BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A 31-year-old woman died at a hospital after she was shot multiple times at a home in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue. 

KETV reports that police said the shooting was reported around 10:40 p.m. Saturday at a home near 22nd and Jefferson streets. 

Paramedics rushed the woman to the hospital where she later died. Her name was not immediately released.

 Bellevue Police said a 43-year-old man was arrested after the shooting on several charges including second-degree murder.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A 31-year-old woman died at a hospital after she was shot multiple times at a home in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue. KETV reports that police said the shooting was reported around 10:40 p.m. Saturday at a home near 22nd and Jefferson streets. Paramedics rushed the woman to the hospital where she later died. Her name was not immediately released. Bellevue Police said a 43-year-old man was arrested after the shooting on several charges including second-degree murder.

Police arrest man after fatal shooting in Bellevue

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on&nbsp; released a highly anticipated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/money-and-payments-discussion-paper.htm" target="_blank">report on central bank digital currencies</a>&nbsp;that suggested it is leaning toward having banks and other financial firms, rather than the Fed itself, manage digital accounts for customers.

A central bank digital currency would differ in some key ways from the online and digital payments that millions of Americans already conduct. Those transactions are funneled through banks, which wouldn’t be necessary with a digital dollar.

The Fed’s paper stressed that no final decisions about a digital currency have been reached. But it suggested that a digital currency that “would best serve the needs” of the nation would follow an “intermediated model” under which banks or payment firms would create accounts or digital wallets.

The Fed characterized the potential introduction of a digital currency as a step that could have far-reaching consequences for banks and other financial firms as well as for the central bank itself.

“The introduction of a (central bank digital currency) would represent a highly significant innovation in American money,” the study said. The Fed said it “could fundamentally change the structure of the U.S. financial system, altering the roles and responsibilities of the private sector and the central bank.”

The report comes at a time when digital money is proliferating in a variety of forms. Millions of people own cryptocurrencies, though they are often used more as investments than as forms of payment. But so-called stablecoins, which are often pegged to the dollar, have also soared in use in the past year, mostly for cryptocurrency transactions.

And most central banks around the world are studying government-backed digital currencies. China’s central bank has already tested a digital version of the yuan. The European Central Bank began exploring a digital euro in October and said its “investigation period” would last two years. Some Caribbean nations have already issued digital currencies.

China’s action and the explosion of stablecoins, which can be used in place of dollars in international transactions, have raised pressure on the Fed to consider a digital currency. Last March, Chair Jerome Powell said that while the Fed needed to keep pace with financial innovations, it would proceed cautiously.

“As the world’s principal reserve currency...we have an obligation to be on the cutting edge of understanding the technological challenges,” Powell said then. “But...we don’t need to rush this project. We don’t need to be first to market.”

The Fed is likely years away from actually issuing a digital currency, if it decides to do so. The paper released Thursday kicks off a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/forms/cbdc" target="_blank">120-day comment period</a>, during which the Fed will seek input from the public. The Fed also said it would proceed only with support from Congress, “ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law.”

And officials at the central bank aren’t all in agreement about whether a central bank digital currency is needed. Lael Brainard, who serves on the Fed’s Board of Governors and has been nominated by President Joe Biden to be vice chair, has, for example, expressed support for the concept, while Christopher Waller, another board member, has been skeptical.

A digital dollar could bring a host of benefits as well as risks. It would be a safer form of digital payment, because the Fed, unlike a bank or the companies issuing stablecoins, can’t go bankrupt. It could be easier and less expensive to access for people without bank accounts.

At the same time, a digital currency could pose privacy risks because it would be issued by the government. The Fed’s paper suggests, though, that banks and other third-party firms would shield consumer data from the Fed while also implementing existing rules against money-laundering and other illicit activity.

Such a government-issued digital dollar could also have major consequences for commercial banks because many Americans might prefer to hold such currency in a “wallet” issued by a payment provider like PayPal or Venmo, potentially cutting into bank deposits.

The Fed could even seek to influence the economy through a digital currency, as it now does by controlling interest rates. It could pay interest on a digital dollar, for example, or even have it decline in value, as a form of a negative interest rate. An interest payment could make a digital dollar more attractive than money in a bank.

