By JAZARI KUAL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/construction-resumes-on-red-clouds-new-hotel/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A recent groundbreaking 
ceremony celebrated the renewal of construction on the Potter Block 
building in downtown Red Cloud, Nebraska.&nbsp;

The Potter Block building will 
undergo rehabilitation and be transformed into a 22,500-square-foot 
facility, which will become Hotel Garber.&nbsp;

Renovations began in early 2018 with 
excavating and underpinning the basement so the hotel could support the 
return of a new third floor that burned down in 1961.

Hotel Garber will be a 26-room 
boutique hotel, featuring an event and meeting space, a spacious lounge,
 catering facilities and a small library.&nbsp;

The National Willa Cather Center’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.willacather.org/campaign-for-the-future">Campaign for the Future</a> is spearheading the project in partnership with Red Cloud’s Heritage Tourism Development Office.&nbsp;

The organizations have secured $6 
million for the project through donations, grants, investments and 
historic tax credits, which places them at 87% of their total 
fundraising goal.

The public can make tax-deductible 
charitable gifts to the Willa Cather Foundation or the Red Cloud 
Community Fund. Contributions can be mailed to the Willa Cather 
Foundation at 413 N. Webster St., Red Cloud, NE, 68970, or online <a target="_blank" href="https://www.willacather.org/campaign-for-the-future">here</a>. Pledges to the project are payable over five years.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666013047165.png" alt="Representing various organizations within Red Cloud, Nebraska, and the architecture firm, at the Hotel Garber ceremonial groundbreaking on Friday, Oct. 7 were, from left, Jennifer Honebrink of Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture; Bob Thacker, president, Willa Cather Foundation; Justin Armstrong, Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee[ Jay Yost,Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee; Jarrod McCartney, Heritage Tourism development director; Ashley Olson, executive eirector, Willa Cather Foundation; Dennis Hansen, Red Cloud Community Fund; Todd Mahin, Red Cloud Hotel Committee; Liz Rasser, Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee; Todd Brown, Mayor, City of Red Cloud. (Courtesy of Willa Cather Foundation Collections &amp; Archives at the National Willa Cather Center) " />
 <figcaption>Representing various organizations within Red Cloud, Nebraska, and the architecture firm, at the Hotel Garber ceremonial groundbreaking on Friday, Oct. 7 were, from left, Jennifer Honebrink of Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture; Bob Thacker, president, Willa Cather Foundation; Justin Armstrong, Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee[ Jay Yost,Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee; Jarrod McCartney, Heritage Tourism development director; Ashley Olson, executive eirector, Willa Cather Foundation; Dennis Hansen, Red Cloud Community Fund; Todd Mahin, Red Cloud Hotel Committee; Liz Rasser, Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee; Todd Brown, Mayor, City of Red Cloud. (Courtesy of Willa Cather Foundation Collections &amp; Archives at the National Willa Cather Center) </figcaption>
 </figure>By JAZARI KUAL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/construction-resumes-on-red-clouds-new-hotel/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A recent groundbreaking 
ceremony celebrated the renewal of construction on the Potter Block 
building in downtown Red Cloud, Nebraska.&nbsp;The Potter Block building will 
undergo rehabilitation and be transformed into a 22,500-square-foot 
facility, which will become Hotel Garber.&nbsp;Renovations began in early 2018 with 
excavating and underpinning the basement so the hotel could support the 
return of a new third floor that burned down in 1961.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666013118011.jpeg" alt="Rendering of a two-bed guest room. (Courtesy of Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture)" />
 <figcaption>Rendering of a two-bed guest room. (Courtesy of Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture)</figcaption>
 </figure>Hotel Garber will be a 26-room 
boutique hotel, featuring an event and meeting space, a spacious lounge,
 catering facilities and a small library.&nbsp;The National Willa Cather Center’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.willacather.org/campaign-for-the-future">Campaign for the Future</a> is spearheading the project in partnership with Red Cloud’s Heritage Tourism Development Office.&nbsp;The organizations have secured $6 
million for the project through donations, grants, investments and 
historic tax credits, which places them at 87% of their total 
fundraising goal.The public can make tax-deductible 
charitable gifts to the Willa Cather Foundation or the Red Cloud 
Community Fund. Contributions can be mailed to the Willa Cather 
Foundation at 413 N. Webster St., Red Cloud, NE, 68970, or online <a target="_blank" href="https://www.willacather.org/campaign-for-the-future">here</a>. Pledges to the project are payable over five years.

Construction resumes on Red Cloud’s new hotel

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday night released their first version of the student loan forgiveness application. 

<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application">Click here for</a> the government's debt relief website

In August, President Joe Biden announced the long-awaited plan to deliver on his campaign promise to provide $10,000 in debt cancellation for millions of Americans — and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need.

Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, or families earning less than $250,000, would be eligible for the $10,000 loan forgiveness. For recipients of Pell Grants, which are reserved for undergraduates with the most significant financial need, the federal government would cancel up to an additional $10,000 in federal loan debt.

The proposal prompted a lawsuit filed in September by Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and South Carolina. Other lawsuits followed,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-education-lawsuits-personal-taxes-small-948e5c9ee802bc865f66c2ab28328035">including one filed </a>by the Job Creators Network Foundation alleging that the administration violated federal procedures by failing to seek public input on the program.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661367707782.png" alt="President Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during the August announcement of the student loan forgiveness plan . -White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during the August announcement of the student loan forgiveness plan . -White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday night released their first version of the student loan forgiveness application. <a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application">Click here for</a> the government's debt relief websiteIn August, President Joe Biden announced the long-awaited plan to deliver on his campaign promise to provide $10,000 in debt cancellation for millions of Americans — and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need.Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, or families earning less than $250,000, would be eligible for the $10,000 loan forgiveness. For recipients of Pell Grants, which are reserved for undergraduates with the most significant financial need, the federal government would cancel up to an additional $10,000 in federal loan debt.The proposal prompted a lawsuit filed in September by Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and South Carolina. Other lawsuits followed,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-education-lawsuits-personal-taxes-small-948e5c9ee802bc865f66c2ab28328035">including one filed </a>by the Job Creators Network Foundation alleging that the administration violated federal procedures by failing to seek public input on the program.

Application for student loan forgiveness now online

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an extraordinary step, the House Jan. 6 committee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-donald-trump-presidential-elections-election-2020-congress-43c97dd8db5ce460e051204f91aa6cd1?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_01">has voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;to subpoena former President Donald Trump — a final effort to get the full story of the Capitol insurrection as the panel wraps up its work by the end of the year.

Trump still does not acknowledge the “former” in front of “president,” and he has been relentlessly&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/:%20https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">hostile to the investigation</a>. He called it a “charade and a witch hunt” in a letter to the committee on Friday — but notably did not mention the subpoena or say whether he would comply with the demand for his appearance.

The attempt to compel Trump's testimony comes as the committee is tying together multiple investigative threads and compiling its final report. The panel is only authorized through&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">this Congress, which ends on Jan. 3</a>.

A look at what’s next as the panel sprints to its finish:

The nine-member committee has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses, including many of the former president’s top White House aides. And they have laid out a detailed timeline of Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat — including his inaction as his supporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-united-states-presidential-elections-nancy-pelosi-election-2020-3ca391a6ca811b40e490909cbf45c5c9">stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021</a>. But they still want to hear from Trump himself.

Now that a subpoena has been authorized — on Thursday — it must be delivered in writing to Trump. That step, expected early next week, will set a date for an interview and lay out requests for documents.

<a href="https://cdn.nucleusfiles.com/27/27b7896f-01c5-4609-93c7-742e5cb22e96/830-am-final-january-6th-committee-letter14446.pdf?utm_medium=email_hf&amp;utm_source=ncl__&amp;utm_campaign=20221014___sa&amp;utm_content=__6167&amp;_nlid=test123&amp;_nhids=TEST">CLICK here to read</a>&nbsp;the full letter Trump sent to the Jan. 6 committee

Trump and his lawyers will then decide how to respond. He could comply, negotiate with the committee, announce he will defy the subpoena or ignore it altogether. He could also go to court and try to stop it.

If Trump doesn’t comply, the panel will have to weigh the practical and political implications of a vote on holding him in contempt of Congress. If the full House voted to recommend such a charge, the Justice Department would then review the case.

The committee has taken that step with some of Trump’s allies who refused to comply with subpoenas, including Steve Bannon, who was convicted of contempt in July. But holding a former president in contempt would be another matter, an exceptional step for any Congress.

In his letter on Friday, Trump repeated his false claims of widespread election fraud and said he was writing to express “anger, disappointment and complaint” that the committee wasn't investigating his claims. He also took the opportunity to boast anew about the size of the crowd that gathered for his speech near the White House on the morning of Jan. 6, before he sent them marching to the Capitol. He included aerial photographs. He said nothing about the subpoena.

Even if he does comply, there's reason to doubt that Trump's appearance would help the investigation. He did respond to some written questions from special counsel Robert Mueller during the probe of Russian cooperation with his 2016 campaign. But his answers produced little or nothing to advance the investigation. More recently, he appeared for a deposition by the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James — but invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times in refusing to answer questions.

The committee is still talking to lawyers for former Vice President Mike Pence, as it has been for months. But it is unclear whether the lawmakers will subpoena the vice president or ask him for testimony.

Several of Pence’s aides have talked to investigators, some providing great detail about his movements and state of mind as he resisted Trump’s pleas to object to the certification of electoral votes that day and try to overturn their defeat to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Video shown Thursday at the committee’s final hearing before the midterm elections showed Pence coordinating with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for help as the rioters were inside the building, some of them calling for Pence's execution. The leaders were working with security officials to ensure that they could return to the Capitol and certify Biden’s victory.

The committee will also have to decide whether to refer any allegations of crimes to the Justice Department. While federal prosecutors are conducting their own investigations into Jan. 6 and Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, the congressional committee has its separate, massive trove of evidence.

Lawmakers on the panel have hinted multiple times over the past year that they will issue criminal referrals. At the hearing on Thursday, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s Republican vice chairwoman, said that the panel “may ultimately decide” to do so. She said they have “sufficient information to consider criminal referrals for multiple individuals.”

While such a referral would not force any action, it would amplify the political pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland as the department pursues its own probes.

The committee recently received more than 1.5 million pages of documents from the Secret Service. But lawmakers say they still don’t have everything they want.

The panel is working to verify the accounts of White House aides who described Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 as he tried to go to the Capitol and accompany his supporters, hundreds of whom eventually broke in. Security officials, along with many White House aides and GOP members of Congress, were vehemently opposed to the idea. Trump was livid and tried, ultimately unsuccessfully, to go to the Capitol anyway, according to several accounts aired by the committee.

California Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democratic member of the panel, said the lawmakers “will be recalling witnesses and conducting further investigative depositions” based on the Secret Service material. The agency has not turned over text messages that it says were deleted.

The panel’s expected final action will be a massive report laying out evidence, findings and legislative recommendations to ensure nothing like Jan. 6 ever happens again. But it’s unclear how much of its investigative material will be released to the public.

In one of eight hearings last summer, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, another Democratic member, said, "We have only shown a small fraction of what we have found.”

Lawmakers have made clear that the report will lay out what they view as the stakes for the country as many Republicans still believe, falsely, that the 2020 election was stolen and as Trump considers another run in 2024.

“With every effort to excuse or justify the conduct of the former president, we chip away at the foundation of our republic,” Cheney said at the hearing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665779973146.png" alt="Former President Trump as shown from Dec. 2, 2020, in the Jan. 6 committee hearing video on Thursday" />
 <figcaption>Former President Trump as shown from Dec. 2, 2020, in the Jan. 6 committee hearing video on Thursday</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — In an extraordinary step, the House Jan. 6 committee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-donald-trump-presidential-elections-election-2020-congress-43c97dd8db5ce460e051204f91aa6cd1?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_01">has voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;to subpoena former President Donald Trump — a final effort to get the full story of the Capitol insurrection as the panel wraps up its work by the end of the year.Trump still does not acknowledge the “former” in front of “president,” and he has been relentlessly&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/:%20https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">hostile to the investigation</a>. He called it a “charade and a witch hunt” in a letter to the committee on Friday — but notably did not mention the subpoena or say whether he would comply with the demand for his appearance.The attempt to compel Trump's testimony comes as the committee is tying together multiple investigative threads and compiling its final report. The panel is only authorized through&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">this Congress, which ends on Jan. 3</a>.A look at what’s next as the panel sprints to its finish:THE TRUMP SUBPOENAThe nine-member committee has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses, including many of the former president’s top White House aides. And they have laid out a detailed timeline of Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat — including his inaction as his supporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-united-states-presidential-elections-nancy-pelosi-election-2020-3ca391a6ca811b40e490909cbf45c5c9">stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021</a>. But they still want to hear from Trump himself.Now that a subpoena has been authorized — on Thursday — it must be delivered in writing to Trump. That step, expected early next week, will set a date for an interview and lay out requests for documents.<a href="https://cdn.nucleusfiles.com/27/27b7896f-01c5-4609-93c7-742e5cb22e96/830-am-final-january-6th-committee-letter14446.pdf?utm_medium=email_hf&amp;utm_source=ncl__&amp;utm_campaign=20221014___sa&amp;utm_content=__6167&amp;_nlid=test123&amp;_nhids=TEST">CLICK here to read</a>&nbsp;the full letter Trump sent to the Jan. 6 committeeTrump and his lawyers will then decide how to respond. He could comply, negotiate with the committee, announce he will defy the subpoena or ignore it altogether. He could also go to court and try to stop it.If Trump doesn’t comply, the panel will have to weigh the practical and political implications of a vote on holding him in contempt of Congress. If the full House voted to recommend such a charge, the Justice Department would then review the case.The committee has taken that step with some of Trump’s allies who refused to comply with subpoenas, including Steve Bannon, who was convicted of contempt in July. But holding a former president in contempt would be another matter, an exceptional step for any Congress.In his letter on Friday, Trump repeated his false claims of widespread election fraud and said he was writing to express “anger, disappointment and complaint” that the committee wasn't investigating his claims. He also took the opportunity to boast anew about the size of the crowd that gathered for his speech near the White House on the morning of Jan. 6, before he sent them marching to the Capitol. He included aerial photographs. He said nothing about the subpoena.Even if he does comply, there's reason to doubt that Trump's appearance would help the investigation. He did respond to some written questions from special counsel Robert Mueller during the probe of Russian cooperation with his 2016 campaign. But his answers produced little or nothing to advance the investigation. More recently, he appeared for a deposition by the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James — but invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times in refusing to answer questions.WHAT ABOUT PENCE?The committee is still talking to lawyers for former Vice President Mike Pence, as it has been for months. But it is unclear whether the lawmakers will subpoena the vice president or ask him for testimony.Several of Pence’s aides have talked to investigators, some providing great detail about his movements and state of mind as he resisted Trump’s pleas to object to the certification of electoral votes that day and try to overturn their defeat to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.Video shown Thursday at the committee’s final hearing before the midterm elections showed Pence coordinating with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for help as the rioters were inside the building, some of them calling for Pence's execution. The leaders were working with security officials to ensure that they could return to the Capitol and certify Biden’s victory.A CRIMINAL REFERRAL?The committee will also have to decide whether to refer any allegations of crimes to the Justice Department. While federal prosecutors are conducting their own investigations into Jan. 6 and Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, the congressional committee has its separate, massive trove of evidence.Lawmakers on the panel have hinted multiple times over the past year that they will issue criminal referrals. At the hearing on Thursday, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s Republican vice chairwoman, said that the panel “may ultimately decide” to do so. She said they have “sufficient information to consider criminal referrals for multiple individuals.”While such a referral would not force any action, it would amplify the political pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland as the department pursues its own probes.SECRET SERVICEThe committee recently received more than 1.5 million pages of documents from the Secret Service. But lawmakers say they still don’t have everything they want.The panel is working to verify the accounts of White House aides who described Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 as he tried to go to the Capitol and accompany his supporters, hundreds of whom eventually broke in. Security officials, along with many White House aides and GOP members of Congress, were vehemently opposed to the idea. Trump was livid and tried, ultimately unsuccessfully, to go to the Capitol anyway, according to several accounts aired by the committee.California Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democratic member of the panel, said the lawmakers “will be recalling witnesses and conducting further investigative depositions” based on the Secret Service material. The agency has not turned over text messages that it says were deleted.FINAL REPORTThe panel’s expected final action will be a massive report laying out evidence, findings and legislative recommendations to ensure nothing like Jan. 6 ever happens again. But it’s unclear how much of its investigative material will be released to the public.In one of eight hearings last summer, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, another Democratic member, said, "We have only shown a small fraction of what we have found.”Lawmakers have made clear that the report will lay out what they view as the stakes for the country as many Republicans still believe, falsely, that the 2020 election was stolen and as Trump considers another run in 2024.“With every effort to excuse or justify the conduct of the former president, we chip away at the foundation of our republic,” Cheney said at the hearing.

Trump's subpoena and what's next for the Jan. 6 panel

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service reminded families today that some taxpayers who claim at least one child&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent">as their dependent</a>&nbsp;on their tax return may not realize they could be eligible to benefit from the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/child-tax-credit">Child Tax Credit (CTC)</a>.

Eligible taxpayers who received advance Child Tax Credit payments 
last year should file a 2021 tax return to receive the second half of 
the credit. Eligible taxpayers who did not receive advance Child Tax 
Credit payments last year can claim the full credit by filing a 2021 tax
 return.

The IRS urges grandparents, foster parents or people caring for 
siblings or other relatives to check their eligibility to receive the 
2021 Child Tax Credit. It's important for people who might qualify for 
this credit to review the eligibility rules to make sure they still 
qualify. Taxpayers can use the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents">Interactive Tax Assistant</a>
 to check eligibility. Taxpayers who haven't qualified in the past 
should also check because they may now be able to claim the credit. To 
receive it, eligible individuals must file a 2021 federal tax return.

The Child Tax Credit expansion, which is a part of the American 
Rescue Plan, increased the amount of money per child families can 
receive and expanded who can receive the payments.

The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 
to $3,600 per child for children under the age of six, from $2,000 to 
$3,000 for children over the age of 6 and raised the age limit from 16 
to 17 years old.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 expanded the Child Tax Credit for tax year 2021 only.

Taxpayers can claim the Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child who has a Social Security number that is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/tax-year-2021-filing-season-2022-child-tax-credit-frequently-asked-questions-topic-e-commonly-asked-immigration-related-questions">valid for employment</a>&nbsp;in
 the United States and issued by the Social Security Administration 
before the due date of their tax return (including an extension if the 
extension was requested by the due date).

To be a qualifying child for the 2021 tax year, the dependent generally must:

Individuals qualify for the full amount of the 2021 Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child if they meet all&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/tax-year-2021-filing-season-2022-child-tax-credit-frequently-asked-questions-topic-b-eligibility-rules-for-claiming-the-2021-child-tax-credit-on-a-2021-tax-return">eligibility factors</a>&nbsp;and their annual income is not more than:

Parents and guardians with higher incomes may be eligible to 
claim a partial credit. Claiming these benefits can result in tax 
refunds for many individuals. Individuals should file electronically and
 choose direct deposit to avoid delays and receive their refund faster.

A limited number of <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers">&nbsp;Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (VITA/TCE)</a>&nbsp;program
 sites remain open and available to help eligible taxpayers get their 
tax returns prepared and filed for free by IRS trained and certified 
volunteers. Low- and moderate-income taxpayers as well as those age 60 
and above can check to see if there is an available site in or near 
their community by using the&nbsp;VITA/TCE Site Locator.

IRS Free File available until Nov. 17 to help more people receive credits

The IRS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File program</a>,
 available only through IRS.gov and offered in partnership the tax 
software industry's Free File Alliance, offers eligible taxpayers 
brand-name tax preparation software to use at no cost. The software does
 all the work of finding deductions, credits and exemptions for which 
the taxpayer qualifies. It's free for most individual filers who earned 
$73,000 or less in 2021. Some of the Free File packages also offer free 
state tax returns to those who qualify. Taxpayers who earned more than 
$73,000 in 2021 and are comfortable preparing their own taxes can use&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-fillable-forms/free-file-fillable-forms-is-closed">Free File Fillable Forms</a>. This electronic version of paper IRS tax forms is also used to file tax returns online.

To help more people claim a variety of tax credits and benefits, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a> will remain open for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022.

<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-reminds-taxpayers-of-upcoming-filing-extension-deadline-free-file-remains-open-until-nov-17">The IRS is sending letters to more than 9 million individuals and families</a>
 who appear to qualify for a variety of key tax benefits but did not 
claim them by filing a 2021 federal income tax return. Many in this 
group may be eligible to claim some or all of the 2021 Recovery Rebate 
Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax
 credits depending on their personal and family situation. The special 
reminder letters, which will be arriving in mailboxes over the next few 
weeks, are being sent to people who appear to qualify for the Child Tax 
Credit, Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) or Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 
but haven't yet filed a 2021 return to claim them. The letter, printed 
in both English and Spanish, provides a brief overview of each of these 
three credits.

