claimed he had won the 2020 election and tried to overturn his election defeat, telling his supporters to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-capitol-siege-media-e79eb5164613d6718e9f4502eb471f27">fight like hell</a>&nbsp;” in a speech in front of the White House that day, thousands of them marched to the Capitol. More than 2,000 rioters overran law enforcement, assaulted police officers, and caused more than $2.7 billion in damage to the Capitol, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report earlier this year.

Breaking through windows and doors, the rioters sent lawmakers running for their lives and temporarily interrupted the certification of the election victory by Biden, a Democrat.

Even as the attack was happening, the new report found, the FBI and Homeland Security downplayed the threat. As the Capitol Police struggled to clear the building, Homeland Security “was still struggling to assess the credibility of threats against the Capitol and to report out its intelligence.”

And at a 10 a.m. briefing as protesters gathered at Trump’s speech and near the Capitol were “wearing ballistic helmets, body armor, carrying radio equipment and military grade backpacks,” the FBI briefed that there were “no credible threats at this time.”

The lack of sufficient warnings meant that law enforcement were not adequately prepared and there was not a hardened perimeter established around the Capitol, as there is during events like the annual State of the Union address.

The report contains dozens of tips about violence on Jan. 6 that the agencies received and dismissed either due to lack of coordination, bureaucratic delays or trepidation on the part of those who were collecting it. The FBI, for example, was unexpectedly hindered in its attempt to find social media posts planning for Jan. 6 protests when the contract for its third-party social media monitoring tool expired. At Homeland Security, analysts were hesitant to report open-source intelligence after criticism in 2020 for collecting intelligence on American citizens during racial justice demonstrations.

One tip received by the FBI ahead of the Jan. 6 attack was from a former Justice Department official who sent screenshots of online posts from members of the Oath Keepers extremist group: “There is only one way in. It is not signs. It’s not rallies. It’s f------ bullets!”

The social media company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-apple-amazon-parler-app-367b6dff19026c3811651aa01bde58f2">Parler</a>, a favored platform for Trump’s supporters, directly sent the FBI several posts it found alarming, adding that there was “more where this came from” and that they were concerned about what would happen on Jan. 6.

”(T)his is not a rally and it’s no longer a protest,” read one of the Parler posts sent to the FBI, according to the report. “This is a final stand where we are drawing the red line at Capitol Hill. (...) don’t be surprised if we take the #capital (sic) building.”

But even as it received the warnings, the Senate panel found, the agency said over and over again that there were no credible threats.

“Our nation is still reckoning with the fallout from January 6th, but what is clear is the need for a reevaluation of the federal government’s domestic intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination processes," the new report says.

In a statement, Homeland Security spokesperson Angelo Fernandez said that the department has made many of those changes two and a half years later. The department “has strengthened intelligence analysis, information sharing, and operational preparedness to help prevent acts of violence and keep our communities safe.”

The FBI said in a separate response that since the attack it has increased focus on “swift information sharing” and centralized the flow of information to ensure more timely notification to other entities. “The FBI is determined to aggressively fight the danger posed by all domestic violent extremists, regardless of their motivations,” the statement said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-chris-wray-testify-capitol-riot-9a5539af34b15338bb5c4923907eeb67">defended the FBI’s handling of intelligence</a>&nbsp;in the run-up to Jan. 6, including a report from its Norfolk field office on Jan. 5 that cited online posts foreshadowing the possibility of a “war” in Washington the following day. The Senate report noted that the memo “did not note the multitude of other warnings” the agency had received.

The faultfinding with the FBI and Homeland Security Department echoes the blistering criticism directed at U.S. Capitol Police in a bipartisan report issued by the Senate Homeland and Rules committees two years ago. That report found that the police intelligence unit knew about social media posts calling for violence, as well, but did not inform top leadership what they had found.

Peters says he asked for the probe of the intelligence agencies after other reports, such as the House panel’s investigation last year, focused on other aspects of the attack. The Jan. 6 panel was more focused on Trump’s actions, and concluded in its report that the former president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-committee-final-report-takeaways-56cf44f8809cc76632f91f5c7910ec81">criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy”</a>&nbsp;to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.

