By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-farm-bureau-applauds-agreement-on-right-to-repair-tractors-farm-equipment/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s largest farm
 group is applauding an agreement reached Sunday with John Deere that 
they say will ensure farmers’ and ranchers’ rights to repair their own 
tractors and farm&nbsp; implements.

“Right to repair” has been a big issue in farm country as tractors 
and other equipment becomes more technical and loaded with sensors and 
computers, and manufacturers impose prohibitive warranties or restrict 
spare parts for home repairs.

But the Nebraska Farm Bureau said Sunday a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fb.org/files/AFBF_John_Deere_MOU.pdf">memorandum of understanding signed</a> between the American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere should resolve concerns.

The agreement was the result of several years of discussions and 
debate, which included the introduction of legislation in the U.S. 
Congress and state legislatures, including Nebraska.

Mark McHargue said it’s essential that farmers and ranchers have the 
ability to “purchase what they need at a reasonable rate to get their 
equipment up and running or have the option of turning to an independent
 technician.”

According to the Farm Bureau, the MOU will allow farmers, ranchers, and independent repair facilities:

The Nebraska Farm Bureau said it will continue to work with the 
American Farm Bureau to engage in similar discussions with several other
 manufacturers.

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-farm-bureau-applauds-agreement-on-right-to-repair-tractors-farm-equipment/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Nebraska’s largest farm
 group is applauding an agreement reached Sunday with John Deere that 
they say will ensure farmers’ and ranchers’ rights to repair their own 
tractors and farm&nbsp; implements.“Right to repair” has been a big issue in farm country as tractors 
and other equipment becomes more technical and loaded with sensors and 
computers, and manufacturers impose prohibitive warranties or restrict 
spare parts for home repairs.But the Nebraska Farm Bureau said Sunday a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fb.org/files/AFBF_John_Deere_MOU.pdf">memorandum of understanding signed</a> between the American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere should resolve concerns.The agreement was the result of several years of discussions and 
debate, which included the introduction of legislation in the U.S. 
Congress and state legislatures, including Nebraska.Mark McHargue said it’s essential that farmers and ranchers have the 
ability to “purchase what they need at a reasonable rate to get their 
equipment up and running or have the option of turning to an independent
 technician.”According to the Farm Bureau, the MOU will allow farmers, ranchers, and independent repair facilities:<ul>
 <li>Access to diagnostic and repair codes and their meanings;</li><li>Manuals (operator, parts, service) and product guides;</li><li>Ability to directly purchase diagnostic tools from John Deere;</li><li>Assistance from John Deere when ordering parts and products.</li>
 </ul>The Nebraska Farm Bureau said it will continue to work with the 
American Farm Bureau to engage in similar discussions with several other
 manufacturers.Cover image courtesy Pixabay

Neb. Farm Bureau applauds agreement on ‘right to repair’ tractors

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/09/after-big-year-for-dark-money-blood-proposes-bill-requiring-donor-disclosure/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — Political donors spent more than $50 million on Nebraska’s state and local elections <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/10/28/spending-on-nebraska-elections-is-surging-with-no-end-in-sight/">in 2022</a>. But some spent more than campaign finance filings show.

They did so by funding “dark money” 
groups that don’t have to disclose their donors. These groups operate in
 a gray area of political fundraising.

One example: Former Nebraska Gov. 
Pete Ricketts said he helped fund a group that ran negative TV ads 
against then-State Sen. Brett Lindstrom in the GOP primary race to 
succeed Ricketts.

Nebraskans might not have known who 
was behind the ads had Ricketts not acknowledged his donation. 
Disclosure was not required by law.

State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue 
says the Legislature should change that. She has introduced Legislative 
Bill 9, which would force disclosures about issue-related, noncandidate 
spending that has been swamping Nebraska airwaves during races for 
governor, state legislature and local offices.

Blood said Friday that voters should 
be able to learn who spent money on a political race, so they can ask 
why. Blood and at least one former senator have brought similar 
proposals in the past, but they have been bottled up in committee.&nbsp;

Blood said the lack of disclosure for
 dark-money donors diminishes the influence of small-dollar donors, the 
working people most directly affected by the policy decisions of state 
and local government.

“This is about accountability,” said 
Blood, the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor. “Right now, Nebraskans 
can’t find out until it’s too late who’s behind these attack ads.”

Blood and Jack Gould of Common Cause 
Nebraska said they understand that disclosure alone might not be enough 
to overcome the influence of dark money.

But, Gould said, disclosure would arm
 members of the public with the tools to weigh for themselves why 
someone is funding a particular political message against a candidate or
 initiative.

He offered the example of State Sen. 
John Lowe’s first legislative race in 2016. Outside groups hammered the 
Kearney senator’s foes for supporting a gas tax hike to repair rural 
roads, Gould said.

Gould said allowing “dark money” 
groups to do this gives wealthy people the ability to influence 
elections late in the cycle with little to no consequences for their 
preferred candidate.

“Generally, the people who run these sorts of attack ads don’t want to be identified,” Gould said.

Sandy Danek of Nebraska Right to Life
 said Friday that her anti-abortion group remains opposed to efforts to 
disclose its donors. Some donors, she said, prefer anonymity.&nbsp;

Danek and the leaders of other issue 
groups such as Americans for Prosperity have testified against similar 
bills, arguing that disclosure risks running off supporters who own 
businesses.

“The effect of such disclosure has 
resulted in the harassment and intimidation of donors to groups that are
 disfavored by the media and the ‘cancel culture,'” Danek said.

Jessica Shelburn of Americans for Prosperity, an advocacy group 
funded locally by the Ricketts and nationally by the Kochs, boosted 
candidates in Nebraska’s governor’s race and legislative races who 
support lower taxes and less regulation. Shelburn said government should
 be in the business of “making it easier, not harder” for people to 
participate.

She said LB 9’s new and potentially burdensome reporting requirements
 for organizations that engage in civic life would enable the harassment
 of donors based on their beliefs, limit discourse and undermine free 
speech.

Gould acknowledged that some folks 
might not want to face consequences for speech in the public square. But
 he said freedom of speech has never meant freedom from consequences.&nbsp;

“People can say whatever they want,” he said. “The problem is people with money get to speak louder than people without it.”

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/09/after-big-year-for-dark-money-blood-proposes-bill-requiring-donor-disclosure/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — Political donors spent more than $50 million on Nebraska’s state and local elections <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/10/28/spending-on-nebraska-elections-is-surging-with-no-end-in-sight/">in 2022</a>. But some spent more than campaign finance filings show.They did so by funding “dark money” 
groups that don’t have to disclose their donors. These groups operate in
 a gray area of political fundraising.One example: Former Nebraska Gov. 
Pete Ricketts said he helped fund a group that ran negative TV ads 
against then-State Sen. Brett Lindstrom in the GOP primary race to 
succeed Ricketts.Nebraskans might not have known who 
was behind the ads had Ricketts not acknowledged his donation. 
Disclosure was not required by law.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673285066411.jpeg" alt="Carol Blood speaks to the Nebraska Examiner during her watch party in Omaha. (Jazari Kual/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Carol Blood speaks to the Nebraska Examiner during her watch party in Omaha. (Jazari Kual/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue 
says the Legislature should change that. She has introduced Legislative 
Bill 9, which would force disclosures about issue-related, noncandidate 
spending that has been swamping Nebraska airwaves during races for 
governor, state legislature and local offices.Blood said Friday that voters should 
be able to learn who spent money on a political race, so they can ask 
why. Blood and at least one former senator have brought similar 
proposals in the past, but they have been bottled up in committee.&nbsp;Blood said the lack of disclosure for
 dark-money donors diminishes the influence of small-dollar donors, the 
working people most directly affected by the policy decisions of state 
and local government.“This is about accountability,” said 
Blood, the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor. “Right now, Nebraskans 
can’t find out until it’s too late who’s behind these attack ads.”Blood and Jack Gould of Common Cause 
Nebraska said they understand that disclosure alone might not be enough 
to overcome the influence of dark money.But, Gould said, disclosure would arm
 members of the public with the tools to weigh for themselves why 
someone is funding a particular political message against a candidate or
 initiative.He offered the example of State Sen. 
John Lowe’s first legislative race in 2016. Outside groups hammered the 
Kearney senator’s foes for supporting a gas tax hike to repair rural 
roads, Gould said.Gould said allowing “dark money” 
groups to do this gives wealthy people the ability to influence 
elections late in the cycle with little to no consequences for their 
preferred candidate.“Generally, the people who run these sorts of attack ads don’t want to be identified,” Gould said.Sandy Danek of Nebraska Right to Life
 said Friday that her anti-abortion group remains opposed to efforts to 
disclose its donors. Some donors, she said, prefer anonymity.&nbsp;Danek and the leaders of other issue 
groups such as Americans for Prosperity have testified against similar 
bills, arguing that disclosure risks running off supporters who own 
businesses.“The effect of such disclosure has 
resulted in the harassment and intimidation of donors to groups that are
 disfavored by the media and the ‘cancel culture,'” Danek said.Jessica Shelburn of Americans for Prosperity, an advocacy group 
funded locally by the Ricketts and nationally by the Kochs, boosted 
candidates in Nebraska’s governor’s race and legislative races who 
support lower taxes and less regulation. Shelburn said government should
 be in the business of “making it easier, not harder” for people to 
participate.She said LB 9’s new and potentially burdensome reporting requirements
 for organizations that engage in civic life would enable the harassment
 of donors based on their beliefs, limit discourse and undermine free 
speech.Gould acknowledged that some folks 
might not want to face consequences for speech in the public square. But
 he said freedom of speech has never meant freedom from consequences.&nbsp;“People can say whatever they want,” he said. “The problem is people with money get to speak louder than people without it.”