“This substitution effect could reduce the aggregate amount of deposits in the banking system,” the Fed report said.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed by banks. The Bank Policy Institute, a lobbying group, asserted in a&nbsp;<a href="https://bpi.com/legal-authority-to-issue-a-u-s-central-bank-digital-currency/" target="_blank">blog post last June</a>&nbsp;that the Fed doesn’t have legal authority to pay interest on a digital dollar.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on&nbsp; released a highly anticipated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/money-and-payments-discussion-paper.htm" target="_blank">report on central bank digital currencies</a>&nbsp;that suggested it is leaning toward having banks and other financial firms, rather than the Fed itself, manage digital accounts for customers.A central bank digital currency would differ in some key ways from the online and digital payments that millions of Americans already conduct. Those transactions are funneled through banks, which wouldn’t be necessary with a digital dollar.The Fed’s paper stressed that no final decisions about a digital currency have been reached. But it suggested that a digital currency that “would best serve the needs” of the nation would follow an “intermediated model” under which banks or payment firms would create accounts or digital wallets.The Fed characterized the potential introduction of a digital currency as a step that could have far-reaching consequences for banks and other financial firms as well as for the central bank itself.“The introduction of a (central bank digital currency) would represent a highly significant innovation in American money,” the study said. The Fed said it “could fundamentally change the structure of the U.S. financial system, altering the roles and responsibilities of the private sector and the central bank.”The report comes at a time when digital money is proliferating in a variety of forms. Millions of people own cryptocurrencies, though they are often used more as investments than as forms of payment. But so-called stablecoins, which are often pegged to the dollar, have also soared in use in the past year, mostly for cryptocurrency transactions.And most central banks around the world are studying government-backed digital currencies. China’s central bank has already tested a digital version of the yuan. The European Central Bank began exploring a digital euro in October and said its “investigation period” would last two years. Some Caribbean nations have already issued digital currencies.China’s action and the explosion of stablecoins, which can be used in place of dollars in international transactions, have raised pressure on the Fed to consider a digital currency. Last March, Chair Jerome Powell said that while the Fed needed to keep pace with financial innovations, it would proceed cautiously.“As the world’s principal reserve currency...we have an obligation to be on the cutting edge of understanding the technological challenges,” Powell said then. “But...we don’t need to rush this project. We don’t need to be first to market.”The Fed is likely years away from actually issuing a digital currency, if it decides to do so. The paper released Thursday kicks off a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/forms/cbdc" target="_blank">120-day comment period</a>, during which the Fed will seek input from the public. The Fed also said it would proceed only with support from Congress, “ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law.”And officials at the central bank aren’t all in agreement about whether a central bank digital currency is needed. Lael Brainard, who serves on the Fed’s Board of Governors and has been nominated by President Joe Biden to be vice chair, has, for example, expressed support for the concept, while Christopher Waller, another board member, has been skeptical.A digital dollar could bring a host of benefits as well as risks. It would be a safer form of digital payment, because the Fed, unlike a bank or the companies issuing stablecoins, can’t go bankrupt. It could be easier and less expensive to access for people without bank accounts.At the same time, a digital currency could pose privacy risks because it would be issued by the government. The Fed’s paper suggests, though, that banks and other third-party firms would shield consumer data from the Fed while also implementing existing rules against money-laundering and other illicit activity.Such a government-issued digital dollar could also have major consequences for commercial banks because many Americans might prefer to hold such currency in a “wallet” issued by a payment provider like PayPal or Venmo, potentially cutting into bank deposits.The Fed could even seek to influence the economy through a digital currency, as it now does by controlling interest rates. It could pay interest on a digital dollar, for example, or even have it decline in value, as a form of a negative interest rate. An interest payment could make a digital dollar more attractive than money in a bank.“This substitution effect could reduce the aggregate amount of deposits in the banking system,” the Fed report said.That hasn’t gone unnoticed by banks. The Bank Policy Institute, a lobbying group, asserted in a&nbsp;<a href="https://bpi.com/legal-authority-to-issue-a-u-s-central-bank-digital-currency/" target="_blank">blog post last June</a>&nbsp;that the Fed doesn’t have legal authority to pay interest on a digital dollar.

