LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a bill Monday that bans abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming medical care for people younger than 19.

The abortion ban takes effect immediately, while the ban on gender-affirming care takes effect on Oct. 1.

Nebraska’s conservative-led, unicameral Legislature&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-transgender-ban-nebraska-filibuster-b0b88845d29f1aaadf7936b7304a0507">passed the bill</a>&nbsp;with the two contentious issues on Friday after hours of heated debate. Conservative lawmakers wrangled just enough votes to end a filibuster and approve it. Opponents have promised to sue to try and block the law.

The proposal restricting gender-affirming care was the flashpoint of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/filibuster-transgender-gender-affirming-therapy-bill-nebraska-cavanaugh-b9018fd1bf72112ca984ff58679eda6d">an epic filibuster</a>&nbsp;led by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh. She and a handful of progressive allies slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that made it to the Senate floor. That sent leadership scrambling to prioritize which bills to push through.

The hybrid measure tied together restrictions that Republicans have pursued across the U.S.

North Carolina also recently passed a 12-week abortion ban, among a slew of restrictions enacted in states after the U.S. Supreme Court last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling</a>&nbsp;that established a nationwide right to abortion. Fourteen states have approved an abortion ban throughout pregnancy.

Nebraska had not passed a new ban since it became the first state to limit abortions around 20 weeks of pregnancy in 2010. The new 12-week ban includes exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.

The law also will prevent transgender people under 19 from receiving any gender-confirming surgery. It also restricts the use of hormone treatments and puberty blockers in minors, putting the state’s chief medical officer — a political appointee who is an ear, nose and throat doctor — in charge of setting the rules for those therapies. In Nebraska, people younger than 19 are considered minors.

At least 17 states had already enacted laws&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/restrictions-targeting-transgender-people-legislative-updates-df66b5a86be47b03dd5a50449d239275">restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care</a>&nbsp;for minors before Monday, and proposals are pending before the governors of Texas and Missouri. Medical groups and advocates say such restrictions are further marginalizing transgender youth and threatening their health.

One Nebraska lawmaker, Omaha state Sen. Megan Hunt, disclosed in March that her teenage son is transgender and said Friday that she now plans to leave the state.

Supporters said they are trying to protect children from making decisions they might come to regret.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684778881211.png" alt="Protesters face off with the State Patrol on Friday during the debate on abortion and gender care-image Nebraska State Patrol" />
 <figcaption>Protesters face off with the State Patrol on Friday during the debate on abortion and gender care-image Nebraska State Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>By MARGERY A. BECK and JOSH FUNKLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a bill Monday that bans abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming medical care for people younger than 19.The abortion ban takes effect immediately, while the ban on gender-affirming care takes effect on Oct. 1.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Troopers arrested six people at the Nebraska State Capitol building today for various offenses, including this incident caught on a security camera in which a person punched a Trooper. No injuries to anyone involved. Details: <a href="https://t.co/QMzTjpAt6u">https://t.co/QMzTjpAt6u</a> <a href="https://t.co/6ceBTA3UGz">pic.twitter.com/6ceBTA3UGz</a>&mdash; Nebraska State Patrol (@NEStatePatrol) <a href="https://twitter.com/NEStatePatrol/status/1659719584734146561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Nebraska’s conservative-led, unicameral Legislature&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-transgender-ban-nebraska-filibuster-b0b88845d29f1aaadf7936b7304a0507">passed the bill</a>&nbsp;with the two contentious issues on Friday after hours of heated debate. Conservative lawmakers wrangled just enough votes to end a filibuster and approve it. Opponents have promised to sue to try and block the law.The proposal restricting gender-affirming care was the flashpoint of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/filibuster-transgender-gender-affirming-therapy-bill-nebraska-cavanaugh-b9018fd1bf72112ca984ff58679eda6d">an epic filibuster</a>&nbsp;led by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh. She and a handful of progressive allies slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that made it to the Senate floor. That sent leadership scrambling to prioritize which bills to push through.The hybrid measure tied together restrictions that Republicans have pursued across the U.S.North Carolina also recently passed a 12-week abortion ban, among a slew of restrictions enacted in states after the U.S. Supreme Court last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling</a>&nbsp;that established a nationwide right to abortion. Fourteen states have approved an abortion ban throughout pregnancy.Nebraska had not passed a new ban since it became the first state to limit abortions around 20 weeks of pregnancy in 2010. The new 12-week ban includes exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.The law also will prevent transgender people under 19 from receiving any gender-confirming surgery. It also restricts the use of hormone treatments and puberty blockers in minors, putting the state’s chief medical officer — a political appointee who is an ear, nose and throat doctor — in charge of setting the rules for those therapies. In Nebraska, people younger than 19 are considered minors.At least 17 states had already enacted laws&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/restrictions-targeting-transgender-people-legislative-updates-df66b5a86be47b03dd5a50449d239275">restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care</a>&nbsp;for minors before Monday, and proposals are pending before the governors of Texas and Missouri. Medical groups and advocates say such restrictions are further marginalizing transgender youth and threatening their health.One Nebraska lawmaker, Omaha state Sen. Megan Hunt, disclosed in March that her teenage son is transgender and said Friday that she now plans to leave the state.Supporters said they are trying to protect children from making decisions they might come to regret.

Nebraska governor signs 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care 

By ALLISON KITE&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Owners of the Keystone pipeline knew a defect had formed years before the strain finally caused the pipeline to burst and flood a Kansas creek with oil last year.&nbsp;

The Keystone pipeline, owned by TC Energy, burst near the Kansas-Nebraska border late last year, spilling almost 13,000 barrels of oil onto adjacent farmland and into Mill Creek.&nbsp;

It was the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/13/keystone-pipeline-has-history-of-spills-warnings-and-fines-kansas-spill-is-largest-yet/">largest spill since the pipeline started operating a decade ago</a>&nbsp;and larger than all the others combined. While the December spill was the most severe, it was caused by a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/09/keystone-pipeline-owner-blames-kansas-spill-on-faulty-weld-estimates-480m-remediation-cost/">manufacturing defect that worsened under stress</a>, like most earlier breaches.

Bill Caram, executive director of Pipeline Safety Trust, said any failure that affects the environment is alarming.&nbsp;

“But the fact that we have a history of these construction issues on this pipeline and we have another failure because of that — I think it calls into question the condition of the pipeline itself,” Caram said.&nbsp;

Following the December spill, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ordered the section of the pipeline shut down and issued TC Energy a corrective action order that required the company to have the pipeline analyzed and study the root causes of the failure.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2023-05/MP14-Confidential-RCFA-FINAL-April-21-2023-Redacted.pdf">The resulting study</a>, quietly posted to the administration’s website, painted a picture of a company that overlooked warning signs and lacked appropriate safety controls. It determined a faulty weld, which was further strained by bending and a misshapen section of pipe, failed and caused the rupture.

“This root cause analysis…points to inadequate oversight in TC Energy’s policies and procedures. The fact that they had to replace this piece of the pipeline a couple times and it still went in defective speaks a lot to that,” Caram said.&nbsp;

TC Energy didn’t respond directly to the findings of the study.&nbsp;

“As part of our commitment to learning and action, we are evaluating how we will implement the recommendations from the root cause failure analysis into our practices and standards,” TC Energy said in an unsigned statement.

