<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22SAM%20MEDNICK%20and%20JAMEY%20KEATEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By SAM MEDNICK and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press</a>

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Fleeing shelling, civilians on Saturday streamed out of the southern Ukrainian city whose recapture they had celebrated just weeks earlier as the country remembered a Stalin-era famine and sought to ensure that Russia's war in Ukraine doesn’t deprive others worldwide of its vital food exports.

A line of trucks, vans and cars, some towing trailers or ferrying out pets and other belongings, stretched a kilometer or more on the outskirts of the city of Kherson.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-11bd38a125fa8e6d34ccb1fc62df8e3e">Days of intensive shelling</a>&nbsp;by Russian forces prompted a bittersweet exodus: Many civilians&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-business-46c1061fc44458c903cf12fa442c57e1">were happy</a>&nbsp;that their city had been won back, but lamented that they couldn't stay.

“It is sad that we are leaving our home,” said Yevhen Yankov, as a van he was in inched forward. "Now we are free, but we have to leave, because there is shelling, and there are dead among the population.”

Poking her head out from the back, Svitlana Romanivna added: “We went through real hell. Our neighborhood was burning, it was a nightmare. Everything was in flames.”

Emilie Fourrey, emergency project coordinator for aid group Doctors Without Borders in Ukraine, said an evacuation of 400 patients of Kherson's psychiatric hospital, which is situated near both an electrical plant and the frontline, had begun on Thursday and was set to continue in the coming days.

Kherson was one of many cities in recent days to face a blistering onslaught of Russian artillery fire and drone attacks, with the shelling especially intense there. Elsewhere, the barrage largely targeted infrastructure, though civilian casualties were reported. Repair crews across the country were scrambling Saturday to restore heat, electricity and water services that were blasted into disrepair.

Russia has ratcheted up its attacks on critical infrastructure after suffering battlefield setbacks. A prominent Russian nationalist said Saturday the Russian military doesn't have enough doctors, in what was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-moscow-fa5db922708b22b212f546b2f84a7cfb">a rare public admission</a>&nbsp;of problems within the military.

In the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy oversaw a busy day of diplomacy, welcoming several European Union leaders for meetings and hosting an “International Summit on Food Security” to discuss food security and agricultural exports from the country.

The prime ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the president of Hungary were on hand, and many others participated by video.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine — despite its own financial straits — has allocated 900 million hryvna ($24 million) to purchase corn for countries including Yemen, Sudan, Kenya and Nigeria.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was working to get its grain on ships and to countries that need it.

“Our goal is ambitious and specific – to save at least 5 million people from hunger," Zelenskyy said.

The reminder about food supplies was timely: Ukrainians were marking the 90th anniversary of the start of the “Holodomor,” or Great Famine, which killed more than 3 million people over two years as the Soviet government under dictator Josef Stalin confiscated food and grain supplies and deported many Ukrainians.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the commemoration by drawing parallels with the impact of the war on Ukraine on world markets. Exports from Ukraine have resumed under a U.N.-brokered deal but have still been far short of pre-war levels, driving up global prices.

“Today, we stand united in stating that hunger must never again be used as a weapon,” Scholz said in a video message. “That is why we cannot tolerate what we are witnessing: The worst global food crisis in years with abhorrent consequences for millions of people – from Afghanistan to Madagascar, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa.”

He said Germany, with the U.N.'s World Food Program, will provide an additional 15 million euros for further grain shipments from Ukraine.

Scholz spokes as a cross-party group of lawmakers in Germany are seeking to pass a parliamentary resolution next week that would recognize the 1930s famine as “genocide.”

Last year Ukraine and Russia provided around 30% of the world’s exported wheat and barley, 20% of its corn, and over 50% of its sunflower oil, the U.N. has said.

In a post on the Telegram social network on Saturday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said more than 3,000 specialists for a local utility continued to work “around the clock” and had succeeded in restoring heat to more than more than 90% of residential buildings. While about one-quarter of Kyiv residents remained without electricity, he said water serviced had been returned to all in the city.

The scramble to restore power came as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo met Saturday with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

“This might be a difficult winter,” he said, alluding to Belgium's contributions of generators, and support for schools and hospitals in Ukraine, as well as military aid such as “fuel, machine guns, propelled artillery and so on.”

“And by standing here, we hope that we provide you hope and resilience in fighting through this difficult period.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22SAM%20MEDNICK%20and%20JAMEY%20KEATEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By SAM MEDNICK and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press</a>KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Fleeing shelling, civilians on Saturday streamed out of the southern Ukrainian city whose recapture they had celebrated just weeks earlier as the country remembered a Stalin-era famine and sought to ensure that Russia's war in Ukraine doesn’t deprive others worldwide of its vital food exports.A line of trucks, vans and cars, some towing trailers or ferrying out pets and other belongings, stretched a kilometer or more on the outskirts of the city of Kherson.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-11bd38a125fa8e6d34ccb1fc62df8e3e">Days of intensive shelling</a>&nbsp;by Russian forces prompted a bittersweet exodus: Many civilians&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-business-46c1061fc44458c903cf12fa442c57e1">were happy</a>&nbsp;that their city had been won back, but lamented that they couldn't stay.“It is sad that we are leaving our home,” said Yevhen Yankov, as a van he was in inched forward. "Now we are free, but we have to leave, because there is shelling, and there are dead among the population.”Poking her head out from the back, Svitlana Romanivna added: “We went through real hell. Our neighborhood was burning, it was a nightmare. Everything was in flames.”Emilie Fourrey, emergency project coordinator for aid group Doctors Without Borders in Ukraine, said an evacuation of 400 patients of Kherson's psychiatric hospital, which is situated near both an electrical plant and the frontline, had begun on Thursday and was set to continue in the coming days.Kherson was one of many cities in recent days to face a blistering onslaught of Russian artillery fire and drone attacks, with the shelling especially intense there. Elsewhere, the barrage largely targeted infrastructure, though civilian casualties were reported. Repair crews across the country were scrambling Saturday to restore heat, electricity and water services that were blasted into disrepair.Russia has ratcheted up its attacks on critical infrastructure after suffering battlefield setbacks. A prominent Russian nationalist said Saturday the Russian military doesn't have enough doctors, in what was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-moscow-fa5db922708b22b212f546b2f84a7cfb">a rare public admission</a>&nbsp;of problems within the military.In the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy oversaw a busy day of diplomacy, welcoming several European Union leaders for meetings and hosting an “International Summit on Food Security” to discuss food security and agricultural exports from the country.The prime ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the president of Hungary were on hand, and many others participated by video.Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine — despite its own financial straits — has allocated 900 million hryvna ($24 million) to purchase corn for countries including Yemen, Sudan, Kenya and Nigeria.Zelenskyy said Ukraine was working to get its grain on ships and to countries that need it.“Our goal is ambitious and specific – to save at least 5 million people from hunger," Zelenskyy said.The reminder about food supplies was timely: Ukrainians were marking the 90th anniversary of the start of the “Holodomor,” or Great Famine, which killed more than 3 million people over two years as the Soviet government under dictator Josef Stalin confiscated food and grain supplies and deported many Ukrainians.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the commemoration by drawing parallels with the impact of the war on Ukraine on world markets. Exports from Ukraine have resumed under a U.N.-brokered deal but have still been far short of pre-war levels, driving up global prices.“Today, we stand united in stating that hunger must never again be used as a weapon,” Scholz said in a video message. “That is why we cannot tolerate what we are witnessing: The worst global food crisis in years with abhorrent consequences for millions of people – from Afghanistan to Madagascar, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa.”He said Germany, with the U.N.'s World Food Program, will provide an additional 15 million euros for further grain shipments from Ukraine.Scholz spokes as a cross-party group of lawmakers in Germany are seeking to pass a parliamentary resolution next week that would recognize the 1930s famine as “genocide.”Last year Ukraine and Russia provided around 30% of the world’s exported wheat and barley, 20% of its corn, and over 50% of its sunflower oil, the U.N. has said.In a post on the Telegram social network on Saturday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said more than 3,000 specialists for a local utility continued to work “around the clock” and had succeeded in restoring heat to more than more than 90% of residential buildings. While about one-quarter of Kyiv residents remained without electricity, he said water serviced had been returned to all in the city.The scramble to restore power came as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo met Saturday with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.“This might be a difficult winter,” he said, alluding to Belgium's contributions of generators, and support for schools and hospitals in Ukraine, as well as military aid such as “fuel, machine guns, propelled artillery and so on.”“And by standing here, we hope that we provide you hope and resilience in fighting through this difficult period.”

Civilians escape Kherson after Russian strikes on freed city

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HUIZHONG%20WU%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press</a>

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party following local election losses on Saturday in which voters chose the opposition Nationalist party in several major races across the self-ruled island.