The Federal Reserve wants your input on US digital currency

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis vowed Friday to provide justice to victims of clergy sexual abuse and German authorities called for further investigation after an independent audit faulted retired Pope Benedict XVI for having botched four cases of abuse when he was archbishop of Munich, Germany.

The fallout from the report continued to reverberate Friday as church officials digested the findings that a pope credited with having turned the Vatican around on the abuse issue had in fact mishandled cases earlier in his career.

One day after the report's release, Francis met with the members of the Vatican office that handles sex abuse cases in a previously scheduled audience. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for nearly a quarter-century before he became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

In his speech, Francis didn’t refer to the findings of the report into how the Munich archdiocese handled abuse cases from 1945 and 2019. Ratzinger was archbishop there from 1977-1982.

But Francis said the church was continuing to discern the way forward in the abuse scandal, which has discredited the Catholic hierarchy at the Vatican and around the world.

“The church, with God’s help, is carrying out the commitment with firm determination to do justice to the victims of abuse by its members, applying with particular attention and rigor to the canonical legislation envisaged,” Francis told the group.

He recalled he had recently updated the Vatican norms to handle abuse cases to make them more effective.

“This alone cannot be enough to stem the phenomenon, but it is a necessary step to restore justice, to repair scandal and reform the offender,” he said.

The German report prepared by an independent law firm found that Ratzinger mishandled four cases of abusive clergy during his tenure as archbishop. Until Thursday, only one known case implicating his Munich tenure had been made public; the report found that the church’s claim that Ratzinger was unaware of the priest's background lacked credibility.

Prosecutors in Munich said Friday they are examining 42 cases of possible wrongdoing by church officials arising from Thursday’s report. Spokesperson Anne Leiding told German news agency dpa that the cases were referred to them by the law firm that prepared the report last year.

If any suspicion of “possible criminally relevant behavior” emerges from the examination, Leiding said, prosecutors will seek further details from the law firm.

The law firm said on Thursday that the cases involve living officials who are still in office.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokeswoman, Christiane Hoffmann, said Friday it was “urgent that these matters be fully investigated and a comprehensive reappraisal be carried out.”

The report makes “the extent of the abuse and breach of duty by church dignitaries shockingly clear.” she said.

“It is crucial that confidence in the process of coming to terms with the past is strengthened in the Catholic Church and by individual dignitaries,” she said.

The Vatican didn’t immediately comment on the report, saying it would read it carefully in the coming days. Benedict’s longtime secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, also said the retired pope hadn’t yet read the report, but would.

Benedict, who provided information to the report’s authors, expressed his upset and shame about the scandal, Gaenswein said.

Benedict’s legacy as pope had already been colored by the 2010 global eruption of the clergy abuse scandal, even though as a cardinal he was responsible for turning around the Vatican’s approach to the issue.

Ratzinger took the then-revolutionary decision in 2001 to assume responsibility for processing abuse cases after he realized bishops around the world weren’t punishing abusers but were just moving them from parish to parish and enabling them to rape again.

That decision, however, came after Ratzinger was still sitting on cases at the Vatican. Years ago documentation emerged showing that Ratzinger in 1985 dithered on a case of a convicted child molester in California who asked to be defrocked, delaying any action for two years.

The case of the Rev. Stephen Kiesle was evidence that the Vatican under St. John Paul II strongly resisted letting priests leave active ministry, even if they were convicted rapists.

A fellow German and one of Ratzinger's successors at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, dismissed the report's findings, suggesting they were ideologically motivated to attack Ratzinger and saying if there were errors in the handling of cases, Ratzinger didn't know about them.

He noted that in the 1970s and 1980s, neither the church nor society at large handled child sex abusers properly.