According to the study, prepared by RSI Pipeline Solutions on TC Energy’s behalf, operators discovered in 2013 that the Keystone pipeline had become somewhat oval-shaped instead of round near the point where it burst 10 years later.&nbsp;

That and stress of the bend in the pipe strained the faulty weld. But it’s not uncommon for pipelines to become oval-shaped, so “the severity of the threat was underestimated,” the report says.

That decision not to address the ovality is one of four causal factors in the pipeline failure outlined in the report.&nbsp;

The report says the company failed to run an inspection tool back through the pipeline after making modifications. It also failed to properly oversee construction and quality control, which allowed for construction techniques that caused the bending stress. It also followed design policies that didn’t account for the impact of stress on welds at elbows and joints.

TC Energy noted its design was “compliant with applicable codes and standards.”&nbsp;

“However, as part of the ongoing incorporation of our learnings … we will examine how we can further our overall safety and integrity and continue to work with industry to share these actions more broadly,” the company said.&nbsp;

The company has started an investigation to identify other parts of the pipeline that may have similar attributes to the section that failed. It hasn’t found any so far but anticipates the work to continue into next year, the company said.&nbsp;

Caram said federal regulations largely defer to pipeline operators through “performance-based” rather than “prescriptive” regulations. That’s been the case for about 20 years, and he said there hasn’t been a decline in pipeline incidents. He said a better balance between the two regulatory schemes could help.&nbsp;

A prescriptive regulation, Caram said, is like a speed limit. If someone drives over the speed limit, they broke the law and can get a ticket.&nbsp;

“A (performance-based) regulation would just be, ‘Drive safely,’ and it’s kind of up to the driver to determine what ‘drive safely’ means,’” he said. “And that makes it really hard for the regulator to hold that driver accountable.”

Caram continued: “I think the public would say, ‘Well, when you spill hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into a creek, that means you weren’t operating the pipeline safely,’ but it’s not always that simple from the regulator’s point of view.”

The section of pipe that burst was a fabricated bend installed in 2010 after a previous construction defect was dug up.&nbsp;

In total, there are 109 similar elbow assemblies, according to the report.&nbsp;

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, who&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/14/keystone-oil-pipeline-was-pushed-to-bounds-of-its-permit-before-kansas-spill/">grilled a TC Energy executive in March</a>&nbsp;about the timeline for cleanup of the spill, said he feared if the rupture could happen where it did, it could happen at any of those points.&nbsp;

“Until they can prove this pipeline is safe, properly inspected and doesn’t have similar defects, then it has to be treated as if it’s a potential disaster waiting to happen,” Carmichael said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684775580958.png" alt=" Workers clean up at the site of the oil spill from the Keystone pipeline near Washington, Kansas, in December 2022. (Environmental Protection Agency)" />
 <figcaption> Workers clean up at the site of the oil spill from the Keystone pipeline near Washington, Kansas, in December 2022. (Environmental Protection Agency)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ALLISON KITE&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>Owners of the Keystone pipeline knew a defect had formed years before the strain finally caused the pipeline to burst and flood a Kansas creek with oil last year.&nbsp;The Keystone pipeline, owned by TC Energy, burst near the Kansas-Nebraska border late last year, spilling almost 13,000 barrels of oil onto adjacent farmland and into Mill Creek.&nbsp;It was the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/13/keystone-pipeline-has-history-of-spills-warnings-and-fines-kansas-spill-is-largest-yet/">largest spill since the pipeline started operating a decade ago</a>&nbsp;and larger than all the others combined. While the December spill was the most severe, it was caused by a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/09/keystone-pipeline-owner-blames-kansas-spill-on-faulty-weld-estimates-480m-remediation-cost/">manufacturing defect that worsened under stress</a>, like most earlier breaches.Bill Caram, executive director of Pipeline Safety Trust, said any failure that affects the environment is alarming.&nbsp;“But the fact that we have a history of these construction issues on this pipeline and we have another failure because of that — I think it calls into question the condition of the pipeline itself,” Caram said.&nbsp;Following the December spill, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ordered the section of the pipeline shut down and issued TC Energy a corrective action order that required the company to have the pipeline analyzed and study the root causes of the failure.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2023-05/MP14-Confidential-RCFA-FINAL-April-21-2023-Redacted.pdf">The resulting study</a>, quietly posted to the administration’s website, painted a picture of a company that overlooked warning signs and lacked appropriate safety controls. It determined a faulty weld, which was further strained by bending and a misshapen section of pipe, failed and caused the rupture.“This root cause analysis…points to inadequate oversight in TC Energy’s policies and procedures. The fact that they had to replace this piece of the pipeline a couple times and it still went in defective speaks a lot to that,” Caram said.&nbsp;TC Energy didn’t respond directly to the findings of the study.&nbsp;“As part of our commitment to learning and action, we are evaluating how we will implement the recommendations from the root cause failure analysis into our practices and standards,” TC Energy said in an unsigned statement.According to the study, prepared by RSI Pipeline Solutions on TC Energy’s behalf, operators discovered in 2013 that the Keystone pipeline had become somewhat oval-shaped instead of round near the point where it burst 10 years later.&nbsp;That and stress of the bend in the pipe strained the faulty weld. But it’s not uncommon for pipelines to become oval-shaped, so “the severity of the threat was underestimated,” the report says.That decision not to address the ovality is one of four causal factors in the pipeline failure outlined in the report.&nbsp;The report says the company failed to run an inspection tool back through the pipeline after making modifications. It also failed to properly oversee construction and quality control, which allowed for construction techniques that caused the bending stress. It also followed design policies that didn’t account for the impact of stress on welds at elbows and joints.TC Energy noted its design was “compliant with applicable codes and standards.”&nbsp;“However, as part of the ongoing incorporation of our learnings … we will examine how we can further our overall safety and integrity and continue to work with industry to share these actions more broadly,” the company said.&nbsp;The company has started an investigation to identify other parts of the pipeline that may have similar attributes to the section that failed. It hasn’t found any so far but anticipates the work to continue into next year, the company said.&nbsp;Caram said federal regulations largely defer to pipeline operators through “performance-based” rather than “prescriptive” regulations. That’s been the case for about 20 years, and he said there hasn’t been a decline in pipeline incidents. He said a better balance between the two regulatory schemes could help.&nbsp;A prescriptive regulation, Caram said, is like a speed limit. If someone drives over the speed limit, they broke the law and can get a ticket.&nbsp;“A (performance-based) regulation would just be, ‘Drive safely,’ and it’s kind of up to the driver to determine what ‘drive safely’ means,’” he said. “And that makes it really hard for the regulator to hold that driver accountable.”Caram continued: “I think the public would say, ‘Well, when you spill hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into a creek, that means you weren’t operating the pipeline safely,’ but it’s not always that simple from the regulator’s point of view.”The section of pipe that burst was a fabricated bend installed in 2010 after a previous construction defect was dug up.&nbsp;In total, there are 109 similar elbow assemblies, according to the report.&nbsp;Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, who&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/14/keystone-oil-pipeline-was-pushed-to-bounds-of-its-permit-before-kansas-spill/">grilled a TC Energy executive in March</a>&nbsp;about the timeline for cleanup of the spill, said he feared if the rupture could happen where it did, it could happen at any of those points.&nbsp;“Until they can prove this pipeline is safe, properly inspected and doesn’t have similar defects, then it has to be treated as if it’s a potential disaster waiting to happen,” Carmichael said.