“It’s important for us to realize these failures to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Peters said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1625861317057.png" alt="Photo U.S. Department of Justice" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Department of Justice</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security downplayed or ignored “a massive amount of intelligence information” ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">attack on the U.S Capitol</a>, according to the chairman of a Senate panel that on Tuesday released a new report on the intelligence failures ahead of the insurrection.The report details how the agencies failed to recognize and warn of the potential for violence as some of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters openly planned the siege in messages and forums online.Among the multitude of intelligence that was overlooked was a December 2020 tip to the FBI that members of the far-right extremist group&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-enrique-tarrio-seditious-conspiracy-trial-f8738f17552cda21eef6d89504da2a0e">Proud Boys</a>&nbsp;planned to be in Washington, D.C., for the certification of Joe Biden’s victory and their "plan is to literally kill people," the report said. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said the agencies were also aware of many social media posts that foreshadowed violence, some calling on Trump’s supporters to “come armed” and storm the Capitol, kill lawmakers or “burn the place to the ground.”Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the Democratic chairman of the Homeland panel, said the breakdown was “largely a failure of imagination to see threats that the Capitol could be breached as credible,” echoing the findings of the Sept. 11 commission about intelligence failures ahead of the 2001 terrorist attacks.The report by the panel’s majority staff says the intelligence community has not entirely recalibrated to focus on the threats of domestic, rather than international, terrorism. And government intelligence leaders failed to sound the alarm “in part because they could not conceive that the U.S. Capitol Building would be overrun by rioters.”Still, Peters said, the reasons for dismissing what he called a “massive” amount of intelligence “defies an easy explanation.”While several other reports have examined the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-riots-donald-trump-congress-433501bc3152f036e818f22bb702942e">intelligence failures</a>&nbsp;around Jan. 6 -- including a bipartisan&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-government-and-politics-96054d62518a7be4c3f30231f51beaf5">2021 Senate report</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-donald-trump-2b406a42f8be60fb46443495b08ae0cb">House Jan. 6 committee</a>&nbsp;last year and several separate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-police-riot-security-failures-3309c46a9e0bc21c2b6f3287a2e3b831">internal assessments</a>&nbsp;by the Capitol Police and other government agencies — the latest investigation is the first congressional report to focus solely on the actions of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.In the wake of the attack, Peters said the committee interviewed officials at both agencies and found what was “pretty constant finger pointing” at each other.“Everybody should be accountable because everybody failed,” Peters said.Using emails and interviews collected by the Senate committee and others, including from the House Jan. 6 panel, the report lays out in detail the intelligence the agencies received in the weeks ahead of the attack.There was not a failure to obtain evidence, the report says, but the agencies “failed to fully and accurately assess the severity of the threat identified by that intelligence, and formally disseminate guidance to their law enforcement partners."As Trump, a Republican, falsely claimed he had won the 2020 election and tried to overturn his election defeat, telling his supporters to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-capitol-siege-media-e79eb5164613d6718e9f4502eb471f27">fight like hell</a>&nbsp;” in a speech in front of the White House that day, thousands of them marched to the Capitol. More than 2,000 rioters overran law enforcement, assaulted police officers, and caused more than $2.7 billion in damage to the Capitol, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report earlier this year.Breaking through windows and doors, the rioters sent lawmakers running for their lives and temporarily interrupted the certification of the election victory by Biden, a Democrat.Even as the attack was happening, the new report found, the FBI and Homeland Security downplayed the threat. As the Capitol Police struggled to clear the building, Homeland Security “was still struggling to assess the credibility of threats against the Capitol and to report out its intelligence.”And at a 10 a.m. briefing as protesters gathered at Trump’s speech and near the Capitol were “wearing ballistic helmets, body armor, carrying radio equipment and military grade backpacks,” the FBI briefed that there were “no credible threats at this time.”The lack of sufficient warnings meant that law enforcement were not adequately prepared and there was not a hardened perimeter established around the Capitol, as there is during events like the annual State of the Union address.The report contains dozens of tips about violence on Jan. 6 that the agencies received and dismissed either due to lack of coordination, bureaucratic delays or trepidation on the part of those who were collecting it. The FBI, for example, was unexpectedly hindered in its attempt to find social media posts planning for Jan. 6 protests when the contract for its third-party social media monitoring tool expired. At Homeland Security, analysts were hesitant to report open-source intelligence after criticism in 2020 for collecting intelligence on American citizens during racial justice demonstrations.One tip received by the FBI ahead of the Jan. 6 attack was from a former Justice Department official who sent screenshots of online posts from members of the Oath Keepers extremist group: “There is only one way in. It is not signs. It’s not rallies. It’s f------ bullets!”The social media company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-apple-amazon-parler-app-367b6dff19026c3811651aa01bde58f2">Parler</a>, a favored platform for Trump’s supporters, directly sent the FBI several posts it found alarming, adding that there was “more where this came from” and that they were concerned about what would happen on Jan. 6.”(T)his is not a rally and it’s no longer a protest,” read one of the Parler posts sent to the FBI, according to the report. “This is a final stand where we are drawing the red line at Capitol Hill. (...) don’t be surprised if we take the #capital (sic) building.”But even as it received the warnings, the Senate panel found, the agency said over and over again that there were no credible threats.“Our nation is still reckoning with the fallout from January 6th, but what is clear is the need for a reevaluation of the federal government’s domestic intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination processes," the new report says.In a statement, Homeland Security spokesperson Angelo Fernandez said that the department has made many of those changes two and a half years later. The department “has strengthened intelligence analysis, information sharing, and operational preparedness to help prevent acts of violence and keep our communities safe.”The FBI said in a separate response that since the attack it has increased focus on “swift information sharing” and centralized the flow of information to ensure more timely notification to other entities. “The FBI is determined to aggressively fight the danger posed by all domestic violent extremists, regardless of their motivations,” the statement said.FBI Director Christopher Wray has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-chris-wray-testify-capitol-riot-9a5539af34b15338bb5c4923907eeb67">defended the FBI’s handling of intelligence</a>&nbsp;in the run-up to Jan. 6, including a report from its Norfolk field office on Jan. 5 that cited online posts foreshadowing the possibility of a “war” in Washington the following day. The Senate report noted that the memo “did not note the multitude of other warnings” the agency had received.The faultfinding with the FBI and Homeland Security Department echoes the blistering criticism directed at U.S. Capitol Police in a bipartisan report issued by the Senate Homeland and Rules committees two years ago. That report found that the police intelligence unit knew about social media posts calling for violence, as well, but did not inform top leadership what they had found.Peters says he asked for the probe of the intelligence agencies after other reports, such as the House panel’s investigation last year, focused on other aspects of the attack. The Jan. 6 panel was more focused on Trump’s actions, and concluded in its report that the former president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-committee-final-report-takeaways-56cf44f8809cc76632f91f5c7910ec81">criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy”</a>&nbsp;to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol.“It’s important for us to realize these failures to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Peters said.