“It was thought that therapy could resolve the problem. Today we know that this is useless for these criminals," he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603292366279.png" alt="Pope Francis mage courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Pope Francis mage courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated PressROME (AP) — Pope Francis vowed Friday to provide justice to victims of clergy sexual abuse and German authorities called for further investigation after an independent audit faulted retired Pope Benedict XVI for having botched four cases of abuse when he was archbishop of Munich, Germany.The fallout from the report continued to reverberate Friday as church officials digested the findings that a pope credited with having turned the Vatican around on the abuse issue had in fact mishandled cases earlier in his career.One day after the report's release, Francis met with the members of the Vatican office that handles sex abuse cases in a previously scheduled audience. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for nearly a quarter-century before he became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.In his speech, Francis didn’t refer to the findings of the report into how the Munich archdiocese handled abuse cases from 1945 and 2019. Ratzinger was archbishop there from 1977-1982.But Francis said the church was continuing to discern the way forward in the abuse scandal, which has discredited the Catholic hierarchy at the Vatican and around the world.“The church, with God’s help, is carrying out the commitment with firm determination to do justice to the victims of abuse by its members, applying with particular attention and rigor to the canonical legislation envisaged,” Francis told the group.He recalled he had recently updated the Vatican norms to handle abuse cases to make them more effective.“This alone cannot be enough to stem the phenomenon, but it is a necessary step to restore justice, to repair scandal and reform the offender,” he said.The German report prepared by an independent law firm found that Ratzinger mishandled four cases of abusive clergy during his tenure as archbishop. Until Thursday, only one known case implicating his Munich tenure had been made public; the report found that the church’s claim that Ratzinger was unaware of the priest's background lacked credibility.Prosecutors in Munich said Friday they are examining 42 cases of possible wrongdoing by church officials arising from Thursday’s report. Spokesperson Anne Leiding told German news agency dpa that the cases were referred to them by the law firm that prepared the report last year.If any suspicion of “possible criminally relevant behavior” emerges from the examination, Leiding said, prosecutors will seek further details from the law firm.The law firm said on Thursday that the cases involve living officials who are still in office.Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokeswoman, Christiane Hoffmann, said Friday it was “urgent that these matters be fully investigated and a comprehensive reappraisal be carried out.”The report makes “the extent of the abuse and breach of duty by church dignitaries shockingly clear.” she said.“It is crucial that confidence in the process of coming to terms with the past is strengthened in the Catholic Church and by individual dignitaries,” she said.The Vatican didn’t immediately comment on the report, saying it would read it carefully in the coming days. Benedict’s longtime secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, also said the retired pope hadn’t yet read the report, but would.Benedict, who provided information to the report’s authors, expressed his upset and shame about the scandal, Gaenswein said.Benedict’s legacy as pope had already been colored by the 2010 global eruption of the clergy abuse scandal, even though as a cardinal he was responsible for turning around the Vatican’s approach to the issue.Ratzinger took the then-revolutionary decision in 2001 to assume responsibility for processing abuse cases after he realized bishops around the world weren’t punishing abusers but were just moving them from parish to parish and enabling them to rape again.That decision, however, came after Ratzinger was still sitting on cases at the Vatican. Years ago documentation emerged showing that Ratzinger in 1985 dithered on a case of a convicted child molester in California who asked to be defrocked, delaying any action for two years.The case of the Rev. Stephen Kiesle was evidence that the Vatican under St. John Paul II strongly resisted letting priests leave active ministry, even if they were convicted rapists.A fellow German and one of Ratzinger's successors at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, dismissed the report's findings, suggesting they were ideologically motivated to attack Ratzinger and saying if there were errors in the handling of cases, Ratzinger didn't know about them.He noted that in the 1970s and 1980s, neither the church nor society at large handled child sex abusers properly.“It was thought that therapy could resolve the problem. Today we know that this is useless for these criminals," he said.

Pope vows justice for abuse victims after retired pope faulted

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln woman accused of causing a crash last year that killed a motorcyclist last year has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular homicide. 

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 18-year-old Kylie Hill entered the plea Thursday and faces up to a year in jail when she's sentenced in March. 

Investigators say Hill was driving a vehicle south on 27th Street last March when she turned left in front of 19-year-old Simon Blair's northbound bike, causing the crash. 

Blair was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln woman accused of causing a crash last year that killed a motorcyclist last year has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular homicide. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 18-year-old Kylie Hill entered the plea Thursday and faces up to a year in jail when she's sentenced in March. Investigators say Hill was driving a vehicle south on 27th Street last March when she turned left in front of 19-year-old Simon Blair's northbound bike, causing the crash. Blair was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

Lincoln woman involved in fatal crash pleads no contest

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say the operator of a failed multi-state nursing home chain failed to pay $29.5 million in payroll and unemployment taxes for his employees at 95 facilities he operated in 11 states. 