Keystone pipeline owners knew of defect years before Kansas spill

When Kamryn Yanchick graduated, she hoped to decorate her cap with a beaded pattern in honor of her Native American heritage. Whether she could was up to her Oklahoma high school. Administrators told her no.

Yanchick settled for wearing beaded earrings to her 2018 graduation.

A bill vetoed earlier this month by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, would have allowed public school students to wear feathers, beaded caps, stoles or other objects of cultural and religious significance. Yanchick, a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and descendent of the Muscogee Nation, said she hopes the legislature tries again.

Being able to “unapologetically express yourself and take pride in your culture at a celebration without having to ask a non-Native person for permission to do so is really significant,” said Yanchick, a Native American policy advocate and a former intern with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.

For Native American students, tribal regalia is often passed down through generations and worn at graduations&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-education-native-americans-utah-f23226c89a1fd8fd7e96f9859c3bf03e">to signify connection with the community</a>. Disputes over such attire have spurred laws making it illegal to prevent Native American students from wearing regalia in nearly a dozen states including Arizona, Oregon, South Dakota, North Dakota and Washington.

High schools, which often favor uniformity at commencement ceremonies, take a range of approaches toward policing sashes, flower leis and other forms of self-expression. Advocates argue the laws are needed to avoid leaving it up to individual administrators.

Groups like the Native American Rights Fund hear regularly from students&nbsp;<a href="https://narf.org/cases/graduation/">blocked from wearing eagle feathers</a>&nbsp;or other regalia. This week in Oklahoma, a Native American high school graduate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-graduation-native-american-feather-b1a59f96a5cd24340bc7bbcb29d531d3">sued a school district</a>, claiming she was forced her to remove a feather from her cap at a ceremony last spring.

When Jade Roberson graduated from Edmond Santa Fe High School, the same school attended by Yanchick, she would have liked to wear a beaded cap and a large turquoise necklace above her gown. But it didn't seem worth asking. She said a friend was only able to wear an eagle feather because he spoke with several counselors, consulted the principal and received a letter from the Cherokee Nation on the feather's significance.

“It was such a hassle for him that my friends and I decided to just wear things under our gown,” said Roberson, who is of Navajo descent. “I think it is such a metaphor for what it is like to be Native.”

When Adriana Redbird graduates this week from Sovereign Community School, a charter school in Oklahoma City that allows regalia, she plans to wear a beaded cap and feather given by her father to signify her achievements.

“To pay tribute and take a small part of our culture and bring that with us on graduation day is meaningful,” she said.

In his veto message, Stitt said allowing students to wear tribal regalia should be up to individual districts. He said the proposal could also lead other groups to “demand special favor to wear whatever they please" at graduations.

The bill's author, Republican state Rep. Trey Caldwell, represents a district in southwest Oklahoma that includes ancestral land of Kiowa, Apache and Comanche.

"It’s just the right thing to do, especially with so much of Native American culture so centered around right of passage, becoming a man, becoming an adult," he said.

Several tribal nations have called for an override of the veto. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the bill would have helped foster a sense of pride among Native American students. Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill said students who “choose to express the culture and heritage of their respective Nations” are honoring their identity.

It means a lot that the bill was able to garner support and make it to the governor, Yanchick said, but she wishes it wasn't so controversial.

“Native American students shouldn’t have to be forced to be activists to express themselves or feel celebrated,” she said.

By Associated PressWhen Kamryn Yanchick graduated, she hoped to decorate her cap with a beaded pattern in honor of her Native American heritage. Whether she could was up to her Oklahoma high school. Administrators told her no.Yanchick settled for wearing beaded earrings to her 2018 graduation.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684772823539.jpeg" alt="Amryn Tom graduates from Cedar City High School on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Cedar City, Utah. Tom is wearing an eagle feather given to her by her mother and a cap that a family friend beaded. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)" />
 <figcaption>Amryn Tom graduates from Cedar City High School on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Cedar City, Utah. Tom is wearing an eagle feather given to her by her mother and a cap that a family friend beaded. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>A bill vetoed earlier this month by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, would have allowed public school students to wear feathers, beaded caps, stoles or other objects of cultural and religious significance. Yanchick, a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and descendent of the Muscogee Nation, said she hopes the legislature tries again.Being able to “unapologetically express yourself and take pride in your culture at a celebration without having to ask a non-Native person for permission to do so is really significant,” said Yanchick, a Native American policy advocate and a former intern with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.For Native American students, tribal regalia is often passed down through generations and worn at graduations&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-education-native-americans-utah-f23226c89a1fd8fd7e96f9859c3bf03e">to signify connection with the community</a>. Disputes over such attire have spurred laws making it illegal to prevent Native American students from wearing regalia in nearly a dozen states including Arizona, Oregon, South Dakota, North Dakota and Washington.High schools, which often favor uniformity at commencement ceremonies, take a range of approaches toward policing sashes, flower leis and other forms of self-expression. Advocates argue the laws are needed to avoid leaving it up to individual administrators.Groups like the Native American Rights Fund hear regularly from students&nbsp;<a href="https://narf.org/cases/graduation/">blocked from wearing eagle feathers</a>&nbsp;or other regalia. This week in Oklahoma, a Native American high school graduate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-graduation-native-american-feather-b1a59f96a5cd24340bc7bbcb29d531d3">sued a school district</a>, claiming she was forced her to remove a feather from her cap at a ceremony last spring.When Jade Roberson graduated from Edmond Santa Fe High School, the same school attended by Yanchick, she would have liked to wear a beaded cap and a large turquoise necklace above her gown. But it didn't seem worth asking. She said a friend was only able to wear an eagle feather because he spoke with several counselors, consulted the principal and received a letter from the Cherokee Nation on the feather's significance.“It was such a hassle for him that my friends and I decided to just wear things under our gown,” said Roberson, who is of Navajo descent. “I think it is such a metaphor for what it is like to be Native.”When Adriana Redbird graduates this week from Sovereign Community School, a charter school in Oklahoma City that allows regalia, she plans to wear a beaded cap and feather given by her father to signify her achievements.“To pay tribute and take a small part of our culture and bring that with us on graduation day is meaningful,” she said.In his veto message, Stitt said allowing students to wear tribal regalia should be up to individual districts. He said the proposal could also lead other groups to “demand special favor to wear whatever they please" at graduations.The bill's author, Republican state Rep. Trey Caldwell, represents a district in southwest Oklahoma that includes ancestral land of Kiowa, Apache and Comanche."It’s just the right thing to do, especially with so much of Native American culture so centered around right of passage, becoming a man, becoming an adult," he said.Several tribal nations have called for an override of the veto. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the bill would have helped foster a sense of pride among Native American students. Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill said students who “choose to express the culture and heritage of their respective Nations” are honoring their identity.It means a lot that the bill was able to garner support and make it to the governor, Yanchick said, but she wishes it wasn't so controversial.“Native American students shouldn’t have to be forced to be activists to express themselves or feel celebrated,” she said.