These and other tax benefits were expanded under last year's American
 Rescue Plan Act and other recent legislation. Even so, the only way to 
get the valuable benefits is to file a 2021 tax return. Often, 
individuals and families <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents">can get these expanded tax benefits</a>,
 even if they have little or no income from a job, business or other 
source. This means that many people who don't normally need to file a 
tax return should do so this year, even if they haven't been required to
 file in recent years.

People can file a tax return even if they haven't yet received their 
letter. The IRS reminds people that there's no penalty for a refund 
claimed on a tax return filed after the regular April 2022 tax deadline.
 The fastest and easiest way to get a refund is to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/e-file-options">file an accurate return electronically</a> and choose <a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts">direct deposit</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service reminded families today that some taxpayers who claim at least one child&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent">as their dependent</a>&nbsp;on their tax return may not realize they could be eligible to benefit from the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/child-tax-credit">Child Tax Credit (CTC)</a>.Eligible taxpayers who received advance Child Tax Credit payments 
last year should file a 2021 tax return to receive the second half of 
the credit. Eligible taxpayers who did not receive advance Child Tax 
Credit payments last year can claim the full credit by filing a 2021 tax
 return.The IRS urges grandparents, foster parents or people caring for 
siblings or other relatives to check their eligibility to receive the 
2021 Child Tax Credit. It's important for people who might qualify for 
this credit to review the eligibility rules to make sure they still 
qualify. Taxpayers can use the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents">Interactive Tax Assistant</a>
 to check eligibility. Taxpayers who haven't qualified in the past 
should also check because they may now be able to claim the credit. To 
receive it, eligible individuals must file a 2021 federal tax return.<h2>What is the Child Tax Credit expansion?</h2>The Child Tax Credit expansion, which is a part of the American 
Rescue Plan, increased the amount of money per child families can 
receive and expanded who can receive the payments.The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 
to $3,600 per child for children under the age of six, from $2,000 to 
$3,000 for children over the age of 6 and raised the age limit from 16 
to 17 years old.The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 expanded the Child Tax Credit for tax year 2021 only.<h2>Who qualifies for the Child Tax Credit?</h2>Taxpayers can claim the Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child who has a Social Security number that is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/tax-year-2021-filing-season-2022-child-tax-credit-frequently-asked-questions-topic-e-commonly-asked-immigration-related-questions">valid for employment</a>&nbsp;in
 the United States and issued by the Social Security Administration 
before the due date of their tax return (including an extension if the 
extension was requested by the due date).To be a qualifying child for the 2021 tax year, the dependent generally must:<ul>
 <li>Be under age 18 at the end of the year.</li><li>Be their son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, 
sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister or a 
descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild, niece, or 
nephew).</li><li>Provide no more than half of their own financial support during the year.</li><li>Have lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year.</li><li>Be properly claimed as their dependent on their tax return.</li><li>Not file a joint return with their spouse for the tax year&nbsp;or&nbsp;file 
it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid.</li><li>Have been a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien.</li>
 </ul><h2>What are the eligibility factors?</h2>Individuals qualify for the full amount of the 2021 Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child if they meet all&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/tax-year-2021-filing-season-2022-child-tax-credit-frequently-asked-questions-topic-b-eligibility-rules-for-claiming-the-2021-child-tax-credit-on-a-2021-tax-return">eligibility factors</a>&nbsp;and their annual income is not more than:<ul>
 <li>$150,000 if they're married and filing a joint return, or if they're filing as a qualifying widow or widower.</li><li>$112,500 if they're filing as a head of household.</li><li>$75,000 if they're a single filer or are married and filing a separate return.</li>
 </ul>Parents and guardians with higher incomes may be eligible to 
claim a partial credit. Claiming these benefits can result in tax 
refunds for many individuals. Individuals should file electronically and
 choose direct deposit to avoid delays and receive their refund faster.<h2>Finding free tax return preparation</h2>A limited number of <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers">&nbsp;Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (VITA/TCE)</a>&nbsp;program
 sites remain open and available to help eligible taxpayers get their 
tax returns prepared and filed for free by IRS trained and certified 
volunteers. Low- and moderate-income taxpayers as well as those age 60 
and above can check to see if there is an available site in or near 
their community by using the&nbsp;VITA/TCE Site Locator.<h2>IRS Free File available until Nov. 17 to help more people receive credits</h2>The IRS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File program</a>,
 available only through IRS.gov and offered in partnership the tax 
software industry's Free File Alliance, offers eligible taxpayers 
brand-name tax preparation software to use at no cost. The software does
 all the work of finding deductions, credits and exemptions for which 
the taxpayer qualifies. It's free for most individual filers who earned 
$73,000 or less in 2021. Some of the Free File packages also offer free 
state tax returns to those who qualify. Taxpayers who earned more than 
$73,000 in 2021 and are comfortable preparing their own taxes can use&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-fillable-forms/free-file-fillable-forms-is-closed">Free File Fillable Forms</a>. This electronic version of paper IRS tax forms is also used to file tax returns online.To help more people claim a variety of tax credits and benefits, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">Free File</a> will remain open for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022.<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-reminds-taxpayers-of-upcoming-filing-extension-deadline-free-file-remains-open-until-nov-17">The IRS is sending letters to more than 9 million individuals and families</a>
 who appear to qualify for a variety of key tax benefits but did not 
claim them by filing a 2021 federal income tax return. Many in this 
group may be eligible to claim some or all of the 2021 Recovery Rebate 
Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax
 credits depending on their personal and family situation. The special 
reminder letters, which will be arriving in mailboxes over the next few 
weeks, are being sent to people who appear to qualify for the Child Tax 
Credit, Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) or Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 
but haven't yet filed a 2021 return to claim them. The letter, printed 
in both English and Spanish, provides a brief overview of each of these 
three credits.These and other tax benefits were expanded under last year's American
 Rescue Plan Act and other recent legislation. Even so, the only way to 
get the valuable benefits is to file a 2021 tax return. Often, 
individuals and families <a href="https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents">can get these expanded tax benefits</a>,
 even if they have little or no income from a job, business or other 
source. This means that many people who don't normally need to file a 
tax return should do so this year, even if they haven't been required to
 file in recent years.People can file a tax return even if they haven't yet received their 
letter. The IRS reminds people that there's no penalty for a refund 
claimed on a tax return filed after the regular April 2022 tax deadline.
 The fastest and easiest way to get a refund is to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/e-file-options">file an accurate return electronically</a> and choose <a href="https://www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts">direct deposit</a>.

Grandparents, other relatives could qualify for Child Tax Credit

GRAND ISLAND, NEB.&nbsp; — The Nebraska State Patrol has been able to positively identify the deceased woman found inside the trunk of a car involved in a pursuit Friday afternoon.

The female has been identified as Michelle Roenz, 49. Roenz has been the subject of a law enforcement alert issued in Harris County, Texas on Thursday. Roenz’s body was located in the trunk of a vehicle that had fled from an attempted traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Grand Island.

The 17-year-old male who was apprehended has been transferred from St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island to an Omaha hospital for ongoing treatment of injuries suffered when he crashed his vehicle, ending the pursuit.

The Nebraska State Patrol is coordinating with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office of Texas for extradition of the minor once he is released from the hospital. All inquiries regarding the homicide investigation should be made to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

By Nebraska State PatrolGRAND ISLAND, NEB.&nbsp; — The Nebraska State Patrol has been able to positively identify the deceased woman found inside the trunk of a car involved in a pursuit Friday afternoon.The female has been identified as Michelle Roenz, 49. Roenz has been the subject of a law enforcement alert issued in Harris County, Texas on Thursday. Roenz’s body was located in the trunk of a vehicle that had fled from an attempted traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Grand Island.The 17-year-old male who was apprehended has been transferred from St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island to an Omaha hospital for ongoing treatment of injuries suffered when he crashed his vehicle, ending the pursuit.The Nebraska State Patrol is coordinating with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office of Texas for extradition of the minor once he is released from the hospital. All inquiries regarding the homicide investigation should be made to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

NSP identifies female located deceased in vehicle trunk   

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday proposed sweeping changes in the way chicken and turkey meat is processed that are intended to reduce illnesses from food contamination but could require meat companies to make extensive changes to their operations.

Despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-iowa-agriculture-food-safety-93664bd92422447542090e51f74101d7">decades of efforts to try and reduce illnesses</a>&nbsp;caused by salmonella in food,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-agriculture-us-department-of-agriculture-salmonella-infections-348838812277c1c3bb4236915aa431c2">more than 1 million people are sickened every year</a>&nbsp;and nearly a fourth of those cases come from turkey and chicken meat.

As it stands, consumers bear much of the responsibility for avoiding illness from raw poultry by handling it carefully in the kitchen — following the usual advice to not wash raw chicken or turkey (it spreads the bacteria), using separate utensils when preparing meat and cooking to 165 degrees. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service wants to do something about it by starting with the farmers that raise the birds and following through the processing plant where the meat is made.

Their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-us-news-health-poisoning-food-poisoning-b000965003cb409aaddfd2a4a79bb66a">food poisoning</a>&nbsp;target: Of the more than 2,500 salmonella serotypes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified three that cause a third of all human illnesses from chicken and turkey products. The agency proposes limiting the presence of these on poultry products.

In 1994, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service took a similar step by declaring some strains of E. coli a contaminant in ground beef and launched a testing program for the pathogen which has significantly reduced illnesses from the meat.

In an effort to curtail salmonella outbreaks in poultry, the agency is proposing a regulatory framework that would include testing incoming flocks of chickens and turkeys for the bacterial disease that commonly affects the intestinal tract and affects 1.3 million people annually with symptoms that may include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting which could last for several days. Officials hope testing chickens and turkeys before they enter the slaughterhouse will encourage farmers to adopt practices that reduce the bacterial infection on the bird before they reach the point of meat processing.

A second measure would require enhanced monitoring for salmonella during processing by adopting sampling for the bacteria at multiple stages inside the processing facility. The third major change would be to establish a maximum level of bacterial contamination allowed and possibly limiting the three specific types of salmonella that can make people sick. Meat that would exceed the limits or that would contain the types of salmonella prohibited could be withheld from the market.

The FSIS will begin a lengthy process of proposing new rules by holding a public hearing on Nov. 3 to get input from the poultry industry and others. The government’s goal is to come up with new rules and regulations that could be rolled out beginning next year and completed within two years.

The agency said it is taking its time to roll out these ideas and get input before establishing firm regulations. The agency hopes to begin rulemaking in mid-2023 and complete it in two years, said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin.