Neb. senator proposes bill requiring donor disclosure

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — President Joe Biden walked a muddy stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border and inspected a busy port of entry Sunday on his first trip to the region after two years in office, a visit shadowed by the fraught politics of immigration as Republicans try to blame him for the record numbers of migrants crossing into the country.

At his first stop, the president observed as border officers in El Paso demonstrated how they search vehicles for drugs, money and other contraband. Next, he traveled to a dusty street with abandoned buildings and a small playground. Near the street was a metal border fence that separated the U.S. city from Ciudad Juarez. Biden walked slowly along the border wall, initially joined by two Border Patrol agents.&nbsp;

Senator Jerry Moran announced Sunday evening that he will visit El Paso on Monday. He will join a bipartisan group of senators that will tour various points along the border.

In a sign of the deep tensions over immigration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, handed Biden a letter upon his arrival in the state that said the “chaos” at the border was a “direct result” of the president's failure to enforce federal laws. Biden later took the letter out of his jacket pocket during his tour, telling reporters, “I haven't read it yet.”

Asked what he’s learned by seeing the border firsthand and speaking with the officers who work along it, Biden said: “They need a lot of resources. We’re going to get it for them.”

Immigration for years has been a serious point of conflict, exposing both the dysfunction of the U.S. system as well as the turmoil within migrants' home countries that has pushed many to flee. Administration officials have tried to counter Republican criticism by saying Congress should work with them to increase border security funding and overhaul immigration policy.

Biden was spending just a few hours in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.elpasotexas.gov/Migrant-Crisis">the city</a>, which is currently the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-el-paso-united-states-government-cuba-82701453fb018778c04255c1e2b10564">biggest corridor for illegal crossings</a>, in large part due to Nicaraguans fleeing repression, crime and poverty in their country. They are among migrants from four countries who are now subject to quick expulsion under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-mexico-immigration-af0643a4fb8f45388fe247e44c9b2c5e">new rules enacted by the Biden administration</a>&nbsp;in the past week that drew strong criticism from immigration advocates.

The president also was to visit the El Paso County Migrant Services Center and meet with nonprofits and religious groups that support migrants arriving to the U.S. It was not clear whether he would talk to any migrants.

Biden's announcement on border security and his visit to the border are aimed in part at quelling the political noise and blunting the impact of upcoming investigations into immigration promised by House Republicans. But any enduring solution will require action by the sharply divided Congress, where multiple efforts to enact sweeping changes have failed in recent years.

From El Paso, Biden was to continue south to Mexico City, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-mexico-government-us-national-security-council-united-states-599d640834d079503c5dd568c312c19f">he and the leaders of Mexico and Canada will gather</a>&nbsp;on Monday and Tuesday for a North American leaders summit. Immigration is among the items on the agenda.

In El Paso, where migrants congregate at bus stops and in parks before traveling on, border patrol agents stepped up security before Biden's visit.

“I think they’re trying to send a message that they’re going to more consistently check people’s documented status, and if you have not been processed they are going to pick you up,” said Ruben Garcia of the Annunciation House aid group in El Paso.

Migrants and asylum-seekers fleeing violence and persecution have increasingly found that protections in the United States are available primarily to those with money or the savvy to find someone to vouch for them financially.

Venezuelan migrant Jose Castillo, who said he traveled without family members for five months from his home on Margarita Island to arrive in El Paso on Dec. 29, said he hoped Biden “will take us into consideration as the human beings we are.”

Castillo was among a group of about 30 migrants who gathered for prayers Sunday morning outside the Sacred Heart Catholic Church where many of the newcomers have been camping.

“We have suffered a lot since entering the jungle of the Darien Gap and passing through Mexico. It has all been a battle, battle, battle,” he said. “I know that we are here illegally, but please give us a chance.”

The numbers of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has risen dramatically during Biden’s first two years in office. There were more than 2.38 million stops during the year that ended Sept. 30, the first time the number topped 2 million. The administration has struggled to clamp down on crossings, reluctant to take hard-line measures that would resemble those of former President Donald Trump's administration.

The policy changes announced this past week are Biden's biggest move yet to contain illegal border crossings and will turn away tens of thousands of migrants arriving at the border. At the same time, 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela will get the chance to come to the U.S. legally as long as they travel by plane, get a sponsor and pass background checks.

The U.S. will also turn away migrants who do not seek asylum first in a country they traveled through en route to the U.S. Migrants are being asked to complete a form on a phone app so that they they can go to a port of entry at a pre-scheduled date and time.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters aboard Air Force One that the administration is trying to “incentivize a safe and orderly way and cut out the smuggling organizations,” saying the policies are “not a ban at all" but an attempt to protect migrants from the trauma that smuggling can create.

The changes were welcomed by some, particularly leaders in cities where migrants have been massing. But Biden was excoriated by immigrant advocate groups, which accused him of taking measures modeled after those of the former president. Administration officials disputed that characterization.

For all of his international travel over his 50 years in public service, Biden has not spent much time at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The only visit that the White House could point to was Biden's drive by the border while he was campaigning for president in 2008. He sent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-2c5747617f9c60b2b3be4ce99895a0b8">Vice President Kamala Harris to El Paso in 2021</a>, but she was criticized for largely bypassing the action, because El Paso wasn't the center of crossings that it is now.

<a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/10/remarks-president-comprehensive-immigration-reform-el-paso-texas">President Barack Obama made a 2011 trip to El Paso</a>, where he toured border operations and the Paso Del Norte international bridge, but he was later criticized for not going back as tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.