Senate report: FBI ignored 'massive amount' of intelligence before Jan. 6

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;A new gift to the University of Nebraska College of Law will provide approximately 80 annual scholarships and permanently fund the law college’s Children’s Justice Clinic.

Lincoln philanthropist Phyllis Acklie pledged the gift through the Acklie Charitable Foundation, which she established with her husband, Duane Acklie, a 1955 Nebraska Law graduate who died in 2016.

“The education from the College of Law has had a monumental impact on multiple generations of our family, and there is no question we feel passionate about Nebraska Law, and how we believe it is currently shaping Nebraska’s next generation of leaders,” Halley Kruse, the couple’s granddaughter and a 2014 College of Law alumna, said in a news release.

Kruse, who is the vice president and director of the family’s foundation, said the impact of the education her grandfather received at Nebraska Law “cannot be overstated.”

Phyllis Acklie in 2021 established the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://law.unl.edu/node/4011/">Duane W. Acklie Honor Scholarship</a>&nbsp;Fund, to provide annual scholarships to aid Nebraska high school graduates from rural areas who are pursuing a Nebraska Law degree.&nbsp;

The family also provided the lead gift in 2009 for a classroom wing named in Duane Acklie’s honor.

The pledge will establish the College of Law Leadership &amp; Scholarship Fund, prioritizing scholarships over the next nine years for Nebraska residents. It will annually fund 15 full-tuition scholarships for in-state students and 65 half-tuition scholarships, most designated for Nebraska residents.&nbsp;

During the most recent academic year, Nebraska residents made up 55% of the College of Law’s enrollment. Full-year, in-state tuition for the upcoming year is approximately $12,600.

The pledge will also support the Nebraska Public Interest Law Fund, which provides stipends for second- and third-year law students working for a government or public interest organization in law school.

The gift will also fund travel awards for Nebraska Law students.