“We know this is quite a pivot from where the agency has been historically and for that reason we’re trying to be as transparent and deliberative and collaborative as possible,” Eskin said.

Consumer advocates have pushed for such action on poultry products for years. Eskin said the administration of President Joe Biden is pushing to make the changes.

Seattle-based lawyer Bill Marler, one of the nation’s leading lawyers to represent consumers sickened by food sources applauded the agency’s action which recognizes that controlling salmonella on animals before they reach processing plants is crucial to reducing meat contamination. He said FSIS should be bold and deem salmonella is a adulterant — a contaminant that can cause food-borne illness — in all meat as a starting point.

“What they’ve outlined is something that's really unique that they have not ever done before but it doesn’t have a time line and doesn’t have regulations attached that would show it’s actually going to be accomplished. That’s my criticism,” he said.

The industry has been unable to meet government targets for reducing food-borne salmonella infections for a couple of decades. Meeting the new target set for 2030 of 11.5 infections per 100,000 people a year would require a 25% reduction, Eskin said.

Eskin said the industry has managed to reduce the number of chicken samples contaminated with salmonella by 50% from 2017 to 2021, but the rate of salmonella illnesses over the last two decades has not significantly declined. More than 23% of foodborne salmonella illnesses are attributable to poultry consumption with nearly 17% coming from chicken meat and more than 6% from turkey meat.

The North American Meat Institute, the trade association representing U.S. packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey said efforts to combat salmonella are a high priority.

“We are encouraged to see FSIS is going through the regular rulemaking process. We look forward to reviewing the proposal and providing comment from the industry,” said Julie Anna Potts, the group’s president and CEO.

A spokeswoman for the National Chicken Council, which represents the companies that raise and process chickens for meat said they support efforts to reduce salmonella on chicken products.

“We are concerned that the proposed framework currently lacks industry input, research and data to support it,” said Ashley Peterson, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the group.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday proposed sweeping changes in the way chicken and turkey meat is processed that are intended to reduce illnesses from food contamination but could require meat companies to make extensive changes to their operations.Despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-iowa-agriculture-food-safety-93664bd92422447542090e51f74101d7">decades of efforts to try and reduce illnesses</a>&nbsp;caused by salmonella in food,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-agriculture-us-department-of-agriculture-salmonella-infections-348838812277c1c3bb4236915aa431c2">more than 1 million people are sickened every year</a>&nbsp;and nearly a fourth of those cases come from turkey and chicken meat.As it stands, consumers bear much of the responsibility for avoiding illness from raw poultry by handling it carefully in the kitchen — following the usual advice to not wash raw chicken or turkey (it spreads the bacteria), using separate utensils when preparing meat and cooking to 165 degrees. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service wants to do something about it by starting with the farmers that raise the birds and following through the processing plant where the meat is made.Their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-us-news-health-poisoning-food-poisoning-b000965003cb409aaddfd2a4a79bb66a">food poisoning</a>&nbsp;target: Of the more than 2,500 salmonella serotypes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified three that cause a third of all human illnesses from chicken and turkey products. The agency proposes limiting the presence of these on poultry products.In 1994, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service took a similar step by declaring some strains of E. coli a contaminant in ground beef and launched a testing program for the pathogen which has significantly reduced illnesses from the meat.In an effort to curtail salmonella outbreaks in poultry, the agency is proposing a regulatory framework that would include testing incoming flocks of chickens and turkeys for the bacterial disease that commonly affects the intestinal tract and affects 1.3 million people annually with symptoms that may include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting which could last for several days. Officials hope testing chickens and turkeys before they enter the slaughterhouse will encourage farmers to adopt practices that reduce the bacterial infection on the bird before they reach the point of meat processing.A second measure would require enhanced monitoring for salmonella during processing by adopting sampling for the bacteria at multiple stages inside the processing facility. The third major change would be to establish a maximum level of bacterial contamination allowed and possibly limiting the three specific types of salmonella that can make people sick. Meat that would exceed the limits or that would contain the types of salmonella prohibited could be withheld from the market.The FSIS will begin a lengthy process of proposing new rules by holding a public hearing on Nov. 3 to get input from the poultry industry and others. The government’s goal is to come up with new rules and regulations that could be rolled out beginning next year and completed within two years.The agency said it is taking its time to roll out these ideas and get input before establishing firm regulations. The agency hopes to begin rulemaking in mid-2023 and complete it in two years, said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin.“We know this is quite a pivot from where the agency has been historically and for that reason we’re trying to be as transparent and deliberative and collaborative as possible,” Eskin said.Consumer advocates have pushed for such action on poultry products for years. Eskin said the administration of President Joe Biden is pushing to make the changes.Seattle-based lawyer Bill Marler, one of the nation’s leading lawyers to represent consumers sickened by food sources applauded the agency’s action which recognizes that controlling salmonella on animals before they reach processing plants is crucial to reducing meat contamination. He said FSIS should be bold and deem salmonella is a adulterant — a contaminant that can cause food-borne illness — in all meat as a starting point.“What they’ve outlined is something that's really unique that they have not ever done before but it doesn’t have a time line and doesn’t have regulations attached that would show it’s actually going to be accomplished. That’s my criticism,” he said.The industry has been unable to meet government targets for reducing food-borne salmonella infections for a couple of decades. Meeting the new target set for 2030 of 11.5 infections per 100,000 people a year would require a 25% reduction, Eskin said.Eskin said the industry has managed to reduce the number of chicken samples contaminated with salmonella by 50% from 2017 to 2021, but the rate of salmonella illnesses over the last two decades has not significantly declined. More than 23% of foodborne salmonella illnesses are attributable to poultry consumption with nearly 17% coming from chicken meat and more than 6% from turkey meat.The North American Meat Institute, the trade association representing U.S. packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey said efforts to combat salmonella are a high priority.“We are encouraged to see FSIS is going through the regular rulemaking process. We look forward to reviewing the proposal and providing comment from the industry,” said Julie Anna Potts, the group’s president and CEO.A spokeswoman for the National Chicken Council, which represents the companies that raise and process chickens for meat said they support efforts to reduce salmonella on chicken products.“We are concerned that the proposed framework currently lacks industry input, research and data to support it,” said Ashley Peterson, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the group.

Fighting food poisoning: Sweeping poultry changes proposed

KANSAS CITY (AP) — As the new school year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/back-to-school">swings into gear</a>, some students carry heavier worries than keeping up with homework: Demand has been growing steadily for children’s books that address traumatic events such as school shootings.

Sales of books for young readers on violence, grief, and emotions have increased for nine straight years, with nearly six million copies sold in 2021 — more than double the amount in 2012, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks U.S. retail sales of print books.

As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mental-health-crisis-schools-768fed6a4e71d694ec0694c627d8fdca">anxiety and depression rates have soared</a>&nbsp;among young Americans, educators and advocates say children’s books can play a role in helping them cope.

“While it might be second nature to try to shield kids from the harsher realities of life and scary news, it’s proving difficult to avoid big society issues,” said Kristine Enderle, editorial director at Magination Press, the children’s book publishing arm of the American Psychological Association. “Kids face these issues and challenges in their day-to-day life.”

One book, “I’m Not Scared … I’m Prepared,” was reprinted several times to meet demand after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">massacre at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School</a>&nbsp;in May, according to the National Center for Youth Issues, the nonprofit group that published the book. The story, first published in 2014, features a teacher who shows children what to do when a “dangerous someone” is in their school.

Bookstores around the country see interest in titles from the genre rise and fall depending on local and national headlines, according to bookseller Barnes &amp; Noble.

Some newer titles engage directly with real-world gun violence.

In “Numb to This,” a graphic novel released this month, author Kindra Neely details the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon, which she survived, and the aftermath as she tries to heal amid repeated shootings elsewhere. Initially, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editorial director Andrea Colvin said she was shocked when Keely pitched the idea.

“I had to remember that, yes, this is what our stories are like now. This is what young people have experienced,” Colvin said.

Michele Gay, whose 7-year-old daughter Josephine was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, turned to children's books herself to help her two surviving daughters. One picture book she read to them was “The Ant Hill Disaster,” about a boy ant who is afraid to go back to school after it is destroyed.

“It was one of many books that was of comfort to them and gave them a little bit of confidence to just face one more day, one more minute, because we can do it together,” said Gay, who advocates for improved security in schools through a nonprofit she co-founded, Safe and Sound Schools.

Parents should make sure books addressing trauma are age-appropriate and backed by psychologists, experts say.

It's important to be aware of whether children are aware of or feeling stress about frightening things in the news, said Aryeh Sova, a Chicago psychologist who works with children who attended the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/highland-park-chicago-shooting-updates-4e9e0cf0aaa9954ae4fee30c5dd28bc8">July 4 parade in suburban Highland Park, Illinois</a>, where seven people were killed in a shooting. A child asking lots of questions about an event may signify that they are anxious or fixated on it, he said.

“If it’s coming from the kid’s need, then books could be a great way for kids to learn and to read together with their parents and to review it on their own and to process it at their own speed, at their own pace,” Sova said.

But bringing up violence when a child isn’t worried about it could increase their anxiety unnecessarily, Sova said.

Some young children experience gun violence at alarmingly high rates,&nbsp;<a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/2020-gun-deaths-in-the-us-4-28-2022-b.pdf?ceid=7665871&amp;emci=02aeed4b-eac7-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a&amp;emdi=243933db-17ca-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a">particularly in communities of color</a>.

For them, it is important to start early to address the effects, said Ian Ellis James, an Emmy award-winning Sesame Street writer known by his stage name William Electric Black. He is the author of the illustrated children’s book “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.williamelectricblack.com/a-gun-is-not-fun">A Gun Is Not Fun</a>.” He said young children in areas afflicted by gun violence are more aware of it than parents may think.

“They know about flowers and candles and cards in the street. They walk by them every day,” he said.

Through children’s literature and theater, Black works to reduce urban gun violence. “If you start when they’re 5, and you go back when you’re 6, 7, 8, 9, you’re going to change the behavior,” he said.

In the spring, he will collaborate with New York public school P.S. 155 in East Harlem with a series of gun violence awareness and prevention workshops for early readers, using puppets, storytelling and repetition.

