(AP)-A 27-year-old man from Winnebago has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for killing a woman and burning her body. 

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release that Jonathan Rooney was sentenced Friday in the death of 22-year-old Kozee Decorah in May 2020 and for burning her body near a remote cabin on the Winnebago reservation. 

He was convicted in December of manslaughter and destruction of evidence. 

Authorities found Rooney in the cabin with the couple's infant son. 

A skeleton later identified as Decorah's was found in the fire.

By Associated Press(AP)-A 27-year-old man from Winnebago has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for killing a woman and burning her body. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release that Jonathan Rooney was sentenced Friday in the death of 22-year-old Kozee Decorah in May 2020 and for burning her body near a remote cabin on the Winnebago reservation. He was convicted in December of manslaughter and destruction of evidence. Authorities found Rooney in the cabin with the couple's infant son. A skeleton later identified as Decorah's was found in the fire.

Man sentenced for killing woman, burning body on reservation

LANDER, Wyo. (AP) — The aroma of sizzling meat in melted butter wafts from a cast iron pan while Jaden Bales shows his favorite way to cook up the best steak cuts from a big game animal.

The deep red backstrap pieces, similar to filet mignon of beef, are organic and could hardly be more local. They’re from a mule deer hit by a car just down the road from Bales’ rustic home in a cottonwood grove beneath the craggy Wind River Range.

Bales was able to claim the deer thanks to a new state of Wyoming mobile app that’s helping get the meat from animals killed in fender benders from road to table and in the process making roads safer for critters.

State wildlife and highway officials rolled out the app — possibly the first of its kind in the U.S. — this winter when Wyoming joined the 30 or so states that allow people to collect roadkill for food.

The doe was crossing U.S. 287 south of Lander early on the morning of Presidents Day just as Marta Casey was headed out in her Subaru to go snowboarding.

She hadn’t been snowboarding in years. A world traveler who’d only settled in Wyoming a year ago, little did she know she was in for a whole new experience in rural living.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/7/1563927123713.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSLANDER, Wyo. (AP) — The aroma of sizzling meat in melted butter wafts from a cast iron pan while Jaden Bales shows his favorite way to cook up the best steak cuts from a big game animal.The deep red backstrap pieces, similar to filet mignon of beef, are organic and could hardly be more local. They’re from a mule deer hit by a car just down the road from Bales’ rustic home in a cottonwood grove beneath the craggy Wind River Range.Bales was able to claim the deer thanks to a new state of Wyoming mobile app that’s helping get the meat from animals killed in fender benders from road to table and in the process making roads safer for critters.State wildlife and highway officials rolled out the app — possibly the first of its kind in the U.S. — this winter when Wyoming joined the 30 or so states that allow people to collect roadkill for food.The doe was crossing U.S. 287 south of Lander early on the morning of Presidents Day just as Marta Casey was headed out in her Subaru to go snowboarding.She hadn’t been snowboarding in years. A world traveler who’d only settled in Wyoming a year ago, little did she know she was in for a whole new experience in rural living.

Road to table: Wyoming's got a new app for claiming roadkill

OMAHA, Neb (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is investigating after about 300 snow geese were killed and left piled on a road. 

The Omaha World-Herald reports the dead birds were discovered west of Falls City in Richardson County. 

Thousands of snow geese are migrating through Nebraska and there is no hunting limit on the birds. But Nebraska game and parks officials say it is illegal not to clean and properly dispose of the birds.

 Those who were involved could face misdemeanor charges if they didn't have proper hunting permits or stamps. They also could face misdemeanor charges for littering a waterway and wanton waste.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647115208883.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is investigating after about 300 snow geese were killed and left piled on a road. The Omaha World-Herald reports the dead birds were discovered west of Falls City in Richardson County. Thousands of snow geese are migrating through Nebraska and there is no hunting limit on the birds. But Nebraska game and parks officials say it is illegal not to clean and properly dispose of the birds. Those who were involved could face misdemeanor charges if they didn't have proper hunting permits or stamps. They also could face misdemeanor charges for littering a waterway and wanton waste.

Nebraska officials investigate after 300 dead snow geese left on road

WASHINGTON (AP) —President Joe Biden is authorizing the State Department to provide additional aid to Ukraine of up to $200 million.

The funds would cover weapons as well as military services, education and training as Ukrainians seek to repel a Russian invasion.

The aid is part of broader U.S. support in the form of aid and sanctions. When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that $1 billion in aid had been provided to Ukraine.

The ongoing warfare has led to additional support with Congress this week approving $13.6 billion in additional aid, a sum that includes $6.5 billion for the costs of sending troops and weapons to Eastern Europe and $6.8 billion for refugees and economic aid.

Biden plans to sign the spending bill with the additional aid when he receives it next week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647104629392.png" alt="The funds would cover weapons as well as military services, education and training as Ukrainians seek to repel a Russian invasion-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>The funds would cover weapons as well as military services, education and training as Ukrainians seek to repel a Russian invasion-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —President Joe Biden is authorizing the State Department to provide additional aid to Ukraine of up to $200 million.The funds would cover weapons as well as military services, education and training as Ukrainians seek to repel a Russian invasion.The aid is part of broader U.S. support in the form of aid and sanctions. When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that $1 billion in aid had been provided to Ukraine.The ongoing warfare has led to additional support with Congress this week approving $13.6 billion in additional aid, a sum that includes $6.5 billion for the costs of sending troops and weapons to Eastern Europe and $6.8 billion for refugees and economic aid.Biden plans to sign the spending bill with the additional aid when he receives it next week.___

President Biden to authorize another $200M for Ukraine

By ARIANA FIGUEROA <a href="https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2022/03/10/congress-hates-changing-the-clocks-just-like-everyone-else/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON – Republicans and 
Democrats in Congress can agree on sleep, or more precisely, the 
inconvenience of losing or gaining an hour of it each year thanks to 
going on and off daylight saving time.

“I believe that any justifications 
for springing forward and falling back are either outdated or are 
outweighed by the serious health and economic impacts we now know are 
associated with the time changes,” U.S. House Energy and Commerce 
Committee Chair Frank Pallone of New Jersey said this week.

As Americans prepare to adjust their 
clocks this weekend for daylight saving time, lawmakers at an Energy and
 Commerce subcommittee hearing on Wednesday assembled a panel of experts
 to discuss the health, energy, and economic impacts of the shift twice a
 year.&nbsp;

Congress would have to authorize a 
change in federal law to allow permanent daylight saving time, but it’s 
not clear there is the momentum to do that.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/usa">Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday</a>,
 which means clocks in most of the U.S. will be turned forward one hour 
and there will be more light at the end of the day. Daylight saving time
 will end on Nov. 6.

“Darkness kills and sunshine saves,” Steve Calandrillo, a law professor from the University of Washington, said at the hearing.

He advocated for a permanent change 
to daylight saving time, arguing that having one more hour of sunlight 
in the evening would reduce crime, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1615292/">decrease fatal car accidents</a>, save energy and improve heath.&nbsp;

He said a biannual clock switch “wreaks havoc with our sleep cycles, notably causing a <a target="_blank" href="https://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/heart-health/why-daylight-saving-time-could-increase-your-heart-attack-risk">24 percent increase in heart attacks</a> in the week after we ‘spring forward’ in March.”

A <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15003579/">study</a> by researchers at Rutgers found that nearly 350 lives would be saved by moving to permanent daylight saving time year round.

Some lawmakers couldn’t decide if 
they wanted daylight saving time or standard time, but they all agreed 
that it was archaic for the United States to keep switching back and 
forth.&nbsp;

Lawmakers from Florida were adamant 
that an extra hour of daylight would be beneficial for health, the 
economy, and for schools. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/623/all-info#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20Senate%20(03%2F09%2F2021)&amp;text=This%20bill%20makes%20daylight%20saving,standard%20time%20for%20those%20areas.">has introduced legislation</a> that would make daylight saving time permanent, and similar legislation is pending in the House.

“Coming from the Sunshine State, we 
value sunshine for our quality of life, recreation, and our tourism 
economy,” Rep. Darren Soto, a Florida Democrat, said.

Daylight saving time was used as an 
energy-saving measure during various points in U.S. history, such as 
World War I, and has become a permanent fixture since the energy crisis 
of the 1970s.&nbsp;

Under federal law, states can opt out and remain on standard time, but are not allowed to change to daylight saving time.&nbsp;

In the last four years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/daylight-savings-time-state-legislation.aspx">18 states </a>have
 enacted or passed measures to provide for year-round daylight saving 
time, but without congressional approval, they can’t adopt those 
changes.&nbsp;

Iowa’s state House <a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/house-passes-year-round-daylight-saving-time-proposal/">recently</a> passed a bill that would put the state on daylight saving time, pending federal action.

Two states have passed measures to stay on standard time — Arizona and Hawaii.&nbsp;

Rep. Debbie
 Lesko, an Arizona Republican, said her state has been on standard time 
for nearly 40 years. She asked one of the witnesses, Dr. Beth Malow, a professor
 of neurology and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 
Nashville, Tennessee, if she knew of any studies on the health benefits 
for Arizonans who are used to living on standard time.&nbsp;

Malow, who is also the director of 
the Vanderbilt Sleep Division, said she was not aware of any, but 
advocated for a permanent standard time.

“Please don’t mess with Arizona, 
we’ve been doing this for 40 years,” Lesko said to her colleagues. 
“Anytime you change anything to Arizona, Arizonans will be upset.”&nbsp;

Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan 
Republican, said he believed it should be up to the states if they want 
to move to daylight saving time, but he also expressed frustration for 
having the hearing in the first place. He said he believed the panel 
should be focusing on America’s energy independence after Russia’s 
attack on Ukraine.&nbsp;

A handful of Republicans on the panel
 agreed and argued that they should be focusing their time on helping 
Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Rep. Bob Latta, an Ohio Republican, 
said the last time he got a complaint from his constituents about 
daylight saving time was in 2020 and said that his constituents were 
worried about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Other things we should be talking about is American energy independence,” Latta said.