Concerns about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-technology-science-business-china-35b2b91bcf82de7f86e784388f0a0245">threats from rival China,</a>&nbsp;which claims Taiwan as its territory, took a backseat to more local issues in the elections.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-taiwan-europe-china-tsai-ing-wen-57bb77e6d3591a3848f12e4264c49e72">Tsai had spoken out many times</a>&nbsp;about “opposing China and defending Taiwan” in the course of campaigning for her party. But the party’s candidate Chen Shih-chung, who lost his battle for mayor of Taipei, only raised the issue of the Chinese Communist Party’s threat a few times before he quickly switched back to local issues as there was little interest.

Tsai offered her resignation on Saturday evening, a tradition after a major loss, in a short speech in which she also thanked supporters.

“I must shoulder all the responsibility,” she said. “Faced with a result like this, there are many areas that we must deeply review.”

While international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the elections to the long-term existential threat that is Taiwan’s neighbor, many local experts do not think China had a large role to play this time around.

“The international community has raised the stakes too high. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.

During campaigning, there were few mentions of the large-scale military exercises targeting Taiwan that China held in August in reaction to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.

“So I think if you can’t even raise this issue in Taipei, you don’t even need to consider it in cities in the south,” Wang said.

Candidates from the Nationalist party won the mayoral seat in Taipei, Taiwan's capital, as well as in Taoyuan, Taichung and New Taipei city.

Taiwanese were picking mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and in nine cities. There was also a referendum to lower the voting age from 20 to 18, which was defeated, according to local media.

Chiang Wan-an, the new Taipei mayor, declared victory Saturday night in a large rally. “I will let the world see Taipei's greatness,” he said.

Not all votes had been formally counted by the time of his speech, but Chiang and the other candidates' numerical lead allowed them to declare victory.

Kao Hung-an, a candidate in the relatively new Taiwan People's Party, won the mayoral seat in Hsinchu, home to many of Taiwan's semi-conductor companies.

Campaigns had resolutely focused on the local: air pollution in the central city of Taichung, traffic snarls in Taipei’s tech hub Nangang, and the island’s COVID-19 vaccine purchasing strategies, which had left the island in short supply during an outbreak last year.

The defeat for the ruling DPP may be partly due to how it handled the pandemic.

“The public has some dissatisfaction with the DPP on this, even though Taiwan has done well relatively speaking in pandemic prevention,” said Weihao Huang, a political science professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.

At an elementary school in New Taipei City, the city that surrounds Taipei, voters young and old came early despite the rain.

Yu Mei-zhu, 60, said she came to cast her ballot for the incumbent Mayor Hou You-yi. “I think he has done well, so I want to continue to support him. I believe in him, and that he can improve our environment in New Taipei City and our transportation infrastructure."

Tsai came out early Saturday morning to cast her ballot, catching many voters by surprise as her security and entourage swept through the school.

“If the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge,” said You Ying-lung, chair at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation that regularly conducts public surveys on political issues.

The election results will in some ways also reflect the public's attitude toward the ruling party's performance in the last two years, You said.

Some felt apathetic to the local race. “It feels as if everyone is almost the same, from the policy standpoint,” said 26-year-old Sean Tai, an employee at a hardware store.

Tai declined to say who he voted for, but wants someone who will raise Taipei's profile and bring better economic prospects while keeping the status quo with China. “We don’t want to be completely sealed off. I really hope that Taiwan can be seen internationally," he said.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HUIZHONG%20WU%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press</a>TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party following local election losses on Saturday in which voters chose the opposition Nationalist party in several major races across the self-ruled island.Concerns about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-technology-science-business-china-35b2b91bcf82de7f86e784388f0a0245">threats from rival China,</a>&nbsp;which claims Taiwan as its territory, took a backseat to more local issues in the elections.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-taiwan-europe-china-tsai-ing-wen-57bb77e6d3591a3848f12e4264c49e72">Tsai had spoken out many times</a>&nbsp;about “opposing China and defending Taiwan” in the course of campaigning for her party. But the party’s candidate Chen Shih-chung, who lost his battle for mayor of Taipei, only raised the issue of the Chinese Communist Party’s threat a few times before he quickly switched back to local issues as there was little interest.Tsai offered her resignation on Saturday evening, a tradition after a major loss, in a short speech in which she also thanked supporters.“I must shoulder all the responsibility,” she said. “Faced with a result like this, there are many areas that we must deeply review.”While international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the elections to the long-term existential threat that is Taiwan’s neighbor, many local experts do not think China had a large role to play this time around.“The international community has raised the stakes too high. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.During campaigning, there were few mentions of the large-scale military exercises targeting Taiwan that China held in August in reaction to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.“So I think if you can’t even raise this issue in Taipei, you don’t even need to consider it in cities in the south,” Wang said.Candidates from the Nationalist party won the mayoral seat in Taipei, Taiwan's capital, as well as in Taoyuan, Taichung and New Taipei city.Taiwanese were picking mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and in nine cities. There was also a referendum to lower the voting age from 20 to 18, which was defeated, according to local media.Chiang Wan-an, the new Taipei mayor, declared victory Saturday night in a large rally. “I will let the world see Taipei's greatness,” he said.Not all votes had been formally counted by the time of his speech, but Chiang and the other candidates' numerical lead allowed them to declare victory.Kao Hung-an, a candidate in the relatively new Taiwan People's Party, won the mayoral seat in Hsinchu, home to many of Taiwan's semi-conductor companies.Campaigns had resolutely focused on the local: air pollution in the central city of Taichung, traffic snarls in Taipei’s tech hub Nangang, and the island’s COVID-19 vaccine purchasing strategies, which had left the island in short supply during an outbreak last year.The defeat for the ruling DPP may be partly due to how it handled the pandemic.“The public has some dissatisfaction with the DPP on this, even though Taiwan has done well relatively speaking in pandemic prevention,” said Weihao Huang, a political science professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.At an elementary school in New Taipei City, the city that surrounds Taipei, voters young and old came early despite the rain.Yu Mei-zhu, 60, said she came to cast her ballot for the incumbent Mayor Hou You-yi. “I think he has done well, so I want to continue to support him. I believe in him, and that he can improve our environment in New Taipei City and our transportation infrastructure."Tsai came out early Saturday morning to cast her ballot, catching many voters by surprise as her security and entourage swept through the school.“If the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge,” said You Ying-lung, chair at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation that regularly conducts public surveys on political issues.The election results will in some ways also reflect the public's attitude toward the ruling party's performance in the last two years, You said.Some felt apathetic to the local race. “It feels as if everyone is almost the same, from the policy standpoint,” said 26-year-old Sean Tai, an employee at a hardware store.Tai declined to say who he voted for, but wants someone who will raise Taipei's profile and bring better economic prospects while keeping the status quo with China. “We don’t want to be completely sealed off. I really hope that Taiwan can be seen internationally," he said.

Taiwan president resigns as party leader after election loss

WASHINGTON (AP) — State-level law enforcement units created after the
 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into 
scattered complaints more than two weeks after the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterms</a> but have provided no indication of systemic problems.

That's
 just what election experts had expected and led critics to suggest that
 the new units were more about politics than rooting out widespread 
abuses. Most election-related fraud cases already are investigated and 
prosecuted at the local level.

Florida, Georgia and Virginia 
created special state-level units after the 2020 election, all pushed by
 Republican governors, attorneys general or legislatures.

“I am 
not aware of any significant detection of fraud on Election Day, but 
that’s not surprising,” said Paul Smith, senior vice president of the 
Campaign Legal Center. “The whole concept of voter impersonation fraud 
is such a horribly exaggerated problem. It doesn’t change the outcome of
 the election, it's a felony, you risk getting put in jail and you have a
 high possibility of getting caught. It's a rare phenomena.”

The absence of widespread fraud is important because <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">the lies</a> surrounding the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 presidential election</a>
 spread by former President Donald Trump and his allies have penetrated 
deeply into the Republican Party and eroded trust in elections. In the 
run-up to this year's elections, 45% of Republicans had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-presidential-election-2020-democracy-33823de7f22a601a192fc82eeb88e630">little to no confidence</a> that votes would be counted accurately.

An Associated Press investigation found there was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voter-fraud-election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-7fcb6f134e528fee8237c7601db3328f">no widespread fraud</a> in Georgia or the five other <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-arizona-donald-trump-voter-registration-tucson-c64bba90b8c074bf8bdfd2c751b6b0f2">battleground states</a> where Trump disputed his 2020 loss, and so far there is no indication of that in this year's elections. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-nevada-michigan-election-recounts-a2df6e14df54c99d6398985ebf465692">Certification of the results</a> is going smoothly in most states, with few complaints.

In
 Georgia, where Trump tried to pressure state officials to “find” enough
 votes to overturn his loss, a new law gives the state’s top law 
enforcement agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, authority to 
initiate investigations of alleged election fraud without a request from
 election officials. The alleged violation would have to be significant 
enough to change or create doubt about the outcome of an election.