“They won’t even get rid of assault weapons here in this country. So my thing is, we have to go in and we’ve got to help them help themselves save themselves,” Black said. “We’re really kind of failing at that.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665572002218.png" alt="Book by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19728589.Kindra_Neely">Kindra Neely</a>&nbsp;details the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon" />
 <figcaption>Book by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19728589.Kindra_Neely">Kindra Neely</a>&nbsp;details the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — As the new school year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/back-to-school">swings into gear</a>, some students carry heavier worries than keeping up with homework: Demand has been growing steadily for children’s books that address traumatic events such as school shootings.Sales of books for young readers on violence, grief, and emotions have increased for nine straight years, with nearly six million copies sold in 2021 — more than double the amount in 2012, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks U.S. retail sales of print books.As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mental-health-crisis-schools-768fed6a4e71d694ec0694c627d8fdca">anxiety and depression rates have soared</a>&nbsp;among young Americans, educators and advocates say children’s books can play a role in helping them cope.“While it might be second nature to try to shield kids from the harsher realities of life and scary news, it’s proving difficult to avoid big society issues,” said Kristine Enderle, editorial director at Magination Press, the children’s book publishing arm of the American Psychological Association. “Kids face these issues and challenges in their day-to-day life.”One book, “I’m Not Scared … I’m Prepared,” was reprinted several times to meet demand after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">massacre at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School</a>&nbsp;in May, according to the National Center for Youth Issues, the nonprofit group that published the book. The story, first published in 2014, features a teacher who shows children what to do when a “dangerous someone” is in their school.Bookstores around the country see interest in titles from the genre rise and fall depending on local and national headlines, according to bookseller Barnes &amp; Noble.Some newer titles engage directly with real-world gun violence.In “Numb to This,” a graphic novel released this month, author Kindra Neely details the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon, which she survived, and the aftermath as she tries to heal amid repeated shootings elsewhere. Initially, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editorial director Andrea Colvin said she was shocked when Keely pitched the idea.“I had to remember that, yes, this is what our stories are like now. This is what young people have experienced,” Colvin said.Michele Gay, whose 7-year-old daughter Josephine was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, turned to children's books herself to help her two surviving daughters. One picture book she read to them was “The Ant Hill Disaster,” about a boy ant who is afraid to go back to school after it is destroyed.“It was one of many books that was of comfort to them and gave them a little bit of confidence to just face one more day, one more minute, because we can do it together,” said Gay, who advocates for improved security in schools through a nonprofit she co-founded, Safe and Sound Schools.Parents should make sure books addressing trauma are age-appropriate and backed by psychologists, experts say.It's important to be aware of whether children are aware of or feeling stress about frightening things in the news, said Aryeh Sova, a Chicago psychologist who works with children who attended the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/highland-park-chicago-shooting-updates-4e9e0cf0aaa9954ae4fee30c5dd28bc8">July 4 parade in suburban Highland Park, Illinois</a>, where seven people were killed in a shooting. A child asking lots of questions about an event may signify that they are anxious or fixated on it, he said.“If it’s coming from the kid’s need, then books could be a great way for kids to learn and to read together with their parents and to review it on their own and to process it at their own speed, at their own pace,” Sova said.But bringing up violence when a child isn’t worried about it could increase their anxiety unnecessarily, Sova said.Some young children experience gun violence at alarmingly high rates,&nbsp;<a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/2020-gun-deaths-in-the-us-4-28-2022-b.pdf?ceid=7665871&amp;emci=02aeed4b-eac7-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a&amp;emdi=243933db-17ca-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a">particularly in communities of color</a>.For them, it is important to start early to address the effects, said Ian Ellis James, an Emmy award-winning Sesame Street writer known by his stage name William Electric Black. He is the author of the illustrated children’s book “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.williamelectricblack.com/a-gun-is-not-fun">A Gun Is Not Fun</a>.” He said young children in areas afflicted by gun violence are more aware of it than parents may think.“They know about flowers and candles and cards in the street. They walk by them every day,” he said.Through children’s literature and theater, Black works to reduce urban gun violence. “If you start when they’re 5, and you go back when you’re 6, 7, 8, 9, you’re going to change the behavior,” he said.In the spring, he will collaborate with New York public school P.S. 155 in East Harlem with a series of gun violence awareness and prevention workshops for early readers, using puppets, storytelling and repetition.“They won’t even get rid of assault weapons here in this country. So my thing is, we have to go in and we’ve got to help them help themselves save themselves,” Black said. “We’re really kind of failing at that.”

Demand soars for kids' books addressing violence, trauma

KANSAS CITY (AP) —United Methodists have for generations been a mainstay of the American religious landscape — one of the most geographically widespread of the major Protestant denominations, their steeples visible on urban streets, in county seats and along country roads, their ethos marked by a firm yet quiet faith, simple worship and earnest social service.

But the United Methodist Church is also the latest of several mainline Protestant denominations in America to begin fracturing, just as Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations lost significant minorities of churches and members this century amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-religion-marriage-b6a4ec4a28ce2674932573ba6c850f4a">debates over sexuality and theology.</a>

In annual regional gatherings across the U.S. earlier this year, United Methodists approved requests of about 300 congregations to quit the denomination, according to United Methodist News Service. Special meetings in the second half of the year are expected to vote on as many as 1,000 more, according to the conservative advocacy group Wesleyan Covenant Association.

Scores of churches in Georgia, and hundreds in Texas, are considering disaffiliation. Some aren't waiting for permission to leave: More than 100 congregations in Florida and North Carolina have filed or threatened lawsuits to break out.

Those departing are still a fraction of the estimated 30,000 congregations in the United States alone, with nearly 13,000 more abroad, according to recent UMC statistics.

But large United Methodist congregations are moving to the exits, including some of the largest in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

The flashpoints are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/st-louis-religion-ap-top-news-us-news-91f0eff9b0c14e35a794101b3dc60166">the denomination’s bans on same-sex marriages and ordaining openly LGBTQ clergy</a>&nbsp;— though many see these as symptoms for deeper differences in views on justice, theology and scriptural authority. The denomination has repeatedly upheld these bans at legislative General Conferences, but some U.S. churches and clergy have defied them.

This spring, conservatives launched a new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-africa-religion-marriage-4edd474cb8062c4a9e3e8e0c22e965c0">Global Methodist Church</a>, where they are determined both to maintain and to enforce such bans.

A proposal to amicably divide the denomination and its assets, unveiled in early 2020, has lost its once-broad support after years of pandemic-related delays to the legislative General Conference, whose vote was needed to ratify it.

Now the breakup and the negotiations are happening piecemeal — one regional conference at a time.

New York Bishop Thomas Bickerton, president of the Council of Bishops, issued a statement in August denouncing “a constant barrage of negative rhetoric that is filled with falsehood and inaccuracies” by breakaway groups. In particular, he disputed allegations that the church is changing core doctrines.

But he said the denomination seeks to find a balance between encouraging churches to stay yet enabling them to go.

“It’s a both/and,” Bickerton said in an interview. “We want people to know straight up front that we don’t want them to leave. We need traditionalists, we need centrists, we need progressives willing to engage in a healthy debate to discern what God’s will is.”

But more departures are expected next year.

In just the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference, about 300 of its 800 churches have begun inquiring about the process of leaving by the end of 2023, according to the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Not all may follow through, but some see it as inevitable.

“We feel like to stay the same in our mission and theology, we need to change denominations,” said the Rev. Steve Cordle, lead pastor of Crossroads Church. Based in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, it's one of the largest congregations in the conference. It's considering going independent or joining the Global Methodist Church.

A few miles away in Bethel Park, another Pittsburgh suburb, Christ United Methodist Church remains committed to the denomination.

The Rev. Chris Morgan said his church has a “big tent” of liberals and conservatives with most congregants “leaning in toward the center." The church recently hosted an educational series on hot topics including the schism, guns, abortion and COVID-19.

“Instead of becoming like society, we’re trying to become an example of what it looks like to disagree and still treat people with respect and care and love,” Morgan said.

He was far from the only one to see a parallel between the Methodist debates and broader societal polarization.

"We live in a world of division. Just look at our political front,” said Bishop David Graves, who oversees the South Georgia and Alabama-West Florida conferences. Both conferences have dozens of congregations moving to the exits, though the large majority are staying so far.

Graves said he wants to help enable churches to leave if they want to but has spent long hours urging them to consider all the factors and be sure it is God's will.

“It’s very taxing,” he said. “Those are intense meetings."

Conservatives say denominational leaders are making it difficult for those who want to leave to do so, however.

Currently churches may leave after paying two years' worth of “apportionments” — essentially denominational dues — plus their share of unfunded pension liabilities. Conferences may also impose additional requirements, and some are asking for a percentage of the property value of church buildings.

“In many cases, (the requirements) are onerous, they are punitive,” said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative advocacy group that is working to help churches jump to the Global Methodist Church.

Bishop Karen Oliveto of the UMC’s Mountain Sky region — who in 2016 became the UMC’s first openly lesbian bishop — said via email it is “extremely wounding to LGBTQ persons that our very personhood is being used as a wedge to disrupt unity in the church.” She expressed hope that UMC churches "will be safe places for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Conservatives have lamented that UMC has failed to enforce its Book of Discipline on standards for ordination and marriage.

Oliveto said, however, that sometimes “the Holy Spirit runs ahead of us and gives us a glimpse of the future to which we are called. This is certainly the case across the denomination, where LGBTQ persons have been examined at every step of the ordination process and found to possess the gifts and graces for ordained ministry.”

United Methodists are part of a global movement that traces their origins to the 18th-century English revivalist John Wesley, who emphasized personal piety, evangelism and social service.

American membership has declined to about 6.5 million, from a peak of 11 million in the 1960s. Overseas membership soared to match or exceed that of the U.S., fueled mostly by growth and mergers in Africa.

It's too early to say if there will be widespread departures from international churches. African churches, for instance, often combine conservative stances on sexual issues with progressive views on the economy and colonialism's legacy.

Several African bishops issued a statement denouncing conservative advocacy groups, including one called the Africa Initiative, for collaborating to “destroy our United Methodist Church.”

The Africa Initiative replied that it respected the bishops but would continue its efforts “to see biblical Christianity taught, lived and sustained.”

Neal Christie of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, a partnership of progressive and ethnically based Methodist advocacy groups, said the “notion that outside the United States there’s one monolithic voice is a caricature."

The coalition is promoting a more decentralized church where regions could make their own decisions on issues such as LGBTQ inclusion based on their cultural contexts.

“We believe this is a big tent church, that the church is big enough for all,” he said.

But after decades of controversy, some are done.

“The traditionalists decided this is like a toxic relationship now, and we’re just harming each other,” said the Rev. Laura Saffell, chairperson of the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. “The best we can do is bless and send” each other their separate ways.