Reps. Neal Dunn, a Florida Republican, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican, raised similar points.&nbsp;

The top GOP lawmaker on the panel, 
Gus Bilirakis of Florida, discussed the health effects of switching back
 and forth and said he is concerned about children going to school in 
the dark if Congress did move to make daylight saving time permanent.&nbsp;

Calandrillo said that as a parent of 
four young children, he did also not want them to go to school in the 
dark and suggested that schools start later, so children can get 
adequate sleep.&nbsp;

Bilirakis agreed and said that he 
felt his kids going to school around 7 a.m. was “too early,” and was 
open to the idea of giving schools flexibility to change their start 
times.

Malow agreed
 that starting school later could help children, particularly teens who 
are going through puberty, which can affect their sleep schedules.&nbsp;

“Bright light in the morning is a piece of the puzzle that will help our kids get more sleep,” she said.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, asked Malow to explain the effect sleep deprivation has on overall health.&nbsp;

“When we’re not sleeping well, it has
 a whole host of ramifications,” Malow said. “Obesity, diabetes, heart 
disease, even cancer and Alzheimer’s disease is linked to either sleep 
loss or that circadian misalignment.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646948814561.png" alt="Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday. (Dana Wormald | New Hampshire Bulletin)" />
 <figcaption>Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday. (Dana Wormald | New Hampshire Bulletin)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ARIANA FIGUEROA <a href="https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2022/03/10/congress-hates-changing-the-clocks-just-like-everyone-else/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON – Republicans and 
Democrats in Congress can agree on sleep, or more precisely, the 
inconvenience of losing or gaining an hour of it each year thanks to 
going on and off daylight saving time.“I believe that any justifications 
for springing forward and falling back are either outdated or are 
outweighed by the serious health and economic impacts we now know are 
associated with the time changes,” U.S. House Energy and Commerce 
Committee Chair Frank Pallone of New Jersey said this week.As Americans prepare to adjust their 
clocks this weekend for daylight saving time, lawmakers at an Energy and
 Commerce subcommittee hearing on Wednesday assembled a panel of experts
 to discuss the health, energy, and economic impacts of the shift twice a
 year.&nbsp;Congress would have to authorize a 
change in federal law to allow permanent daylight saving time, but it’s 
not clear there is the momentum to do that.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/usa">Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday</a>,
 which means clocks in most of the U.S. will be turned forward one hour 
and there will be more light at the end of the day. Daylight saving time
 will end on Nov. 6.“Darkness kills and sunshine saves,” Steve Calandrillo, a law professor from the University of Washington, said at the hearing.He advocated for a permanent change 
to daylight saving time, arguing that having one more hour of sunlight 
in the evening would reduce crime, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1615292/">decrease fatal car accidents</a>, save energy and improve heath.&nbsp;He said a biannual clock switch “wreaks havoc with our sleep cycles, notably causing a <a target="_blank" href="https://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/heart-health/why-daylight-saving-time-could-increase-your-heart-attack-risk">24 percent increase in heart attacks</a> in the week after we ‘spring forward’ in March.”A <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15003579/">study</a> by researchers at Rutgers found that nearly 350 lives would be saved by moving to permanent daylight saving time year round.<h2>Stop switching</h2>Some lawmakers couldn’t decide if 
they wanted daylight saving time or standard time, but they all agreed 
that it was archaic for the United States to keep switching back and 
forth.&nbsp;Lawmakers from Florida were adamant 
that an extra hour of daylight would be beneficial for health, the 
economy, and for schools. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/623/all-info#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20Senate%20(03%2F09%2F2021)&amp;text=This%20bill%20makes%20daylight%20saving,standard%20time%20for%20those%20areas.">has introduced legislation</a> that would make daylight saving time permanent, and similar legislation is pending in the House.“Coming from the Sunshine State, we 
value sunshine for our quality of life, recreation, and our tourism 
economy,” Rep. Darren Soto, a Florida Democrat, said.Daylight saving time was used as an 
energy-saving measure during various points in U.S. history, such as 
World War I, and has become a permanent fixture since the energy crisis 
of the 1970s.&nbsp;Under federal law, states can opt out and remain on standard time, but are not allowed to change to daylight saving time.&nbsp;In the last four years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/daylight-savings-time-state-legislation.aspx">18 states </a>have
 enacted or passed measures to provide for year-round daylight saving 
time, but without congressional approval, they can’t adopt those 
changes.&nbsp;Iowa’s state House <a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/house-passes-year-round-daylight-saving-time-proposal/">recently</a> passed a bill that would put the state on daylight saving time, pending federal action.Two states have passed measures to stay on standard time — Arizona and Hawaii.&nbsp;Rep. Debbie
 Lesko, an Arizona Republican, said her state has been on standard time 
for nearly 40 years. She asked one of the witnesses, Dr. Beth Malow, a professor
 of neurology and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 
Nashville, Tennessee, if she knew of any studies on the health benefits 
for Arizonans who are used to living on standard time.&nbsp;Malow, who is also the director of 
the Vanderbilt Sleep Division, said she was not aware of any, but 
advocated for a permanent standard time.“Please don’t mess with Arizona, 
we’ve been doing this for 40 years,” Lesko said to her colleagues. 
“Anytime you change anything to Arizona, Arizonans will be upset.”&nbsp;<h2>Republicans object to topic</h2>Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan 
Republican, said he believed it should be up to the states if they want 
to move to daylight saving time, but he also expressed frustration for 
having the hearing in the first place. He said he believed the panel 
should be focusing on America’s energy independence after Russia’s 
attack on Ukraine.&nbsp;A handful of Republicans on the panel
 agreed and argued that they should be focusing their time on helping 
Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.Rep. Bob Latta, an Ohio Republican, 
said the last time he got a complaint from his constituents about 
daylight saving time was in 2020 and said that his constituents were 
worried about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.“Other things we should be talking about is American energy independence,” Latta said.Reps. Neal Dunn, a Florida Republican, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican, raised similar points.&nbsp;The top GOP lawmaker on the panel, 
Gus Bilirakis of Florida, discussed the health effects of switching back
 and forth and said he is concerned about children going to school in 
the dark if Congress did move to make daylight saving time permanent.&nbsp;Calandrillo said that as a parent of 
four young children, he did also not want them to go to school in the 
dark and suggested that schools start later, so children can get 
adequate sleep.&nbsp;Bilirakis agreed and said that he 
felt his kids going to school around 7 a.m. was “too early,” and was 
open to the idea of giving schools flexibility to change their start 
times.Malow agreed
 that starting school later could help children, particularly teens who 
are going through puberty, which can affect their sleep schedules.&nbsp;“Bright light in the morning is a piece of the puzzle that will help our kids get more sleep,” she said.Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, asked Malow to explain the effect sleep deprivation has on overall health.&nbsp;“When we’re not sleeping well, it has
 a whole host of ramifications,” Malow said. “Obesity, diabetes, heart 
disease, even cancer and Alzheimer’s disease is linked to either sleep 
loss or that circadian misalignment.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Congress hates changing the clocks just like everyone else

KANSAS CITY (AP) — With COVID-19 case numbers plummeting, Emily Safrin did something she hadn’t done since the pandemic began two years ago: She put her fears aside and went to a concert.

The fully vaccinated and boosted restaurant server planned to keep her mask on, but as the reggaeton star Bad Bunny took the stage and the energy in the crowd soared, she ripped it off. Soon after, she was strolling unmasked in a trendy Portland neighborhood with friends.

Two years after the World Health Organization&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">declared COVID-19 a pandemic</a>, changing the world overnight, relief and hope are creeping back in after a long, dark period of loss, fear and deep uncertainty about the future.

“Everyone was supposed to be vaccinated or have a negative test, and I said, ‘What the heck, I’m just gonna live my life,’” Safrin said of her concert experience. “It was overwhelming, to be honest, but it also felt great to be able to just feel a little bit normal again.”

The world is finally emerging from a brutal stretch of winter dominated by the highly contagious omicron variant, bringing a sense of relief on the two-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic.

It was March 11, 2020 when the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-michael-pence-religion-travel-virus-outbreak-52e12ca90c55b6e0c398d134a2cc286e">WHO issued its declaration</a>, driving home the severity of the threat faced by a virus that at that point had wreaked havoc primarily in Italy and China. The U.S. had 38 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 1,300 cases nationwide on that date,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wa-state-wire-seattle-ny-state-wire-nyc-wire-virus-outbreak-e27307edc5b133a67f3ba2036a97dc27">but reality was starting to sink in</a>: stocks tanked, classrooms started closing and people began donning masks. In a matter of hours, the NBA was canceling games, Chicago’s huge St. Patrick’s Day parade was scuttled and late-night comedians began filming from empty studios — or even their homes.

Since then, more than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-69e8cbaebb653a0f1cb65ffe33d9afbd">6 million people have died globally</a>, nearly 1 million in the U.S. Millions have been thrown out of work,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-video-612978076768">students have endured three school years of disruptions</a>. The emergence of the vaccine in December 2021 saved countless lives but political divisions, hesitancy and inequality in health systems have kept millions of people around the world from getting inoculated,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid19-how-will-it-end-2423873745c89f6a887cb117d8a0d7f2">prolonging the pandemic.</a>

Hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 have plummeted 80% in the last six weeks across the U.S. since a mid-January pandemic peak, dropping to the lowest levels since July 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Case counts have followed the same trend line to the lowest counts since last summer as well. Even the death tally, which typically lags behind cases and hospitalizations, has slowed significantly in the last month.

In its latest pandemic report, the WHO said infections and deaths are down across the globe, with only one region — the Western Pacific — seeing a rise in cases. The Middle East and Africa saw cases drop by 46% and 40%, respectively.