GBI
 spokesperson Nelly Miles said the agency has not initiated any 
investigations under the statute. The agency is assisting the secretary 
of state’s office in an investigation of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-technology-lawsuits-donald-trump-voting-6a1324cc6cf45c95ca086a5c81617b15">a breach of voting equipment in Coffee County</a> in 2021, but that is its only recent election fraud investigation, she said in an email.

That
 breach, which came to light earlier this year, involved local officials
 in a county that voted for Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020
 and some high-profile supporters of the former president.

State 
Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat who opposed the additional authority for 
the bureau, said the lack of investigations validates the criticism that
 the law was unnecessary. But she said just the prospect of a GBI 
investigation could intimidate people who want to serve as poll workers 
or take on some other role in the voting process.

“In this 
situation, there was no actual problem to be solved,” Clark said. “This 
was a solution looking for a problem, and that’s never the way that we 
should legislate.”

Florida has been the most visible state, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-crime-florida-5fad57fac85e0944b6e8eeb423b195b7">creating its Office of Election Crimes and Security</a> amid much fanfare this year and keeping <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-crime-police-florida-voting-6faba6b361ef699eb3f90988a849d33c">a pledge that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made</a> in 2021 to combat unspecified election fraud.

The
 office is under the Florida Department of State. It reviews allegations
 and then tasks state law enforcement with pursuing violations.

DeSantis this summer announced the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-rights-florida-presidential-bfbf3d7d4f5dea4fa2a11589e4235c71">election unit had arrested 20</a>
 people for illegally voting in the 2020 election, when the state had 
14.4 million registered voters. That was the first major election since a
 state constitutional amendment restored voting rights for felons, 
except for those convicted of murder or felony sex crimes or those who 
still owe fines, fees or restitution.

Court records show the 20 
people were able to register to vote despite prior felony convictions, 
apparently leading them to believe they could legally cast ballots. At 
least part of the confusion stems from language in the voter 
registration forms that requires applicants to swear they are not a 
felon — or if they are, that they have had their rights restored. The 
forms do not inquire specifically about past convictions for murder and 
felony sexual assault.

One of the people charged, 56-year-old 
Robert Lee Wood, had his home surrounded early one morning by law 
enforcement officers who banged on his door and arrested him. He spent 
two days in jail. Wood’s lawyer, Larry Davis, said his client did not 
think he was breaking the law because he was able to register to vote 
without issue. Davis called the law enforcement reaction “over the top” 
in this case.

Wood’s case was dismissed by a Miami judge in late 
October on jurisdictional grounds, because it was brought by the Office 
of the Statewide Prosecutor rather than local prosecutors in Miami. The 
state is appealing the ruling.

Andrea Mercado, executive director 
of Florida Rising, an independent political activist organization 
focused on economic and racial justice in the state, said the 
disproportionate targeting of such would-be voters was sending a 
“chilling message to all returning citizens who want to register to 
vote.” She said her group found that many of them were confused about 
the requirements.

“You have to go to 67 counties' websites and 
find their individual county processes to see if you have a fine or 
fee,” she said. “It’s a labyrinthian ordeal.”

Weeks before the 
Nov. 8 election, the Office of Election Crimes and Security began 
notifying Florida counties of hundreds of registered voters who 
potentially were ineligible to vote because of prior convictions. In 
letters to the counties, state officials asked that election officials 
verify the information and then take action to prevent ineligible voters
 from casting ballots.

“We’ve heard stories about voters who are 
eligible to vote but have a criminal conviction in their past, and they 
are now scared to register and vote," said Michael Pernick, a voting 
rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He called it “deeply 
concerning.”

A spokesman for the new office did not provide 
information related to any other actions it might have taken or 
investigations it might have underway related to this year’s primary and
 general elections.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares 
announced he was forming his own Election Integrity Unit in September, 
saying it would “work to help restore confidence in our democratic 
process in the Commonwealth.”

The formation of the unit came in a state where Republicans <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-2021-virginia-2bbad4e99c1a9bd4b5b943551b0ba303">swept the three statewide offices</a> in 2021 elections, including Miyares' defeat of a Democratic incumbent.

His
 spokeswoman, Victoria LaCivita, said in a written response to questions
 from The Associated Press that the office had received complaints 
connected to this month's elections, but she could not comment on 
whether any investigations had resulted.

In addition, “the EIU 
successfully got a demurrer and a motion to dismiss” an attempt to force
 the state to abandon its use of electronic voting machines to count 
ballots and institute a statewide hand count.

Miyares' office said
 he was not available for an interview, but in a letter to the editor in
 The Washington Post in October he stated there was no widespread fraud 
in Virginia or anywhere else during the 2020 election. He said his 
office already had jurisdiction in election-related issues but that he 
was restructuring it into a unit to work more cooperatively with the 
election community to allay any doubts about the fairness of elections.

Smith,
 of the Campaign Legal Center, said there are real issues related to 
election security, including protecting voters, poll workers and 
elections staff, and securing voting equipment. But he said Republican 
steps to boost what they often refer to as “election integrity” to 
combat voter fraud often are about something else.

“It’s a myth that’s created so they can justify making it harder for people to vote,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — State-level law enforcement units created after the
 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into 
scattered complaints more than two weeks after the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterms</a> but have provided no indication of systemic problems.That's
 just what election experts had expected and led critics to suggest that
 the new units were more about politics than rooting out widespread 
abuses. Most election-related fraud cases already are investigated and 
prosecuted at the local level.Florida, Georgia and Virginia 
created special state-level units after the 2020 election, all pushed by
 Republican governors, attorneys general or legislatures.“I am 
not aware of any significant detection of fraud on Election Day, but 
that’s not surprising,” said Paul Smith, senior vice president of the 
Campaign Legal Center. “The whole concept of voter impersonation fraud 
is such a horribly exaggerated problem. It doesn’t change the outcome of
 the election, it's a felony, you risk getting put in jail and you have a
 high possibility of getting caught. It's a rare phenomena.”The absence of widespread fraud is important because <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">the lies</a> surrounding the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 presidential election</a>
 spread by former President Donald Trump and his allies have penetrated 
deeply into the Republican Party and eroded trust in elections. In the 
run-up to this year's elections, 45% of Republicans had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-presidential-election-2020-democracy-33823de7f22a601a192fc82eeb88e630">little to no confidence</a> that votes would be counted accurately.An Associated Press investigation found there was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voter-fraud-election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-7fcb6f134e528fee8237c7601db3328f">no widespread fraud</a> in Georgia or the five other <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-arizona-donald-trump-voter-registration-tucson-c64bba90b8c074bf8bdfd2c751b6b0f2">battleground states</a> where Trump disputed his 2020 loss, and so far there is no indication of that in this year's elections. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-nevada-michigan-election-recounts-a2df6e14df54c99d6398985ebf465692">Certification of the results</a> is going smoothly in most states, with few complaints.In
 Georgia, where Trump tried to pressure state officials to “find” enough
 votes to overturn his loss, a new law gives the state’s top law 
enforcement agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, authority to 
initiate investigations of alleged election fraud without a request from
 election officials. The alleged violation would have to be significant 
enough to change or create doubt about the outcome of an election.GBI
 spokesperson Nelly Miles said the agency has not initiated any 
investigations under the statute. The agency is assisting the secretary 
of state’s office in an investigation of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-technology-lawsuits-donald-trump-voting-6a1324cc6cf45c95ca086a5c81617b15">a breach of voting equipment in Coffee County</a> in 2021, but that is its only recent election fraud investigation, she said in an email.That
 breach, which came to light earlier this year, involved local officials
 in a county that voted for Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020
 and some high-profile supporters of the former president.State 
Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat who opposed the additional authority for 
the bureau, said the lack of investigations validates the criticism that
 the law was unnecessary. But she said just the prospect of a GBI 
investigation could intimidate people who want to serve as poll workers 
or take on some other role in the voting process.“In this 
situation, there was no actual problem to be solved,” Clark said. “This 
was a solution looking for a problem, and that’s never the way that we 
should legislate.”Florida has been the most visible state, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-crime-florida-5fad57fac85e0944b6e8eeb423b195b7">creating its Office of Election Crimes and Security</a> amid much fanfare this year and keeping <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-crime-police-florida-voting-6faba6b361ef699eb3f90988a849d33c">a pledge that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made</a> in 2021 to combat unspecified election fraud.The
 office is under the Florida Department of State. It reviews allegations
 and then tasks state law enforcement with pursuing violations.DeSantis this summer announced the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-rights-florida-presidential-bfbf3d7d4f5dea4fa2a11589e4235c71">election unit had arrested 20</a>
 people for illegally voting in the 2020 election, when the state had 
14.4 million registered voters. That was the first major election since a
 state constitutional amendment restored voting rights for felons, 
except for those convicted of murder or felony sex crimes or those who 
still owe fines, fees or restitution.Court records show the 20 
people were able to register to vote despite prior felony convictions, 
apparently leading them to believe they could legally cast ballots. At 
least part of the confusion stems from language in the voter 
registration forms that requires applicants to swear they are not a 
felon — or if they are, that they have had their rights restored. The 
forms do not inquire specifically about past convictions for murder and 
felony sexual assault.One of the people charged, 56-year-old 
Robert Lee Wood, had his home surrounded early one morning by law 
enforcement officers who banged on his door and arrested him. He spent 
two days in jail. Wood’s lawyer, Larry Davis, said his client did not 
think he was breaking the law because he was able to register to vote 
without issue. Davis called the law enforcement reaction “over the top” 
in this case.Wood’s case was dismissed by a Miami judge in late 
October on jurisdictional grounds, because it was brought by the Office 
of the Statewide Prosecutor rather than local prosecutors in Miami. The 
state is appealing the ruling.Andrea Mercado, executive director 
of Florida Rising, an independent political activist organization 
focused on economic and racial justice in the state, said the 
disproportionate targeting of such would-be voters was sending a 
“chilling message to all returning citizens who want to register to 
vote.” She said her group found that many of them were confused about 
the requirements.“You have to go to 67 counties' websites and 
find their individual county processes to see if you have a fine or 
fee,” she said. “It’s a labyrinthian ordeal.”Weeks before the 
Nov. 8 election, the Office of Election Crimes and Security began 
notifying Florida counties of hundreds of registered voters who 
potentially were ineligible to vote because of prior convictions. In 
letters to the counties, state officials asked that election officials 
verify the information and then take action to prevent ineligible voters
 from casting ballots.“We’ve heard stories about voters who are 
eligible to vote but have a criminal conviction in their past, and they 
are now scared to register and vote," said Michael Pernick, a voting 
rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He called it “deeply 
concerning.”A spokesman for the new office did not provide 
information related to any other actions it might have taken or 
investigations it might have underway related to this year’s primary and
 general elections.Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares 
announced he was forming his own Election Integrity Unit in September, 
saying it would “work to help restore confidence in our democratic 
process in the Commonwealth.”The formation of the unit came in a state where Republicans <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-2021-virginia-2bbad4e99c1a9bd4b5b943551b0ba303">swept the three statewide offices</a> in 2021 elections, including Miyares' defeat of a Democratic incumbent.His
 spokeswoman, Victoria LaCivita, said in a written response to questions
 from The Associated Press that the office had received complaints 
connected to this month's elections, but she could not comment on 
whether any investigations had resulted.In addition, “the EIU 
successfully got a demurrer and a motion to dismiss” an attempt to force
 the state to abandon its use of electronic voting machines to count 
ballots and institute a statewide hand count.Miyares' office said
 he was not available for an interview, but in a letter to the editor in
 The Washington Post in October he stated there was no widespread fraud 
in Virginia or anywhere else during the 2020 election. He said his 
office already had jurisdiction in election-related issues but that he 
was restructuring it into a unit to work more cooperatively with the 
election community to allay any doubts about the fairness of elections.Smith,
 of the Campaign Legal Center, said there are real issues related to 
election security, including protecting voters, poll workers and 
elections staff, and securing voting equipment. But he said Republican 
steps to boost what they often refer to as “election integrity” to 
combat voter fraud often are about something else.“It’s a myth that’s created so they can justify making it harder for people to vote,” he said.