Trump, who made hardening immigration a signature issue, traveled to the border several times. During one visit, he crammed into a small border station to inspect cash and drugs confiscated by agents.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-19bec277a1ac48fda6aeab0bd9c950e0">During a trip to McAllen, Texas</a>, then the center of a growing crisis, he made one of his most-often repeated claims, that Mexico would pay to build a border wall.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-football-politics-immigration-850cf00b403e230809f9d07e2a0a9c7d">American taxpayers</a>&nbsp;ended up footing the bill after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/28e60e866f6d32cdadedd126e292eba7">Mexican leaders flatly rejected the idea.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673215903534.png" alt="A large "Welcome to Mexico" sign hung over the Bridge of the Americas is visible as President Joe Biden tours the El Paso port of entry, Bridge of the Americas, a busy port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, in El Paso Texas, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)" />
 <figcaption>A large "Welcome to Mexico" sign hung over the Bridge of the Americas is visible as President Joe Biden tours the El Paso port of entry, Bridge of the Americas, a busy port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, in El Paso Texas, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)</figcaption>
 </figure>EL PASO, Texas (AP) — President Joe Biden walked a muddy stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border and inspected a busy port of entry Sunday on his first trip to the region after two years in office, a visit shadowed by the fraught politics of immigration as Republicans try to blame him for the record numbers of migrants crossing into the country.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden traveled to El Paso today to assess border enforcement operations and meet with local officials who have been important partners in managing the historic number of migrants feeling political oppression and violence in Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Cuba. <a href="https://t.co/PRvoemzdou">pic.twitter.com/PRvoemzdou</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1612276626900877312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>At his first stop, the president observed as border officers in El Paso demonstrated how they search vehicles for drugs, money and other contraband. Next, he traveled to a dusty street with abandoned buildings and a small playground. Near the street was a metal border fence that separated the U.S. city from Ciudad Juarez. Biden walked slowly along the border wall, initially joined by two Border Patrol agents.&nbsp;Senator Jerry Moran announced Sunday evening that he will visit El Paso on Monday. He will join a bipartisan group of senators that will tour various points along the border.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, I met with President Biden during his first visit to the border. I hand-delivered a letter asking him to do his constitutional duty to secure our border and keep Texans — and Americans — safe. Full letter: <a href="https://t.co/04B6hYfKRJ">https://t.co/04B6hYfKRJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/bAHxCbBNJ8">pic.twitter.com/bAHxCbBNJ8</a>&mdash; Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovAbbott/status/1612176391289569280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In a sign of the deep tensions over immigration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, handed Biden a letter upon his arrival in the state that said the “chaos” at the border was a “direct result” of the president's failure to enforce federal laws. Biden later took the letter out of his jacket pocket during his tour, telling reporters, “I haven't read it yet.”Asked what he’s learned by seeing the border firsthand and speaking with the officers who work along it, Biden said: “They need a lot of resources. We’re going to get it for them.”Immigration for years has been a serious point of conflict, exposing both the dysfunction of the U.S. system as well as the turmoil within migrants' home countries that has pushed many to flee. Administration officials have tried to counter Republican criticism by saying Congress should work with them to increase border security funding and overhaul immigration policy.Biden was spending just a few hours in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.elpasotexas.gov/Migrant-Crisis">the city</a>, which is currently the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-el-paso-united-states-government-cuba-82701453fb018778c04255c1e2b10564">biggest corridor for illegal crossings</a>, in large part due to Nicaraguans fleeing repression, crime and poverty in their country. They are among migrants from four countries who are now subject to quick expulsion under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-mexico-immigration-af0643a4fb8f45388fe247e44c9b2c5e">new rules enacted by the Biden administration</a>&nbsp;in the past week that drew strong criticism from immigration advocates.The president also was to visit the El Paso County Migrant Services Center and meet with nonprofits and religious groups that support migrants arriving to the U.S. It was not clear whether he would talk to any migrants.Biden's announcement on border security and his visit to the border are aimed in part at quelling the political noise and blunting the impact of upcoming investigations into immigration promised by House Republicans. But any enduring solution will require action by the sharply divided Congress, where multiple efforts to enact sweeping changes have failed in recent years.From El Paso, Biden was to continue south to Mexico City, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-mexico-government-us-national-security-council-united-states-599d640834d079503c5dd568c312c19f">he and the leaders of Mexico and Canada will gather</a>&nbsp;on Monday and Tuesday for a North American leaders summit. Immigration is among the items on the agenda.In El Paso, where migrants congregate at bus stops and in parks before traveling on, border patrol agents stepped up security before Biden's visit.“I think they’re trying to send a message that they’re going to more consistently check people’s documented status, and if you have not been processed they are going to pick you up,” said Ruben Garcia of the Annunciation House aid group in El Paso.Migrants and asylum-seekers fleeing violence and persecution have increasingly found that protections in the United States are available primarily to those with money or the savvy to find someone to vouch for them financially.Venezuelan migrant Jose Castillo, who said he traveled without family members for five months from his home on Margarita Island to arrive in El Paso on Dec. 29, said he hoped Biden “will take us into consideration as the human beings we are.”Castillo was among a group of about 30 migrants who gathered for prayers Sunday morning outside the Sacred Heart Catholic Church where many of the newcomers have been camping.“We have suffered a lot since entering the jungle of the Darien Gap and passing through Mexico. It has all been a battle, battle, battle,” he said. “I know that we are here illegally, but please give us a chance.”The numbers of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has risen dramatically during Biden’s first two years in office. There were more than 2.38 million stops during the year that ended Sept. 30, the first time the number topped 2 million. The administration has struggled to clamp down on crossings, reluctant to take hard-line measures that would resemble those of former President Donald Trump's administration.The policy changes announced this past week are Biden's biggest move yet to contain illegal border crossings and will turn away tens of thousands of migrants arriving at the border. At the same time, 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela will get the chance to come to the U.S. legally as long as they travel by plane, get a sponsor and pass background checks.The U.S. will also turn away migrants who do not seek asylum first in a country they traveled through en route to the U.S. Migrants are being asked to complete a form on a phone app so that they they can go to a port of entry at a pre-scheduled date and time.Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters aboard Air Force One that the administration is trying to “incentivize a safe and orderly way and cut out the smuggling organizations,” saying the policies are “not a ban at all" but an attempt to protect migrants from the trauma that smuggling can create.The changes were welcomed by some, particularly leaders in cities where migrants have been massing. But Biden was excoriated by immigrant advocate groups, which accused him of taking measures modeled after those of the former president. Administration officials disputed that characterization.For all of his international travel over his 50 years in public service, Biden has not spent much time at the U.S.-Mexico border.The only visit that the White House could point to was Biden's drive by the border while he was campaigning for president in 2008. He sent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-2c5747617f9c60b2b3be4ce99895a0b8">Vice President Kamala Harris to El Paso in 2021</a>, but she was criticized for largely bypassing the action, because El Paso wasn't the center of crossings that it is now.<a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/10/remarks-president-comprehensive-immigration-reform-el-paso-texas">President Barack Obama made a 2011 trip to El Paso</a>, where he toured border operations and the Paso Del Norte international bridge, but he was later criticized for not going back as tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.Trump, who made hardening immigration a signature issue, traveled to the border several times. During one visit, he crammed into a small border station to inspect cash and drugs confiscated by agents.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-politics-19bec277a1ac48fda6aeab0bd9c950e0">During a trip to McAllen, Texas</a>, then the center of a growing crisis, he made one of his most-often repeated claims, that Mexico would pay to build a border wall.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-football-politics-immigration-850cf00b403e230809f9d07e2a0a9c7d">American taxpayers</a>&nbsp;ended up footing the bill after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/28e60e866f6d32cdadedd126e292eba7">Mexican leaders flatly rejected the idea.</a>------------

Biden inspects stretch of US-Mexico border; Moran to visit Monday

‘Sick and tired of going to other people’s funerals out here’

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/04/kansas-farmers-ranchers-plant-seeds-of-change-to-erode-stigma-of-mental-illness/">Kansas Reflector</a>

MANHATTAN — Sedgwick County 
farmer Mick Rausch’s struggle with depression coincided with his 
brother’s cancer diagnosis and a freeze that thwarted harvest of a wheat
 crop.

Rausch had promised his father-in-law that he would not let the 
family’s century-old farm go under. Quitting wasn’t an option, he said.

He kept shoving aside reality of compounding stress and strain. He 
dodged his wife’s inquiries. He didn’t want to utter three powerful 
words: I need help. The problem came to a head when he crawled under a 
piece of farm equipment to perform routine maintenance and ended up 
taking a three-hour nap. That out-of-character slumber convinced him to 
get serious about his mental well-being.

“It’s really hard for a guy to admit to a problem,” Rausch said. 
“You’re in agriculture. We know how to deal with a problem — take care 
of it, work a little harder, work a little longer. Things kind of 
snowballed and I just got to the point I had to seek help.”

He made an appointment with a doctor and was able to talk with 
professionals about his mental health challenges. He was put on 
medication that made a difference.

“All the credit goes to my wife,” he said. “She stuck with me through a very difficult summer.”

It led about 15 years later to the Kansas Farm Bureau convention in 
Manhattan and a seat next to Ashley Beying, an Osage County nurse 
practitioner and rancher, and Donna Wise, a Clearwater corn, wheat, 
sorghum and soybean farmer who was 18 when her father died of suicide.

The trio’s task was to share with farmers, ranchers and others their 
understanding of how to manage the inevitable stress of a life in 
agriculture. They were guests of the Women’s Leadership Committee of the
 Farm Bureau.

Rausch said he learned to welcome the opportunity to speak to others about his journey of despair and recovery.

“The first thing I tell people is I’m sick and tired of going to 
other people’s funerals out here that I could have prevented,” he said.

Wise, who grew up walking on egg shells at home due to her father’s 
severe depression, said her mother chose to blame Wise and her sibling 
brother for their father’s condition. She learned to cope by being 
self-reliant and spending as much time as possible outdoors. Her father 
was unable to find a way to deal with the pain and took his life more 
than 50 years ago, Wise said. She continues to mourn that loss.

“Farmers spend so much time alone working on the farm,” said Wise, 
who became an ordained minister and relied on her experience to assist 
people talking of suicide. “That’s a lot of time to think and think and 
get into some deep, dark places.”

She said people in crisis needed to understand their families 
wouldn’t be better off without them. Family members feel abandoned in 
wake of a suicide, she said.

Beying, the nurse practitioner who works at a rural health clinic, 
said the national conversation about mental illness had lowered barriers
 that deterred people from being transparent about depression, anxiety 
and other conditions that could benefit from medical intervention. If 
someone could feel more stable by taking prescription medication, she 
said, family or society had no right to stigmatize that solution.