At graduations, Native American students seek acceptance of tribal regalia

WASHINGTON— Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans to roll out $3.7 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-relief/index">Emergency Relief Program (ERP)</a>&nbsp;and Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) assistance to crop and livestock producers who sustained losses due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar year 2022, according to a media release from the agency.

 USDA is sharing early information to allow producers time to gather documents in advance of program delivery. Through distribution of remaining funds, USDA is also concluding the 2021 ELRP program by sending payments in the amount of 20% of the initial ELRP payment to all existing recipients.

“U.S. agricultural producers nationwide endured crippling natural disaster events in 2022 including a megadrought, Hurricane Ian, epic flooding and catastrophic wildfires. To say these events were costly is an understatement,” Vilsack said. “Last year USDA streamlined the delivery of natural disaster assistance, speeding up the timing of payments and cutting the time spent on paperwork by 90% or one million hours relative to previous disaster programs."

"While we will use the same streamlined approaches, funding is limited and significantly less than the estimated losses. We are designing payment factors that ensure the fair, equitable and efficient delivery of program benefits to help as many producers as possible offset the significant financial impacts resulting from these ongoing and widespread natural disasters.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684766909784.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON— Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans to roll out $3.7 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-relief/index">Emergency Relief Program (ERP)</a>&nbsp;and Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) assistance to crop and livestock producers who sustained losses due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar year 2022, according to a media release from the agency. USDA is sharing early information to allow producers time to gather documents in advance of program delivery. Through distribution of remaining funds, USDA is also concluding the 2021 ELRP program by sending payments in the amount of 20% of the initial ELRP payment to all existing recipients.“U.S. agricultural producers nationwide endured crippling natural disaster events in 2022 including a megadrought, Hurricane Ian, epic flooding and catastrophic wildfires. To say these events were costly is an understatement,” Vilsack said. “Last year USDA streamlined the delivery of natural disaster assistance, speeding up the timing of payments and cutting the time spent on paperwork by 90% or one million hours relative to previous disaster programs.""While we will use the same streamlined approaches, funding is limited and significantly less than the estimated losses. We are designing payment factors that ensure the fair, equitable and efficient delivery of program benefits to help as many producers as possible offset the significant financial impacts resulting from these ongoing and widespread natural disasters.”

USDA previews $3.7 billion in emergency relief for ag producers

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

WASHINGTON — A U.S. default on its debt would have a significantly broader impact on federal operations, financial markets and the global economy than recent government shutdowns that have left ordinary Americans largely untouched.

While the two have been confused frequently during debate over the debt limit, the federal government has had considerable practice with partial government shutdowns during the past decade — unlike a default on the debt, which would be uncharted territory. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned default could come as soon as June 1 without an agreement between Congress and President Joe Biden.

Government shutdowns don’t hit payments for Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, since Congress places those programs in the mandatory category that’s exempt from the annual government funding process and therefore predominantly exempt from funding lapses.

A default would potentially reduce payments that keep millions of households afloat, as well as payments to states and providers for health care for elderly and low-income Americans.

Government shutdowns don’t affect the financial markets that much anymore, meaning Americans’ retirement accounts typically don’t start shrinking the longer a lapse in government operations extends.

Economists expect that would be much different in an unprecedented debt default.

William Galston, Ezra K. Zilkha chair and senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said partial government shutdowns and a default on the debt are “almost like mirror images of each other.”

“In the first case, there’s money available but no plan to authorize and appropriate expenditures of that money. That’s when the government shuts down,” explained Galston, who served as a top domestic official in the Clinton administration.

“When you reach the debt limit, the government has already enacted programs — some of which are permanent programs, like Social Security and Medicare — but it no longer has the money to pay for them, because it can’t borrow what it needs to fill the gap between what it’s taking in and what it would have to put out,” he added.

That even includes the military. The Pentagon is bracing for a series of “severe” and unknown consequences for troops and national security should lawmakers fail to address the debt ceiling, officials told States Newsroom.

“Because there is no precedent for a default, it is difficult to know the precise impacts on specific federal programs. But what’s clear is that, without the ability for the federal government to borrow funds, there is a very real potential that any government program or payment would be halted or severely delayed,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Here are more of the specific ways a default could roll across America:

Social Security:&nbsp;If the U.S. government defaults, payments to the estimated&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf">67 million</a>&nbsp;people who are relying on Social Security this year could be delayed.

Social Security is the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11615">largest</a>&nbsp;government program in terms of how many Americans are affected by it, including retired workers and dependents, people with disabilities and surviving dependents of deceased workers who count on Social Security payments as a major source of income.

A temporary disruption in payments to those who depend on Social Security income to pay their own bills could result in “impacts that would ripple through the economy at-large,”&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/default-would-have-a-catastrophic-impact-on-the-economy/">wrote</a>&nbsp;Jean Ross, a senior fellow for economic policy at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress.

At the end of 2022, roughly 48.6 million retired workers along with 2.7 million of their dependents relied on Social Security checks that averaged $1,825 a month, according to the Social Security Agency.

The U.S.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4a3.html">spent</a>&nbsp;$1.2 trillion on Social Security benefits in 2022.

“The short story here is that U.S. taxpayers owe people money because of legislation enacted in the past. We can talk about what kinds of recent legislation have pushed up federal borrowing means, but in fact some of this legislation was passed 90 years ago,” said Wendy Edelberg,&nbsp;director of The Hamilton Project and a senior fellow in economic studies at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution, on a call Thursday with a group of economists.

“We owe interest to those who have lent to the U.S. by purchasing Treasury securities. We owe (money to) doctors and hospitals who have treated Medicare and Medicaid patients, and millions of people are entitled to benefits,” said Edelberg.

The Social Security Administration referred all questions about a possible default to the U.S. Treasury. Treasury did not respond to an inquiry for more information.

Veterans benefits:&nbsp;Veterans Administration Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said he does not have a “blueprint for what happens to the VA” if lawmakers do not strike a deal in the coming days. The Treasury Department will soon exhaust all special accounting maneuvers it has been using since January when the U.S. hit its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.

“Because there is no precedent for a default, it is difficult to know the precise impacts on specific federal programs. But what is clear is that, without the ability for the federal government to borrow funds, there is a very real potential that any government program or payment would be halted or severely delayed,” Hayes said in an emailed statement to States Newsroom.

The Treasury makes payments totaling $25 billion on behalf of the VA each month, according to the agency.

“There are 4 million disabled veterans whose payments are scheduled for June 1, and those payments are now uncertain,” Edelberg, citing recent estimates.

A more detailed list of those payments, according to the VA’s figures, include:

Hayes also said there is a risk that the VA’s vendors could decide “to reduce or completely cease providing goods and services to VA if payment was uncertain.”

“As President Biden has made clear, a default would be catastrophic for the American people and for our nation’s Veterans,” he said.