New state voter fraud units finding few cases from midterms

By BRENT MARTIN St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A disruption in the supply chain has already had negative
ripple effects through the economy.

A possible rail strike looms after another railroad union
rejected an agreement brokered by the Biden administration.

Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves, the ranking
Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says there
is a very good chance Congress will have to intervene to prevent a rail strike
that could cripple the economy.

“It does worry me with Christmas coming on and what we’re
seeing,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “We are still under Speaker Pelosi,
her leadership, up until January 3rd and she’s going to have to make
a decision.”

The possibility of a rail strike grew earlier this week when
one of the biggest rail unions rejected the compromise, joining three other
unions that contend rail freight companies haven’t agreed to ease demanding
schedules and offer paid sick time.

Unions could call for a strike as early as December 9th.

Congress has stepped in before. A strike in 1992 lasted all of
two days before Congress imposed a contract. A 1926 law governing rail
negotiations makes it very difficult for rail workers to go on strike.

Railroads
haul about 40% of the nation's freight each year. Railroads estimate a strike
would cost the national economy $2 billion a day. Trucking would not be able to
pick up the slack if railroads shut down.

Graves says the timing couldn’t be much worse with the
Christmas shopping season underway. Graves says Congress might be forced to
intervene.

“It would be nice if they could come to an agreement, but if
they won’t, then Congress needs to intervene, because it could cripple the
country,” Graves says.

Also, a
freight rail shutdown would nearly bring passenger rail to a halt. Around half
of all commuter trains run over tracks owned by freight railroads. Nearly all
long-distance Amtrak routes run over freight tracks.

Nationally, retailers appear set for this Christmas, but that
doesn’t mean they don’t have concerns about a possible rail strike.

“We
don’t see, you know, canceling Christmas and that kind of narrative,” Jess
Dankert, the vice president for supply chain at the Retail Industry Leaders
Association, Dankert said. “But I think we will see the generalized disruption
of really anything that moves by rail.”

David
Garfield, a managing director with the consulting firm AlixPartners, said a
rail strike could still impact holiday items shipped to stores later in
December, and would definitely hamper stocking of next season’s goods.

Retailers
are also concerned about online orders. Shippers like FedEx and UPS use rail
cars that hold roughly 2,000 packages in each car.

Associated
Press Writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa, and Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit
contributed to this report.

By BRENT MARTIN St. Joseph PostST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A disruption in the supply chain has already had negative
ripple effects through the economy.It could get worse.A possible rail strike looms after another railroad union
rejected an agreement brokered by the Biden administration.Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves, the ranking
Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says there
is a very good chance Congress will have to intervene to prevent a rail strike
that could cripple the economy.“It does worry me with Christmas coming on and what we’re
seeing,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “We are still under Speaker Pelosi,
her leadership, up until January 3rd and she’s going to have to make
a decision.”The possibility of a rail strike grew earlier this week when
one of the biggest rail unions rejected the compromise, joining three other
unions that contend rail freight companies haven’t agreed to ease demanding
schedules and offer paid sick time.Unions could call for a strike as early as December 9th.Congress has stepped in before. A strike in 1992 lasted all of
two days before Congress imposed a contract. A 1926 law governing rail
negotiations makes it very difficult for rail workers to go on strike.Railroads
haul about 40% of the nation's freight each year. Railroads estimate a strike
would cost the national economy $2 billion a day. Trucking would not be able to
pick up the slack if railroads shut down.Graves says the timing couldn’t be much worse with the
Christmas shopping season underway. Graves says Congress might be forced to
intervene.“It would be nice if they could come to an agreement, but if
they won’t, then Congress needs to intervene, because it could cripple the
country,” Graves says.Also, a
freight rail shutdown would nearly bring passenger rail to a halt. Around half
of all commuter trains run over tracks owned by freight railroads. Nearly all
long-distance Amtrak routes run over freight tracks.Nationally, retailers appear set for this Christmas, but that
doesn’t mean they don’t have concerns about a possible rail strike.“We
don’t see, you know, canceling Christmas and that kind of narrative,” Jess
Dankert, the vice president for supply chain at the Retail Industry Leaders
Association, Dankert said. “But I think we will see the generalized disruption
of really anything that moves by rail.”David
Garfield, a managing director with the consulting firm AlixPartners, said a
rail strike could still impact holiday items shipped to stores later in
December, and would definitely hamper stocking of next season’s goods.Retailers
are also concerned about online orders. Shippers like FedEx and UPS use rail
cars that hold roughly 2,000 packages in each car.Associated
Press Writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa, and Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit
contributed to this report.

Congressman: Congress might have to intervene to prevent rail strike

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20KENNEDY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy winning singer-actress Irene Cara, who starred and sang the title cut from the 1980 hit movie “Fame” and then belted out the era-defining hit “Flashdance ... What a Feeling” from 1983's “Flashdance,” has died. She was 63.

Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was “currently unknown.” Moose also confirmed the death to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday. Cara died at her home in Florida. The exact day of her death was not disclosed.

“Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose wrote. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”

During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Breakdance,” “Out Here On My Own,” “Fame” and “Flashdance ... What A Feeling,” which spent six weeks at No. 1. She was behind some of the most joyful, high-energy pop anthems of the early ’80s.

Tributes poured in on Saturday on social media, including from Deborah Cox, who called Cara an inspiration, and Holly Robinson Peete, who recalled seeing Cara perform: "The insane combination of talent and beauty was overwhelming to me. This hurts my heart so much.”

She first came to prominence among the young actors playing performing arts high schoolers in Alan Parker's “Fame,” with co-stars Debbie Allen, Paul McCrane and Anne Mear. Cara played Coco Hernandez, a striving dancer who endures all manner of deprivations, including a creepy nude photo shoot.

“How bright our spirits go shooting out into space, depends on how much we contributed to the earthly brilliance of this world. And I mean to be a major contributor!” she says in the movie.