“Mental health wasn’t something that was typically talked about when I
 was younger,” Beying said. “As a health care provider, looking at my 
patients, I would want to take care of their blood pressure, take care 
of their cholesterol, their diabetes. So, why wouldn’t I want to take 
care of their mind?”

She said the nation’s capacity to provide mental health services 
needed to grow exponentially because the demand outstripped available 
facilities and personnel. In Kansas, there are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansasagstress.org/mental-health">resources available to people struggling with mental health</a>.

Wise said harsh opinions associated with mental illness had 
diminished over the years, but less progress had been made with the 
stigma of suicide.

“From my experience,” she said, “I have often felt I was not allowed 
to talk about the fact I had suicide in my family. People don’t want to 
hear about it. They run away.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported farmers 
and ranchers were almost two times more likely to die from suicide than 
people engaged in other occupations. In 2021, Kansas Health Institute 
reported the rate of suicide in rural counties in Kansas climbed 55% 
from 2000 to 2019.

Wise and Beying said onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 required 
folks to spend more time at home and offered a chance for people to 
become more sensitized to what they were feeling. It gave people an 
opportunity to take advantage of therapy through telehealth services or 
online formats, they said.

“In my area, we didn’t have good internet when the pandemic came on. 
We were basically isolated,” he said. “I’m kind of a people person. To 
me, mental health is about your mind and being out with people. If 
you’re locked up, nobody knows how you are.”

Rausch said if a friend didn’t look right or was acting strange, he would start a conversation and stick to the basics.

“Ask them, ‘Is there an issue? Is there something I can help you with?’ And, then, listen.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1672848195501.png" alt="Sedgwick County farmers Mick Rausch and Donna Wise, left and center, and Osage County nurse practitioner and rancher Ashley Beying shared their experiences with mental illness in agricultural settings during a meeting of the Kansas Farm Bureau. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sedgwick County farmers Mick Rausch and Donna Wise, left and center, and Osage County nurse practitioner and rancher Ashley Beying shared their experiences with mental illness in agricultural settings during a meeting of the Kansas Farm Bureau. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Sick and tired of going to other people’s funerals out here’</h2>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/04/kansas-farmers-ranchers-plant-seeds-of-change-to-erode-stigma-of-mental-illness/">Kansas Reflector</a>MANHATTAN — Sedgwick County 
farmer Mick Rausch’s struggle with depression coincided with his 
brother’s cancer diagnosis and a freeze that thwarted harvest of a wheat
 crop.Rausch had promised his father-in-law that he would not let the 
family’s century-old farm go under. Quitting wasn’t an option, he said.He kept shoving aside reality of compounding stress and strain. He 
dodged his wife’s inquiries. He didn’t want to utter three powerful 
words: I need help. The problem came to a head when he crawled under a 
piece of farm equipment to perform routine maintenance and ended up 
taking a three-hour nap. That out-of-character slumber convinced him to 
get serious about his mental well-being.“It’s really hard for a guy to admit to a problem,” Rausch said. 
“You’re in agriculture. We know how to deal with a problem — take care 
of it, work a little harder, work a little longer. Things kind of 
snowballed and I just got to the point I had to seek help.”He made an appointment with a doctor and was able to talk with 
professionals about his mental health challenges. He was put on 
medication that made a difference.“All the credit goes to my wife,” he said. “She stuck with me through a very difficult summer.”It led about 15 years later to the Kansas Farm Bureau convention in 
Manhattan and a seat next to Ashley Beying, an Osage County nurse 
practitioner and rancher, and Donna Wise, a Clearwater corn, wheat, 
sorghum and soybean farmer who was 18 when her father died of suicide.The trio’s task was to share with farmers, ranchers and others their 
understanding of how to manage the inevitable stress of a life in 
agriculture. They were guests of the Women’s Leadership Committee of the
 Farm Bureau.Rausch said he learned to welcome the opportunity to speak to others about his journey of despair and recovery.“The first thing I tell people is I’m sick and tired of going to 
other people’s funerals out here that I could have prevented,” he said.<h2>Walking on egg shells</h2>Wise, who grew up walking on egg shells at home due to her father’s 
severe depression, said her mother chose to blame Wise and her sibling 
brother for their father’s condition. She learned to cope by being 
self-reliant and spending as much time as possible outdoors. Her father 
was unable to find a way to deal with the pain and took his life more 
than 50 years ago, Wise said. She continues to mourn that loss.“Farmers spend so much time alone working on the farm,” said Wise, 
who became an ordained minister and relied on her experience to assist 
people talking of suicide. “That’s a lot of time to think and think and 
get into some deep, dark places.”She said people in crisis needed to understand their families 
wouldn’t be better off without them. Family members feel abandoned in 
wake of a suicide, she said.Beying, the nurse practitioner who works at a rural health clinic, 
said the national conversation about mental illness had lowered barriers
 that deterred people from being transparent about depression, anxiety 
and other conditions that could benefit from medical intervention. If 
someone could feel more stable by taking prescription medication, she 
said, family or society had no right to stigmatize that solution.“Mental health wasn’t something that was typically talked about when I
 was younger,” Beying said. “As a health care provider, looking at my 
patients, I would want to take care of their blood pressure, take care 
of their cholesterol, their diabetes. So, why wouldn’t I want to take 
care of their mind?”She said the nation’s capacity to provide mental health services 
needed to grow exponentially because the demand outstripped available 
facilities and personnel. In Kansas, there are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansasagstress.org/mental-health">resources available to people struggling with mental health</a>.Wise said harsh opinions associated with mental illness had 
diminished over the years, but less progress had been made with the 
stigma of suicide.“From my experience,” she said, “I have often felt I was not allowed 
to talk about the fact I had suicide in my family. People don’t want to 
hear about it. They run away.”The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported farmers 
and ranchers were almost two times more likely to die from suicide than 
people engaged in other occupations. In 2021, Kansas Health Institute 
reported the rate of suicide in rural counties in Kansas climbed 55% 
from 2000 to 2019.<h2>COVID-19 factor</h2>Wise and Beying said onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 required 
folks to spend more time at home and offered a chance for people to 
become more sensitized to what they were feeling. It gave people an 
opportunity to take advantage of therapy through telehealth services or 
online formats, they said.Rausch took the opposite perspective.“In my area, we didn’t have good internet when the pandemic came on. 
We were basically isolated,” he said. “I’m kind of a people person. To 
me, mental health is about your mind and being out with people. If 
you’re locked up, nobody knows how you are.”Rausch said if a friend didn’t look right or was acting strange, he would start a conversation and stick to the basics.“Ask them, ‘Is there an issue? Is there something I can help you with?’ And, then, listen.”

Farmers, ranchers plant seeds of change to erode mental illness stigma

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule Thursday that would ban U.S. employers from imposing noncompete clauses on workers, a sweeping measure that could make it easier for people to switch jobs and deepen competition for labor across a wide range of industries.

The proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/federal-register-notices/non-compete-clause-rulemaking">rule</a>&nbsp;would prevent employers from imposing contract clauses that prohibit their employees from joining a competitor, typically for a period of time, after they leave the company.

Advocates of the new rule argue that noncompete agreements contribute to wage stagnation because one of the most effective ways to secure higher pay is switching companies. They argue that the clauses have become so commonplace that they have swept up even low-wage workers.

Opponents argue that by facilitating retention, noncompete clauses have encouraged companies to promote workers and invest in training, especially in a tight labor market. The public has 60 days to submit commentary on the rule before it takes effect.

During a Cabinet meeting, President Joe Biden called the FTC action “a huge step forward in banning non-compete agreements that are designed simply to lower people’s wages.”

"These agreements block millions of retail workers, construction workers and other working folks from taking better jobs and getting better pay and benefits in the same field,” Biden said.

The FTC has moved aggressively to curb the power of major corporations under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/frances-haugen-lina-khan-elizabeth-holmes-37d14570b9221962010171c0844e534a">Chair Lina Khan</a>, a legal scholar and Washington outsider whose appointment by Biden signaled a tough antitrust stance.

The agency estimates that the new rule could boost wages by nearly $300 billion a year and expand career opportunities for about 30 million Americans.

“Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand,” Khan said in a prepared statement.

The FTC’s proposal comes amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-jobs-and-careers-federal-reserve-system-005ac62672d87fb9f81bd9b97caecfc5">an already competitive job market,</a>&nbsp;particularly in industries that suffered mass layoffs during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and have since struggled to recall their workers. Many workers remain on the sidelines, holding out for better pay, coping with lingering childcare or health issues, or opting for early retirement.