By PETER SMITH&nbsp;KANSAS CITY (AP) —United Methodists have for generations been a mainstay of the American religious landscape — one of the most geographically widespread of the major Protestant denominations, their steeples visible on urban streets, in county seats and along country roads, their ethos marked by a firm yet quiet faith, simple worship and earnest social service.But the United Methodist Church is also the latest of several mainline Protestant denominations in America to begin fracturing, just as Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations lost significant minorities of churches and members this century amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-religion-marriage-b6a4ec4a28ce2674932573ba6c850f4a">debates over sexuality and theology.</a>In annual regional gatherings across the U.S. earlier this year, United Methodists approved requests of about 300 congregations to quit the denomination, according to United Methodist News Service. Special meetings in the second half of the year are expected to vote on as many as 1,000 more, according to the conservative advocacy group Wesleyan Covenant Association.Scores of churches in Georgia, and hundreds in Texas, are considering disaffiliation. Some aren't waiting for permission to leave: More than 100 congregations in Florida and North Carolina have filed or threatened lawsuits to break out.Those departing are still a fraction of the estimated 30,000 congregations in the United States alone, with nearly 13,000 more abroad, according to recent UMC statistics.But large United Methodist congregations are moving to the exits, including some of the largest in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.The flashpoints are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/st-louis-religion-ap-top-news-us-news-91f0eff9b0c14e35a794101b3dc60166">the denomination’s bans on same-sex marriages and ordaining openly LGBTQ clergy</a>&nbsp;— though many see these as symptoms for deeper differences in views on justice, theology and scriptural authority. The denomination has repeatedly upheld these bans at legislative General Conferences, but some U.S. churches and clergy have defied them.This spring, conservatives launched a new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-africa-religion-marriage-4edd474cb8062c4a9e3e8e0c22e965c0">Global Methodist Church</a>, where they are determined both to maintain and to enforce such bans.A proposal to amicably divide the denomination and its assets, unveiled in early 2020, has lost its once-broad support after years of pandemic-related delays to the legislative General Conference, whose vote was needed to ratify it.Now the breakup and the negotiations are happening piecemeal — one regional conference at a time.New York Bishop Thomas Bickerton, president of the Council of Bishops, issued a statement in August denouncing “a constant barrage of negative rhetoric that is filled with falsehood and inaccuracies” by breakaway groups. In particular, he disputed allegations that the church is changing core doctrines.But he said the denomination seeks to find a balance between encouraging churches to stay yet enabling them to go.“It’s a both/and,” Bickerton said in an interview. “We want people to know straight up front that we don’t want them to leave. We need traditionalists, we need centrists, we need progressives willing to engage in a healthy debate to discern what God’s will is.”But more departures are expected next year.In just the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference, about 300 of its 800 churches have begun inquiring about the process of leaving by the end of 2023, according to the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Not all may follow through, but some see it as inevitable.“We feel like to stay the same in our mission and theology, we need to change denominations,” said the Rev. Steve Cordle, lead pastor of Crossroads Church. Based in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, it's one of the largest congregations in the conference. It's considering going independent or joining the Global Methodist Church.A few miles away in Bethel Park, another Pittsburgh suburb, Christ United Methodist Church remains committed to the denomination.The Rev. Chris Morgan said his church has a “big tent” of liberals and conservatives with most congregants “leaning in toward the center." The church recently hosted an educational series on hot topics including the schism, guns, abortion and COVID-19.“Instead of becoming like society, we’re trying to become an example of what it looks like to disagree and still treat people with respect and care and love,” Morgan said.He was far from the only one to see a parallel between the Methodist debates and broader societal polarization."We live in a world of division. Just look at our political front,” said Bishop David Graves, who oversees the South Georgia and Alabama-West Florida conferences. Both conferences have dozens of congregations moving to the exits, though the large majority are staying so far.Graves said he wants to help enable churches to leave if they want to but has spent long hours urging them to consider all the factors and be sure it is God's will.“It’s very taxing,” he said. “Those are intense meetings."Conservatives say denominational leaders are making it difficult for those who want to leave to do so, however.Currently churches may leave after paying two years' worth of “apportionments” — essentially denominational dues — plus their share of unfunded pension liabilities. Conferences may also impose additional requirements, and some are asking for a percentage of the property value of church buildings.“In many cases, (the requirements) are onerous, they are punitive,” said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative advocacy group that is working to help churches jump to the Global Methodist Church.Bishop Karen Oliveto of the UMC’s Mountain Sky region — who in 2016 became the UMC’s first openly lesbian bishop — said via email it is “extremely wounding to LGBTQ persons that our very personhood is being used as a wedge to disrupt unity in the church.” She expressed hope that UMC churches "will be safe places for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”Conservatives have lamented that UMC has failed to enforce its Book of Discipline on standards for ordination and marriage.Oliveto said, however, that sometimes “the Holy Spirit runs ahead of us and gives us a glimpse of the future to which we are called. This is certainly the case across the denomination, where LGBTQ persons have been examined at every step of the ordination process and found to possess the gifts and graces for ordained ministry.”United Methodists are part of a global movement that traces their origins to the 18th-century English revivalist John Wesley, who emphasized personal piety, evangelism and social service.American membership has declined to about 6.5 million, from a peak of 11 million in the 1960s. Overseas membership soared to match or exceed that of the U.S., fueled mostly by growth and mergers in Africa.It's too early to say if there will be widespread departures from international churches. African churches, for instance, often combine conservative stances on sexual issues with progressive views on the economy and colonialism's legacy.Several African bishops issued a statement denouncing conservative advocacy groups, including one called the Africa Initiative, for collaborating to “destroy our United Methodist Church.”The Africa Initiative replied that it respected the bishops but would continue its efforts “to see biblical Christianity taught, lived and sustained.”Neal Christie of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, a partnership of progressive and ethnically based Methodist advocacy groups, said the “notion that outside the United States there’s one monolithic voice is a caricature."The coalition is promoting a more decentralized church where regions could make their own decisions on issues such as LGBTQ inclusion based on their cultural contexts.“We believe this is a big tent church, that the church is big enough for all,” he said.But after decades of controversy, some are done.“The traditionalists decided this is like a toxic relationship now, and we’re just harming each other,” said the Rev. Laura Saffell, chairperson of the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. “The best we can do is bless and send” each other their separate ways.

United Methodists are breaking up in a slow-motion schism

KANSAS CITY&nbsp; (AP) — There are few surprises expected on Election Day in solidly Republican Arkansas, where Donald Trump's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-arkansas-primary-governor-92c3770dc9fd23d80e0e3a4bc6797597">former press secretary</a>&nbsp;is heavily favored in the race for governor and other GOP candidates are considered locks.

But one big exception is the campaign to make Arkansas the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-arkansas-marijuana-recreational-supreme-court-bb2ec7c849bb46a793537ccfb9946420">A proposal to change the state's constitution</a>&nbsp;is drawing millions of dollars from opponents and supporters of legalization, with ads crowding the airwaves.

President Joe Biden's recent announcement that he will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-government-and-politics-2d5e3d9e2cfbbbe3ee114536738894a8">pardon thousands of people</a>&nbsp;for simple marijuana possession has shined a new spotlight on the legalization efforts in Arkansas and four other states. Voters in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/larry-hogan-maryland-marijuana-constitutional-amendments-constitutions-1f60d69c21e364499b81b0e76caf65ed">Maryland</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-marijuana-recreational-medical-missouri-d09e1ab128d572495edca73bb52bb241">Missouri</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-recreational-north-dakota-sd-state-wire-d6dbbc3c512ae80f09f5505de87b7441">North Dakota</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-sd-state-wire-south-dakota-marijuana-legalization-recreational-9426bf3208b9b53aa5804fb2b33b9bb9">South Dakota</a>&nbsp;are also taking up measures on recreational marijuana.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/10/06/granting-pardon-for-the-offense-of-simple-possession-of-marijuana/">Biden's step</a>&nbsp;toward decriminalizing the drug could provide a boost for legalization in some of the most conservative parts of the country, experts say.

“The most powerful elected leader in the world has publicly declared it was a mistake to criminalize people for using cannabis and I think that will go a long way with voters who may be on the fence," said Mason Tvert, partner at VS Strategies, a cannabis policy and public affairs firm.

Biden's announcement only covers people convicted under the federal law. But he has called on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. The president also directed his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/06/statement-from-president-biden-on-marijuana-reform/">health secretary and attorney general</a>&nbsp;to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.

The moves come as opposition to legalization has softened around the country, with recreational marijuana legal in 19 states, despite resistance at the federal level. Advocates say it shows that states are ahead of the federal government on the issue.

“I think it's an example of state level leadership and citizens pushing the federal government in the right direction," said Eddie Armstrong, a former state legislator who leads the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.responsiblegrowtharkansas.com/about">Responsible Growth Arkansas</a>&nbsp;group campaigning for legalization.

In 2016, Arkansas became the first Bible Belt state to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/539c26f41a4b4f2e90905f4448a28d48">approve medical marijuana</a>, with voters approving a legalization measure.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/medical-marijuana">More than 91,000 people have cards</a>&nbsp;to legally buy marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-us-news-arkansas-medical-marijuana-ar-state-wire-94ad1c34506b4c22b1868011de720bca">which opened in 2019</a>. Patients have spent more than $200 million so far this year, the state says.

An ad by Responsible Growth Arkansas points to benefits such as the thousands of jobs it says legalization would create. The main group opposing the measure is running an ad that urges voters to “protect Arkansas from big marijuana.”

The proposal faces opposition from Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration who criticized Biden's pardon announcement. Former White House press secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-arkansas-race-and-ethnicity-election-2020-little-rock-510eba764a340c9d316969aca9f494b7">Sarah Sanders</a>, the Republican front-runner to succeed Hutchinson, has said she will vote against the measure. Her Democratic rival, Chris Jones, said he supports it.

In neighboring Missouri, a proposed constitutional amendment would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-marijuana-recreational-constitutions-missouri-65e4a10bb7d99fdf9fca2ea57e07d0c1">expunge records</a>&nbsp;of past arrests and convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses, except for selling to minors or driving under the influence.

Supporters said they do not expect Biden’s pardon announcement for some federal marijuana offenses to have much of an impact on the Missouri measure, which could expunge several hundred thousand state marijuana offenses.

“There is some danger of confusion, but I think most people understand the distinction of the federal and state processes,” said John Payne, campaign manager for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legalmo22.com/">Legal Missouri 2022</a>.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican and former sheriff, opposes the ballot measure but has not aggressively campaigned against it. He has no plans to emulate Biden’s pardon announcement.

Parson has granted pardons “to individuals who demonstrate a changed life-style, commitment to rehabilitation, contrition and contribution to their communities — rather than as a blanket approach to undermine existing law,” said Parson spokesperson Kelli Jones.