Cara sang on the soaring title song with the chorus — “Remember my name/I’m gonna live forever/I’m gonna learn how to fly/I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry” — which would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for best original song. She also sang on “Out Here on My Own,” "Hot Lunch Jam" and “I Sing the Body Electric.”

Allen took to Twitter Saturday to mourn, posting pictures of them together and calling Cara a “a gifted and beautiful genius. Her talent and her music will live forever! Forever remember her name!”

Three years later, she and the songwriting team of “Flashdance” — music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Cara — was accepting the Oscar for best original song for “Flashdance ... What a Feeling.”

The movie starred Jennifer Beals as a steel-town girl who dances in a bar at night and hopes to attend a prestigious dance conservatory. It included the hit song “Maniac,” featuring Beals’ character leaping, spinning, stomping her feet and the slow-burning theme song.

“There aren’t enough words to express my love and my gratitude,” Cara told the Oscar crowd in her thanks. “And last but not least, a very special gentlemen who I guess started it all for me many years ago. To Alan Parker, wherever you may be tonight, I thank him.”

The New York-born Cara began her career on Broadway, with small parts in short-lived shows, although a musical called “The Me Nobody Knows” ran over 300 performances. She toured in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar" as Mary Magdalene in the mid-1990s and a tour of the musical ”Flashdance" toured 2012-14 with her songs.

She also created the all-female band Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel and put out a double CD with the single “How Can I Make You Luv Me.” Her movie credits include ”Sparkle" and “D.C. Cab.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20KENNEDY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy winning singer-actress Irene Cara, who starred and sang the title cut from the 1980 hit movie “Fame” and then belted out the era-defining hit “Flashdance ... What a Feeling” from 1983's “Flashdance,” has died. She was 63.Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was “currently unknown.” Moose also confirmed the death to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday. Cara died at her home in Florida. The exact day of her death was not disclosed.“Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose wrote. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Breakdance,” “Out Here On My Own,” “Fame” and “Flashdance ... What A Feeling,” which spent six weeks at No. 1. She was behind some of the most joyful, high-energy pop anthems of the early ’80s.Tributes poured in on Saturday on social media, including from Deborah Cox, who called Cara an inspiration, and Holly Robinson Peete, who recalled seeing Cara perform: "The insane combination of talent and beauty was overwhelming to me. This hurts my heart so much.”She first came to prominence among the young actors playing performing arts high schoolers in Alan Parker's “Fame,” with co-stars Debbie Allen, Paul McCrane and Anne Mear. Cara played Coco Hernandez, a striving dancer who endures all manner of deprivations, including a creepy nude photo shoot.“How bright our spirits go shooting out into space, depends on how much we contributed to the earthly brilliance of this world. And I mean to be a major contributor!” she says in the movie.Cara sang on the soaring title song with the chorus — “Remember my name/I’m gonna live forever/I’m gonna learn how to fly/I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry” — which would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for best original song. She also sang on “Out Here on My Own,” "Hot Lunch Jam" and “I Sing the Body Electric.”Allen took to Twitter Saturday to mourn, posting pictures of them together and calling Cara a “a gifted and beautiful genius. Her talent and her music will live forever! Forever remember her name!”Three years later, she and the songwriting team of “Flashdance” — music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Cara — was accepting the Oscar for best original song for “Flashdance ... What a Feeling.”The movie starred Jennifer Beals as a steel-town girl who dances in a bar at night and hopes to attend a prestigious dance conservatory. It included the hit song “Maniac,” featuring Beals’ character leaping, spinning, stomping her feet and the slow-burning theme song.“There aren’t enough words to express my love and my gratitude,” Cara told the Oscar crowd in her thanks. “And last but not least, a very special gentlemen who I guess started it all for me many years ago. To Alan Parker, wherever you may be tonight, I thank him.”The New York-born Cara began her career on Broadway, with small parts in short-lived shows, although a musical called “The Me Nobody Knows” ran over 300 performances. She toured in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar" as Mary Magdalene in the mid-1990s and a tour of the musical ”Flashdance" toured 2012-14 with her songs.She also created the all-female band Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel and put out a double CD with the single “How Can I Make You Luv Me.” Her movie credits include ”Sparkle" and “D.C. Cab.”

'Fame' and 'Flashdance' singer-actor Irene Cara dies at 63

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday she is pardoning an estimated 45,000 people convicted of simple possession of marijuana, a month after President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-government-and-politics-2d5e3d9e2cfbbbe3ee114536738894a8">did the same</a>&nbsp;under federal law.

“No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana — a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” said Brown, who is also forgiving more than $14 million in unpaid fines and fees.

Biden has been calling on governors to issue pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. Biden's pardon applies to those convicted under federal law and thousands convicted in the District of Columbia.

In recent months, the governors of Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington state have taken steps to grant pardons to those with low-level marijuana convictions, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

Several states, including California, Illinois, and New Jersey automatically review criminal cannabis convictions and expunge past records. In other jurisdictions, eligible persons must petition the courts for a review.

As a result of these laws, an estimated 2 million Americans had their cannabis-related convictions set aside in recent years, said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML.

“Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization,” Armentano said.

In 2019, Oregon lawmakers passed legislation establishing procedures for people found guilty of low-level marijuana possession offenses to file a motion with the court to have the convictions set aside. Yet, to date, relatively few Oregonians have done so.

In Oregon, the pardon will remove 47,144 convictions for possession of a small amount of marijuana from individual records. Brown noted that removing these criminal records eliminates barriers for employment, housing and educational opportunities.

The pardon applies to convictions for possession of 1 ounce (28 grams) or less of marijuana when the person was 21 or older, where it was the only charge where there were no victims.

“Oregonians should never face housing insecurity, employment barriers, and educational obstacles as a result of doing something that is now completely legal, and has been for years," Brown said. She said people of color have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.

The Oregon Judicial Department will ensure that all court records associated with these pardoned offenses are sealed, Brown said.

Oregonians passed a ballot measure legalizing recreational use of marijuana in 2014, becoming one of the first states to do so. In November,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-legalization-recreational-maryland-constitutions-613d0bc692afd6e3ac8625dd4e33692a">Maryland</a>&nbsp;and Missouri voters also legalized cannabis but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-legalization-2022-midterm-elections-c693f5e23e0faf2f39168df6a2f80ab2">voters in Arkansas, South Dakota and North Dakota rejected it.</a>

Maryland's initiative came with a mechanism to erase convictions. By July 1, 2024, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services must expunge all cases in which the possession of cannabis was the only charge in the case, and the charge was issued before July 1, 2023.

Maryland and Missouri joined 19 other states and the District of Columbia in making recreational marijuana legal.

By Associated PressOregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday she is pardoning an estimated 45,000 people convicted of simple possession of marijuana, a month after President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-government-and-politics-2d5e3d9e2cfbbbe3ee114536738894a8">did the same</a>&nbsp;under federal law.“No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana — a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” said Brown, who is also forgiving more than $14 million in unpaid fines and fees.Biden has been calling on governors to issue pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. Biden's pardon applies to those convicted under federal law and thousands convicted in the District of Columbia.In recent months, the governors of Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington state have taken steps to grant pardons to those with low-level marijuana convictions, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.Several states, including California, Illinois, and New Jersey automatically review criminal cannabis convictions and expunge past records. In other jurisdictions, eligible persons must petition the courts for a review.As a result of these laws, an estimated 2 million Americans had their cannabis-related convictions set aside in recent years, said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML.“Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization,” Armentano said.In 2019, Oregon lawmakers passed legislation establishing procedures for people found guilty of low-level marijuana possession offenses to file a motion with the court to have the convictions set aside. Yet, to date, relatively few Oregonians have done so.In Oregon, the pardon will remove 47,144 convictions for possession of a small amount of marijuana from individual records. Brown noted that removing these criminal records eliminates barriers for employment, housing and educational opportunities.The pardon applies to convictions for possession of 1 ounce (28 grams) or less of marijuana when the person was 21 or older, where it was the only charge where there were no victims.“Oregonians should never face housing insecurity, employment barriers, and educational obstacles as a result of doing something that is now completely legal, and has been for years," Brown said. She said people of color have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.The Oregon Judicial Department will ensure that all court records associated with these pardoned offenses are sealed, Brown said.Oregonians passed a ballot measure legalizing recreational use of marijuana in 2014, becoming one of the first states to do so. In November,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-legalization-recreational-maryland-constitutions-613d0bc692afd6e3ac8625dd4e33692a">Maryland</a>&nbsp;and Missouri voters also legalized cannabis but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-legalization-2022-midterm-elections-c693f5e23e0faf2f39168df6a2f80ab2">voters in Arkansas, South Dakota and North Dakota rejected it.</a>Maryland's initiative came with a mechanism to erase convictions. By July 1, 2024, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services must expunge all cases in which the possession of cannabis was the only charge in the case, and the charge was issued before July 1, 2023.Maryland and Missouri joined 19 other states and the District of Columbia in making recreational marijuana legal.