Authorities arrested Joseph Schwartz of Suffern, New York, on Thursday and charged him with willful failure to pay over employment taxes, evasion of unemployment taxes and failure to file annual financial reports. 

Authorities say his New Jersey-based Skyline Management Group had approximately 15,000 employees and Schwartz failed to pay their taxes from mid-2017 through June 2018. 

Prosecutors also allege Schwartz failed to file financial reports related to Skyline’s 401K retirement plan contributions that are automatically withdrawn from an employee’s pay.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say the operator of a failed multi-state nursing home chain failed to pay $29.5 million in payroll and unemployment taxes for his employees at 95 facilities he operated in 11 states. Authorities arrested Joseph Schwartz of Suffern, New York, on Thursday and charged him with willful failure to pay over employment taxes, evasion of unemployment taxes and failure to file annual financial reports. Authorities say his New Jersey-based Skyline Management Group had approximately 15,000 employees and Schwartz failed to pay their taxes from mid-2017 through June 2018. Prosecutors also allege Schwartz failed to file financial reports related to Skyline’s 401K retirement plan contributions that are automatically withdrawn from an employee’s pay.

Feds: Nursing home operator failed to pay $29.5M in taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of pro-life protesters were in a celebratory mood Friday as they rallied in the nation’s capital and marched to the Supreme Court with a growing sense of optimism that their goal was finally in reach: a sweeping rollback of abortion rights.

The March for Life, for decades an annual protest against abortion, was held&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-united-states-mississippi-65751e1b9ca7d34f1458ffe9729f82b2">as the Supreme Court has indicated it will allow states to impose tighter restrictions on abortion</a>&nbsp;with a ruling in the coming months — and possibly overturn the landmark 1973&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-religion-cdfb7122c609bd3563c2702af28d3254">Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;ruling that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion.

“It doesn’t feel real. There’s so much hope and vibrancy and happiness and joy at this thing,” said Jordan Moorman of Cincinnati. “I really do believe that we’re in a post-Roe generation.”

The rally, held one day before the 49th anniversary of the Roe decision, is taking place amid a COVID-19 surge that limited turnout at the National Mall. Some abortion opponents posted on the event’s Facebook page that they will not attend because of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for people going to restaurants and other places&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-coronavirus-vaccine-district-of-columbia-a3d841949ada285dd8321e8a96c20687">in the District of Columbia</a>.

Still, the rally drew a crowd of thousands on a sunny but frigid day, with a heavy contingent of young people and students bussed in by schools and church groups. The mood was overwhelmingly optimistic, with many treating the end of Roe v Wade as an inevitability.

“Hopefully this will be the last March for Life,” said the Rev. Andrew Rudmann, a Catholic priest from New Orleans, who was attending his 11th event.

Rudmann said previous marches may have had larger crowds but he doesn’t recall this level of optimism. He said the crowds grew “gigantic” under former President Donald Trump and the movement’s enthusiasm grew with each Trump Supreme Court appointee. He proudly pointed out that his home Archdiocese of New Orleans includes the Catholic high school that educated Trump’s last appointee, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

“Sometimes I would come to the March and it would be great to be united with people who share my beliefs, but there would also be this heaviness,” he said. “This time the whole language and vibe is different.”

After the rally, the crowd marched to the Supreme Court with chants that included: “We love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how bout you?” and “hey hey, ho ho, Roe v Wade has got to go!”

Abortion rights groups worry that at least 26 states are in line to further limit abortion access if Roe is weakened or overturned. In December, the court indicated in a major case that it would uphold a Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and allow states to ban abortion even earlier. The Mississippi case directly challenges Roe.

Courts have also dealt Texas abortion providers a string of defeats over efforts to block a law that since September has banned abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks and before some women know they are pregnant.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-53d084f9c8b2b9e3ee50df06224aaaa4">Another loss for Texas clinics came Thursday</a>, when the Supreme Court refused to speed up the ongoing challenge over the law, which providers say is now likely to stay in effect for the foreseeable future.