Medicare and Medicaid:&nbsp;Government payments to physicians, skilled nursing homes, hospitals and insurance companies could lag behind if lawmakers do not raise the U.S. borrowing limit so that the government can pay its bills on time.

As of September 2022, more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cms.gov/pillar/expand-access">65 million</a>&nbsp;Americans were enrolled in Medicare, the federal program that pays for health care for Americans age 65 and up and certain younger people with disabilities.

Medicare plans are categorized into four options — parts A, B, C and D — that range from inpatient hospital stay coverage to prescription drug benefits and various medical services in between. As of 2022, 49 million Americans relied on Medicare Part D for prescription drug coverage.

“Private practices, hospitals, and community health centers, many of which run on tight budgets and rely on timely payments for providing services, would be in the unprecedented situation of being unsure of whether they will be paid for providing care to patients covered by Medicaid and Medicare,” said Antoinette Kraus, spokesperson for the advocacy group Pennsylvania Health Access Network.

“A default would create tremendous uncertainty for doctors and patients alike. Patients who are receiving treatment for a serious health condition or who require regular care for a disability or chronic condition could find themselves unable to get the care they need,” Kraus said.

Low-income individuals, including children, disabled or pregnant persons, and seniors, can receive health care coverage under Medicaid, a joint federal-state program that provides medical and long-term care.

Of the more than 93 million Americans enrolled in some form of Medicaid, 46.2% were children, according to January&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/program-information/medicaid-and-chip-enrollment-data/report-highlights/index.html#:~:text=93%2C008%2C246%20individuals%20were%20enrolled%20in,individuals%20were%20enrolled%20in%20CHIP.">data</a>&nbsp;released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

“It is very likely that federal Medicaid payments to states would, along with many other obligations of the federal government, be delayed,” said Kate McEvoy, head of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “Default is a very different scenario from an impasse in settling the federal budget, in which case payments for Medicaid and other entitlements continue to be made.”

Most nursing home residents&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10343">rely</a>&nbsp;on Medicaid and Medicare to cover their care, meaning a potential default is especially alarming to the industry.

“With the long term care industry already experiencing a historic workforce crisis and recovering from the pandemic, any disruption of lifeline reimbursements will result in devastating consequences for our nation’s most vulnerable individuals who need access to care. However, we remain optimistic that policymakers will come to a solution,” said a spokesperson for the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, which identifies itself as the largest association in the U.S. representing long-term care facilities.

Federal employees:&nbsp;During a partial government shutdown, exempt federal employees report to work without pay, while non-exempt federal workers are sent home without pay — a situation Congress remedies once they reach a funding agreement. The exempt employees keep the government functioning.

American Federation of Government Employees Public Policy Director Jacqueline Simon said a default on the debt that lasts long enough for federal employees to miss a paycheck would be a vastly different experience than what they’ve dealt with during past shutdowns.

The union, which represents 750,000 workers within the federal government and the District of Columbia’s local government, hasn’t sent any guidance to its members about what to do if they don’t get paid during a default.

“This is an unprecedented situation and operations will be in uncharted waters,” Simon said. “And there’s no way to make guidance based on law.”

Public safety employees, Simon said, have worked without pay during past partial government shutdowns with a promise they’d get paid eventually when a bipartisan agreement was struck — something she expects they would do after a debt default is resolved.

“In previous shutdowns, public safety employees have been called into work, expected to show up to work with the promise that they’d get paid eventually when the appropriations bills pass,” Simon said.

“I assume there’d be a similar kind of situation where you don’t even need appropriations bills to pass, you just need the default to end,” she said, later adding that because the United States has never defaulted, “nobody really knows.”

Substance use prevention and recovery, mental health:&nbsp;The U.S. is facing a staggering drug overdose epidemic, and many states and local governments rely on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46426">federal grants</a>&nbsp;for prevention and treatment efforts.

Drug overdose rates in the U.S. have risen fivefold in the past two decades, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db457.htm#:~:text=Drug%20overdose%20deaths%20have%20risen,increased%20from%2017.1%20to%2019.6.">study</a>&nbsp;published in December. In 2021

the CDC&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/202205.htm">tracked</a>&nbsp;a record 107,622 overdose deaths — 71,238 of them were due to man-made, illegal fentanyl substances, an issue in the crosshairs of both Democrats and Republicans.

Illicit fentanyl ending up in other drugs — for example, counterfeit prescription pills, cocaine and heroin — has been the target of&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dea.gov/onepill">federal agencies</a>&nbsp;and the subject of multiple congressional hearings and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/01/26/u-s-house-gop-takes-aim-at-fake-pills-containing-deadly-fentanyl-sold-on-social-media/">roundtables</a>.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, administers two major grant programs: one for substance abuse prevention and treatment services, the other for mental health services.

The agency, housed under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46426">devoted</a>&nbsp;65% of its 5.89 billion program budget in 2020 to treatment programs.

Facilities that receive federal dollars could be in limbo if the government defaults.

“It’s a little hard to tell. I don’t know if the publicly funded facilities would stop accepting patients or if they would assume that it’s going to be paid at a later date. And, you know, it’s just so unclear and up in the air because this is such an unusual situation,” said Mark Dunn, director of public policy for the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.

SAMHSA did not respond to requests for comment.

National defense:&nbsp;Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/review-of-the-presidents-fiscal-year-2024-budget-request-for-the-department-of-defense">told</a>&nbsp;Senate appropriators on May 11 that a potential default brings uncertainty for the over&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://demographics.militaryonesource.mil/chapter-1-total-military-force">3.4 million</a>&nbsp;military personnel and the U.S. military’s global presence and commitments.

“There is substantial risk to our reputation,” Austin testified. “Again, we are viewed as being a source of stability globally. And we always pay our debts, and there’s just a number of things that we’re working with allies and partners on and that would come into question as to whether or not we’ll be able to execute programs.

“But most importantly, this will affect the livelihood of our troops and our civilians. We won’t be able to pay people like we should and, and I think that’s something that China and everybody else can exploit,” he continued.

USDA food assistance:&nbsp;One in four Americans, from infants to seniors, participate in one of the 15 food and nutrition assistance programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Many of those programs offer monthly assistance, such as the&nbsp;Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and&nbsp;the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, referred to as WIC.

If the government defaults, monthly payments to more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/34SNAPmonthly-5.pdf">42.5 million Americans on&nbsp;</a>SNAP, and monthly payments to the more than 6 million families on WIC, could be delayed.

The recent bill that House Republicans barely&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/04/26/u-s-house-gop-pushes-through-debt-ceiling-increase-coupled-with-massive-spending-cuts/">passed</a>&nbsp;that would&nbsp;temporarily raise the U.S. borrowing limit also tightened access to food and assistance for low-income Americans by&nbsp;expediting the effective dates for safety net work requirements — from 2025 to 2024 for SNAP.

SNAP already has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/work-requirements">two sets of work requirements.</a>

Another program that could be affected if there are delays in payments is the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, where each month USDA sends packed foods to about&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/fdpir-program-fact-sheet-2020-for%20website.pdf">84,000 individuals on Native American reservations.</a>

A USDA spokesperson said in an email that the exact impact of certain federal programs can depend on uncertain factors.