Oregon's governor pardons thousands for pot convictions

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/voluntary-grant-program-aims-to-restore-sandhills-grasslands-wetlands/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A voluntary grant 
program will provide $4 million to landowners in the Sandhills region to
 remove invasive eastern red cedar trees and restore grasslands and 
wetlands, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission recently announced.

The four-year program, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation, is aimed at restoring grassland and wetland habitat for 
at-risk species such as the greater prairie chicken, long-billed curlew 
and western prairie fringed orchid.

A spokesman with the Game Commission said the voluntary, 
incentive-based program is not part of the Biden administration’s 
“America the Beautiful” program — criticized by Gov. Pete Ricketts and 
Gov.-elect Jim Pillen as a “land grab” by the federal government — but 
was funded through the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed a year ago.

The Biden administration has rejected the criticism, saying that its 
expansion of conservation efforts is on a voluntary, incentive-based 
basis.

The conservation program, the commission said in a press release, 
will focus on the Sandhills and adjacent areas where wetlands and 
streams face alteration and channelization.

Removing eastern red cedar trees, through mechanical means and 
prescribed fire, can increase forage for livestock, reduce wildfire 
risks and improve stream flow and wildlife habitat.

The grant creates three new jobs:&nbsp;grassland coordinator, prescribed fire coordinator and project coordinator.

Partnering with Game and Parks in the project are Pheasants 
Forever/Quail Forever, Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition, Northern 
Prairies Land Trust, Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, Sandhills Task 
Force, Santee Sioux Nation, and The Nature Conservancy.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669480563458.png" alt="A prairie in spring brings a diversity of grasses and flowering plants. (Courtesy of Tom Bragg)" />
 <figcaption>A prairie in spring brings a diversity of grasses and flowering plants. (Courtesy of Tom Bragg)</figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/voluntary-grant-program-aims-to-restore-sandhills-grasslands-wetlands/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A voluntary grant 
program will provide $4 million to landowners in the Sandhills region to
 remove invasive eastern red cedar trees and restore grasslands and 
wetlands, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission recently announced.The four-year program, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation, is aimed at restoring grassland and wetland habitat for 
at-risk species such as the greater prairie chicken, long-billed curlew 
and western prairie fringed orchid.A spokesman with the Game Commission said the voluntary, 
incentive-based program is not part of the Biden administration’s 
“America the Beautiful” program — criticized by Gov. Pete Ricketts and 
Gov.-elect Jim Pillen as a “land grab” by the federal government — but 
was funded through the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed a year ago.The Biden administration has rejected the criticism, saying that its 
expansion of conservation efforts is on a voluntary, incentive-based 
basis.The conservation program, the commission said in a press release, 
will focus on the Sandhills and adjacent areas where wetlands and 
streams face alteration and channelization.Removing eastern red cedar trees, through mechanical means and 
prescribed fire, can increase forage for livestock, reduce wildfire 
risks and improve stream flow and wildlife habitat.The grant creates three new jobs:&nbsp;grassland coordinator, prescribed fire coordinator and project coordinator.Partnering with Game and Parks in the project are Pheasants 
Forever/Quail Forever, Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition, Northern 
Prairies Land Trust, Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, Sandhills Task 
Force, Santee Sioux Nation, and The Nature Conservancy.

Grant program aims to restore Nebraska grasslands, wetlands

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/26/underground-railroad-site-in-falls-city-recognized-by-national-park-service/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — There was a terrifying annual chore for Robert Nelson during his growing-up years in Falls City.

Just before Memorial Day, he and a cousin had to scrub clean a 
massive, stone mausoleum built by his 
great-great-great-great-grandparents, David and Ann Dorrington.

Their resting places were in crypts, down a set of deep stairs where stink bugs, dust and mold had accumulated.

“It was spooky,” Nelson said. “The smell was probably mold and mildew, but if you’re a kid, you think it’s the corpses.”

But curiosity eventually got the best of the former columnist for the
 Omaha World-Herald, now a freelance writer based in Virginia.

His grandmother had spoken of famed abolitionist John Brown staying 
with the Dorringtons in the period around 1856-59. But he wanted to know
 more about these people who built such an imposing structure, with its 
stained-glass windows and church-like pulpit.

The journalist’s search added rich detail and documentation to an 
amazing story of bravery and guile associated with the Underground 
Railroad in his hometown.

At great personal risk, the Dorringtons provided shelter for dozens 
of escaped slaves during the tense, pre-Civil War clashes between 
pro-slavery forces and abolitionists along the border between the 
then-Nebraska Territory and Kansas. It was known as the “bleeding 
Kansas” period, because of the raids and killings in places such as 
Lawrence.

His research also led to Nelson write an extensive application to 
recognize the site of the Dorringtons’ home and barn as part of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad “Network to Freedom” program.

On Friday evening, a ceremony was held on the main street of the 
southeast Nebraska city. A bronze plaque, citing the work of the 
Dorringtons, was unveiled in a program held in conjunction with Falls City’s annual Christmas parade.

The Dorrington House and Barn joins more than 700 other sites, facilities and programs recognized by the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/ntf-listings.htm"> Network to Freedom</a> program, which seeks to recognize freedom seekers and those who helped them. There are 14 such sites in Nebraska.

&nbsp;“It’s a really cool story,” Nelson said. “And one that had never been fit together with the bleeding Kansas story.”

The Dorringtons, he said, were “two
 patriots among dozens” who build a town “all the while working to 
disrupt and dissolve the institution of slavery they loathed.”

Falls City, his research confirmed, was a key stop for slaves fleeing
 slave states like Missouri and avoiding pro-slavery militias in Kansas 
as they made their way northward to freedom. It was also a stopping-off 
point for abolitionists before crossing the border.

David and Ann Dorrington built a home
 in Falls City in 1857, the year the city was founded. One of the 
founders was James Henry Lane, who became a leader in the free state 
movement in Kansas, which was then a violent battleground between 
pro-slavery and abolitionist forces.&nbsp;

By 1859, the town had already become notorious as a “heavily armed harbor for those escaping slavery,” Nelson said.

The new settlement was branded as an 
“abolitionist hole” by the pro-slavery newspaper editor J. Sterling 
Morton, best known as the founder of Arbor Day. He called it “the 
celebrated town founded by Jim Lane and peopled by him with a scurvy 
horde of rapscallions….”

David Dorrington obtained the federal contract to haul mail from Rulo
 to Topeka, Kansas, a hotbed of free state and abolitionist activity. 
The route went through Falls City, and the work, which also included two
 sons as drivers, provided the ideal means to ferry escaped slaves.

Impeding the mail was a federal crime, so the mail wagon, with a 
secret compartment to conceal runaways, could pass without being stopped
 by bounty hunters and pro-slavery militia.

The route he took became known as the “Lane Trail,” so named after 
James Lane because it avoided pro-slavery forces stationed to the east 
and because settlers along the route were mostly sympathetic to the 
frightened freedom seekers.

In Falls City, escaping slaves took refuge in a barn behind the Dorringtons’ house.

David Dorrington, as a federal mail contractor, took an oath not&nbsp;to 
violate federal laws, which forbid sheltering runaway slaves, so even in
 later years, he didn’t reveal the family’s activities. But his wife 
wasn’t under such restrictions, and she would sneak food to those 
sheltering in the barn, sometimes at great risk.

One of the Dorringtons’ daughters, Annie Dorrington Reavis, gave an 
account of her parents’ activities in a story in the Lincoln Sunday Star
 in 1922. She said they felt sorry for the escaped slaves who were 
“being hunted just like wild animals,” and when caught, severely beaten 
or killed.

The slaves, she said, hid in the hayloft of the Dorrington barn 
during the day, then slipped away at night, sometimes “under a wagon 
load of corn.”

“My father did not dare to go to the barn at all, for he 
was being watched closely,” the daughter told the newspaper, “but my 
mother, who was one of the bravest women I ever knew, would take hot 
coffee and bread and butter to those negroes after midnight, without the
 slightest bit of light to guide her. There were some pretty narrow 
escapes sometimes.”&nbsp;

The Network to Freedom plaque will be installed at the Collections 
Museum on Stone Street in Falls City. The museum, located in the former 
Falter Clothing Store, is on the site of the Dorrington home, which was 
torn down after a devastating fire in 1877 destroyed several other 
wooden buildings along the main street.

Nelson said that during a visit this 
spring to Falls City, he noticed the Dorrington display at the 
Collections Museum and decided it was time to seek greater recognition 
for the story.

It led him through the files of newspapers, including the Falls City 
Journal, and to the archives of the Kansas Historical Society. Another 
aid was&nbsp;Barry Jurgensen, a former teacher in Arlington who is now regional manager of the Network to Freedom program.

Jurgensen said it’s important to recognize such stories because many 
local residents “do not realize they walk in the same area as these 
heroes.”

Nelson said History Nebraska may publish his story of the Dorringtons
 in an upcoming edition of its magazine. And, he said, there’s possibly 
enough material for a book about that turbulent period of U.S. history.