The Acklie family’s gift will permanently endow the Children’s Justice Clinic, which launched in 2017 to provide legal representation to vulnerable Nebraska children.

University of Nebraska College of Law Professor Michelle Paxton is the director of the Children’s Justice Clinic. (Craig Chandler/University Communication and Marketing)

The release states that third-year law students, as part of the clinic, serve as guardians ad litem in Lancaster County Juvenile Court under the supervision of law professor Michelle Paxton. The students advocate for the best interests of children in the legal system.&nbsp;

Many cases involve family situations that include domestic violence, neglect, unsafe housing and substance abuse.

“Children are our most vulnerable population, and they need a fighter in their corner,” Paxton said.

“Right now, there is a shortage of high-quality attorneys to represent children in juvenile court because the traditional law school experience does not provide the training and support you need to be effective,” she added.&nbsp;

The pledge will also create the College of Law Clinics Endowed Support Fund and provide support for any future Nebraska Law clinics as well as the college’s six other clinics: the Housing Justice Clinic, Criminal Clinic, Civil Clinic, Immigration Clinic, Weibling Entrepreneurship Clinic and Estate Planning Clinic.

The Acklie family is the largest donor in the College of Law’s history based on the new gift and past contributions. The foundation requested the commitment amount remain confidential.

Nebraska College of Law Dean Richard Moberly said it is the largest single gift in the college’s 132-year history.

“We are honored they continue to believe in our mission to develop inclusive leaders and are especially grateful for the support our students and programs will receive through this most recent gift,” Moberly said.

Moberly told the Nebraska Examiner that students graduating with as little debt as possible is important, and the gift will support students of all backgrounds to find a home in the college and earn living stipends as part of their law education.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green, who is retiring this week, said the Acklie family’s previous and continued support has led to library and classroom updates, “cutting-edge curriculum development” and one-of-a-kind experiential learning.

Green said the Acklie family’s support is “simply immeasurable.”

“Theirs is the deepest collective commitment to Nebraska’s flagship university,” he added.

By Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;A new gift to the University of Nebraska College of Law will provide approximately 80 annual scholarships and permanently fund the law college’s Children’s Justice Clinic.Lincoln philanthropist Phyllis Acklie pledged the gift through the Acklie Charitable Foundation, which she established with her husband, Duane Acklie, a 1955 Nebraska Law graduate who died in 2016.“The education from the College of Law has had a monumental impact on multiple generations of our family, and there is no question we feel passionate about Nebraska Law, and how we believe it is currently shaping Nebraska’s next generation of leaders,” Halley Kruse, the couple’s granddaughter and a 2014 College of Law alumna, said in a news release.Kruse, who is the vice president and director of the family’s foundation, said the impact of the education her grandfather received at Nebraska Law “cannot be overstated.”Phyllis Acklie in 2021 established the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://law.unl.edu/node/4011/">Duane W. Acklie Honor Scholarship</a>&nbsp;Fund, to provide annual scholarships to aid Nebraska high school graduates from rural areas who are pursuing a Nebraska Law degree.&nbsp;The family also provided the lead gift in 2009 for a classroom wing named in Duane Acklie’s honor.<h2>Annual scholarships</h2>The pledge will establish the College of Law Leadership &amp; Scholarship Fund, prioritizing scholarships over the next nine years for Nebraska residents. It will annually fund 15 full-tuition scholarships for in-state students and 65 half-tuition scholarships, most designated for Nebraska residents.&nbsp;During the most recent academic year, Nebraska residents made up 55% of the College of Law’s enrollment. Full-year, in-state tuition for the upcoming year is approximately $12,600.The pledge will also support the Nebraska Public Interest Law Fund, which provides stipends for second- and third-year law students working for a government or public interest organization in law school.The gift will also fund travel awards for Nebraska Law students.<h2>Children’s Justice Clinic</h2>The Acklie family’s gift will permanently endow the Children’s Justice Clinic, which launched in 2017 to provide legal representation to vulnerable Nebraska children.University of Nebraska College of Law Professor Michelle Paxton is the director of the Children’s Justice Clinic. (Craig Chandler/University Communication and Marketing)The release states that third-year law students, as part of the clinic, serve as guardians ad litem in Lancaster County Juvenile Court under the supervision of law professor Michelle Paxton. The students advocate for the best interests of children in the legal system.&nbsp;Many cases involve family situations that include domestic violence, neglect, unsafe housing and substance abuse.“Children are our most vulnerable population, and they need a fighter in their corner,” Paxton said.“Right now, there is a shortage of high-quality attorneys to represent children in juvenile court because the traditional law school experience does not provide the training and support you need to be effective,” she added.&nbsp;The pledge will also create the College of Law Clinics Endowed Support Fund and provide support for any future Nebraska Law clinics as well as the college’s six other clinics: the Housing Justice Clinic, Criminal Clinic, Civil Clinic, Immigration Clinic, Weibling Entrepreneurship Clinic and Estate Planning Clinic.<h2>‘Deepest collective commitment’</h2>The Acklie family is the largest donor in the College of Law’s history based on the new gift and past contributions. The foundation requested the commitment amount remain confidential.Nebraska College of Law Dean Richard Moberly said it is the largest single gift in the college’s 132-year history.“We are honored they continue to believe in our mission to develop inclusive leaders and are especially grateful for the support our students and programs will receive through this most recent gift,” Moberly said.Moberly told the Nebraska Examiner that students graduating with as little debt as possible is important, and the gift will support students of all backgrounds to find a home in the college and earn living stipends as part of their law education.University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green, who is retiring this week, said the Acklie family’s previous and continued support has led to library and classroom updates, “cutting-edge curriculum development” and one-of-a-kind experiential learning.Green said the Acklie family’s support is “simply immeasurable.”“Theirs is the deepest collective commitment to Nebraska’s flagship university,” he added.