Another positive: The omicron wave and vaccinations&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3vMZ7RN" target="_blank">have left enough people with protection</a>&nbsp;against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less disruption to society, experts say.

Nowhere is the shift in the pandemic more apparent than in the nation’s hospitals, where critical care units were overflowing with desperately ill patients just months ago.

Julie Kim, chief nursing officer at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California, gets emotional when she recalls the bleakest days of the pandemic when doctors and nurses worked around the clock and didn’t go home because they were afraid of bringing the virus back with them.

At one point&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-ap-top-news-understanding-the-outbreak-ca-state-wire-health-7fd65b99e565ee80f82dee0873a6d2d9">during the summer 2020 spike</a>, there were 250 COVID-19 patients in the hospital licensed for 320 beds and the hospital had to use offices for overflow bed space.

The pandemic has eased to the point that as of Tuesday, there were just four COVID-19 patients at the hospital, Kim said, and medical staff feels more prepared to treat the disease with the knowledge gained in those darkest days. Still, many are traumatized by the raw memories of the past two years and will never be the same, she said.

“It’s hard to use the word ‘normal,’ because I don’t think we will ever get back to a pre-COVID state. We are adapting and we are moving forward,” Kim said. “This has had a toll on many of us. Some people are moving forward and some people are still having a hard time dealing with it all.”

Mask mandates, vaccine requirements and other COVID-19 measures are being eliminated everywhere. The last statewide mask mandate in the U.S., in Hawaii, will end in two weeks.

But health experts are also urging some caution.

Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious-disease physician and epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health, said it’s certainly good news that the U.S. seems to be at the tail end of a peak. But he cautioned against any victory declarations, especially with the potential of another variant lurking around the corner.

“We have new variants emerge and those new variants fuel large waves, epidemic waves,” Ko said. “The big question is, are they going to be as mild or less severe as omicron? Are they going to be potentially more severe? Unfortunately, I can’t predict that.”

In Portland, people are heading back to movie theaters, concerts and gyms after a long, dark winter and bars and restaurants are filling up once more. Safrin said many customers are telling her it’s their first time dining inside in months.

Kalani Pa, who owns an Anytime Fitness franchise with his wife in the Portland suburbs, said the past two years almost drove him out of business — but with Oregon’s mask mandate ending Friday, his small gym is suddenly coming to life again. The franchise signed three new members on one day alone this week and a coffee shop opened this week next to the gym in a space that sat vacant for months, driving up foot traffic.

“Sometimes things have got to get worse before they get better,” Pa said before rushing off to give a tour to a new member.

Jaclyn Chavira remembers the fear on peoples’ faces as they lined up by the thousands in Los Angeles to be tested during the late 2020 surge, which triggered an astonishing 250,000 infections and more than 3,000 deaths a day across the U.S. at the peak.

Infections raced out of control for weeks and some days the line of cars at the Dodger Stadium test site, one of the largest in the nation, stretched for nearly two miles.

At the height of the omicron surge, Chavira’s nonprofit called CORE did 94,000 tests a week at 10 sites in Los Angeles County. Last week, they conducted about 3,400 and most of them were for work or travel requirements — not because the person was sick, she said.

“You can sense the relief,” said Chavira.

Not everyone, however, is ready to dive back in. Many remember last year when mask rules eased and COVID-19 seemed to be loosening its grip only to come roaring back as the delta and omicron variants took hold.

Amber Pierce, who works in a Portland bar-restaurant, was out of work for almost a year due to COVID-related layoffs and narrowly dodged an infection herself when the virus swept through her workplace. A regular customer died during this winter’s peak, she said.

She still wears a mask even when outdoors and was eating pizza outside on a recent day only because her brother was visiting for the first time in more than a year.

“I’m going to make sure that there’s not a spike once those masks come off and everyone starts, you know, feeling comfortable,” she said, as she applied hand sanitizer.

“It’s still the anxiety of it,” she said. “Either way, it’s going to hit you whether you get really sick or not.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647058235139.png" alt="In its latest pandemic report, the WHO said infections and deaths are down across the globe, with only one region — the Western Pacific — seeing a rise in cases-photo courtesy Denver International Airport" />
 <figcaption>In its latest pandemic report, the WHO said infections and deaths are down across the globe, with only one region — the Western Pacific — seeing a rise in cases-photo courtesy Denver International Airport</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — With COVID-19 case numbers plummeting, Emily Safrin did something she hadn’t done since the pandemic began two years ago: She put her fears aside and went to a concert.The fully vaccinated and boosted restaurant server planned to keep her mask on, but as the reggaeton star Bad Bunny took the stage and the energy in the crowd soared, she ripped it off. Soon after, she was strolling unmasked in a trendy Portland neighborhood with friends.Two years after the World Health Organization&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">declared COVID-19 a pandemic</a>, changing the world overnight, relief and hope are creeping back in after a long, dark period of loss, fear and deep uncertainty about the future.“Everyone was supposed to be vaccinated or have a negative test, and I said, ‘What the heck, I’m just gonna live my life,’” Safrin said of her concert experience. “It was overwhelming, to be honest, but it also felt great to be able to just feel a little bit normal again.”The world is finally emerging from a brutal stretch of winter dominated by the highly contagious omicron variant, bringing a sense of relief on the two-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic.It was March 11, 2020 when the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-michael-pence-religion-travel-virus-outbreak-52e12ca90c55b6e0c398d134a2cc286e">WHO issued its declaration</a>, driving home the severity of the threat faced by a virus that at that point had wreaked havoc primarily in Italy and China. The U.S. had 38 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 1,300 cases nationwide on that date,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wa-state-wire-seattle-ny-state-wire-nyc-wire-virus-outbreak-e27307edc5b133a67f3ba2036a97dc27">but reality was starting to sink in</a>: stocks tanked, classrooms started closing and people began donning masks. In a matter of hours, the NBA was canceling games, Chicago’s huge St. Patrick’s Day parade was scuttled and late-night comedians began filming from empty studios — or even their homes.Since then, more than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-69e8cbaebb653a0f1cb65ffe33d9afbd">6 million people have died globally</a>, nearly 1 million in the U.S. Millions have been thrown out of work,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-video-612978076768">students have endured three school years of disruptions</a>. The emergence of the vaccine in December 2021 saved countless lives but political divisions, hesitancy and inequality in health systems have kept millions of people around the world from getting inoculated,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid19-how-will-it-end-2423873745c89f6a887cb117d8a0d7f2">prolonging the pandemic.</a>The situation is improving, however.Hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 have plummeted 80% in the last six weeks across the U.S. since a mid-January pandemic peak, dropping to the lowest levels since July 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Case counts have followed the same trend line to the lowest counts since last summer as well. Even the death tally, which typically lags behind cases and hospitalizations, has slowed significantly in the last month.In its latest pandemic report, the WHO said infections and deaths are down across the globe, with only one region — the Western Pacific — seeing a rise in cases. The Middle East and Africa saw cases drop by 46% and 40%, respectively.Another positive: The omicron wave and vaccinations&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3vMZ7RN" target="_blank">have left enough people with protection</a>&nbsp;against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less disruption to society, experts say.Nowhere is the shift in the pandemic more apparent than in the nation’s hospitals, where critical care units were overflowing with desperately ill patients just months ago.Julie Kim, chief nursing officer at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California, gets emotional when she recalls the bleakest days of the pandemic when doctors and nurses worked around the clock and didn’t go home because they were afraid of bringing the virus back with them.At one point&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-ap-top-news-understanding-the-outbreak-ca-state-wire-health-7fd65b99e565ee80f82dee0873a6d2d9">during the summer 2020 spike</a>, there were 250 COVID-19 patients in the hospital licensed for 320 beds and the hospital had to use offices for overflow bed space.The pandemic has eased to the point that as of Tuesday, there were just four COVID-19 patients at the hospital, Kim said, and medical staff feels more prepared to treat the disease with the knowledge gained in those darkest days. Still, many are traumatized by the raw memories of the past two years and will never be the same, she said.“It’s hard to use the word ‘normal,’ because I don’t think we will ever get back to a pre-COVID state. We are adapting and we are moving forward,” Kim said. “This has had a toll on many of us. Some people are moving forward and some people are still having a hard time dealing with it all.”Mask mandates, vaccine requirements and other COVID-19 measures are being eliminated everywhere. The last statewide mask mandate in the U.S., in Hawaii, will end in two weeks.But health experts are also urging some caution.Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious-disease physician and epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health, said it’s certainly good news that the U.S. seems to be at the tail end of a peak. But he cautioned against any victory declarations, especially with the potential of another variant lurking around the corner.“We have new variants emerge and those new variants fuel large waves, epidemic waves,” Ko said. “The big question is, are they going to be as mild or less severe as omicron? Are they going to be potentially more severe? Unfortunately, I can’t predict that.”In Portland, people are heading back to movie theaters, concerts and gyms after a long, dark winter and bars and restaurants are filling up once more. Safrin said many customers are telling her it’s their first time dining inside in months.Kalani Pa, who owns an Anytime Fitness franchise with his wife in the Portland suburbs, said the past two years almost drove him out of business — but with Oregon’s mask mandate ending Friday, his small gym is suddenly coming to life again. The franchise signed three new members on one day alone this week and a coffee shop opened this week next to the gym in a space that sat vacant for months, driving up foot traffic.“Sometimes things have got to get worse before they get better,” Pa said before rushing off to give a tour to a new member.Demand for testing is down, too.Jaclyn Chavira remembers the fear on peoples’ faces as they lined up by the thousands in Los Angeles to be tested during the late 2020 surge, which triggered an astonishing 250,000 infections and more than 3,000 deaths a day across the U.S. at the peak.Infections raced out of control for weeks and some days the line of cars at the Dodger Stadium test site, one of the largest in the nation, stretched for nearly two miles.At the height of the omicron surge, Chavira’s nonprofit called CORE did 94,000 tests a week at 10 sites in Los Angeles County. Last week, they conducted about 3,400 and most of them were for work or travel requirements — not because the person was sick, she said.“You can sense the relief,” said Chavira.Not everyone, however, is ready to dive back in. Many remember last year when mask rules eased and COVID-19 seemed to be loosening its grip only to come roaring back as the delta and omicron variants took hold.Amber Pierce, who works in a Portland bar-restaurant, was out of work for almost a year due to COVID-related layoffs and narrowly dodged an infection herself when the virus swept through her workplace. A regular customer died during this winter’s peak, she said.She still wears a mask even when outdoors and was eating pizza outside on a recent day only because her brother was visiting for the first time in more than a year.“I’m going to make sure that there’s not a spike once those masks come off and everyone starts, you know, feeling comfortable,” she said, as she applied hand sanitizer.“It’s still the anxiety of it,” she said. “Either way, it’s going to hit you whether you get really sick or not.”___

2 years into pandemic, world takes cautious steps forward

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today urged people to stay resolute against ongoing <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts">scams and schemes</a>
 by properly securing computers, tablets and phones. Solid cybersecurity
 protection and scam recognition is vital to reduce the threat of 
identity theft inside and outside the tax system.