Similarly, North Dakota's legalization campaign does not expect to incorporate Biden's pardons into its messaging. Mark Friese, treasurer of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newapproachnd.org/">New Approach Initiative</a>&nbsp;backing the legalization ballot proposal, said he doubts Biden’s pardon will have much of an impact in North Dakota or sway the legalization effort.

“The number of North Dakotans convicted in federal court is small,” said Friese, a prominent North Dakota lawyer and former police officer. “Small amounts of marijuana are typically and historically not prosecuted in North Dakota.”

Matt Schwiech, who is running South Dakota’s ballot initiative campaign to legalize recreational marijuana possession for adults, said the president’s pardons may hand the campaign a boost with older Democrats. It also underscores the campaign’s message that convictions for pot possession hurt people on job or rental applications, as well as that enforcing pot possession laws are a waste of time and resources for law enforcement, he said.

South Dakotans, including a sizable number of Republicans, voted to legalize marijuana possession in 2020, but that law was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-marijuana-legalization-recreational-marijuana-marijuana-987c36ced5a5dc2188a0667e9a8879cb">struck down by the state Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;in part because the proposal was coupled with medical marijuana and hemp. This year, recreational pot is standing by itself as it goes before voters.

It remains unclear whether Biden's pardon move will inject party politics into an issue that supporters say crosses partisan lines. For example, Arkansas voters in 2016 approved medical marijuana the same year they overwhelmingly backed Trump.

All of the states with recreational marijuana on the ballot next month, except for Maryland, voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. And the issue is going before voters as GOP candidates have been stepping up their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-gun-violence-new-york-race-and-ethnicity-campaigns-dfba652ac7409c64311efcd7c908ed08">anti-crime rhetoric</a>.

“From our perspective the people of Arkansas, they didn’t vote for Biden initially and so we don’t anticipate this really having any sort of influence over anybody’s decision,” said Tyler Beaver, campaign manager for&nbsp;<a href="https://safeandsecurecommunities.com/">Safe and Secure Communities</a>, the main group campaigning against the proposal.

KANSAS CITY&nbsp; (AP) — There are few surprises expected on Election Day in solidly Republican Arkansas, where Donald Trump's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-arkansas-primary-governor-92c3770dc9fd23d80e0e3a4bc6797597">former press secretary</a>&nbsp;is heavily favored in the race for governor and other GOP candidates are considered locks.But one big exception is the campaign to make Arkansas the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-arkansas-marijuana-recreational-supreme-court-bb2ec7c849bb46a793537ccfb9946420">A proposal to change the state's constitution</a>&nbsp;is drawing millions of dollars from opponents and supporters of legalization, with ads crowding the airwaves.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. Hear from <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on the three steps he is taking to right these wrongs. <a href="https://t.co/IqOxHxjgue">pic.twitter.com/IqOxHxjgue</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1578108939174281218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President Joe Biden's recent announcement that he will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-government-and-politics-2d5e3d9e2cfbbbe3ee114536738894a8">pardon thousands of people</a>&nbsp;for simple marijuana possession has shined a new spotlight on the legalization efforts in Arkansas and four other states. Voters in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/larry-hogan-maryland-marijuana-constitutional-amendments-constitutions-1f60d69c21e364499b81b0e76caf65ed">Maryland</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-marijuana-recreational-medical-missouri-d09e1ab128d572495edca73bb52bb241">Missouri</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-recreational-north-dakota-sd-state-wire-d6dbbc3c512ae80f09f5505de87b7441">North Dakota</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-sd-state-wire-south-dakota-marijuana-legalization-recreational-9426bf3208b9b53aa5804fb2b33b9bb9">South Dakota</a>&nbsp;are also taking up measures on recreational marijuana.<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/10/06/granting-pardon-for-the-offense-of-simple-possession-of-marijuana/">Biden's step</a>&nbsp;toward decriminalizing the drug could provide a boost for legalization in some of the most conservative parts of the country, experts say.“The most powerful elected leader in the world has publicly declared it was a mistake to criminalize people for using cannabis and I think that will go a long way with voters who may be on the fence," said Mason Tvert, partner at VS Strategies, a cannabis policy and public affairs firm.Biden's announcement only covers people convicted under the federal law. But he has called on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. The president also directed his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/06/statement-from-president-biden-on-marijuana-reform/">health secretary and attorney general</a>&nbsp;to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.The moves come as opposition to legalization has softened around the country, with recreational marijuana legal in 19 states, despite resistance at the federal level. Advocates say it shows that states are ahead of the federal government on the issue.“I think it's an example of state level leadership and citizens pushing the federal government in the right direction," said Eddie Armstrong, a former state legislator who leads the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.responsiblegrowtharkansas.com/about">Responsible Growth Arkansas</a>&nbsp;group campaigning for legalization.In 2016, Arkansas became the first Bible Belt state to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/539c26f41a4b4f2e90905f4448a28d48">approve medical marijuana</a>, with voters approving a legalization measure.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/medical-marijuana">More than 91,000 people have cards</a>&nbsp;to legally buy marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-us-news-arkansas-medical-marijuana-ar-state-wire-94ad1c34506b4c22b1868011de720bca">which opened in 2019</a>. Patients have spent more than $200 million so far this year, the state says.An ad by Responsible Growth Arkansas points to benefits such as the thousands of jobs it says legalization would create. The main group opposing the measure is running an ad that urges voters to “protect Arkansas from big marijuana.”The proposal faces opposition from Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration who criticized Biden's pardon announcement. Former White House press secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-arkansas-race-and-ethnicity-election-2020-little-rock-510eba764a340c9d316969aca9f494b7">Sarah Sanders</a>, the Republican front-runner to succeed Hutchinson, has said she will vote against the measure. Her Democratic rival, Chris Jones, said he supports it.In neighboring Missouri, a proposed constitutional amendment would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-marijuana-recreational-constitutions-missouri-65e4a10bb7d99fdf9fca2ea57e07d0c1">expunge records</a>&nbsp;of past arrests and convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses, except for selling to minors or driving under the influence.Supporters said they do not expect Biden’s pardon announcement for some federal marijuana offenses to have much of an impact on the Missouri measure, which could expunge several hundred thousand state marijuana offenses.“There is some danger of confusion, but I think most people understand the distinction of the federal and state processes,” said John Payne, campaign manager for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legalmo22.com/">Legal Missouri 2022</a>.Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican and former sheriff, opposes the ballot measure but has not aggressively campaigned against it. He has no plans to emulate Biden’s pardon announcement.Parson has granted pardons “to individuals who demonstrate a changed life-style, commitment to rehabilitation, contrition and contribution to their communities — rather than as a blanket approach to undermine existing law,” said Parson spokesperson Kelli Jones.Similarly, North Dakota's legalization campaign does not expect to incorporate Biden's pardons into its messaging. Mark Friese, treasurer of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newapproachnd.org/">New Approach Initiative</a>&nbsp;backing the legalization ballot proposal, said he doubts Biden’s pardon will have much of an impact in North Dakota or sway the legalization effort.“The number of North Dakotans convicted in federal court is small,” said Friese, a prominent North Dakota lawyer and former police officer. “Small amounts of marijuana are typically and historically not prosecuted in North Dakota.”Matt Schwiech, who is running South Dakota’s ballot initiative campaign to legalize recreational marijuana possession for adults, said the president’s pardons may hand the campaign a boost with older Democrats. It also underscores the campaign’s message that convictions for pot possession hurt people on job or rental applications, as well as that enforcing pot possession laws are a waste of time and resources for law enforcement, he said.South Dakotans, including a sizable number of Republicans, voted to legalize marijuana possession in 2020, but that law was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-marijuana-legalization-recreational-marijuana-marijuana-987c36ced5a5dc2188a0667e9a8879cb">struck down by the state Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;in part because the proposal was coupled with medical marijuana and hemp. This year, recreational pot is standing by itself as it goes before voters.It remains unclear whether Biden's pardon move will inject party politics into an issue that supporters say crosses partisan lines. For example, Arkansas voters in 2016 approved medical marijuana the same year they overwhelmingly backed Trump.All of the states with recreational marijuana on the ballot next month, except for Maryland, voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. And the issue is going before voters as GOP candidates have been stepping up their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-gun-violence-new-york-race-and-ethnicity-campaigns-dfba652ac7409c64311efcd7c908ed08">anti-crime rhetoric</a>.“From our perspective the people of Arkansas, they didn’t vote for Biden initially and so we don’t anticipate this really having any sort of influence over anybody’s decision,” said Tyler Beaver, campaign manager for&nbsp;<a href="https://safeandsecurecommunities.com/">Safe and Secure Communities</a>, the main group campaigning against the proposal.

Biden's pot pardons could boost states' legalization drives

By DAVE BERGMEIER <a href="https://www.hpj.com/ag_news/driverless-tractors-machinery-finding-their-way-onto-fields/article_beb709ec-4640-11ed-8044-373be8fca6b5.html">High Plains Journal</a>

In recent years few innovations have caught the fancy of farmers more than autonomous tractors.

Automation
 is technologically advanced and a farmer can put a driverless tractor 
into a field. Specialty crop production has included autonomous orchard 
harvesters and strawberry harvesters, said Austin Gellings, agriculture 
services manager for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

There are some autonomous 
machines available in the marketplace and experts believe that will 
continue to accelerate. Experts say operators have to make a decision 
based on their own situation.

“The
 agriculture industry is challenged with feeding, clothing and providing
 fuel for an ever-growing population with less land, less resources and 
less inputs,” said Christopher Murray, marketing manager at John Deere, 
Moline, Illinois. “Artificial intelligence has bridged the gap from the 
days of doing more with more, to getting more with less.”

“These
 challenges represent opportunities for our customers. At John Deere, we
 have been focused on integrating technology over the last 30 years into
 our machines that help us enable farmers to feed, clothe and fuel the 
world. We see advanced technology growing up in farming operations to 
meet the ever-growing needs from the world population.”

Manufacturers
 have been incorporating some level of autonomy into machinery dating 
back to the 1990s with technology such as Autosteer, Gellings said. 
“Since then we have seen numerous other aspects of farm machinery 
becoming automated and over the last few years begun to see more and 
more fully autonomous solutions. However, there are industries like 
mining that have been operating fully autonomous for quite some time and
 have a stellar track record with it.”

By
 deploying an autonomous machine in agriculture, farmers will be able to
 tend to priority jobs while that machine handles other work the farmer 
may not have time or available labor to do, Murray said. Autonomous 
gives farmers back valuable time they can use to spend getting other 
jobs done or spending time with family and friends.