“But what’s clear is that, without the ability for the federal government to borrow funds, there is a very real potential that any government program or payment would be halted or severely delayed,” the spokesperson said.

S<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=104891#:~:text=The%20USDA%27s%20National%20School%20Lunch,schools%20and%20residential%20childcare%20institutions.">chool lunches</a>, which USDA provides for more than 30 million children each day, could also be affected.

Other child nutrition programs that could get wrapped up in payment delays include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program and the Special Milk Program.

Lisa Davis, the senior vice president of the No Kid Hungry campaign at Share Our Strength, said in an email that a default would have a devastating impact on families and individuals who rely on food assistance programs such as SNAP. Share Our Strength is a national organization that aims to end child hunger and poverty in the U.S.

“Not only is SNAP being used as a bargaining chip in these negotiations, but the people who benefit from this critical program will be some of the individuals hit hardest if a government default becomes reality,” she said.

Farmers could also run into problems if there are delays to any USDA payments, ranging from crop insurance payouts to new loans for expanding farming operations.

USDA&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/05/01/usda-providing-130-million-assistance-help-farmers-facing-financial">announced</a>&nbsp;in early May an additional $130 million in&nbsp;automatic financial assistance for qualifying farm loan program borrowers who are facing financial risk. For those who qualify, they will receive automatic payments from the Farm Service Agency, but those funds could be delayed if the country were to default on its debt.

Homeland security:&nbsp;If the U.S. government were to default, it would mean the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would have to delay payments to various private contractors such as those that run&nbsp;Immigration and Customs Enforcement&nbsp;detention facilities, and even delays in grants to nonprofits that provide aid and transportation to migrants seeking asylum.

It would also mean that the more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/factsheets/tsa-glance">50,000&nbsp;Transportation Security Administration&nbsp;employee</a>s across more than 440 airports could have their paychecks delayed.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.

Court proceedings before immigration judges would also be delayed. There is already a more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/us-immigration-backlogs-mounting-undermine-biden">1.6 million backlog of cases</a>.

The Department of Justice, which handles immigration court proceedings, did not respond to State Newsroom’s request for comment.

Highways and transit:&nbsp;The Highway Trust Fund, which sends money from federal gas and diesel taxes to states for road and transit maintenance and construction, could also see a rare disruption in outlays.

On paper, the trust fund has a healthy balance — it was&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwaytrustfund/">$94.2 billion</a>&nbsp;at the beginning of April.

But if Treasury doesn’t have the money to actually spend, that could mean payments from the trust fund would be delayed, said Jeff Davis, a transportation spending expert and senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, a nonpartisan think tank.

After making debt service payments, there’s no clear indication what already-obligated spending would take priority, putting highway and transit funds on par with scores of other programs, Davis said, cautioning that his analysis was provisional because it was not backed by precedent or Treasury Department guidance.

“I think they’re going to have to wait in line with everybody else,” Davis said of Highway Trust Fund payments if the debt limit is hit. “Just because there’s theoretically that much money in the trust fund doesn’t make a difference if there’s actually no dollars in the Treasury.”

Conservation:&nbsp;Conservation advocates won a huge legislative victory in 2020 when Congress passed the Great American Outdoors Act that provided $900 million annually for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and removed the fund from the annual appropriations process by classifying it as mandatory spending.

Prior to 2020, the fund, which is filled by fees on offshore oil and gas development and used to protect national parks and forests, wildlife refuges, coasts and other natural areas and provides matching grants for state and local recreation projects, was subject to periodic fights over its funding levels and — at times — its continued existence.

Proponents considered the 2020 law approving the fund in perpetuity a once-in-a-generation victory. Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a leading proponent of the measure, thanked then-President Donald Trump “for signing the most important piece of conservation legislation in over 50 years.”

But a default could reintroduce the uncertainty proponents thought they’d erased with the 2020 law.

“A default would be an economic disaster across the board — even in ways we don’t know yet,” U.S. House Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, said in a written statement. “The Treasury would likely have to make tough calls about extraordinary measures to redirect mandatory funds to pay our debt, so even widely beloved programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund could be at-risk.”

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Interior Department, which manages the fund, declined to comment on what would happen in a potential default.

“We can’t speculate on unforeseen circumstances,” the spokeswoman, Melissa Schwartz, wrote in an email.

Similarly, Daines spokeswoman Rachel Dumke declined to entertain the possibility of default

“Senator Daines does not see a default on the national debt as an option and he is calling on President Biden to make a deal with Speaker McCarthy as soon as possible to avoid a crisis,” she wrote in an email.

Housing assistance:&nbsp;A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in an email that “without the ability for the federal government to borrow funds, there is a very real potential that any government program or payment would be halted or severely delayed.”

HUD handles rental assistance, housing vouchers, claims of unfair housing practices, obtaining affordable loans and public housing among other things.

“Some of HUD’s key agency programs and initiatives, which play a vital role for Americans across the country, could be halted or severely delayed … which would impact our nation’s most vulnerable communities,” the spokesperson said.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/hud_no_23_045">Earlier this year</a>, the agency announced more than 2,400 grants totaling $5.6 billion in funding for 1,200 communities across the U.S. for community development, homeless assistance and affordable housing. Payments to those programs could be delayed if the government defaults.

How default on the U.S. debt would be far worse than a gov't shutdown

By Paul Hamel <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/08/state-approved-use-of-pesticide-coated-seed-corn-for-ethanol-plant-a-decade-ago/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A 98-year-old flour mill and a ballroom in Schuyler are among the recipients of federal grants for preserving structures on the National Register of Historic Places.

Six projects will share in $328,000 worth of grants allocated by History Nebraska for communities of populations under 30,000.

The Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants will be used for:

Nebraska was among 12 applicants to receive the Paul Bruhn grants, named for a former executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont. A total of $7 million was awarded nationwide.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684761373288.png" alt="A historic flour mill in Wauneta is among the recipients of a federal grant to preserve the structure (Courtesy of History Nebraska)" />
 <figcaption>A historic flour mill in Wauneta is among the recipients of a federal grant to preserve the structure (Courtesy of History Nebraska)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Paul Hamel <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/02/08/state-approved-use-of-pesticide-coated-seed-corn-for-ethanol-plant-a-decade-ago/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A 98-year-old flour mill and a ballroom in Schuyler are among the recipients of federal grants for preserving structures on the National Register of Historic Places.Six projects will share in $328,000 worth of grants allocated by History Nebraska for communities of populations under 30,000.The Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants will be used for:<ul>
 <li>Repairs and accessibility construction to the porch of the Alfred H. and Sarah Frahm House in Fort Calhoun.The Oak Ballroom in Schuyler (Courtesy of History Nebraska)</li><li>Repair and replacement of the roof of the community school in Mason City.</li><li>Repair and restoration of the front porch and trim of the J.L. Miner House in Red Cloud.</li><li>Repair and replacement of degrading windows of the Ponca Tribe Self-Help Community Building and Caretaker’s Cottage in Niobrara.</li><li>HVAC replacement, roof replacement and interior and exterior repairs at the Oak Ballroom in Schuyler.</li><li>Roof replacement for the Wauneta Roller Mills, which closed, reportedly temporarily, a year ago.</li>
 </ul>Nebraska was among 12 applicants to receive the Paul Bruhn grants, named for a former executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont. A total of $7 million was awarded nationwide.