The IRS works closely with the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit</a>,
 a partnership with state tax agencies and the private-sector tax 
industry, to help protect taxpayer information and defend against 
identity theft. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/taxes-security-together">Taxpayers</a> and <a href="https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/protect-your-clients-protect-yourself">tax professionals</a>
 can take steps to help in this effort by doing things like minimizing 
cybersecurity footprints and recognizing common scams and schemes.

Below are 10 tips to help minimize exposure to fraud and identity theft:

The IRS doesn't initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text 
messages or social media channels to request personal or financial 
information. Generally, the IRS first mails a paper bill to a person who
 owes taxes. In some special situations, the IRS will call or come to a 
home or business.

People should be alert to scammers posing as the IRS to steal personal information. There are <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/how-to-know-its-really-the-irs-calling-or-knocking-on-your-door">ways to know</a> if it's really the IRS calling or knocking on someone's door.

Taxpayers can find answers to questions, forms and instructions and 
easy-to-use tools online at IRS.gov. They can use these resources to get
 help when it's needed at home, at work or on the go.

This news release is part of a series called the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-time-guide">Tax Time Guide</a>, a resource to help taxpayers file an accurate tax return. Additional help is available in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17">Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today urged people to stay resolute against ongoing <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts">scams and schemes</a>
 by properly securing computers, tablets and phones. Solid cybersecurity
 protection and scam recognition is vital to reduce the threat of 
identity theft inside and outside the tax system.The IRS works closely with the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit</a>,
 a partnership with state tax agencies and the private-sector tax 
industry, to help protect taxpayer information and defend against 
identity theft. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/taxes-security-together">Taxpayers</a> and <a href="https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/protect-your-clients-protect-yourself">tax professionals</a>
 can take steps to help in this effort by doing things like minimizing 
cybersecurity footprints and recognizing common scams and schemes.Below are 10 tips to help minimize exposure to fraud and identity theft:<ul>
 <li>Safeguard personal data. Provide a Social Security number, for example, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central">only when necessary</a>.
 Only offer personal information or conduct financial transactions on 
sites that have been verified as reputable, encrypted websites. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Protect personal information. Treat personal 
information like cash – don't hand it out to just anyone. Social 
Security numbers, credit card numbers, bank and even utility account 
numbers can be used to help steal a person's money or open new accounts. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Use strong passwords. Use a password phrase or 
series of words that will be easy for you to remember. Use at least 10 
characters; 12 is ideal for most home users. Mix letters, numbers and 
special characters. Try to be unpredictable – don't use names, 
birthdates or common words. Don't use the same password for many 
accounts and avoid sharing them. Keep passwords in a secure place or use
 password management tools. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Set password and encryption protections for wireless networks.
 If a home or business Wi-Fi is unsecured, it allows any computer within
 range to access the wireless network and potentially steal information 
from connected devices. Whenever it is an option for a 
password-protected account, users should also opt for a multi-factor 
authentication process. Multi-factor authentication is critical to 
protecting your password. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Avoid phishing scams. The easiest way for criminals to steal sensitive data is simply to ask for it. IRS urges people to learn to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/suspicious-emails-and-identity-theft">recognize phishing emails</a>,
 calls or texts that pose as familiar organizations such as banks, 
credit card companies or even the IRS. Keep sensitive data safe and:
	Be aware that an unsolicited email with a request to download 
an attachment or click on a URL could appear to come from someone that 
you know like a friend, work colleague or tax professional if their 
email has been spoofed or compromised.Don't assume internet advertisements, pop-up ads or emails are 
from reputable companies. If an ad or offer looks too good to be true, 
take a moment to check out the company behind it.Never download "security" software from a pop-up ad. A pervasive 
ploy is a pop-up ad that indicates it has detected a virus on the 
computer. The download most likely will install some type of malware. 
Reputable security software companies do not advertise in this manner. 
		&nbsp;</li><li>Be aware that an unsolicited email with a request to download 
an attachment or click on a URL could appear to come from someone that 
you know like a friend, work colleague or tax professional if their 
email has been spoofed or compromised.</li><li>Don't assume internet advertisements, pop-up ads or emails are 
from reputable companies. If an ad or offer looks too good to be true, 
take a moment to check out the company behind it.</li><li>Never download "security" software from a pop-up ad. A pervasive 
ploy is a pop-up ad that indicates it has detected a virus on the 
computer. The download most likely will install some type of malware. 
Reputable security software companies do not advertise in this manner. 
		&nbsp;</li><li>Use security software. An anti-virus program 
should provide protection from viruses, Trojans, spyware and adware. The
 IRS urges everyone to use an anti-virus program and always keep it up 
to date. Set security software to update automatically so it can be 
updated as threats emerge. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Educate those less experienced about online safety. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-security-summit-partners-remind-families-to-make-online-safety-a-priority-during-national-cybersecurity-month">Children and those with less online experience</a>
 may not be fully aware of the perils of opening suspicious web pages, 
emails or documents. Teens and younger users can put themselves at risk 
by leaving a trail of personal information for con artists to follow. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Back up files. No system is completely secure. 
Copy important files, including federal and state tax returns, onto 
removable discs or back-up drives and cloud storage. Store discs, drives
 and any paper copies in secure, locked locations. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Know the risk of public Wi-Fi. Connection to 
public Wi-Fi is convenient and often free, but it may not be safe. 
Hackers and cybercriminals can easily steal personal information from 
these networks. Always use a virtual private network when connecting to 
public Wi-Fi. 
	&nbsp;</li><li>Review ID Theft Central. Designed to improve online access to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central">information on identity theft</a>, it serves taxpayers, tax professionals and businesses.</li>
 </ul>The IRS doesn't initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text 
messages or social media channels to request personal or financial 
information. Generally, the IRS first mails a paper bill to a person who
 owes taxes. In some special situations, the IRS will call or come to a 
home or business.People should be alert to scammers posing as the IRS to steal personal information. There are <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/how-to-know-its-really-the-irs-calling-or-knocking-on-your-door">ways to know</a> if it's really the IRS calling or knocking on someone's door.Taxpayers can find answers to questions, forms and instructions and 
easy-to-use tools online at IRS.gov. They can use these resources to get
 help when it's needed at home, at work or on the go.This news release is part of a series called the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-time-guide">Tax Time Guide</a>, a resource to help taxpayers file an accurate tax return. Additional help is available in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17">Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax</a>.Cover image courtesy Pixabay

Tips to minimize cyber footprints, protect personal information online

Culture in Unicameral has ‘gone to hell,’ says one senator after another lawmaker walks out

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/03/11/after-emotional-vote-constitutional-carry-gun-bill-advances-to-second-round-debate/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN
 — In a dramatic vote Friday, state lawmakers advanced a bill that would
 allow Nebraskans to carry a concealed weapon without obtaining a $100 
state permit, undergoing a criminal background check or passing a gun 
safety class.

Legislative
 Bill 773 still faces two more rounds of debate, and at least one 
supporter indicated he would oppose the bill if an amendment sought by 
the Omaha police is added to the legislation.

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha provided the 33rd vote to invoke cloture and halt a filibuster against the bill.

But
 during floor debate, Wayne indicated that he would oppose LB 773 if the
 Omaha police amendment is added to the bill during second-round 
debate.&nbsp;

The
 primary sponsor of the bill, Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer, rejected the idea 
that Wayne’s stance could complicate the ability to overcome filibusters
 ahead and get the measure passed.

“We will get there,” Brewer said after the vote.

Meanwhile,
 Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld said he will continue to oppose the bill, 
which he sees as a public safety risk because it does away with the 
requirement of a gun safety course to carry a concealed weapon.

“I don’t know what the solution to gun violence is, but I know what it’s not,” Morfeld said.

After
 Wayne provided the 33rd vote to invoke cloture, three other senators — 
Carol Blood, John McCollister and Jen Day — switched from “present and 
not voting” to “yes.” Thus, the final vote on cloture was 36-9.

LB 773 later passed on a 35-9 vote, two more than needed for cloture.&nbsp;

On Thursday, Alabama became the 22nd state 
to allow carrying a concealed weapon without a state permit when Alabama
 Gov. Kay Ivey signed a similar bill into law.

Brewer
 drafted an amendment to the bill with the Omaha police department and 
its union to turn them from opponents to “neutral” on the so-called 
“constitutional carry” proposal. But debate on that amendment won’t come
 up until second-round debate.

The
 amendment would keep in place the Omaha ordinance that requires 
registration of handguns. It would also allow for the continued 
prosecution of the crime of “carrying a concealed handgun” if a 
concealed gun was used in a long list of “covered offenses,” from 
robbery and kidnapping to cockfighting and disorderly conduct.