“It
 could be the difference between a farmer working through the evening or
 getting home to enjoy a warm meal with their family,” Murray said. 
“Deploying an autonomous machine benefits farmers’ bottom line, their 
livelihoods and the world at large as food demand and hunger increase.”

The drive for using autonomous 
machines in production agriculture makes sense to Gellings, who says it 
offers benefits such as taking operators out of harm’s way and with 
increased efficiency the machines could run for many more hours and one 
person could monitor several machines at once. Autonomous equipment does
 take someone who has technical savvy, Gellings said. Anyone who has 
proficiency in running a farm, incorporating Autosteer and other 
technologies that require a user interface may already have a level of 
familiarity.

“From a 
mechanical maintenance standpoint most aspects of the machine are 
similar to other conventional machines,” Gellings said.

As
 farmers update their fleet of equipment, they should consider how the 
new piece of equipment and the available technology will help increase 
productivity, performance, yields, sustainability, and quality of life, 
Murray said.

“At John 
Deere, our technology stack allows farmers to meet their goals and 
stretch further into automation with each piece of John Deere 
equipment,” he said. “Our John Deere dealers have helped farmers realize
 the value of technology, from the core hardware and software that 
customer use such as AutoTrac, yield documentation, and John Deere 
Operations Center, to our most advanced technology available in our 
automation packages.”

Many
 customers choose to order Deere equipment with automation packages that
 automate many of the functions on the piece of the equipment, Murray 
said. For example, with Tractor Automation 4.0, the customer gets 
AutoTrac Turn Automation, AutoPath, AutoTrac Implement Guidance and 
Machine Sync. The technologies build upon the core technology to make 
the farmer more productive and increase yields throughout each 
production step—field preparation, planting, fertilizer application, and
 during harvest.

“All these available 
technologies are valuable building blocks to autonomy,” Murray said. 
“The farmers using our most advanced technologies today will be able to 
easily make the next step into autonomy once it is available to the 
industry.”

Case IH, 
Racine, Wisconsin, has also been a pioneer in autonomous machinery 
market, and company officials said are continuing to build on a 
portfolio that meets the needs of growers.

During
 the recent Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, Case IH and Raven 
Industries introduced an autonomous spreader—the Case IH Trident 5550 
applicator with Raven Autonomy. The technology stack is powered by 
guidance and steering propulsion control, perception and path planning 
software developed by Raven.

According to the companies, 
from a mobile device operators can plan and complete an entire field 
operation based on mapped field boundaries. Through a series of advanced
 cameras and radar systems, the Raven Autonomy perception system is 
constantly sensing a 360-degree environment around the machine for 
obstacles and motion initiation while operating. With artificial 
intelligence, Raven’s perception controller processes the continuous 
stream of images, which interprets and detects obstacles. The remove 
operator can view the cameras through the mobile device at any time.

While
 costs may be higher the savings in labor can make autonomous machinery 
closer to a reality, Gellings said. “This is not just an investment to 
improve one’s current operation, but it is also a pathway to engage the 
next generation of farmers who are more interested in technology.”

Gellings
 said broadband limitations may not be as major of an obstacle for 
growers but are a key factor in being able to use equipment to its 
fullest potential both from an autonomy standpoint and being able to 
fully use other aspects such as data-driven decisions.

While
 much of the attention has been on large scale tractors there is also a 
demand for other pieces of autonomous equipment, he said. They include 
orchard and strawberry harvesters, Gellings said.

John Deere announced the autonomy for tillage at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665753318832.png" alt="The Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven Autonomy allows for one or more driverless machines in the field without an operator present in the cab, providing the flexibility of full control in or out of the cab. (Courtesy photo.)" />
 <figcaption>The Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven Autonomy allows for one or more driverless machines in the field without an operator present in the cab, providing the flexibility of full control in or out of the cab. (Courtesy photo.)</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVE BERGMEIER <a href="https://www.hpj.com/ag_news/driverless-tractors-machinery-finding-their-way-onto-fields/article_beb709ec-4640-11ed-8044-373be8fca6b5.html">High Plains Journal</a>In recent years few innovations have caught the fancy of farmers more than autonomous tractors.Automation
 is technologically advanced and a farmer can put a driverless tractor 
into a field. Specialty crop production has included autonomous orchard 
harvesters and strawberry harvesters, said Austin Gellings, agriculture 
services manager for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.There are some autonomous 
machines available in the marketplace and experts believe that will 
continue to accelerate. Experts say operators have to make a decision 
based on their own situation.“The
 agriculture industry is challenged with feeding, clothing and providing
 fuel for an ever-growing population with less land, less resources and 
less inputs,” said Christopher Murray, marketing manager at John Deere, 
Moline, Illinois. “Artificial intelligence has bridged the gap from the 
days of doing more with more, to getting more with less.”“These
 challenges represent opportunities for our customers. At John Deere, we
 have been focused on integrating technology over the last 30 years into
 our machines that help us enable farmers to feed, clothe and fuel the 
world. We see advanced technology growing up in farming operations to 
meet the ever-growing needs from the world population.”<h2>Early roots</h2>Manufacturers
 have been incorporating some level of autonomy into machinery dating 
back to the 1990s with technology such as Autosteer, Gellings said. 
“Since then we have seen numerous other aspects of farm machinery 
becoming automated and over the last few years begun to see more and 
more fully autonomous solutions. However, there are industries like 
mining that have been operating fully autonomous for quite some time and
 have a stellar track record with it.”By
 deploying an autonomous machine in agriculture, farmers will be able to
 tend to priority jobs while that machine handles other work the farmer 
may not have time or available labor to do, Murray said. Autonomous 
gives farmers back valuable time they can use to spend getting other 
jobs done or spending time with family and friends.“It
 could be the difference between a farmer working through the evening or
 getting home to enjoy a warm meal with their family,” Murray said. 
“Deploying an autonomous machine benefits farmers’ bottom line, their 
livelihoods and the world at large as food demand and hunger increase.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665753409090.png" alt="John Deere’s autonomous tractor has six pairs of stereo cameras, which enables 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance. Images captured by the cameras are passed through a deep neural network that classifies each pixel in approximately 100 milliseconds and determines if the machine continues to move or stops, depending on if an obstacle is detected. The autonomous tractor is also continuously checking its position relative to a geofence, ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to, and is accurate to within less than 1 inch. (Courtesy photo.)" />
 <figcaption>John Deere’s autonomous tractor has six pairs of stereo cameras, which enables 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance. Images captured by the cameras are passed through a deep neural network that classifies each pixel in approximately 100 milliseconds and determines if the machine continues to move or stops, depending on if an obstacle is detected. The autonomous tractor is also continuously checking its position relative to a geofence, ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to, and is accurate to within less than 1 inch. (Courtesy photo.)</figcaption>
 </figure>The drive for using autonomous 
machines in production agriculture makes sense to Gellings, who says it 
offers benefits such as taking operators out of harm’s way and with 
increased efficiency the machines could run for many more hours and one 
person could monitor several machines at once. Autonomous equipment does
 take someone who has technical savvy, Gellings said. Anyone who has 
proficiency in running a farm, incorporating Autosteer and other 
technologies that require a user interface may already have a level of 
familiarity.“From a 
mechanical maintenance standpoint most aspects of the machine are 
similar to other conventional machines,” Gellings said.As
 farmers update their fleet of equipment, they should consider how the 
new piece of equipment and the available technology will help increase 
productivity, performance, yields, sustainability, and quality of life, 
Murray said.“At John 
Deere, our technology stack allows farmers to meet their goals and 
stretch further into automation with each piece of John Deere 
equipment,” he said. “Our John Deere dealers have helped farmers realize
 the value of technology, from the core hardware and software that 
customer use such as AutoTrac, yield documentation, and John Deere 
Operations Center, to our most advanced technology available in our 
automation packages.”<h2>Features familiarity</h2>Many
 customers choose to order Deere equipment with automation packages that
 automate many of the functions on the piece of the equipment, Murray 
said. For example, with Tractor Automation 4.0, the customer gets 
AutoTrac Turn Automation, AutoPath, AutoTrac Implement Guidance and 
Machine Sync. The technologies build upon the core technology to make 
the farmer more productive and increase yields throughout each 
production step—field preparation, planting, fertilizer application, and
 during harvest.“All these available 
technologies are valuable building blocks to autonomy,” Murray said. 
“The farmers using our most advanced technologies today will be able to 
easily make the next step into autonomy once it is available to the 
industry.”Case IH, 
Racine, Wisconsin, has also been a pioneer in autonomous machinery 
market, and company officials said are continuing to build on a 
portfolio that meets the needs of growers.During
 the recent Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, Case IH and Raven 
Industries introduced an autonomous spreader—the Case IH Trident 5550 
applicator with Raven Autonomy. The technology stack is powered by 
guidance and steering propulsion control, perception and path planning 
software developed by Raven.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665753460991.png" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>According to the companies, 
from a mobile device operators can plan and complete an entire field 
operation based on mapped field boundaries. Through a series of advanced
 cameras and radar systems, the Raven Autonomy perception system is 
constantly sensing a 360-degree environment around the machine for 
obstacles and motion initiation while operating. With artificial 
intelligence, Raven’s perception controller processes the continuous 
stream of images, which interprets and detects obstacles. The remove 
operator can view the cameras through the mobile device at any time.<h2>Technical reality</h2>While
 costs may be higher the savings in labor can make autonomous machinery 
closer to a reality, Gellings said. “This is not just an investment to 
improve one’s current operation, but it is also a pathway to engage the 
next generation of farmers who are more interested in technology.”Gellings
 said broadband limitations may not be as major of an obstacle for 
growers but are a key factor in being able to use equipment to its 
fullest potential both from an autonomy standpoint and being able to 
fully use other aspects such as data-driven decisions.While
 much of the attention has been on large scale tractors there is also a 
demand for other pieces of autonomous equipment, he said. They include 
orchard and strawberry harvesters, Gellings said.John Deere announced the autonomy for tillage at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January.“Autonomy
 will open the door for us to continue to innovate more solutions to 
keep serving our customers in new ways and for the tasks that are most 
demanding on them,” Murray said. “We will prioritize autonomy for the 
jobs that occur at the busiest times of the year—like during planting 
and harvesting—when farmers must contend with limited labor, lots of 
variables and show windows of times to get things done.”Farmers,
 just like any business are always looking to innovate to meet their 
goals that help increase productivity, performance yields, 
sustainability, and quality of life, he said. With those goals in mind 
Deere expects further automation with machinery, further learning about 
machines, more artificial intelligence, and more autonomy.“Technology
 has helped farmers get closer to meeting their goals and will continue 
to push boundaries in the future,” Murray said.Republished with permission