Six Nebraska communities awarded grants for historic preservation

WASHINGTON —President Biden and President&nbsp;Zelenskyy&nbsp;met Sunday at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan to reaffirm that that the United States will continue to stand with our Ukrainian partners as they defend themselves from Russia’s war of aggression.

Pursuant to a delegation of authority from President Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken authorized the 38th drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment for Ukraine.

The $375 million security assistance package&nbsp; includes additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons, armored medical treatment vehicles, trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment, spare parts and other field equipment essential to strengthening Ukraine’s defenders on the battlefield.

In addition, President Biden told leaders in Japan over the weekend that the U.S. will participate in the F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots, and that decisions on providing the jets will come later.

Officials said it's still not clear if the U.S. will simply allow other nations to send F-16s to Ukraine, or if the U.S. will also send some. And there are no estimates on how many of the jets will be provided or when. Officials acknowledge that it will not be in time for the anticipated spring offensive.

&nbsp;The Pentagon also announce Friday it overestimated the value of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-weapons-funding-security-war-russia-d27594b9b26beff6bcee4b7a2ec8424b">weapons it has sent to Ukraine</a>&nbsp;by at least $3 billion — an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684687231879.png" alt="President Zelensky met with President Biden at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan on Sunday-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>President Zelensky met with President Biden at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan on Sunday-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —President Biden and President&nbsp;Zelenskyy&nbsp;met Sunday at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan to reaffirm that that the United States will continue to stand with our Ukrainian partners as they defend themselves from Russia’s war of aggression.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The world hears our position. Protection and security guarantees, the return of all our territories, all our people, justice, the implementation of our Peace Formula... We have an understanding with the world majority on every important point for 🇺🇦. And together we will increase… <a href="https://t.co/AIP7ik2URK">pic.twitter.com/AIP7ik2URK</a>&mdash; Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1660346374578135041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Pursuant to a delegation of authority from President Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken authorized the 38th drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment for Ukraine.The $375 million security assistance package&nbsp; includes additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery ammunition, anti-tank weapons, armored medical treatment vehicles, trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment, spare parts and other field equipment essential to strengthening Ukraine’s defenders on the battlefield.In addition, President Biden told leaders in Japan over the weekend that the U.S. will participate in the F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots, and that decisions on providing the jets will come later.Officials said it's still not clear if the U.S. will simply allow other nations to send F-16s to Ukraine, or if the U.S. will also send some. And there are no estimates on how many of the jets will be provided or when. Officials acknowledge that it will not be in time for the anticipated spring offensive.&nbsp;The Pentagon also announce Friday it overestimated the value of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-weapons-funding-security-war-russia-d27594b9b26beff6bcee4b7a2ec8424b">weapons it has sent to Ukraine</a>&nbsp;by at least $3 billion — an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money.

U.S. sending Ukraine another $375 million in additional military aid

WASHINGTON —The Biden administration has launched a new online dashboard to help travelers compare what airlines offer cash compensation, provide travel credits or vouchers, or award frequent flyer miles and cover the costs for other amenities – as well as the airlines that do not.

Click <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard">here for&nbsp;FlightRights.gov</a>

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called upon airlines to improve their customer service commitments to passengers, which all have done to varying degrees. 

The new dashboard provides information for air travelers on airlines’ commitments to families flying with young children and customers experiencing significant flight disruptions due to circumstances within the airline’s control.

The U.S. Department of Transportation encourages airlines to continue to strengthen their customer commitments. DOT will update and expand these dashboards as needed.

WASHINGTON —The Biden administration has launched a new online dashboard to help travelers compare what airlines offer cash compensation, provide travel credits or vouchers, or award frequent flyer miles and cover the costs for other amenities – as well as the airlines that do not.Click <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard">here for&nbsp;FlightRights.gov</a>U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called upon airlines to improve their customer service commitments to passengers, which all have done to varying degrees. The new dashboard provides information for air travelers on airlines’ commitments to families flying with young children and customers experiencing significant flight disruptions due to circumstances within the airline’s control.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">So far this year, we&#39;ve seen real progress in air travel, with cancellation rates below 2 percent. But no matter what, <a href="https://twitter.com/USDOT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USDOT</a> has your back, and we are here to enforce passenger rights and hold airlines accountable. <a href="https://t.co/ZWuTVN9WwY">pic.twitter.com/ZWuTVN9WwY</a>&mdash; TransportationGov (@USDOT) <a href="https://twitter.com/USDOT/status/1657483268688855040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The U.S. Department of Transportation encourages airlines to continue to strengthen their customer commitments. DOT will update and expand these dashboards as needed.

New airline dashboard will help you compare cash compensation

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday that Republicans in the U.S. House must move off their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/speaker-mccarthy-debt-biden-republicans-d4995f10a26d6c8bfa89a2bbfd1de93c">"extreme positions"</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-mccarthy-biden-default-negotiations-1b97de28d26b85da268cfd1c1e4a986a">now-stalled talks</a>&nbsp;over raising&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-debt-limit-coin-constitution-mccarthy-77be7f00b81cebec44fbaf807b9642ff">America's debt limit</a>&nbsp;and that there would be no agreement to avert a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-default-government-shutdown-explainer-b38474f210e519aeb3f48107ca2657ba">catastrophic default</a>&nbsp;only on their terms.

Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are waging a war of words on social media.

In an effort to get negotiations back on track, Biden planned to call U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from Air Force One on the way back to Washington after a Group of Seven summit in Japan. World leaders at the gathering expressed concern about the dire global ramifications if the United States were to be unable to meet its financial obligations.

“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely, solely, on their partisan terms," Biden said at a closing news conference before he departed. The president said he had done his part in attempting to raise the borrowing limit so the U.S. government can keep paying its bills, by agreeing to significant cuts in spending. “Now it’s time for the other side to move from their extreme position,” he said.

Biden had been scheduled to travel from Hiroshima to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pacific-debt-limit-papua-new-guinea-434b263a1bcc4320a18c08ba6bf5828c">Papua New Guinea</a>&nbsp;and Australia, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-papua-new-guinea-australia-debt-limit-b2b82fbb82d829f0b8bae87bef741d63">cut short his trip</a>&nbsp;in light of the strained negotiations with Capitol Hill.

“My guess is he’s going to want to deal directly with me in making sure we’re all on the same page," Biden said about McCarthy before their expected conversation. A compromise remained within reach, the president said, despite their differences.

“I’m hoping that Speaker McCarthy is just waiting to negotiate with me when I get home," he said. “I’m waiting to find out.”

GOP lawmakers are holding tight to demands for sharp spending cuts, rejecting the alternatives proposed by the White House for reducing deficits.