Nebraska Law receives new gift to fund 80 annual scholarships, Children’s Justice Clinic

NEW YORK (AP) — The United States has seen five cases of malaria spread by mosquitos in the last two months — the first time there's been local spread in 20 years.

There were four cases detected in Florida and one in Texas, according to a health alert issued Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Malaria is caused by a parasite that spreads through mosquito bites. Infected people can suffer fever, chills and flu-like illness. If it goes untreated, infected people can develop severe complications and die. The largest death toll in recent years has been seen in children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Health officials are warning doctors, especially those in southern states where the weather is more friendly to the tropical mosquito that spreads malaria, to be aware of the possibility of infection. They also should think about how to access the IV drug that is the first-line treatment for severe malaria in the United States, the CDC said.

The agency said that the people who were diagnosed received treatment and “are improving.”

About 2,000 U.S. cases of malaria are diagnosed each year — the vast majority in travelers coming from countries where malaria commonly spreads.

Since 1992, there've been 11 outbreaks involving malaria from mosquitoes in the U.S. The last one occurred in 2003 in Palm Beach County, Florida, where eight cases were reported

NEW YORK (AP) — The United States has seen five cases of malaria spread by mosquitos in the last two months — the first time there's been local spread in 20 years.There were four cases detected in Florida and one in Texas, according to a health alert issued Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Malaria is caused by a parasite that spreads through mosquito bites. Infected people can suffer fever, chills and flu-like illness. If it goes untreated, infected people can develop severe complications and die. The largest death toll in recent years has been seen in children in sub-Saharan Africa.Health officials are warning doctors, especially those in southern states where the weather is more friendly to the tropical mosquito that spreads malaria, to be aware of the possibility of infection. They also should think about how to access the IV drug that is the first-line treatment for severe malaria in the United States, the CDC said.The agency said that the people who were diagnosed received treatment and “are improving.”About 2,000 U.S. cases of malaria are diagnosed each year — the vast majority in travelers coming from countries where malaria commonly spreads.Since 1992, there've been 11 outbreaks involving malaria from mosquitoes in the U.S. The last one occurred in 2003 in Palm Beach County, Florida, where eight cases were reported

CDC: 5 people with malaria in U.S; first cases in 20-years

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Work is underway to clean up rail cars carrying hazardous materials that fell into the Yellowstone River in southern Montana after a bridge collapsed over the weekend, officials said Monday.

Montana Rail Link is developing a cleanup plan and is working with its unions and BNSF Railway to reroute freight trains in the area to limit disruption of the supply chain, Beth Archer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said in a joint statement issued with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Montana Rail Link.

Contractors and a large crane were on site to stabilize and remove cars from the river once a plan is set, officials said.

Some rail cars that did not go off the tracks were removed from the area, and two cars carrying sodium hydrosulfide had their contents transferred to other cars and moved to safety, Archer said.

Montana Rail Link will be responsible for all cleanup costs, CEO Joe Racicot told a news conference.