“This law is cruel and unconstitutional, and I am deeply disappointed that our judicial system has done very little to stop it,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health, which operates four abortion clinics in Texas.

Lawmakers from both parties weighed in Friday to note the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and reflect on the shifting political landscape surrounding abortion.

“It has been an eye-opening year for the cause of life in America, and we have made significant progress in defending our youngest and most vulnerable,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House.

“The stakes are higher than ever, with the health and autonomy of women and families across the country hanging in the balance as Republicans work to methodically challenge and overturn Roe,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. “It’s time to sound the alarm and make clear: decisions about our bodies, our health care and our future belong to us.”

Dozens of GOP lawmakers appeared at the march personally or as part of a video voicing their allegiance with those in attendance. White House press secretary Jen Psaki took note of the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling as part of Friday’s press briefing, saying that “reproductive health care has been under extreme and relentless assault ever since, especially in recent months.”

She said the Biden administration was committed to working with Congress to pass a bill that protects the right to provide and access abortion care free from forced waiting periods, biased counseling and other restrictions.

“We’re deeply committed to making sure everyone has access to care and we will defend it with every tool we have,” Psaki said.

Mississippi state Sen. Joey Fillingane, a Republican who pushed for the state’s strict abortion laws, said that if Roe were nullified, he expects states to take different approaches to setting their own abortion laws.

“I think that’s the way it should be,” he said. “The laws in California, based on their population and what they want, may be very different than the laws in Mississippi based on what our population feels about the issue of life.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642798188768.png" alt="Lawmakers from both parties weighed in Friday to note the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and reflect on the shifting political landscape surrounding abortion. photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Lawmakers from both parties weighed in Friday to note the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and reflect on the shifting political landscape surrounding abortion. photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of pro-life protesters were in a celebratory mood Friday as they rallied in the nation’s capital and marched to the Supreme Court with a growing sense of optimism that their goal was finally in reach: a sweeping rollback of abortion rights.The March for Life, for decades an annual protest against abortion, was held&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-united-states-mississippi-65751e1b9ca7d34f1458ffe9729f82b2">as the Supreme Court has indicated it will allow states to impose tighter restrictions on abortion</a>&nbsp;with a ruling in the coming months — and possibly overturn the landmark 1973&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-religion-cdfb7122c609bd3563c2702af28d3254">Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;ruling that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion.“It doesn’t feel real. There’s so much hope and vibrancy and happiness and joy at this thing,” said Jordan Moorman of Cincinnati. “I really do believe that we’re in a post-Roe generation.”The rally, held one day before the 49th anniversary of the Roe decision, is taking place amid a COVID-19 surge that limited turnout at the National Mall. Some abortion opponents posted on the event’s Facebook page that they will not attend because of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for people going to restaurants and other places&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-coronavirus-vaccine-district-of-columbia-a3d841949ada285dd8321e8a96c20687">in the District of Columbia</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642798163305.png" alt="After the rally, the crowd marched to the Supreme Court with chants that included: “We love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how bout you?” and “hey hey, ho ho, Roe v Wade has got to go!”-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>After the rally, the crowd marched to the Supreme Court with chants that included: “We love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how bout you?” and “hey hey, ho ho, Roe v Wade has got to go!”-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Still, the rally drew a crowd of thousands on a sunny but frigid day, with a heavy contingent of young people and students bussed in by schools and church groups. The mood was overwhelmingly optimistic, with many treating the end of Roe v Wade as an inevitability.“Hopefully this will be the last March for Life,” said the Rev. Andrew Rudmann, a Catholic priest from New Orleans, who was attending his 11th event.Rudmann said previous marches may have had larger crowds but he doesn’t recall this level of optimism. He said the crowds grew “gigantic” under former President Donald Trump and the movement’s enthusiasm grew with each Trump Supreme Court appointee. He proudly pointed out that his home Archdiocese of New Orleans includes the Catholic high school that educated Trump’s last appointee, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.“Sometimes I would come to the March and it would be great to be united with people who share my beliefs, but there would also be this heaviness,” he said. “This time the whole language and vibe is different.”After the rally, the crowd marched to the Supreme Court with chants that included: “We love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how bout you?” and “hey hey, ho ho, Roe v Wade has got to go!”Abortion rights groups worry that at least 26 states are in line to further limit abortion access if Roe is weakened or overturned. In December, the court indicated in a major case that it would uphold a Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and allow states to ban abortion even earlier. The Mississippi case directly challenges Roe.Courts have also dealt Texas abortion providers a string of defeats over efforts to block a law that since September has banned abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks and before some women know they are pregnant.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-53d084f9c8b2b9e3ee50df06224aaaa4">Another loss for Texas clinics came Thursday</a>, when the Supreme Court refused to speed up the ongoing challenge over the law, which providers say is now likely to stay in effect for the foreseeable future.“This law is cruel and unconstitutional, and I am deeply disappointed that our judicial system has done very little to stop it,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health, which operates four abortion clinics in Texas.Lawmakers from both parties weighed in Friday to note the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and reflect on the shifting political landscape surrounding abortion.“It has been an eye-opening year for the cause of life in America, and we have made significant progress in defending our youngest and most vulnerable,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House.“The stakes are higher than ever, with the health and autonomy of women and families across the country hanging in the balance as Republicans work to methodically challenge and overturn Roe,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. “It’s time to sound the alarm and make clear: decisions about our bodies, our health care and our future belong to us.”Dozens of GOP lawmakers appeared at the march personally or as part of a video voicing their allegiance with those in attendance. White House press secretary Jen Psaki took note of the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling as part of Friday’s press briefing, saying that “reproductive health care has been under extreme and relentless assault ever since, especially in recent months.”She said the Biden administration was committed to working with Congress to pass a bill that protects the right to provide and access abortion care free from forced waiting periods, biased counseling and other restrictions.“We’re deeply committed to making sure everyone has access to care and we will defend it with every tool we have,” Psaki said.Mississippi state Sen. Joey Fillingane, a Republican who pushed for the state’s strict abortion laws, said that if Roe were nullified, he expects states to take different approaches to setting their own abortion laws.“I think that’s the way it should be,” he said. “The laws in California, based on their population and what they want, may be very different than the laws in Mississippi based on what our population feels about the issue of life.”___