"There is a potential that it will contribute to the ‘great resignation' that everyone is talking about to some degree, but employers are simply losing one of the tools in their toolbox and there are other ways to retain top talent," said Vanessa Matsis-McCready, associate general counsel and director of human resources for Engage PEO, which provides HR services for small- and medium-sized companies. "You will see a lot of business trying to retain top talent via raises or other fringe benefits.”

Employers nationwide are still hiring and layoffs are historically low, despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-san-francisco-marc-benioff-bbb2f3a09eafdfc7cda54a3b87e538ad">high-profile job cut announcements</a>&nbsp;from companies such as software provider Salesforce, Facebook’s parent company Meta, and Amazon. The government is expected to announce Friday that employers added a solid 200,000 jobs last month, and that unemployment remained 3.7%, near a half-century low.

A 2019 analysis by the liberal Economic Policy Institute estimated that 36 million to 60 million workers could be subject to noncompete agreements, which the group said companies have increasingly adopted in recent years.

While such agreements are most common among higher-paid workers, the study found that a significant number of low-wage workers were subjected to them, including more than quarter of those making an average wage of less than $13 an hour.

On Wednesday, for example, the FTC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/01/ftc-cracks-down-companies-impose-harmful-noncompete-restrictions-thousands-workers?ftag=YHFa5b931b">took action</a>&nbsp;against three companies for unlawfully imposing noncompete clauses against workers, including low-wage security guards who were threatened with a $100,000 fine if they violated the agreement.

The EPI study found that many companies still impose noncompete clauses in several states that already ban or restrict them, including in California, where the practice has been prohibited for a century.

The proposed FTC rule would require companies to scrap existing noncompete causes and actively inform workers that they are no longer in effect, as well as prohibiting the imposition of new ones.

The proposal is based on a preliminary finding that noncompete clauses quash competition in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. It would not generally apply to other types of employment restrictions, like non-disclosure agreements.

But Emily Dickens, chief of staff and head of public affairs for the Society of Human Resources Management, said the proposed FTC rule is overly broad and could potentially harm businesses that depend on them to thrive. She cited very small, emerging industries where crucial know-how cannot be safeguarded through non-disclosure agreements alone.

Dickens said SHRM, a group of more than 300,000 human resources professionals and executives around the world, will encourage its members to present specific situations that could justify noncompete clauses during the FTC's commentary period.

Although "there are jobs where it makes no sense to have noncompete," Dickens said, “this kind of blanket ban is going to stifle innovation.”

While defenders of non-compete clauses argue they help start-ups and small business retain talent, opponents say they hinder recruitment at those same entities.

The Economic Innovation Group, a Washington-based public policy research group, applauded the rule and called on Congress to pass proposed legislation that would impose a similar ban with more permanency.

“Restricting the use of non-compete agreements is fundamentally good policy that will boost wages, improve workforce mobility, and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the economy,” said John Lettieri, EIG's president and CEO.

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule Thursday that would ban U.S. employers from imposing noncompete clauses on workers, a sweeping measure that could make it easier for people to switch jobs and deepen competition for labor across a wide range of industries.The proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/federal-register-notices/non-compete-clause-rulemaking">rule</a>&nbsp;would prevent employers from imposing contract clauses that prohibit their employees from joining a competitor, typically for a period of time, after they leave the company.Advocates of the new rule argue that noncompete agreements contribute to wage stagnation because one of the most effective ways to secure higher pay is switching companies. They argue that the clauses have become so commonplace that they have swept up even low-wage workers.Opponents argue that by facilitating retention, noncompete clauses have encouraged companies to promote workers and invest in training, especially in a tight labor market. The public has 60 days to submit commentary on the rule before it takes effect.During a Cabinet meeting, President Joe Biden called the FTC action “a huge step forward in banning non-compete agreements that are designed simply to lower people’s wages.”"These agreements block millions of retail workers, construction workers and other working folks from taking better jobs and getting better pay and benefits in the same field,” Biden said.The FTC has moved aggressively to curb the power of major corporations under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/frances-haugen-lina-khan-elizabeth-holmes-37d14570b9221962010171c0844e534a">Chair Lina Khan</a>, a legal scholar and Washington outsider whose appointment by Biden signaled a tough antitrust stance.The agency estimates that the new rule could boost wages by nearly $300 billion a year and expand career opportunities for about 30 million Americans.“Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand,” Khan said in a prepared statement.The FTC’s proposal comes amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-jobs-and-careers-federal-reserve-system-005ac62672d87fb9f81bd9b97caecfc5">an already competitive job market,</a>&nbsp;particularly in industries that suffered mass layoffs during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and have since struggled to recall their workers. Many workers remain on the sidelines, holding out for better pay, coping with lingering childcare or health issues, or opting for early retirement."There is a potential that it will contribute to the ‘great resignation' that everyone is talking about to some degree, but employers are simply losing one of the tools in their toolbox and there are other ways to retain top talent," said Vanessa Matsis-McCready, associate general counsel and director of human resources for Engage PEO, which provides HR services for small- and medium-sized companies. "You will see a lot of business trying to retain top talent via raises or other fringe benefits.”Employers nationwide are still hiring and layoffs are historically low, despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-san-francisco-marc-benioff-bbb2f3a09eafdfc7cda54a3b87e538ad">high-profile job cut announcements</a>&nbsp;from companies such as software provider Salesforce, Facebook’s parent company Meta, and Amazon. The government is expected to announce Friday that employers added a solid 200,000 jobs last month, and that unemployment remained 3.7%, near a half-century low.A 2019 analysis by the liberal Economic Policy Institute estimated that 36 million to 60 million workers could be subject to noncompete agreements, which the group said companies have increasingly adopted in recent years.While such agreements are most common among higher-paid workers, the study found that a significant number of low-wage workers were subjected to them, including more than quarter of those making an average wage of less than $13 an hour.On Wednesday, for example, the FTC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/01/ftc-cracks-down-companies-impose-harmful-noncompete-restrictions-thousands-workers?ftag=YHFa5b931b">took action</a>&nbsp;against three companies for unlawfully imposing noncompete clauses against workers, including low-wage security guards who were threatened with a $100,000 fine if they violated the agreement.The EPI study found that many companies still impose noncompete clauses in several states that already ban or restrict them, including in California, where the practice has been prohibited for a century.The proposed FTC rule would require companies to scrap existing noncompete causes and actively inform workers that they are no longer in effect, as well as prohibiting the imposition of new ones.The proposal is based on a preliminary finding that noncompete clauses quash competition in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. It would not generally apply to other types of employment restrictions, like non-disclosure agreements.But Emily Dickens, chief of staff and head of public affairs for the Society of Human Resources Management, said the proposed FTC rule is overly broad and could potentially harm businesses that depend on them to thrive. She cited very small, emerging industries where crucial know-how cannot be safeguarded through non-disclosure agreements alone.Dickens said SHRM, a group of more than 300,000 human resources professionals and executives around the world, will encourage its members to present specific situations that could justify noncompete clauses during the FTC's commentary period.Although "there are jobs where it makes no sense to have noncompete," Dickens said, “this kind of blanket ban is going to stifle innovation.”While defenders of non-compete clauses argue they help start-ups and small business retain talent, opponents say they hinder recruitment at those same entities.The Economic Innovation Group, a Washington-based public policy research group, applauded the rule and called on Congress to pass proposed legislation that would impose a similar ban with more permanency.“Restricting the use of non-compete agreements is fundamentally good policy that will boost wages, improve workforce mobility, and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the economy,” said John Lettieri, EIG's president and CEO.—-

FTC proposes rule that would ban employee noncompete clauses

By ROBERT ZULLO <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/01/03/as-another-winter-storm-strains-the-electric-grid-its-time-to-fix-transmission-experts-say/">States Newsroom</a>

The deadly winter storm, christened 
Elliott by the Weather Channel, that tore through much of the United 
States over the Christmas weekend placed a huge strain on the American 
electric grid, pushing it past the breaking point in some places.

Frigid temperatures, in some places <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/12/24/winter-storm-elliott-heres-which-cities-set-record-low-temperatures-so-far/?sh=4ac325fb33b0">setting records</a>,
 drove a surge in electric demand while also causing big problems for 
gas, coal and other power plants that took electric generation offline 
just when it was needed most. That forced some Southeastern utilities to
 cut power to thousands of people on a rotating basis, and led grid 
operators to <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/pjminterconnect/status/1606761678426832898?s=20&amp;t=2Wzc6NDbC9K13aikdQt8gg">urge customers</a> to conserve power.&nbsp;

“Supply and demand for electricity 
have to exactly balance in real time,” said Michael Goggin, a longtime 
electric industry analyst and vice president at Grid Strategies, a 
consulting firm focused on clean energy integration. “If not, in a 
matter of seconds the grid can collapse.”

The Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
announced Wednesday that they will open a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nerc.com/news/Pages/FERC,-NERC-to-Open-Joint-Inquiry-into-Winter-Storm-Elliott.aspx"> joint investigation</a> into the power system’s performance.

“There will be multiple lessons 
learned from last week’s polar vortex that will inform future winter 
preparations,” said Jim Robb, president and CEO of NERC, the nonprofit 
regulator that sets and enforces reliability standards for the bulk 
power system in the U.S.&nbsp;

“This storm underscores the 
increasing frequency of significant extreme weather events (the fifth 
major winter event in the last 11 years) and underscores the need for 
the electric sector to change its planning scenarios and preparations 
for extreme events.”

But for some experts, a major lesson 
from the storm is already plain, and it’s the same as learned in past 
severe winter weather: The U.S. grid needs to be better connected to 
enable power to be moved easily to where it’s needed in moments of 
crisis.

“Although this was a massive event 
that ultimately affected huge parts of the country, there were 
geographic elements to it,” said Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity
 Law Initiative at Harvard Law School. “The attention belongs on the 
transmission system.”

John Moore, a meteorologist with the 
National Weather Service, said the storm was unusual in several aspects,
 including the rapid drop in temperatures triggered by a blast of arctic
 air pushing down from Canada far into the American South, the rapid 
strengthening called “<a target="_blank" href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/bombogenesis.html">bombogenesis</a>,” and the heft of the pressure behind the system, which he said set a record in Edmonton, Canada.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It’s a very broad system and it’s a 
lot of impacts associated with it. … The cold air with this one was a 
little bit stronger than we usually see this time of year,” Moore said, 
noting that the storm caused temperatures to drop 37 degrees in one hour
 at Denver International Airport, for example, and set temperature 
records in Wyoming and Montana, according to preliminary data.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As it moved east, it caused a deadly blizzard in the Buffalo area that claimed at least <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/weather-buffalo-natural-disasters-new-york-city-storms-6cb9f31599be5f698a927fa971fcf019">40 lives</a> and wreaked havoc on the electric grid.&nbsp;

“There were likely other records set across the South and East Coast,” Moore said.

Though <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/millions-without-power-as-winter-storm-batters-u-s-with-blizzards-freezing-rain">hundreds of thousands</a>
 of homes and businesses were left without power because of normal storm
 calamities such as downed power lines, many other customers in the 
Carolinas and the Tennessee Valley Authority service territory, which 
includes most of Tennessee and parts of Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, 
Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina, saw outages because of the strain 
struggling power plants and surging demand placed on the grid.

“What we saw was concerning,” said Goggin, who was monitoring data from many of the major <a target="_blank" href="https://arkansasadvocate.com/2022/09/26/amid-a-massive-american-clean-energy-shift-grid-operators-play-catch-up/">regional transmission organizations</a>
 hit by the storm. “You saw very high unplanned or forced outages of 
power plants of many types but primarily fossil.” The extreme cold shut 
down many <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-24/storm-elliott-latest-us-natural-gas-output-plunges">natural gas production wells</a>, he said, which limited pipeline supplies that feed power plants.&nbsp;

“We’ve seen a number of events like 
this where the extreme cold disrupts the gas system which then cascades 
to the power system,” he said.&nbsp;

On Dec. 23, with demand climbing past
 33,000 megawatts (its normal December demand is around 24,000) the TVA 
for the first time in its 90-year history instituted load shedding — 
temporary, controlled outages — and urged customers to conserve 
electricity. The service interruptions ended on Dec. 24, with the TVA 
saying it had supplied more power over the previous 24 hours than ever 
before to meet an all-time peak winter demand. POWER magazine <a target="_blank" href="https://www.powermag.com/arctic-blast-roiling-reliability-in-tva-miso-spp-pjm/">also quoted</a>
 a TVA spokesperson saying that a “limited number” of power plants in 
TVA’s territory “did not operate as expected during this event resulting
 in a loss of generation.”

“We at TVA take full responsibility for the impact we had on our customers,” the authority said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tva.com/newsroom/press-releases/tva-accepts-responsibility-starts-full-review">Dec. 28 statement</a>.
 “We are conducting a thorough review of what occurred and why. We are 
committed to sharing these lessons learned and — more importantly — the 
corrective actions we take in the weeks ahead to ensure we are prepared 
to manage significant events in the future.”

In an email to States Newsroom 
Thursday, a TVA spokesperson could not say how many customers were 
affected nor provide any information on why power plants weren’t able to
 perform, citing the ongoing review. In the Memphis area, where Memphis 
Light, Gas and Water is the TVA’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/mlgw-tva-utility-light-gas-water-memphis-midsouth/522-8dc09855-2efc-475d-bb39-ddabfebf76e7">largest customer</a>, more than 30,000 customers were affected, WMC-TV, a local station, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/12/24/rolling-blackouts-reinstituted-thousands-mlgw-customers-without-power/">reported</a>. The Chattanooga Free Press <a target="_blank" href="https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2022/dec/24/power-outages-tfp/">reported on Christmas Eve</a> that the TVA had lost about 6,000 megawatts of generation the day before at coal and gas plants.

“Until the review is completed over 
the next few weeks, any discussion on individual plants would be 
inappropriate because it would just be speculation on our part,” TVA 
spokesman Scott Fiedler told States Newsroom. “As the wholesale power 
provider, we instruct our 153 local power companies to reduce load. They
 implement the process to limit the impact to their customers. We expect
 customers were affected by 15-30 minutes in a rolling fashion as LPCs 
implemented curtailments.”

Duke Energy, one of the nation’s 
largest utility companies, was forced to cut power to about 500,000 of 
its customers in North Carolina and South Carolina on Dec. 24, with the 
last of them having power restored by about 6 p.m., spokesman Jeff 
Brooks said.&nbsp;

“The combination of temperatures that
 were lower than forecast, customer usage that was higher than 
projected, some reduction in generating capacity on our system and 
limited options for additional capacity from outside of our service area
 due to extreme cold weather that impacted the eastern half of the 
United States created conditions that resulted in the need to conduct 
temporary outages,” Brooks said.&nbsp;

“We made this difficult decision to 
protect the electric grid and reliability on our system, and to avoid a 
potential longer or broader outage to customers.”

Another Duke Energy spokesman <a target="_blank" href="https://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2022/12/09/reliability-watchdog-warns-of-potential-electric-shortfalls-this-winter/#sthash.BtyAWOBF.dpbs">told States Newsroom</a>
 in November, in response to a report by NERC that its service territory
 might be vulnerable to electric outages in the event of extreme winter 
weather, that the company was “ready to meet the energy needs of our 
customers every day, regardless of weather.”&nbsp;

Brooks said the company is still 
examining generation performance during the storm and assembling 
information for regulators and couldn’t provide more details on what 
type of power plants failed to perform.&nbsp;

Duke Energy officials <a target="_blank" href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article270559742.html">are scheduled to brief</a> the N.C. Utilities Commission staff on the outages on Tuesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It was a combination of generation 
on our system that was either reduced or unavailable that evening, 
coupled with the inability to import additional electricity from out of 
state (which is something we can typically do to add to our native 
generation) that resulted in the need to initiate temporary outages,” 
Brooks said, noting that solar wasn’t a factor because it was dark when 
the outages were initiated. As of 2021, wind, solar and hydroelectric 
power <a target="_blank" href="https://news.duke-energy.com/releases/clean-generation-remains-duke-energys-focus-as-it-plans-to-triple-renewable-energy-this-decade">made up</a> just 7% of Duke’s company-owned output.

“We did believe that we had adequate 
generation going into Friday evening to meet the forecasted demand for 
electricity,” Brooks said. “That demand ultimately came in higher than 
we forecast.”

Faced with plunging temperatures, 
surging power demand and some power plants struggling to perform, PJM, 
the nation’s largest grid operator, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pjm.com/-/media/about-pjm/newsroom/2022-releases/20221223-news-release-w1-statement-call-for-conservation.ashx">issued a call </a>for customers to conserve energy a day before Christmas Eve. The call came as a surprise for electric industry experts.

In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_WRA_2022.pdf">winter reliability assessment</a>,
 NERC said that PJM — which coordinates the movement of electricity for 
65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, 
Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of 
Columbia — “expects no resource problems over the entire 2022-23 winter 
peak season because installed capacity is almost three times the reserve
 requirement.”

But a big portion of that excess 
electric generation capacity was struggling to produce power, said 
Michael Bryson, PJM’s senior vice president of system operations.