McCarthy tweeted on Saturday that it was the White House that was “moving backward in negotiations.” The speaker contended that Biden would “rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-mccarthy-biden-default-negotiations-1b97de28d26b85da268cfd1c1e4a986a">Republicans want work requirements on the Medicaid</a>&nbsp;health care program, though the Biden administration has countered that millions of people could lose coverage. The GOP also introduced new cuts to food aid by restricting states’ ability to waive work requirements in places with high joblessness. That idea, when floated under President Donald Trump, was estimated to cause 700,000 people to lose their food benefits.

GOP lawmakers are also seeking cuts in IRS money and asking the White House to accept parts of their proposed immigration overhaul.

The White House has countered by keeping defense and nondefense spending flat next year, which would save $90 billion in the 2024 budget year and $1 trillion over 10 years.

“I think that we can reach an agreement,” Biden said, though he added this about Republicans: "I can’t guarantee that they wouldn’t force a default by doing something outrageous.”

Republicans had also rejected White House proposals to raise revenues in order to further lower deficits. Among the proposals the GOP objects to are policies that would enable Medicare to pay less for prescription drugs and the closing of a dozen tax loopholes. Republicans have refused to roll back the Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and wealthy households as Biden’s own budget has proposed.

Biden, nonetheless, insisted that “revenue is not off the table.”

For months, Biden had refused to engage in talks over the debt limit, contending that Republicans in Congress were trying to use the borrowing limit vote as leverage to extract administration concessions on other policy priorities.

But with the U.S. Treasury Department saying that it could run out of cash as soon as June 1 and Republicans putting their own legislation on the table, the White House launched talks on a budget deal that could accompany an increase in the debt limit.

The decision to set up a call with McCarthy came after another start-stop day with no outward signs of progress. Food was brought to the negotiating room at the Capitol on Saturday morning, only to be carted away hours later. Talks, though, could resume later Sunday after the Biden-McCarthy conversation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684672043331.png" alt="“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely, solely, on their partisan terms," Biden said at a closing news conference before he departed the G7 summit in Japan-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely, solely, on their partisan terms," Biden said at a closing news conference before he departed the G7 summit in Japan-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday that Republicans in the U.S. House must move off their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/speaker-mccarthy-debt-biden-republicans-d4995f10a26d6c8bfa89a2bbfd1de93c">"extreme positions"</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-mccarthy-biden-default-negotiations-1b97de28d26b85da268cfd1c1e4a986a">now-stalled talks</a>&nbsp;over raising&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-debt-limit-coin-constitution-mccarthy-77be7f00b81cebec44fbaf807b9642ff">America's debt limit</a>&nbsp;and that there would be no agreement to avert a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-default-government-shutdown-explainer-b38474f210e519aeb3f48107ca2657ba">catastrophic default</a>&nbsp;only on their terms.Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are waging a war of words on social media.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden doesn’t think there is a single dollar of savings to be found in the federal government’s budget. He’d rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now.&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1660092979493711872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">According to economists, 8 million Americans could lose their jobs if our nation failed to pay its bills. The consequences would be catastrophic for folks across the country and the globe. Default is not an option.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659695428571463680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The White House is moving backward in negotiations. Unfortunately, the socialist wing of the Democrat Party appears to be in control—especially with President Biden out of the country.&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1660033659405991936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">No serious lawmaker has ever thought defaulting on America&#39;s debt was a viable option. <a href="https://t.co/L61tbci9vV">pic.twitter.com/L61tbci9vV</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1659574632414957568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In an effort to get negotiations back on track, Biden planned to call U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from Air Force One on the way back to Washington after a Group of Seven summit in Japan. World leaders at the gathering expressed concern about the dire global ramifications if the United States were to be unable to meet its financial obligations.“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely, solely, on their partisan terms," Biden said at a closing news conference before he departed. The president said he had done his part in attempting to raise the borrowing limit so the U.S. government can keep paying its bills, by agreeing to significant cuts in spending. “Now it’s time for the other side to move from their extreme position,” he said.Biden had been scheduled to travel from Hiroshima to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pacific-debt-limit-papua-new-guinea-434b263a1bcc4320a18c08ba6bf5828c">Papua New Guinea</a>&nbsp;and Australia, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-papua-new-guinea-australia-debt-limit-b2b82fbb82d829f0b8bae87bef741d63">cut short his trip</a>&nbsp;in light of the strained negotiations with Capitol Hill.“My guess is he’s going to want to deal directly with me in making sure we’re all on the same page," Biden said about McCarthy before their expected conversation. A compromise remained within reach, the president said, despite their differences.“I’m hoping that Speaker McCarthy is just waiting to negotiate with me when I get home," he said. “I’m waiting to find out.”GOP lawmakers are holding tight to demands for sharp spending cuts, rejecting the alternatives proposed by the White House for reducing deficits.McCarthy tweeted on Saturday that it was the White House that was “moving backward in negotiations.” The speaker contended that Biden would “rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-mccarthy-biden-default-negotiations-1b97de28d26b85da268cfd1c1e4a986a">Republicans want work requirements on the Medicaid</a>&nbsp;health care program, though the Biden administration has countered that millions of people could lose coverage. The GOP also introduced new cuts to food aid by restricting states’ ability to waive work requirements in places with high joblessness. That idea, when floated under President Donald Trump, was estimated to cause 700,000 people to lose their food benefits.GOP lawmakers are also seeking cuts in IRS money and asking the White House to accept parts of their proposed immigration overhaul.The White House has countered by keeping defense and nondefense spending flat next year, which would save $90 billion in the 2024 budget year and $1 trillion over 10 years.“I think that we can reach an agreement,” Biden said, though he added this about Republicans: "I can’t guarantee that they wouldn’t force a default by doing something outrageous.”Republicans had also rejected White House proposals to raise revenues in order to further lower deficits. Among the proposals the GOP objects to are policies that would enable Medicare to pay less for prescription drugs and the closing of a dozen tax loopholes. Republicans have refused to roll back the Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and wealthy households as Biden’s own budget has proposed.Biden, nonetheless, insisted that “revenue is not off the table.”For months, Biden had refused to engage in talks over the debt limit, contending that Republicans in Congress were trying to use the borrowing limit vote as leverage to extract administration concessions on other policy priorities.But with the U.S. Treasury Department saying that it could run out of cash as soon as June 1 and Republicans putting their own legislation on the table, the White House launched talks on a budget deal that could accompany an increase in the debt limit.The decision to set up a call with McCarthy came after another start-stop day with no outward signs of progress. Food was brought to the negotiating room at the Capitol on Saturday morning, only to be carted away hours later. Talks, though, could resume later Sunday after the Biden-McCarthy conversation.Biden tried to assure leaders attending the meeting of the world’s most powerful democracies that the United States would not default. U.S. officials said leaders were concerned, but largely confident that Biden and American lawmakers would resolve the crisis.The president, though, said he was ruling out the possibility of taking action on his own to avoid a default. Any such steps, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/14th-amendment-biden-debt-ceiling-explained-92ebc0db703d49eab2c91d4d4a354cdf">suggestions to invoke the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;as a solution, would become tied up in the courts.“That’s a question that I think is unresolved," Biden said, adding he hopes to try to get the judiciary to weigh in on the notion for the future.