Pro-Life protesters optimistic at March for Life in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction on Friday barring the federal government from enforcing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-lawsuits-1054028d7cbf0ef46f7ddadbdc4ae167">President Joe Biden’s requirement</a>&nbsp;that federal workers without qualifying medical or religious exemptions be vaccinated for COVID-19.

Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas by then-President Donald Trump, ruled that opponents of Biden’s vaccination mandate for federal employees were likely to succeed at trial and blocked the government from enforcing the requirement.

Biden announced in September that more than 3.5 million federal workers were required to undergo vaccination, with no option to get regularly tested instead, unless they secured approved medical or religious exemptions. The requirement kicked in in November, when the White House said more than 95% of federal workers were in compliance with the Biden mandate either by being vaccinated or by having requested an exemption — and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-business-travel-99b820492135ceeaf23e51b834d6ab79">92% were vaccinated</a>.

Those out of compliance with the policy were referred to counseling and could be terminated under an executive order signed by Biden.

Brown wrote that at issue was whether the president “can, with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress, require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment.” He added, “That, under the current state of the law as just recently expressed by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-vaccine-mandate-eb5899ae1fe5b62b6f4d51f54a3cd375">the Supreme Court</a>, is a bridge too far.”

The suit was brought by the group Feds for Medical Freedom.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction on Friday barring the federal government from enforcing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-lawsuits-1054028d7cbf0ef46f7ddadbdc4ae167">President Joe Biden’s requirement</a>&nbsp;that federal workers without qualifying medical or religious exemptions be vaccinated for COVID-19.Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas by then-President Donald Trump, ruled that opponents of Biden’s vaccination mandate for federal employees were likely to succeed at trial and blocked the government from enforcing the requirement.Biden announced in September that more than 3.5 million federal workers were required to undergo vaccination, with no option to get regularly tested instead, unless they secured approved medical or religious exemptions. The requirement kicked in in November, when the White House said more than 95% of federal workers were in compliance with the Biden mandate either by being vaccinated or by having requested an exemption — and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-business-travel-99b820492135ceeaf23e51b834d6ab79">92% were vaccinated</a>.Those out of compliance with the policy were referred to counseling and could be terminated under an executive order signed by Biden.Brown wrote that at issue was whether the president “can, with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress, require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment.” He added, “That, under the current state of the law as just recently expressed by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-vaccine-mandate-eb5899ae1fe5b62b6f4d51f54a3cd375">the Supreme Court</a>, is a bridge too far.”The suit was brought by the group Feds for Medical Freedom.