The
 Omaha Police Officers Association had testified against LB 773 earlier 
this year, saying that as originally drafted, it would harm police 
efforts to combat street gangs.

Meanwhile, the Lincoln Police Department remains opposed to the bill, as does a state police chiefs’ association.

Omaha Sen. Wendy DeBoer said she opposed the
 bill because of the amendment. She said she may be legally carrying a 
concealed weapon, but under the amendment, she would face a much more 
serious crime if she wrote a bad check.

The
 debate over the gun bill got emotional at times, with one senator 
storming out of the chamber and another saying that the “culture” of not
 getting personal with colleagues during floor debate had “gone to 
hell.”

Omaha
 Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh accused Brewer of “belittling” her over her 
concerns about gun-rights advocates openly carrying guns in the State 
Capitol.

&nbsp;While
 that is not prohibited, she said that the clear intent was to 
“intimidate” her at a legislative hearing two years ago. Cavanaugh 
pointed out that people can’t carry a sign into a hearing, but they can 
carry a gun.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Brewer had said yesterday that senators needed a “gut check” if they couldn’t take the pressures of being a legislator.

Cavanaugh
 stormed out of the chamber after a gun-rights supporter, Sen. Julie 
Slama of Sterling, accused her of disrespecting Sen. Brewer, a decorated
 military veteran, and of invoking the “cancel culture” against 
conservative senators.

Cavanaugh
 asked for a “point of order” to address the charge but wasn’t 
recognized for comment by the chair, which led her to walk out.

The
 incident prompted Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks to call on her 
colleagues to be “kinder” and question why “the adults” in the 
Legislature hadn’t stepped in during the exchange between Slama and 
Cavanaugh.

Omaha
 Sen. Steve Lathrop, who has served 12 years in the Legislature, said it
 wasn’t acceptable for debate to become personal. He added that 
political discourse had changed since he first was elected in 2006, 
becoming more like Washington, D.C.

“It’s gone to hell,” Lathrop said, of the culture in the one-house Unicameral.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647013505823.png" alt="Gun rights advocates turned out in force in January to testify in support of a bill introduced in the Nebraska Legislature that would do away with the state license and training requirements to carry a concealed handgun. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Gun rights advocates turned out in force in January to testify in support of a bill introduced in the Nebraska Legislature that would do away with the state license and training requirements to carry a concealed handgun. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Culture in Unicameral has ‘gone to hell,’ says one senator after another lawmaker walks out</h2>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/03/11/after-emotional-vote-constitutional-carry-gun-bill-advances-to-second-round-debate/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN
 — In a dramatic vote Friday, state lawmakers advanced a bill that would
 allow Nebraskans to carry a concealed weapon without obtaining a $100 
state permit, undergoing a criminal background check or passing a gun 
safety class.Legislative
 Bill 773 still faces two more rounds of debate, and at least one 
supporter indicated he would oppose the bill if an amendment sought by 
the Omaha police is added to the legislation.State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha provided the 33rd vote to invoke cloture and halt a filibuster against the bill.<h2>Omaha amendment</h2>But
 during floor debate, Wayne indicated that he would oppose LB 773 if the
 Omaha police amendment is added to the bill during second-round 
debate.&nbsp;The
 primary sponsor of the bill, Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer, rejected the idea 
that Wayne’s stance could complicate the ability to overcome filibusters
 ahead and get the measure passed.“We will get there,” Brewer said after the vote.Meanwhile,
 Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld said he will continue to oppose the bill, 
which he sees as a public safety risk because it does away with the 
requirement of a gun safety course to carry a concealed weapon.<h2>‘Not a solution’</h2>“I don’t know what the solution to gun violence is, but I know what it’s not,” Morfeld said.After
 Wayne provided the 33rd vote to invoke cloture, three other senators — 
Carol Blood, John McCollister and Jen Day — switched from “present and 
not voting” to “yes.” Thus, the final vote on cloture was 36-9.LB 773 later passed on a 35-9 vote, two more than needed for cloture.&nbsp;On Thursday, Alabama became the 22nd state 
to allow carrying a concealed weapon without a state permit when Alabama
 Gov. Kay Ivey signed a similar bill into law.Brewer
 drafted an amendment to the bill with the Omaha police department and 
its union to turn them from opponents to “neutral” on the so-called 
“constitutional carry” proposal. But debate on that amendment won’t come
 up until second-round debate.<h2>‘Covered offenses’</h2>The
 amendment would keep in place the Omaha ordinance that requires 
registration of handguns. It would also allow for the continued 
prosecution of the crime of “carrying a concealed handgun” if a 
concealed gun was used in a long list of “covered offenses,” from 
robbery and kidnapping to cockfighting and disorderly conduct.The
 Omaha Police Officers Association had testified against LB 773 earlier 
this year, saying that as originally drafted, it would harm police 
efforts to combat street gangs.Meanwhile, the Lincoln Police Department remains opposed to the bill, as does a state police chiefs’ association.Omaha Sen. Wendy DeBoer said she opposed the
 bill because of the amendment. She said she may be legally carrying a 
concealed weapon, but under the amendment, she would face a much more 
serious crime if she wrote a bad check.<h2>Debate got emotional</h2>The
 debate over the gun bill got emotional at times, with one senator 
storming out of the chamber and another saying that the “culture” of not
 getting personal with colleagues during floor debate had “gone to 
hell.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647037065847.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha (Courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha (Courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>Omaha
 Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh accused Brewer of “belittling” her over her 
concerns about gun-rights advocates openly carrying guns in the State 
Capitol.&nbsp;While
 that is not prohibited, she said that the clear intent was to 
“intimidate” her at a legislative hearing two years ago. Cavanaugh 
pointed out that people can’t carry a sign into a hearing, but they can 
carry a gun.&nbsp;&nbsp;Brewer had said yesterday that senators needed a “gut check” if they couldn’t take the pressures of being a legislator.Cavanaugh
 stormed out of the chamber after a gun-rights supporter, Sen. Julie 
Slama of Sterling, accused her of disrespecting Sen. Brewer, a decorated
 military veteran, and of invoking the “cancel culture” against 
conservative senators.<h2>‘Gone to hell’</h2>Cavanaugh
 asked for a “point of order” to address the charge but wasn’t 
recognized for comment by the chair, which led her to walk out.The
 incident prompted Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks to call on her 
colleagues to be “kinder” and question why “the adults” in the 
Legislature hadn’t stepped in during the exchange between Slama and 
Cavanaugh.Omaha
 Sen. Steve Lathrop, who has served 12 years in the Legislature, said it
 wasn’t acceptable for debate to become personal. He added that 
political discourse had changed since he first was elected in 2006, 
becoming more like Washington, D.C.“It’s gone to hell,” Lathrop said, of the culture in the one-house Unicameral.

After emotional vote, Neb. gun bill advances to second-round debate

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man who fired several shots at an Omaha grocery in what his attorney said was his plan to die at the hands of police has been sentenced to decades in prison.

 The Omaha World-Herald reports that 23-year-old Jacob Muhle was sentenced Thursday to between 42 and 64 years and must serve more than 26 years before he's eligible for parole. 

Police say Muhle fired shots into two occupied vehicles in a Hy-Vee grocery parking lot on March 17, 2020, then walked into the store's pharmacy and fired another shot before a man tackled him and an off-duty police officer wrestled his gun away. 

By Associated PressOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man who fired several shots at an Omaha grocery in what his attorney said was his plan to die at the hands of police has been sentenced to decades in prison. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 23-year-old Jacob Muhle was sentenced Thursday to between 42 and 64 years and must serve more than 26 years before he's eligible for parole. Police say Muhle fired shots into two occupied vehicles in a Hy-Vee grocery parking lot on March 17, 2020, then walked into the store's pharmacy and fired another shot before a man tackled him and an off-duty police officer wrestled his gun away. No one was hit by the gunfire.

Man who fired shots in Omaha grocery sentenced to prison

Comparing how the caldera in Yellowstone compares with others around the world

By MICHAEL POLAND <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2022/03/11/wait-so-the-volcano-in-yellowstone-is-sinking/">For the Daily Montanan</a>

Yellowstone is a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/personal-commentary-why-i-dislike-term-supervolcano-and-what-we-should-be-saying-instead">caldera system</a>—a
 large volcanic area that was never home to a single towering volcano, 
but that has experienced eruptions so large that the ground collapsed 
into the emptied&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">magma</a>&nbsp;chamber.&nbsp;
 While these caldera-forming eruptions grab most of the attention, it is
 far more common that caldera systems see smaller eruptions.&nbsp; Between 
eruptions,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/battle-giants-how-yellowstone-fits-world-moving-mountains">the ground deforms</a>—rising and falling—as magma, water, and gas accumulate and withdraw from storage areas beneath the surface.

At Yellowstone, ground deformation was first documented in the 1970s.&nbsp; An initial&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/leveling-surveys-and-discovery-uplift-yellowstone">leveling survey</a>—a
 method of measuring surface elevation—was completed in 1923 and 
repeated in the mid-1970s. The results indicated that the ground had 
uplifted by a maximum of 72 centimeters (28 inches) in the 50-plus years
 between surveys—a rate of about 1.4 cm (0.5 inches) per year.

Since the 1970s, leveling surveys, and later&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/one-scientists-best-tools-tracking-ground-deformation-was-designed-do">GPS data</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/insar-magic-deformation-camera-no-one-saw-coming">satellite radar imagery</a>,
 showed that Yellowstone did not just go up, but at times it also 
subsided.&nbsp; Whether going up or down, the rate was always a few 
centimeters (about 1 inch) per year.

This sounds impressive, and it is—that huge areas of ground rise and 
fall by an inch per year is a testament to the powerful forces acting 
beneath the surface at Yellowstone.&nbsp; But how does this compare to 
deformation measured at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/caldera-systems-worldwide-family-more-just-yellowstone">other calderas</a>?