Sixteen cars derailed, and 10 of them ended up in the river downstream from Yellowstone National Park Saturday morning.

Six mangled cars that carried hot asphalt, three holding molten sulfur and one with scrap metal remained in the rushing water on Monday in an area surrounded by farmland near the town of Columbus, about 40 miles (about 64 kilometers) west of Billings.

Two of the cars were submerged, and a dive team was deployed to gather more information, Archer said in a statement.

Joni Sandoval, the EPA on-scene coordinator, told a news conference her agency has invited experts from federal and state fish and wildlife agencies to come to the site to assess how the derailment has affected wildlife.

The asphalt and sulfur solidified and sank in the cold water, officials said. Some asphalt globules were found downriver, but they are not water soluble and are not expected to impact water quality, the statement said.

Water samples taken Saturday showed the materials from the derailment had not affected water quality, Shasta Steinweden of the state Department of Environmental Quality said. The tests showed no presence of petroleum and sulfur levels were consistent with upstream water samples, she said.

Results from samples taken Sunday and Monday were still pending.

The cause of the collapse was under investigation. Part of the train had crossed the bridge before it failed, and some cars at the back remained on stable ground at the other end. No injuries were reported.

The collapse also cut two major fiber-optic lines. Global Net said late Sunday that it had developed a temporary workaround. Company officials did not return a call Monday seeking further information.

The White House was monitoring the situation and was prepared to offer any federal help that might be needed, spokesperson Karin Jean-Pierre said Monday.

The derailment comes just over four months after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-bcc6198dfbde42feefdeca8f24ccaea8">freight train derailed</a>&nbsp;near East Palestine, Ohio, sparking a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-ohio-evacuations-fires-5d399dc745f51ef746e22828083d8591">fire that led to evacuations</a>&nbsp;and the eventual burning of hazardous materials to prevent an uncontrolled explosion.

Freight railcar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/train-derailment-ohio-ntsb-29a4a6fab0eb21fcb69223a28ff41ea5">inspections are happening less often</a>, union officials testified last week during a congressional hearing about the Ohio derailment.

Jean-Pierre said the U.S. Department of Transportation is looking into ways to prevent derailments.

The government has been “all hands on deck,” she said.

This story has been updated to correct that Archer works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, not the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687876301960.jpeg" alt="Several train cars are immersed in the Yellowstone River after a bridge collapse near Columbus, Mont., on Saturday, June 24, 2023. The bridge collapsed overnight, causing a train that was traveling over it to plunge into the water below. Authorities on Sunday were testing the water quality along a stretch of the Yellowstone River where mangled cars carrying hazardous materials remained after crashing into the waterway. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)" />
 <figcaption>Several train cars are immersed in the Yellowstone River after a bridge collapse near Columbus, Mont., on Saturday, June 24, 2023. The bridge collapsed overnight, causing a train that was traveling over it to plunge into the water below. Authorities on Sunday were testing the water quality along a stretch of the Yellowstone River where mangled cars carrying hazardous materials remained after crashing into the waterway. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)</figcaption>
 </figure>HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Work is underway to clean up rail cars carrying hazardous materials that fell into the Yellowstone River in southern Montana after a bridge collapsed over the weekend, officials said Monday.Montana Rail Link is developing a cleanup plan and is working with its unions and BNSF Railway to reroute freight trains in the area to limit disruption of the supply chain, Beth Archer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said in a joint statement issued with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Montana Rail Link.Contractors and a large crane were on site to stabilize and remove cars from the river once a plan is set, officials said.Some rail cars that did not go off the tracks were removed from the area, and two cars carrying sodium hydrosulfide had their contents transferred to other cars and moved to safety, Archer said.Montana Rail Link will be responsible for all cleanup costs, CEO Joe Racicot told a news conference.Sixteen cars derailed, and 10 of them ended up in the river downstream from Yellowstone National Park Saturday morning.Six mangled cars that carried hot asphalt, three holding molten sulfur and one with scrap metal remained in the rushing water on Monday in an area surrounded by farmland near the town of Columbus, about 40 miles (about 64 kilometers) west of Billings.Two of the cars were submerged, and a dive team was deployed to gather more information, Archer said in a statement.Joni Sandoval, the EPA on-scene coordinator, told a news conference her agency has invited experts from federal and state fish and wildlife agencies to come to the site to assess how the derailment has affected wildlife.The asphalt and sulfur solidified and sank in the cold water, officials said. Some asphalt globules were found downriver, but they are not water soluble and are not expected to impact water quality, the statement said.Water samples taken Saturday showed the materials from the derailment had not affected water quality, Shasta Steinweden of the state Department of Environmental Quality said. The tests showed no presence of petroleum and sulfur levels were consistent with upstream water samples, she said.Results from samples taken Sunday and Monday were still pending.The cause of the collapse was under investigation. Part of the train had crossed the bridge before it failed, and some cars at the back remained on stable ground at the other end. No injuries were reported.The collapse also cut two major fiber-optic lines. Global Net said late Sunday that it had developed a temporary workaround. Company officials did not return a call Monday seeking further information.The White House was monitoring the situation and was prepared to offer any federal help that might be needed, spokesperson Karin Jean-Pierre said Monday.The derailment comes just over four months after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-bcc6198dfbde42feefdeca8f24ccaea8">freight train derailed</a>&nbsp;near East Palestine, Ohio, sparking a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-ohio-evacuations-fires-5d399dc745f51ef746e22828083d8591">fire that led to evacuations</a>&nbsp;and the eventual burning of hazardous materials to prevent an uncontrolled explosion.Freight railcar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/train-derailment-ohio-ntsb-29a4a6fab0eb21fcb69223a28ff41ea5">inspections are happening less often</a>, union officials testified last week during a congressional hearing about the Ohio derailment.Jean-Pierre said the U.S. Department of Transportation is looking into ways to prevent derailments.The government has been “all hands on deck,” she said.___This story has been updated to correct that Archer works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, not the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Work begins to clean up train derailment in Montana's Yellowstone River