The Midcontinent Independent System 
Operator declared a maximum generation event on Dec. 23 “due to 
unplanned generation outages and higher-than-expected electricity 
consumption.”&nbsp;

MISO manages electricity across all 
or part of 15 U.S. states (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, 
Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North 
Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin) and the Canadian province of
 Manitoba, an area that includes 45 million people.

Declaring that event involves 
multiple steps, including directing its members to turn on all available
 emergency power generation, asking electric customers to reduce energy 
usage and purchasing any available emergency energy from neighbors. 
Rolling outages are a last resort, but that never happened.&nbsp;

A MISO spokesman told States Newsroom
 collection of data from the storm is underway and more information 
might be available soon. 

“We saw pretty significant generation
 outage data coming in, failing to start or tripping offline, far 
exceeding our ability to keep up,” Bryson said. In its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pjm.com/-/media/documents/ferc/orders/2022/20221224-pjm-202c-doe-order.ashx">request</a>
 to the Department of Energy for a temporary waiver of environmental 
rules for generation units, PJM said its peak load, or electric demand, 
exceeded 135,000 megawatts on Dec. 23 while about 45,000 megawatts of 
generation were out or underperforming. (<a target="_blank" href="http://learn.pjm.com/-/media/about-pjm/newsroom/fact-sheets/power-in-balance-fact-sheet.ashx#:~:text=PJM%20controls%20the%20operation%20of,in%20usage%20from%20demand%20resources.">PJM lists </a>about 185,000 megawatts of total generation capacity)

Bryson said in an interview that the 
performance problems affected coal, gas and nuclear plants. Wind, which 
makes up the majority of renewable energy in PJM’s generation mix 
(though it is <a target="_blank" href="https://pjm.com/">dwarfed</a>
 by coal, gas and nuclear) performed well during the storm, Bryson said.
 He had not had the chance to review how solar energy fared during the 
event.&nbsp;

“We’ll be working through those 
issues unit by unit over the next week,” he said, adding that power 
plants that failed to meet their performance criteria risk financial 
penalties.&nbsp;

In addition to participating in the 
NERC-FERC inquiry, “we’re going to kick off a pretty comprehensive 
lessons-learned session ourselves,” Bryson said, including examining the
 organization’s own extreme cold electric load forecasting. He said 
PJM’s forecast was low by about 7 to 10% on Dec. 23.

Creating a grid ‘bigger than the weather’

Peskoe, the director of the 
electricity law initiative at Harvard, and Goggin, the energy consulting
 firm executive, both said too often in the aftermath of major storms 
that stress the power grid, one form of generation or another comes 
under fire.&nbsp;

“Extreme weather like this does 
affect all generation sources,” Goggin said, though he said it appeared 
that renewables, which don’t need coal piles that can freeze or 
pipelines that can be curtailed by cold, largely fared well during the 
storm.

But the real task for the people in 
charge of the nation’s electric grid is to grow a transmission system 
that’s “bigger than the weather,” as Goggin put it.

“When you do that, it allows you to 
bring in power from areas that are less affected,” he said. “Having a 
large grid that allows you to move power around as events like this 
unfold provides a lot of value.”&nbsp;

Goggin said he monitored data from 
the regional transmission organizations affected by the storm, including
 the Southwest Power Pool and MISO (Midcontinent Independent System 
Operator), neither of which had to resort to rolling outages, and 
noticed that wind electric prices in those markets plunged to very low 
or even negative levels. That means there wasn’t enough transmission 
capacity to get the large amount of electricity the turbines were 
producing to where it was needed.

“That power would have been extremely
 valuable in locations farther east but it couldn’t get out of the 
wind-producing areas,” he said.&nbsp;

Simon Mahan, executive director of 
the Southern Renewable Energy Association, a trade group for large 
renewable energy and energy storage companies, said the storm showed how
 critical interconnection between regions is for reliability and that 
other parts of the southern electric grid are vulnerable to severe 
winter weather like the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/final-report-february-2021-freeze-underscores-winterization-recommendations">catastrophic grid collapse</a> Texas saw in 2021

“Being connected with our neighbors 
is exceptionally important,” he said. “If we weren’t connected with MISO
 and PJM, things would have been a disaster. … Winter Storm Elliott is 
kind of that storm that showed that the rest of the Southeast is 
vulnerable like Texas was.”

Mahan noted that the storm raised 
transparency issues as well, with real-time data on generation and load 
coming in from areas controlled by regional transmission organizations 
like PJM and MISO but not so much from areas controlled by the TVA or 
monopoly utilities like those owned by Duke in the Carolinas and 
Southern Company in Alabama and Georgia.

“It’s very easy to see where there 
are problems. But in the Southeast, because there’s so little 
transparency, it’s hard to see,” he said.&nbsp;

The storm came as FERC is weighing a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-issues-transmission-nopr-addressing-planning-cost-allocation">major proposed rule</a>
 on streamlining regional electric transmission planning and cost 
allocation as well as taking into account broader benefits. And it comes
 less than a month after a <a target="_blank" href="https://cms.ferc.gov/media/day-1-establishing-interregional-transfer-capability-transmission-planning-cost-allocation">FERC-led meeting</a>
 on potentially requiring a minimum amount of interregional electric 
transfer capability — electricity that can be moved between regional 
transmission systems —&nbsp; for public utility transmission providers. 
Supporters described it as an “insurance policy” in the event of grid 
crises like extreme weather.&nbsp;

“One thing that I hope is explored as
 people try to dissect what happened is what would the value have been 
of interregional transfer capability during this event,” Peskoe said.

FERC Commissioner Willie Phillips at 
the meeting said better transfer capability can improve reliability and 
resilience, lower costs for customers by allowing them to access cheaper
 electricity and accommodate more renewable power.&nbsp;

“Given the likelihood of future 
extreme weather events and related generation shortfalls, many 
stakeholders have been asking us to do something,” Philips said. “Both 
Winter Storm Uri and the 2014 polar vortex, these events have shown that
 greater interregional transfer capability has a significant reliability
 benefit.”&nbsp;

Not everyone was a fan of the idea 
though. Tricia Pridemore, chair of the Georgia Public Service 
Commission, which regulates utilities, said states like Georgia that are
 not part of regional transmission organizations, don’t need a new 
transfer requirement, citing the state’s utility planning process and 
cooperation with other southeastern utilities.&nbsp;

“Our bottom-up approach maintains 
reliability and does not put upward pressure on rates by constructing 
unnecessary or duplicative transmission assets,” she said. “Georgia is 
better for maintaining a safe, reliable affordable system all while not 
being told to do so from a top-down governance structure.”&nbsp;

According to the federal Energy Information Administration, Georgia is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=GA#series/31">one of the more</a> expensive states in the South in terms of average residential retail electric price and Pridemore’s commission just approved a <a target="_blank" href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2022/12/20/georgia-power-customers-will-foot-1-8b-rate-hike-tab-after-state-regulators-ok-three-year-plan/">big rate hike</a> for the state’s dominant utility, Georgia Power.&nbsp;

“The reality is during the storm and 
this past week after the storm, Southern Company and Georgia have really
 relied on imports from MISO and a significant amount of power from 
Canada that has been brought into MISO,” Mahan said. “It’s pretty 
incredible how Canada is helping keep the power on in places like 
Atlanta.” 

Experts: As storms strain electric grid, it’s time to fix transmission

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kevin-mccarthy">Kevin McCarthy</a>&nbsp;was elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early Saturday, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and floor tensions that boiled over after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority’s ability to govern.

“My father always told me, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” McCarthy told cheering fellow Republicans.

Eager to confront President Joe Biden and the Democrats, he promised subpoenas and investigations. “Now the hard work begins," the California Republican declared. He credited former President Donald Trump for standing with him and for making late calls “helping get those final votes.”

Republicans roared in celebration when his victory was announced, chanting “USA! USA!”

Finally elected, McCarthy took the oath of office, and the House was finally able to swear in newly elected lawmakers who had been waiting all week for the chamber to formally open and the 2023-24 session to begin.

After four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to become supporters, including the chairman of the chamber’s Freedom Caucus.

He fell one vote short on the 14th ballot, and the chamber became raucous, unruly.

McCarthy strode to the back of the chamber to confront Republican Matt Gaetz, sitting with Lauren Boebert and other holdouts. Fingers were pointed, words exchanged and violence apparently just averted.

At one point, Republican Mike Rogers of Alabama, shouting, approached Gaetz before another Republican, Richard Hudson, physically pulled him back.

Order restored, the Republicans fell in line to give McCarthy the post he had fought so hard to gain, House speaker, second in the line of succession to the presidency.