This is how he put it in an address read at Friday’s ceremony:

“Falls City’s story is unique in this state, rare in this country … a study in courage triumphing over oppression.”

“(It is) vitally instructive for a fuller understanding of
 a dark period when our best and worst instincts battled for control of 
this nation.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669474425462.png" alt="The Falls City home of David and Ann Dorrington. The barn, where freedom seekers were sheltered, was behind this house. Both structures were removed in the 1870s after a fire devastated Falls City’s main street. (Courtesy of David Kentopp)" />
 <figcaption>The Falls City home of David and Ann Dorrington. The barn, where freedom seekers were sheltered, was behind this house. Both structures were removed in the 1870s after a fire devastated Falls City’s main street. (Courtesy of David Kentopp)</figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/26/underground-railroad-site-in-falls-city-recognized-by-national-park-service/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — There was a terrifying annual chore for Robert Nelson during his growing-up years in Falls City.Just before Memorial Day, he and a cousin had to scrub clean a 
massive, stone mausoleum built by his 
great-great-great-great-grandparents, David and Ann Dorrington.Their resting places were in crypts, down a set of deep stairs where stink bugs, dust and mold had accumulated.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669474478850.jpeg" alt="Falls City native Robert Nelson researched the history of a local couple who sheltered escaping slaves during the “bleeding Kansas” period prior to the Civil War.&nbsp;&nbsp;(Courtesy of Robert Nelson)" />
 <figcaption>Falls City native Robert Nelson researched the history of a local couple who sheltered escaping slaves during the “bleeding Kansas” period prior to the Civil War.&nbsp;&nbsp;(Courtesy of Robert Nelson)</figcaption>
 </figure>“It was spooky,” Nelson said. “The smell was probably mold and mildew, but if you’re a kid, you think it’s the corpses.”But curiosity eventually got the best of the former columnist for the
 Omaha World-Herald, now a freelance writer based in Virginia.His grandmother had spoken of famed abolitionist John Brown staying 
with the Dorringtons in the period around 1856-59. But he wanted to know
 more about these people who built such an imposing structure, with its 
stained-glass windows and church-like pulpit.<h2>A story of bravery and guile</h2>The journalist’s search added rich detail and documentation to an 
amazing story of bravery and guile associated with the Underground 
Railroad in his hometown.At great personal risk, the Dorringtons provided shelter for dozens 
of escaped slaves during the tense, pre-Civil War clashes between 
pro-slavery forces and abolitionists along the border between the 
then-Nebraska Territory and Kansas. It was known as the “bleeding 
Kansas” period, because of the raids and killings in places such as 
Lawrence.His research also led to Nelson write an extensive application to 
recognize the site of the Dorringtons’ home and barn as part of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad “Network to Freedom” program.On Friday evening, a ceremony was held on the main street of the 
southeast Nebraska city. A bronze plaque, citing the work of the 
Dorringtons, was unveiled in a program held in conjunction with Falls City’s annual Christmas parade.<h2>Among 700 Network to Freedom sites</h2>The Dorrington House and Barn joins more than 700 other sites, facilities and programs recognized by the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/ntf-listings.htm"> Network to Freedom</a> program, which seeks to recognize freedom seekers and those who helped them. There are 14 such sites in Nebraska.&nbsp;“It’s a really cool story,” Nelson said. “And one that had never been fit together with the bleeding Kansas story.”The Dorringtons, he said, were “two
 patriots among dozens” who build a town “all the while working to 
disrupt and dissolve the institution of slavery they loathed.”Falls City, his research confirmed, was a key stop for slaves fleeing
 slave states like Missouri and avoiding pro-slavery militias in Kansas 
as they made their way northward to freedom. It was also a stopping-off 
point for abolitionists before crossing the border.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669474527358.jpeg" alt="David and Ann Dorrington emigrated from England to New York, later making their way to Kansas and ultimately Falls City. (Courtesy of Robert Nelson)" />
 <figcaption>David and Ann Dorrington emigrated from England to New York, later making their way to Kansas and ultimately Falls City. (Courtesy of Robert Nelson)</figcaption>
 </figure>David and Ann Dorrington built a home
 in Falls City in 1857, the year the city was founded. One of the 
founders was James Henry Lane, who became a leader in the free state 
movement in Kansas, which was then a violent battleground between 
pro-slavery and abolitionist forces.&nbsp;<h2>‘Abolitionist hole’</h2>By 1859, the town had already become notorious as a “heavily armed harbor for those escaping slavery,” Nelson said.The new settlement was branded as an 
“abolitionist hole” by the pro-slavery newspaper editor J. Sterling 
Morton, best known as the founder of Arbor Day. He called it “the 
celebrated town founded by Jim Lane and peopled by him with a scurvy 
horde of rapscallions….”David Dorrington obtained the federal contract to haul mail from Rulo
 to Topeka, Kansas, a hotbed of free state and abolitionist activity. 
The route went through Falls City, and the work, which also included two
 sons as drivers, provided the ideal means to ferry escaped slaves.<h2>Mail wagons protected</h2>Impeding the mail was a federal crime, so the mail wagon, with a 
secret compartment to conceal runaways, could pass without being stopped
 by bounty hunters and pro-slavery militia.The route he took became known as the “Lane Trail,” so named after 
James Lane because it avoided pro-slavery forces stationed to the east 
and because settlers along the route were mostly sympathetic to the 
frightened freedom seekers.In Falls City, escaping slaves took refuge in a barn behind the Dorringtons’ house.David Dorrington, as a federal mail contractor, took an oath not&nbsp;to 
violate federal laws, which forbid sheltering runaway slaves, so even in
 later years, he didn’t reveal the family’s activities. But his wife 
wasn’t under such restrictions, and she would sneak food to those 
sheltering in the barn, sometimes at great risk.One of the Dorringtons’ daughters, Annie Dorrington Reavis, gave an 
account of her parents’ activities in a story in the Lincoln Sunday Star
 in 1922. She said they felt sorry for the escaped slaves who were 
“being hunted just like wild animals,” and when caught, severely beaten 
or killed.<h2>Hayloft by day</h2>The slaves, she said, hid in the hayloft of the Dorrington barn 
during the day, then slipped away at night, sometimes “under a wagon 
load of corn.”“My father did not dare to go to the barn at all, for he 
was being watched closely,” the daughter told the newspaper, “but my 
mother, who was one of the bravest women I ever knew, would take hot 
coffee and bread and butter to those negroes after midnight, without the
 slightest bit of light to guide her. There were some pretty narrow 
escapes sometimes.”&nbsp;The Network to Freedom plaque will be installed at the Collections 
Museum on Stone Street in Falls City. The museum, located in the former 
Falter Clothing Store, is on the site of the Dorrington home, which was 
torn down after a devastating fire in 1877 destroyed several other 
wooden buildings along the main street.<h2>Storefront display</h2>Nelson said that during a visit this 
spring to Falls City, he noticed the Dorrington display at the 
Collections Museum and decided it was time to seek greater recognition 
for the story.It led him through the files of newspapers, including the Falls City 
Journal, and to the archives of the Kansas Historical Society. Another 
aid was&nbsp;Barry Jurgensen, a former teacher in Arlington who is now regional manager of the Network to Freedom program.Jurgensen said it’s important to recognize such stories because many 
local residents “do not realize they walk in the same area as these 
heroes.”Nelson said History Nebraska may publish his story of the Dorringtons
 in an upcoming edition of its magazine. And, he said, there’s possibly 
enough material for a book about that turbulent period of U.S. history.This is how he put it in an address read at Friday’s ceremony:“Falls City’s story is unique in this state, rare in this country … a study in courage triumphing over oppression.”“(It is) vitally instructive for a fuller understanding of
 a dark period when our best and worst instincts battled for control of 
this nation.”

Underground Railroad site in Neb. recognized by National Park Service

NEW
 ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says a passenger who went overboard
 from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico was rescued on Thanksgiving 
after likely being in the water for hours.

The 28-year-old man was
 reported missing at noon Thursday while the vessel, the Carnival Valor,
 was heading to Cozumel, Mexico. According to Carnival Cruise Line, the 
man was with his sister at a bar on Carnival Valor Wednesday at 11 p.m. 
and went to use the restroom. His sister reported him missing the next 
day after the man did not return to his stateroom.

The Coast Guard launched search and rescue crews Thursday afternoon and alerted nearby ships to be watchful.

Coast
 Guard Lt. Seth Gross said a cargo ship later saw a person in the water 
about 20 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, and 
the mouth of the Mississippi River. Gross said the man confirmed he was 
the missing cruise ship passenger after he was hoisted into a helicopter
 about 8:25 p.m. Thursday.

“He appeared to be suffering from mild hypothermia, shock, dehydration, but his condition overall appeared stable,” Gross <a href="https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/orleans/us-coast-guard-aiding-in-search-for-passenger-missing-from-carnival-valor-new-orleans/289-af499971-63e8-49d7-b492-6ea93492733c">told</a> WWL-TV, adding the man was taken for medical care.