A logical comparison would be with&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/long-valley-caldera">Long Valley</a>,
 a caldera system located in eastern California.&nbsp; Uplift there was first
 documented starting in the late 1970s.&nbsp; During the nearly 50 years 
between 1975 and 2022, the overall maximum uplift of Long Valley caldera
 was 66 centimeters (26 inches), similar in terms of rate to 
Yellowstone.

But Long Valley and Yellowstone pale in comparison to deformation 
measured at Campi Flegrei—a caldera system near Naples, in Italy.&nbsp; 
Leveling surveys started at Campi Flegrei in 1905 and were repeated 
frequently to assess how the ground moved, since deformation was a 
well-known phenomenon in the region.&nbsp; Between 1905 and 1950, the caldera
 subsided by more than 1 meter (3 feet).&nbsp; The sense of movement then 
reversed, and several episodes of uplift occurred.&nbsp; The largest were in 
1969–1972 and 1982–1984, when the ground rose by 1.75 meters (nearly 6 
feet) during each episode!&nbsp; These uplift crises were accompanied by 
strong <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">seismicity</a>
 that prompted evacuations due to building damage.&nbsp; When you plot the 
vertical deformation at Campi Flegrei at the same scale as that from 
Long Valley and Yellowstone, the lines for the calderas in the USA look 
almost flat.

But that doesn’t even tell the full story of Campi Flegrei 
deformation.&nbsp; Near the center of the caldera is a 2000-year-old Roman 
ruin that has three columns, all of which have evidence of mollusk 
borings 7 meters (23 feet) above their bases.&nbsp; The columns are above sea
 level now, and they were built above sea level.&nbsp; But between the time 
they were built and now, the ground subsided below sea level by several 
meters (tens of feet) and then rose out of the sea once again.&nbsp; It was 
study of this site in the 1820s that convinced geologists that the 
ground at volcanoes could move up and down by dramatic amounts due to 
subsurface magmatic activity.

The long-term record at Yellowstone also includes impressive amounts of surface movement.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/thousands-years-caldera-inflation-and-deflation-recorded-shoreline">Studies of wave-cut terraces on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake</a>&nbsp;have
 shown that the central part of the caldera today is about 30 meters 
(100 feet) feet lower than it was at the end of the last ice age 13,000 
years ago—even in spite of overall uplift during the past century.

At Campi Flegrei, extreme rates of deformation are known to have 
occurred prior to the most recent eruption, which occurred in 1538 when 
a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">cinder cone</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">lava</a>
 flow formed.&nbsp; In the decades before that eruption, the ground uplifted 
so much that royal pronouncements were needed to establish ownership of 
the new land that had risen out of the sea.&nbsp; And in the hours before the
 start of the eruption in 1538, the shoreline rose so quickly that fish 
were trapped, and the coastline moved seaward by about 370 meters (1,200
 feet)!

Similar rapid changes have been observed at other caldera systems 
prior to eruptions.&nbsp; For example, at Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea, a tide
 gauge was lifted completely out of the water in the hours before the 
start of a mild&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">explosive eruption</a>&nbsp;in 1994.

Deformation at Yellowstone is certainly impressive, but it pales in 
comparison to what has occurred at Campi Flegrei—not just over the past 
century, but over the past two millennia.

Michael Poland is a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647024155381.png" alt="Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy, records deformation of Campi Flegrei caldera over two millennia. It was built above sea level about 2000 years ago, but mollusk borings on the large marble columns indicate that it subsided by 7 meters (23 feet) below sea level before being uplifted above sea level once more in the past several hundred years. (Photo by Emily Montgomery-Brown, USGS.)" />
 <figcaption>Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy, records deformation of Campi Flegrei caldera over two millennia. It was built above sea level about 2000 years ago, but mollusk borings on the large marble columns indicate that it subsided by 7 meters (23 feet) below sea level before being uplifted above sea level once more in the past several hundred years. (Photo by Emily Montgomery-Brown, USGS.)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Comparing how the caldera in Yellowstone compares with others around the world</h2>By MICHAEL POLAND <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2022/03/11/wait-so-the-volcano-in-yellowstone-is-sinking/">For the Daily Montanan</a>Yellowstone is a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/personal-commentary-why-i-dislike-term-supervolcano-and-what-we-should-be-saying-instead">caldera system</a>—a
 large volcanic area that was never home to a single towering volcano, 
but that has experienced eruptions so large that the ground collapsed 
into the emptied&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">magma</a>&nbsp;chamber.&nbsp;
 While these caldera-forming eruptions grab most of the attention, it is
 far more common that caldera systems see smaller eruptions.&nbsp; Between 
eruptions,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/battle-giants-how-yellowstone-fits-world-moving-mountains">the ground deforms</a>—rising and falling—as magma, water, and gas accumulate and withdraw from storage areas beneath the surface.At Yellowstone, ground deformation was first documented in the 1970s.&nbsp; An initial&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/leveling-surveys-and-discovery-uplift-yellowstone">leveling survey</a>—a
 method of measuring surface elevation—was completed in 1923 and 
repeated in the mid-1970s. The results indicated that the ground had 
uplifted by a maximum of 72 centimeters (28 inches) in the 50-plus years
 between surveys—a rate of about 1.4 cm (0.5 inches) per year.Since the 1970s, leveling surveys, and later&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/one-scientists-best-tools-tracking-ground-deformation-was-designed-do">GPS data</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/insar-magic-deformation-camera-no-one-saw-coming">satellite radar imagery</a>,
 showed that Yellowstone did not just go up, but at times it also 
subsided.&nbsp; Whether going up or down, the rate was always a few 
centimeters (about 1 inch) per year.This sounds impressive, and it is—that huge areas of ground rise and 
fall by an inch per year is a testament to the powerful forces acting 
beneath the surface at Yellowstone.&nbsp; But how does this compare to 
deformation measured at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/caldera-systems-worldwide-family-more-just-yellowstone">other calderas</a>?A logical comparison would be with&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/long-valley-caldera">Long Valley</a>,
 a caldera system located in eastern California.&nbsp; Uplift there was first
 documented starting in the late 1970s.&nbsp; During the nearly 50 years 
between 1975 and 2022, the overall maximum uplift of Long Valley caldera
 was 66 centimeters (26 inches), similar in terms of rate to 
Yellowstone.But Long Valley and Yellowstone pale in comparison to deformation 
measured at Campi Flegrei—a caldera system near Naples, in Italy.&nbsp; 
Leveling surveys started at Campi Flegrei in 1905 and were repeated 
frequently to assess how the ground moved, since deformation was a 
well-known phenomenon in the region.&nbsp; Between 1905 and 1950, the caldera
 subsided by more than 1 meter (3 feet).&nbsp; The sense of movement then 
reversed, and several episodes of uplift occurred.&nbsp; The largest were in 
1969–1972 and 1982–1984, when the ground rose by 1.75 meters (nearly 6 
feet) during each episode!&nbsp; These uplift crises were accompanied by 
strong <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">seismicity</a>
 that prompted evacuations due to building damage.&nbsp; When you plot the 
vertical deformation at Campi Flegrei at the same scale as that from 
Long Valley and Yellowstone, the lines for the calderas in the USA look 
almost flat.But that doesn’t even tell the full story of Campi Flegrei 
deformation.&nbsp; Near the center of the caldera is a 2000-year-old Roman 
ruin that has three columns, all of which have evidence of mollusk 
borings 7 meters (23 feet) above their bases.&nbsp; The columns are above sea
 level now, and they were built above sea level.&nbsp; But between the time 
they were built and now, the ground subsided below sea level by several 
meters (tens of feet) and then rose out of the sea once again.&nbsp; It was 
study of this site in the 1820s that convinced geologists that the 
ground at volcanoes could move up and down by dramatic amounts due to 
subsurface magmatic activity.The long-term record at Yellowstone also includes impressive amounts of surface movement.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/thousands-years-caldera-inflation-and-deflation-recorded-shoreline">Studies of wave-cut terraces on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake</a>&nbsp;have
 shown that the central part of the caldera today is about 30 meters 
(100 feet) feet lower than it was at the end of the last ice age 13,000 
years ago—even in spite of overall uplift during the past century.At Campi Flegrei, extreme rates of deformation are known to have 
occurred prior to the most recent eruption, which occurred in 1538 when 
a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">cinder cone</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">lava</a>
 flow formed.&nbsp; In the decades before that eruption, the ground uplifted 
so much that royal pronouncements were needed to establish ownership of 
the new land that had risen out of the sea.&nbsp; And in the hours before the
 start of the eruption in 1538, the shoreline rose so quickly that fish 
were trapped, and the coastline moved seaward by about 370 meters (1,200
 feet)!Similar rapid changes have been observed at other caldera systems 
prior to eruptions.&nbsp; For example, at Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea, a tide
 gauge was lifted completely out of the water in the hours before the 
start of a mild&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary">explosive eruption</a>&nbsp;in 1994.Deformation at Yellowstone is certainly impressive, but it pales in 
comparison to what has occurred at Campi Flegrei—not just over the past 
century, but over the past two millennia.Michael Poland is a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

Wait, so the volcano in Yellowstone is sinking?

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers they may 
be able to claim a deduction on their 2021 tax return for contributions 
to their <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/individual-retirement-arrangements-iras">Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)</a> made through April 18, 2022.

An IRA is a personal savings plan that lets employees and the 
self-employed set money aside for retirement and can have tax 
advantages. Contributions for 2021 can be made to a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/traditional-iras">traditional</a> or <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras">Roth</a> IRA until the filing due date, April 18, but must be designated for 2021 to the financial institution.

Generally, eligible taxpayers can <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits">contribute</a>
 up to $6,000 to an IRA for 2021. For those 50 years of age or older at 
the end of 2021, the limit is increased to $7,000. Qualified 
contributions to one or more traditional IRAs may be deductible up to 
the contribution limit or 100% of the taxpayer's compensation, whichever
 is less. There is no longer a maximum age for making IRA contributions.