WASHINGTON —House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on social media hinted at a possible impeachment inquiry of Attorney General Merrick Garland over the alleged weaponization of the Department of Justice.

Garland continues to push back against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-irs-justice-department-irs-congress-d242a84d4d6d8e90db68febab168fef7">claims</a>&nbsp;from IRS whistleblowers that the Justice Department interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden, saying more broadly that attacks on the department’s independence are corrosive.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685582773295.png" alt=""If the whistleblowers' allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland's weaponization of the Department of Justice,"&nbsp; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote on Sunday.-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>"If the whistleblowers' allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland's weaponization of the Department of Justice,"&nbsp; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote on Sunday.-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on social media hinted at a possible impeachment inquiry of Attorney General Merrick Garland over the alleged weaponization of the Department of Justice.Garland continues to push back against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-irs-justice-department-irs-congress-d242a84d4d6d8e90db68febab168fef7">claims</a>&nbsp;from IRS whistleblowers that the Justice Department interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden, saying more broadly that attacks on the department’s independence are corrosive.(Click below to watch White House briefing on the investigation)<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We need to get to the facts, and that includes reconciling these clear disparities. U.S. Attorney David Weiss must provide answers to the House Judiciary Committee. If the whistleblowers&#39; allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into… <a href="https://t.co/Q3LLeJhW85">https://t.co/Q3LLeJhW85</a>&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1672994001459490817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In a statement from McCarthy's office, the House Speaker wrote, "Here’s what we just learned from IRS whistleblower testimony: The IRS gave Hunter Biden's tax case preferential treatment. The Department of Justice interfered with the investigation at every turn and the IRS retaliated against those very whistleblowers for telling the truth"Our committees will continue to follow every lead into the Biden family's shady business dealings and the weaponized Biden Department of Justice. The American people deserve answers and accountability, " McCarthy wrote."We need to get to the facts, and that includes reconciling these clear disparities. U.S. Attorney David Weiss must provide answers to the House Judiciary Committee.""If the whistleblowers' allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland's weaponization of the Department of Justice."(Click below to watch White House response)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F289364610159840%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=1958" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>In a separate statement Friday, President Biden's lawyer denounced the idea that the investigation cut any corners, and said it would be “dangerously misleading” to make conclusions based on the transcript.The transcript included a message Hunter sent to a business associate alluding to “sitting with his father,” seemingly suggesting that his father was aware of his business dealings.&nbsp;<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F289364610159840%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=2923" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Joe Biden has said he’s never spoken to his son about his foreign business. Asked if the president stands by those comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied: “What I will say is nothing has changed. Nothing has changed, and I will leave it there.”-The AP contributed to this report.