The few remaining Republican holdouts began voting present, dropping the tally he needed. It was the end of a bitter standoff that had shown the strengths and fragility of American democracy.

The tally was 216-212 with Democrats voting for leader Hakeem Jeffries, and six Republican holdouts to McCarthy simply voting present.

The night's stunning turn of events came after McCarthy agreed to many of the detractors’ demands — including the reinstatement of a longstanding House rule that would allow any single member to call a vote to oust him from office.

Even as McCarthy secured the votes he needs, he will emerge as a weakened speaker, having given away some powers and constantly under the threat of being booted by his detractors.

But he could also be emboldened as a survivor of one of the more brutal fights for the gavel in U.S. history. Not since the Civil War era has a speaker's vote dragged through so many rounds of voting.

The showdown that has stymied the new Congress came against the backdrop of the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which shook the country when a mob of Trump’s supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying the Republican’s 2020 election defeat to Biden.

At a Capitol event Friday, some lawmakers, all but one of them Democrats, observed a moment of silence and praised officers who helped protect Congress on that day. And at the White House, Biden handed out medals to officers and others who fought the attackers.

“America is a land of laws, not chaos,” he said.

At the afternoon speaker's vote, a number of Republicans tiring of the spectacle temporarily walked out when one of McCarthy's most ardent challengers, Gaetz, railed against the GOP leader.

Contours of a deal with conservative holdouts who had been blocking McCarthy's rise had emerged the night before, and took hold after four dismal days and 14 failed votes in an intraparty standoff&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-house-of-representatives-kentucky-kevin-mccarthy-e177c4405ef9b8a7b38641a15855764c">unseen in modern times</a>.

One significant former holdout — Republican Scott Perry, chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus, who had been a leader of Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 election — tweeted after his switched vote for McCarthy, “We're at a turning point.”

Another Republican holdout, Byron Donalds of Florida, who was repeatedly nominated as an alternative candidate for speaker, switched Friday too, voting for McCarthy.

Trump may have played a role in swaying some holdouts — calling into a meeting of Republican freshmen the night before, and calling other members ahead of voting. He had urged Republicans to wrap up their public dispute.

As Republican Mike Garcia nominated McCarthy on Friday, he also thanked the U.S. Capitol Police who were given a standing ovation for protecting lawmakers and the legislative seat of democracy on Jan. 6.

But in nominating the Democratic leader Jeffries, Democrat Jim Clyburn recalled the horror of that day and told his colleagues, “The eyes of the country are on us today.”

Electing a speaker is normally an easy, joyous task for a party that has just won majority control. But not this time: About 200 Republicans were stymied by 20 far-right colleagues who said McCarthy was not conservative enough.

The House adjourned Friday until late in the night, giving time for last-minute negotiations and allowing two absent Republican colleagues to return to Washington.

Newly elected Wesley Hunt of Texas arrived to vote for McCarthy — to applause, days after his wife had given birth — as did Ken Buck of Colorado.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673095339769.png" alt="After four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to become supporters, including the chairman of the chamber’s Freedom Caucus-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>After four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to become supporters, including the chairman of the chamber’s Freedom Caucus-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kevin-mccarthy">Kevin McCarthy</a>&nbsp;was elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early Saturday, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and floor tensions that boiled over after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority’s ability to govern.“My father always told me, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” McCarthy told cheering fellow Republicans.Eager to confront President Joe Biden and the Democrats, he promised subpoenas and investigations. “Now the hard work begins," the California Republican declared. He credited former President Donald Trump for standing with him and for making late calls “helping get those final votes.”Republicans roared in celebration when his victory was announced, chanting “USA! USA!”Finally elected, McCarthy took the oath of office, and the House was finally able to swear in newly elected lawmakers who had been waiting all week for the chamber to formally open and the 2023-24 session to begin.After four days of grueling ballots, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative holdouts to become supporters, including the chairman of the chamber’s Freedom Caucus.He fell one vote short on the 14th ballot, and the chamber became raucous, unruly.McCarthy strode to the back of the chamber to confront Republican Matt Gaetz, sitting with Lauren Boebert and other holdouts. Fingers were pointed, words exchanged and violence apparently just averted.At one point, Republican Mike Rogers of Alabama, shouting, approached Gaetz before another Republican, Richard Hudson, physically pulled him back.“Stay civil!” someone shouted.Order restored, the Republicans fell in line to give McCarthy the post he had fought so hard to gain, House speaker, second in the line of succession to the presidency.The few remaining Republican holdouts began voting present, dropping the tally he needed. It was the end of a bitter standoff that had shown the strengths and fragility of American democracy.The tally was 216-212 with Democrats voting for leader Hakeem Jeffries, and six Republican holdouts to McCarthy simply voting present.The night's stunning turn of events came after McCarthy agreed to many of the detractors’ demands — including the reinstatement of a longstanding House rule that would allow any single member to call a vote to oust him from office.Even as McCarthy secured the votes he needs, he will emerge as a weakened speaker, having given away some powers and constantly under the threat of being booted by his detractors.But he could also be emboldened as a survivor of one of the more brutal fights for the gavel in U.S. history. Not since the Civil War era has a speaker's vote dragged through so many rounds of voting.The showdown that has stymied the new Congress came against the backdrop of the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which shook the country when a mob of Trump’s supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying the Republican’s 2020 election defeat to Biden.At a Capitol event Friday, some lawmakers, all but one of them Democrats, observed a moment of silence and praised officers who helped protect Congress on that day. And at the White House, Biden handed out medals to officers and others who fought the attackers.“America is a land of laws, not chaos,” he said.At the afternoon speaker's vote, a number of Republicans tiring of the spectacle temporarily walked out when one of McCarthy's most ardent challengers, Gaetz, railed against the GOP leader.Contours of a deal with conservative holdouts who had been blocking McCarthy's rise had emerged the night before, and took hold after four dismal days and 14 failed votes in an intraparty standoff&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-house-of-representatives-kentucky-kevin-mccarthy-e177c4405ef9b8a7b38641a15855764c">unseen in modern times</a>.One significant former holdout — Republican Scott Perry, chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus, who had been a leader of Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 election — tweeted after his switched vote for McCarthy, “We're at a turning point.”Another Republican holdout, Byron Donalds of Florida, who was repeatedly nominated as an alternative candidate for speaker, switched Friday too, voting for McCarthy.Trump may have played a role in swaying some holdouts — calling into a meeting of Republican freshmen the night before, and calling other members ahead of voting. He had urged Republicans to wrap up their public dispute.As Republican Mike Garcia nominated McCarthy on Friday, he also thanked the U.S. Capitol Police who were given a standing ovation for protecting lawmakers and the legislative seat of democracy on Jan. 6.But in nominating the Democratic leader Jeffries, Democrat Jim Clyburn recalled the horror of that day and told his colleagues, “The eyes of the country are on us today.”Electing a speaker is normally an easy, joyous task for a party that has just won majority control. But not this time: About 200 Republicans were stymied by 20 far-right colleagues who said McCarthy was not conservative enough.The House adjourned Friday until late in the night, giving time for last-minute negotiations and allowing two absent Republican colleagues to return to Washington.Newly elected Wesley Hunt of Texas arrived to vote for McCarthy — to applause, days after his wife had given birth — as did Ken Buck of Colorado.The disorganized start to the new Congress pointed to difficulties ahead with Republicans now in control of the House, much the way that some past Republican speakers, including John Boehner, had trouble leading a rebellious right flank. The result: government shutdowns, standoffs and Boehner’s early retirement when conservatives threatened to oust him.The agreement McCarthy presented to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-mccarthy-hard-right-foes-5edc1d9468e606a3f1230e98702d9a23">the holdouts</a>&nbsp;from the Freedom Caucus and others centers around rules changes they have been seeking for months. Those changes would shrink the power of the speaker’s office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in drafting and passing legislation.At the core of the emerging deal was the reinstatement of a House rule that would allow a single lawmaker to make a motion to “vacate the chair,” essentially calling a vote to oust the speaker. McCarthy had resisted allowing a return to the longstanding rule that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi had done away with, because it had been held over the head of Boehner. But it appears McCarthy had no other choice.Other wins for the holdouts are more obscure and include provisions in the proposed deal to expand the number of seats available on the House Rules Committee; to mandate 72 hours for bills to be posted before votes; and to promise to try for a constitutional amendment that would impose federal limits on the number of terms a person could serve in the House and Senate.Before Friday's ballots, Democratic leader Jeffries of New York had won the most votes on every ballot but also remained short of a majority. McCarthy had run second, gaining no ground.The longest fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged on for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.