Those who make contributions to certain employer retirement plans, 
such as a 401k or 403(b), an IRA, or an Achieving a Better Life 
Experience (ABLE) account, may be able to claim the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-savings-contributions-savers-credit">Saver's Credit</a>.
 Also known as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, the amount 
of the credit is generally based on the amount of contributions, the 
adjusted gross income and the taxpayer's filing status. The lower the 
taxpayer's income (or joint income, if applicable), the higher the 
amount of the tax credit. Dependents and full-time students are not 
eligible for the credit. For more information on annual contributions to
 an ABLE account, see <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p907.pdf">Publication 907, Tax Highlights for Persons With Disabilities.</a>&nbsp;PDF

While contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible, qualified 
distributions are tax-free. Roth IRA contributions may be limited based 
on filing status and income. Contributions can also be made to a 
traditional and/or Roth IRA even if participating in an 
employer-sponsored retirement plan (including a SEP or SIMPLE IRA-based 
plan).

Taxpayers can find answers to questions, forms and instructions and 
easy-to-use tools at IRS.gov. This news release is part of a series 
called the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-time-guide">Tax Time Guide</a>, a resource to help taxpayers file an accurate tax return. Additional help is available in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf">Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals)</a>&nbsp;PDF.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers they may 
be able to claim a deduction on their 2021 tax return for contributions 
to their <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/individual-retirement-arrangements-iras">Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)</a> made through April 18, 2022.An IRA is a personal savings plan that lets employees and the 
self-employed set money aside for retirement and can have tax 
advantages. Contributions for 2021 can be made to a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/traditional-iras">traditional</a> or <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras">Roth</a> IRA until the filing due date, April 18, but must be designated for 2021 to the financial institution.Generally, eligible taxpayers can <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits">contribute</a>
 up to $6,000 to an IRA for 2021. For those 50 years of age or older at 
the end of 2021, the limit is increased to $7,000. Qualified 
contributions to one or more traditional IRAs may be deductible up to 
the contribution limit or 100% of the taxpayer's compensation, whichever
 is less. There is no longer a maximum age for making IRA contributions.Those who make contributions to certain employer retirement plans, 
such as a 401k or 403(b), an IRA, or an Achieving a Better Life 
Experience (ABLE) account, may be able to claim the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-savings-contributions-savers-credit">Saver's Credit</a>.
 Also known as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, the amount 
of the credit is generally based on the amount of contributions, the 
adjusted gross income and the taxpayer's filing status. The lower the 
taxpayer's income (or joint income, if applicable), the higher the 
amount of the tax credit. Dependents and full-time students are not 
eligible for the credit. For more information on annual contributions to
 an ABLE account, see <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p907.pdf">Publication 907, Tax Highlights for Persons With Disabilities.</a>&nbsp;PDFWhile contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible, qualified 
distributions are tax-free. Roth IRA contributions may be limited based 
on filing status and income. Contributions can also be made to a 
traditional and/or Roth IRA even if participating in an 
employer-sponsored retirement plan (including a SEP or SIMPLE IRA-based 
plan).Taxpayers can find answers to questions, forms and instructions and 
easy-to-use tools at IRS.gov. This news release is part of a series 
called the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-time-guide">Tax Time Guide</a>, a resource to help taxpayers file an accurate tax return. Additional help is available in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf">Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals)</a>&nbsp;PDF.

IRS: IRA contributions for 2021 can be made until April 18

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/03/10/constitutional-carry-bill-debates-focuses-on-meaning-of-2nd-amendment/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN
 — After day-long debate Thursday over whether or not the 2nd Amendment 
entitles Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons, it remained uncertain 
whether a “constitutional carry” bill had the support to advance.

State
 Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who has worked for six years to allow the 
carrying of concealed weapons without a state permit or criminal 
background check, said he still wasn’t sure if he had the 33 votes to 
invoke cloture and advance his proposal.

State
 lawmakers have another 90 minutes to debate Legislative Bill 773 on 
Friday before a cloture vote — to halt a filibuster — could be held.

In
 the 49-member Unicameral Legislature, it takes 25 votes normally to 
advance or pass a bill. But it has become the norm on controversial 
issues, such as tax bills and gun rights legislation, to require 33 
votes to defeat a filibuster and move a bill forward.

Much
 of the debate Thursday dealt with whether the 2nd Amendment of the U.S.
 Constitution — specifically, the clause that grants the right to “keep 
and bear arms” — also means that citizens should not face “barriers” in 
carrying a concealed weapon.

&nbsp;To carry a concealed handgun in Nebraska, residents ages 21 and over must:

“This
 is for law-abiding citizens so they don’t have to jump through hoops” 
to carry a concealed weapon, Brewer told his colleagues Thursday.

Twenty-one
 states — including the bordering states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, 
South Dakota and Wyoming — currently allow “constitutional carry,” so 
called out of the belief that the Constitution already permits it. In 
four other states, Brewer said, laws have been passed and await approval
 by the governor.

Opponents
 of LB 773, led by Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld, himself a concealed carry 
license holder, argued that constitutional rights are not absolute 
rights. He and others said that requiring people to pass a safety course
 and background check were reasonable measures before being permitted to
 carry a concealed, deadly weapon.&nbsp;

He cited a 2008 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld reasonable regulation and prohibitions to the right to bear arms.&nbsp;

“The
 first thing they tell you in constitutional law (class) is that rights 
are not unlimited,” said Morfeld, who is an attorney.

Currently,
 Nebraska law allows people to openly carry firearms in locations where 
they aren’t barred. Reportedly, one person was wearing a sidearm 
Thursday at the State Capitol.

State
 law also provides an “affirmative defense” to someone who carries a 
concealed weapon without a state permit. They must prove that they had a
 legitimate reason to do so because of their business or for 
self-protection. But that would require a person to go to court to prove
 that, and gun rights advocates say that places a restriction on their 
rights.

On
 Friday, lawmakers are expected to debate an amendment Brewer drafted 
that has flipped the Omaha Police Officers Association from opposing LB 
773 to being neutral.

The amendment would leave in place Omaha’s handgun registration ordinance, but
 there would be fewer reasons to reject a permit. The amendment would 
also allow prosecutions for the crime of “carrying a concealed handgun” 
if a concealed gun was used in a long list of “covered offenses,” from 
robbery and kidnapping to cockfighting and some drug offenses.

The
 Police Officers Association had testified against LB 773 earlier this 
year, saying that as originally drafted, it limited prosecution and 
penalties against criminals who shouldn’t have guns. The Lincoln police 
and a state police chiefs’ association remain opposed to the bill.

Sen.
 Terrell McKinney, who represents North Omaha, said he has become an 
opponent of LB 773 because of the amendment that was worked out with the
 Omaha police. He said Omaha police “target” the African-American 
residents of his district, which has resulted in a prison incarceration 
rate in his district that is 10th highest in the nation.

The proposed amendment, McKinney said, “still allows the Omaha police to discriminate.”

Norfolk
 Sen. Mike Flood argued that legislators thought the “sky would fall” 
when the state passed its concealed carry law in 2006, but that hasn’t 
happened. Allowing concealed carry without a permit is not that big of a
 change, he said.

“The pilot program is over,” Flood said.&nbsp;

But
 opponents to LB 773 said it is in the state’s interest to ensure that 
those carrying concealed handguns know how to handle them safely and 
aren’t convicted criminals.&nbsp;