Gross called the rescue “a miracle especially on a holiday like Thanksgiving.”

In
 a statement, Carnival said: “We greatly appreciate the efforts of all, 
most especially the U.S. Coast Guard and the mariner who spotted the 
guest in the water.”

<div><div style="position:relative; overflow:hidden; padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/59eyRLVb-oVs1oZUT.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Ap7142971824" style="position:absolute;" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div>NEW
 ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says a passenger who went overboard
 from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico was rescued on Thanksgiving 
after likely being in the water for hours.The 28-year-old man was
 reported missing at noon Thursday while the vessel, the Carnival Valor,
 was heading to Cozumel, Mexico. According to Carnival Cruise Line, the 
man was with his sister at a bar on Carnival Valor Wednesday at 11 p.m. 
and went to use the restroom. His sister reported him missing the next 
day after the man did not return to his stateroom.The Coast Guard launched search and rescue crews Thursday afternoon and alerted nearby ships to be watchful.Coast
 Guard Lt. Seth Gross said a cargo ship later saw a person in the water 
about 20 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, and 
the mouth of the Mississippi River. Gross said the man confirmed he was 
the missing cruise ship passenger after he was hoisted into a helicopter
 about 8:25 p.m. Thursday.“He appeared to be suffering from mild hypothermia, shock, dehydration, but his condition overall appeared stable,” Gross <a href="https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/orleans/us-coast-guard-aiding-in-search-for-passenger-missing-from-carnival-valor-new-orleans/289-af499971-63e8-49d7-b492-6ea93492733c">told</a> WWL-TV, adding the man was taken for medical care.Gross called the rescue “a miracle especially on a holiday like Thanksgiving.”In
 a statement, Carnival said: “We greatly appreciate the efforts of all, 
most especially the U.S. Coast Guard and the mariner who spotted the 
guest in the water.”The man’s name has not been released.Video courtesy Associated Press

🎥 'Miracle': Missing cruise ship passenger found OK in water

By JENNIFER SHUTT <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/25/thousands-of-veterans-deluge-va-with-claims-for-toxic-exposure-benefits-health-care/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its 
history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands 
of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic 
exposure law Congress passed earlier this year.&nbsp;

The day after President Joe Biden 
signed the bill into law in August, veterans set an all-time record for 
benefits claims filed online, and more than 136,000 have applied for 
benefits under the toxic exposure law as of mid-November. The VA expects
 the number of veterans and surviving family members applying could 
reach more than 700,000 in the coming months.

To address the surge in claims, VA is
 hiring more employees to provide health care and process applications, 
but officials do expect an increase in the backlog in the short term.&nbsp;

Joshua Jacobs, who is performing the 
delegable duties of the VA under secretary for benefits, said in 
mid-November that the VA is “in a better position to tackle this 
increased workload” than it was in 2013, when the agency was widely 
rebuked for letting the backlog swell to more than 600,000.

“For members who followed the claims 
backlog for that long, you may be asking, ‘Are we about to watch the 
same story unfold here today?’” he told members of the U.S. Senate at a 
hearing. “I’m happy to say that today, we are in a better position to 
tackle this increased workload.”&nbsp;

Jacobs said moving to a paperless 
system and hiring of thousands more people will help the VA avoid a 
significant backlog in the months to come as hundreds of thousands of 
veterans likely will apply for the health care and benefits <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-signs-landmark-bill-aiding-veterans-exposed-burn-pits-overseas">that are part of the toxic exposure law, known as the PACT Act</a>.&nbsp;

“As we continue to encourage more 
veterans and survivors to apply for their PACT Act benefits, we do 
expect an increase to the inventory and the backlog in the short term,” 
he said at an oversight hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs 
Committee.&nbsp;

By JENNIFER SHUTT <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/25/thousands-of-veterans-deluge-va-with-claims-for-toxic-exposure-benefits-health-care/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its 
history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands 
of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic 
exposure law Congress passed earlier this year.&nbsp;The day after President Joe Biden 
signed the bill into law in August, veterans set an all-time record for 
benefits claims filed online, and more than 136,000 have applied for 
benefits under the toxic exposure law as of mid-November. The VA expects
 the number of veterans and surviving family members applying could 
reach more than 700,000 in the coming months.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669388430004.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>To address the surge in claims, VA is
 hiring more employees to provide health care and process applications, 
but officials do expect an increase in the backlog in the short term.&nbsp;Joshua Jacobs, who is performing the 
delegable duties of the VA under secretary for benefits, said in 
mid-November that the VA is “in a better position to tackle this 
increased workload” than it was in 2013, when the agency was widely 
rebuked for letting the backlog swell to more than 600,000.“For members who followed the claims 
backlog for that long, you may be asking, ‘Are we about to watch the 
same story unfold here today?’” he told members of the U.S. Senate at a 
hearing. “I’m happy to say that today, we are in a better position to 
tackle this increased workload.”&nbsp;Jacobs said moving to a paperless 
system and hiring of thousands more people will help the VA avoid a 
significant backlog in the months to come as hundreds of thousands of 
veterans likely will apply for the health care and benefits <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-signs-landmark-bill-aiding-veterans-exposed-burn-pits-overseas">that are part of the toxic exposure law, known as the PACT Act</a>.&nbsp;“As we continue to encourage more 
veterans and survivors to apply for their PACT Act benefits, we do 
expect an increase to the inventory and the backlog in the short term,” 
he said at an oversight hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs 
Committee.&nbsp;Jacobs noted the VA has gotten the 
total backlog down to its lowest in years, below 150,000 claims as of 
this month. He also said the agency is encouraging veterans and eligible
 surviving family members of deceased veterans now covered under the 
toxic exposure law to apply before Aug. 10, 2023, on the VA’s website or
 with an accredited representative at a veterans service organization in
 order to get the earliest possible effective date.&nbsp;The VA has set up a website at 
va.gov/pact as well as a phone number, 800-698-2411, for veterans to 
call for more information or to file a claim.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>‘There are going to be hiccups’</h2>Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, 
chairman of the committee, said everyone expects “there are going to be 
hiccups” implementing the sweeping law that’s the largest expansion of 
health care and benefits in the VA’s history.&nbsp;“Veterans who previously filed claims
 will now hear of many more of their brothers and sisters joining them 
in line,” Tester said. “But the VA must ensure that each of them gets 
the right decision as quickly as possible.”&nbsp;As more new faces show up in hospital
 waiting rooms, Tester said, “VA must ensure they get the quality care 
they deserve.” He also noted that while the panel will work on some new 
legislation during the next Congress, the committee’s primary focus will
 be on oversight of the VA.&nbsp;Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, the top 
Republican on the committee, said his main priority for the panel is the
 “appropriate, sufficient implementation of the legislation” Congress 
has passed, including the PACT Act.&nbsp;Shereef Elnahal, under secretary for 
health, said the VA is working to “reach every veteran who may qualify 
for new benefits and care to make sure they are aware” of what the toxic
 exposure law does and how to apply for benefits.&nbsp;Department leaders are looking to 
increase staffing to handle the influx of veterans and to start on 
“groundbreaking new research on toxic exposure,” Elnahal said.&nbsp;The department is reaching out to 
more than 300,000 veterans who have put information into the burn pits 
registry. It plans to hold more than 80 events the week of Dec. 10 to 
let veterans know about the new law.&nbsp;A standard toxic exposure screening 
has been started for veterans going to primary care clinics, and in 
“just over one week, this clinical screening has already reached 166,000
 veterans with over 37% reporting exposures,” Elnahal told the panel.&nbsp;The VA, Elnahal said, is working on a
 plan to boost hiring in rural areas, though he told the committee that 
might be easier if Congress implements a section of the president’s 
budget request that lifts the $400,000 cap on salaries.&nbsp;“In order to recruit the right folks —
 on the physician, dentist and podiatrist side — it’s becoming much more
 difficult, especially in rural areas, as salaries go up and the health 
care labor market becomes more difficult,” he said. “And we would be 
able to pay more innovatively as well, to incentivize the right behavior
 among these clinicians.”&nbsp;<h2>More outreach needed</h2>The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of 
America organization believes that the very beginning of the 
implementation has gone well so far.&nbsp;But the organization, which 
represents more than 425,000 members, says both the VA and the U.S. 
Department of Defense need to do a lot more to reach all the veterans 
who are eligible.&nbsp;“IAVA played a lead role along with 
our VSO partners in getting this landmark legislation passed into law, 
so we are greatly vested in its success,” Tom Porter, IAVA executive 
vVice president for gGovernment relations, said in a written statement.&nbsp;“We are encouraged by the energy in 
the initial roll-out of the new law by VA Secretary McDonough and his 
team, as well as the commitment to oversight by the House and Senate 
Veterans Committees,” he said. “All parties, including VSOs, must make 
every effort to inform veterans of their new benefits.”