“I don’t want to pass laws that make our communities or our kids less safe,” said Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647013505823.png" alt="Gun rights advocates turned out in force in January to testify in support of a bill introduced in the Nebraska Legislature that would do away with the state license and training requirements to carry a concealed handgun. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Gun rights advocates turned out in force in January to testify in support of a bill introduced in the Nebraska Legislature that would do away with the state license and training requirements to carry a concealed handgun. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/03/10/constitutional-carry-bill-debates-focuses-on-meaning-of-2nd-amendment/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN
 — After day-long debate Thursday over whether or not the 2nd Amendment 
entitles Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons, it remained uncertain 
whether a “constitutional carry” bill had the support to advance.State
 Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who has worked for six years to allow the 
carrying of concealed weapons without a state permit or criminal 
background check, said he still wasn’t sure if he had the 33 votes to 
invoke cloture and advance his proposal.State
 lawmakers have another 90 minutes to debate Legislative Bill 773 on 
Friday before a cloture vote — to halt a filibuster — could be held.<h2>Needs 33 votes</h2>In
 the 49-member Unicameral Legislature, it takes 25 votes normally to 
advance or pass a bill. But it has become the norm on controversial 
issues, such as tax bills and gun rights legislation, to require 33 
votes to defeat a filibuster and move a bill forward.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647013571222.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon (photo courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon (photo courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>Much
 of the debate Thursday dealt with whether the 2nd Amendment of the U.S.
 Constitution — specifically, the clause that grants the right to “keep 
and bear arms” — also means that citizens should not face “barriers” in 
carrying a concealed weapon.&nbsp;To carry a concealed handgun in Nebraska, residents ages 21 and over must:<ul>
 <li>Obtain a $100 state concealed handgun permit.</li><li>Undergo a criminal 
background check to ensure they’re not barred from carrying a gun 
because of a conviction for a felony or other serious offense.</li><li>Pass a certified gun-safety training course.</li>
 </ul>“This
 is for law-abiding citizens so they don’t have to jump through hoops” 
to carry a concealed weapon, Brewer told his colleagues Thursday.<h2>Passed in 21 states</h2>Twenty-one
 states — including the bordering states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, 
South Dakota and Wyoming — currently allow “constitutional carry,” so 
called out of the belief that the Constitution already permits it. In 
four other states, Brewer said, laws have been passed and await approval
 by the governor.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647013599285.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln (Courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln (Courtesy of Unicameral Information Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>Opponents
 of LB 773, led by Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld, himself a concealed carry 
license holder, argued that constitutional rights are not absolute 
rights. He and others said that requiring people to pass a safety course
 and background check were reasonable measures before being permitted to
 carry a concealed, deadly weapon.&nbsp;He cited a 2008 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld reasonable regulation and prohibitions to the right to bear arms.&nbsp;<h2>Rights are limited</h2>“The
 first thing they tell you in constitutional law (class) is that rights 
are not unlimited,” said Morfeld, who is an attorney.Currently,
 Nebraska law allows people to openly carry firearms in locations where 
they aren’t barred. Reportedly, one person was wearing a sidearm 
Thursday at the State Capitol.State
 law also provides an “affirmative defense” to someone who carries a 
concealed weapon without a state permit. They must prove that they had a
 legitimate reason to do so because of their business or for 
self-protection. But that would require a person to go to court to prove
 that, and gun rights advocates say that places a restriction on their 
rights.<h2>Omaha amendment</h2>On
 Friday, lawmakers are expected to debate an amendment Brewer drafted 
that has flipped the Omaha Police Officers Association from opposing LB 
773 to being neutral.The amendment would leave in place Omaha’s handgun registration ordinance, but
 there would be fewer reasons to reject a permit. The amendment would 
also allow prosecutions for the crime of “carrying a concealed handgun” 
if a concealed gun was used in a long list of “covered offenses,” from 
robbery and kidnapping to cockfighting and some drug offenses.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646235303360.jpeg" alt="State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha (Courtesy of Craig Chandler, University Communication)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha (Courtesy of Craig Chandler, University Communication)</figcaption>
 </figure>The
 Police Officers Association had testified against LB 773 earlier this 
year, saying that as originally drafted, it limited prosecution and 
penalties against criminals who shouldn’t have guns. The Lincoln police 
and a state police chiefs’ association remain opposed to the bill.Sen.
 Terrell McKinney, who represents North Omaha, said he has become an 
opponent of LB 773 because of the amendment that was worked out with the
 Omaha police. He said Omaha police “target” the African-American 
residents of his district, which has resulted in a prison incarceration 
rate in his district that is 10th highest in the nation.The proposed amendment, McKinney said, “still allows the Omaha police to discriminate.”<h2>‘Pilot program over’</h2>Norfolk
 Sen. Mike Flood argued that legislators thought the “sky would fall” 
when the state passed its concealed carry law in 2006, but that hasn’t 
happened. Allowing concealed carry without a permit is not that big of a
 change, he said.“The pilot program is over,” Flood said.&nbsp;But
 opponents to LB 773 said it is in the state’s interest to ensure that 
those carrying concealed handguns know how to handle them safely and 
aren’t convicted criminals.&nbsp;“I don’t want to pass laws that make our communities or our kids less safe,” said Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha.

‘Constitutional carry’ bill debate focuses on meaning of 2nd Amendment

HOUSTON (AP) — State officials say employees at a foster care center under a state contract to shelter children who have been trafficked for sex have been trafficking those children themselves. 

The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News report the matter arose at a Thursday hearing before a federal judge about a Bastrop facility called The Refuge.

U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack has been presiding over a 2011 class-action lawsuit against the state Department of Family and Protective Services that alleged that children were held in unsafe conditions. 

During the Thursday hearing, she told state officials that the foster-care system “remains broken.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647001348178.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSHOUSTON (AP) — State officials say employees at a foster care center under a state contract to shelter children who have been trafficked for sex have been trafficking those children themselves. The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News report the matter arose at a Thursday hearing before a federal judge about a Bastrop facility called The Refuge.U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack has been presiding over a 2011 class-action lawsuit against the state Department of Family and Protective Services that alleged that children were held in unsafe conditions. During the Thursday hearing, she told state officials that the foster-care system “remains broken.”

Officials: Texas foster care center sex-trafficked minors

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Black, Hispanic and American Indian residents were missed at higher rates than a decade ago during the 2020 census, according to a report released Thursday that evaluated how well the once-a-decade head count tallied every U.S. resident.

Even though the 2020 census missed an unexpectedly small percentage of the total U.S. population given the unprecedented challenges it faced, the increase in undercounts among some minority groups prompted an outcry from civil rights leaders who blamed political interference by the Trump administration, which tried unsuccessfully to add a citizenship question to the census form and cut field operations short.

“These numbers are devastating. Once again, we see an overcount of white Americans and an undercount of Black and Hispanic Americans,” National Urban League CEO Marc Morial said on a call with reporters. “I want to express in the strongest possible terms our outrage.”

The results of U.S. Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey showed that most racial and ethnic minorities were overlooked at statistically significant higher rates than a decade ago, with the Asian population being an exception. The survey measures whether certain populations were undercounted or overrepresented in the census. Overcounts take place, for example, if someone owns a vacation home and is counted there as well as at a permanent home address.

The Black population in the 2020 census had a net undercount of 3.3%, while it was almost 5% for Hispanics and 5.6% for American Indians and Native Alaskans living on reservations. Those identifying as some other race had a net undercount of 4.3%. The non-Hispanic white population had a net overcount of 1.6%, and Asians had a net overcount of 2.6%, according to the results.

In the 2010 census, by comparison, the Black population had a net undercount of more than 2%, while it was 1.5% for the Hispanic population. There was almost a 4.9% undercount for American Indian and Alaskan Natives living on reservations, and it was 1.6% for people identifying as some other race and 0.08% for Asians. The non-Hispanic white population had a net overcount of 0.8%.

The 2020 census missed 0.24% of the entire U.S. population, a rate that wasn’t statistically significant, while it missed 0.01% in the 2010 census.

By MIKE SCHNEIDERKANSAS CITY (AP) —Black, Hispanic and American Indian residents were missed at higher rates than a decade ago during the 2020 census, according to a report released Thursday that evaluated how well the once-a-decade head count tallied every U.S. resident.Even though the 2020 census missed an unexpectedly small percentage of the total U.S. population given the unprecedented challenges it faced, the increase in undercounts among some minority groups prompted an outcry from civil rights leaders who blamed political interference by the Trump administration, which tried unsuccessfully to add a citizenship question to the census form and cut field operations short.“These numbers are devastating. Once again, we see an overcount of white Americans and an undercount of Black and Hispanic Americans,” National Urban League CEO Marc Morial said on a call with reporters. “I want to express in the strongest possible terms our outrage.”The results of U.S. Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey showed that most racial and ethnic minorities were overlooked at statistically significant higher rates than a decade ago, with the Asian population being an exception. The survey measures whether certain populations were undercounted or overrepresented in the census. Overcounts take place, for example, if someone owns a vacation home and is counted there as well as at a permanent home address.The Black population in the 2020 census had a net undercount of 3.3%, while it was almost 5% for Hispanics and 5.6% for American Indians and Native Alaskans living on reservations. Those identifying as some other race had a net undercount of 4.3%. The non-Hispanic white population had a net overcount of 1.6%, and Asians had a net overcount of 2.6%, according to the results.In the 2010 census, by comparison, the Black population had a net undercount of more than 2%, while it was 1.5% for the Hispanic population. There was almost a 4.9% undercount for American Indian and Alaskan Natives living on reservations, and it was 1.6% for people identifying as some other race and 0.08% for Asians. The non-Hispanic white population had a net overcount of 0.8%.The 2020 census missed 0.24% of the entire U.S. population, a rate that wasn’t statistically significant, while it missed 0.01% in the 2010 census.The census figures help determine the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal spending each year as well as how many congressional seats each state gets. Any undercounts in various populations can shortchange the amount of funding and political representation they get over the next decade.In the years leading up to the 2020 census, advocates worried that a failed attempt by the Trump administration to add a citizenship question to the census questionnaire would scare off Hispanics and immigrants from participating, whether they were in the country legally or not. The Trump administration also unsuccessfully tried to get the Census Bureau to to exclude people in the country illegally from numbers used for divvying up congressional seats among the states and cut short the schedule for field operations that had been extended because of the pandemic.During a conference call Thursday, Census Bureau Director Robert Santos said many Latino communities throughout the U.S. suffered during the pandemic from joblessness and housing insecurity, and that played a role in the undercount. But he added that the Trump administration’s actions also may have had an impact.“I’m personally not surprised to see the results we see today,” said Santos, who was sworn into the position at the beginning of the year.The severe undercount of the Hispanic population helps explain why three states with large Latino populations underperformed in the 2020 census, with Arizona failing to gain an extra seat, Florida gaining only a single seat and Texas getting only two seats, said Arturo Vargas, CEO of NALEO Educational Fund.“It was startling to me, the level of undercount,” Vargas said. “We knew there was going to be an undercount, but the extent of it took me by surprise.”About 70% of Native Americans live on reservations. James Tucker, the chairman of a Census Bureau advisory committee, estimated the undercount translates to at least 100,000 Native Americans on reservations not counted and more than a $300 million loss in federal funding for Indian Country annually.“This undercount is not new — it is a continuous cycle of erasure of Native people from society,” said Lycia Maddocks, a citizen of the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe in Arizona who is political director of NDN Collective, a South Dakota-based advocacy group. “In a practical sense, an undercount means that Native people are not looked at as a significant voting block when in reality, our population has proven itself to be the margin of victory in key states such as Arizona.”The pandemic disrupted census operations and schedules, and it made residents wary of opening their doors to answer questions from census takers. Wildfires in the West and hurricanes in the Gulf Coast during the door-knocking phase of the head count sent residents fleeing from their homes.The Post-Enumeration showed that 18.8 million people weren’t counted correctly in the 2020 census. Although some of them may have been missed, others were counted using a statistical technique that fills in missing data.After the results of the Post-Enumeration Survey were released, dozens of members of the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to the Census Bureau asking how it planned to investigate the undercount.“A Census that does not accurately represent Black communities robs them of their equal share of federal resources in education, health care, housing, nutrition assistance, and many other areas — perpetuating systemic racism,” the letter said.___