Another judge blocks Biden federal worker vaccine mandate

By JONEL ALECCIA <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/states-use-monoclonal-antibody-covid-treatment-ineffective-against-omicron/">Kaiser Health News</a>

As the omicron variant completes its sweep across the U.S., states with 
scarce supplies of monoclonal antibody therapies continue to use two 
treatments that federal health officials warn no longer work against the
 highly contagious version of the virus that causes covid-19. The 
antibody treatment now <a href="https://opendata.ncats.nih.gov/variant/activity">most recommended</a> is sotrovimab from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, and it’s in short supply.

Use of the newly ineffective treatments produced by Regeneron 
Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Co. is highest in a dozen states. They
 include several Southern states with some of the nation’s lowest 
vaccination rates, but also California, which ranks in the nation’s top 
20 for fully vaccinated residents, a KHN analysis of federal data shows.
 Many hospitals and clinics are still infusing the costly treatments — 
often charging hundreds of dollars a session — that public health 
officials now say are almost certainly useless.

That’s because of the near-total dominance of omicron, which accounted for <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#nowcasting">99.5% of new covid infections</a> in the U.S. during the week that ended Jan. 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That point was underscored this week by updated <a href="https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/statement-on-therapies-for-high-risk-nonhospitalized-patients/?utm_campaign=highlights">guidelines</a> from the National Institutes of Health that now recommend sotrovimab as the primary monoclonal treatment for the disease.

Unless providers are certain they are still treating patients 
infected with the delta variant, they shouldn’t use the others, said Dr.
 Mark McClellan, director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy,
 who is also a former commissioner of the FDA and former administrator 
of CMS. And the delta variant is <a href="https://tracker.rosalind.bio/dashboard?number-of-days=30&amp;graph-display=count">increasingly rare</a>, accounting for 3% of cases in Louisiana, 7% in California, and 10% in Ohio, as examples.

“There’s not a medical justification based on the evidence on the Regeneron and Lilly products,” McClellan said.

Determining which patients are infected with the delta vs. omicron 
variant is complicated, said Dr. Christian Ramers, chief of population 
health and an infectious disease specialist at Family Health Centers of 
San Diego.

His clinic is one of the few sites in the nation using laboratory 
screening of positive PCR covid tests that can tell whether patients are
 infected with delta vs. omicron — and then treating them accordingly. 
“Otherwise, you’re giving this false sense of security to a patient that
 they’re getting treatment,” Ramers said. “I don’t think it is ethical, 
and it goes against the principle of doing no harm.”

Overall, U.S. hospitals used about 72,000 doses of the Regeneron and 
Lilly monoclonal antibody therapies from Jan. 5 through Jan. 18, 
according to the <a href="https://healthdata.gov/Hospital/COVID-19-Reported-Patient-Impact-and-Hospital-Capa/g62h-syeh">latest figures</a>
 from the Department of Health and Human Services. Data regarding 
hospital-level use of sotrovimab, which became available more recently 
than the other products, is not yet available on the HHS site.

By comparison, hospitals used about 153,000 courses of the Regeneron 
and Lilly treatments from Dec. 22 through Jan. 4. They used about 
169,000 courses from Aug. 26 through Sept. 8, near the height of the 
delta surge.

On Jan. 19, hospitals still had about 295,000 doses of the Regeneron and Lilly treatments on hand.

Nationwide, the federal government is distributing <a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/therapeutics/distribution/Pages/data-tables.aspx">more than 50,000 courses</a>
 of sotrovimab per week, though it remains in short supply. The Biden 
administration has agreed to buy about 1 million doses, including about 
600,000 promised by March, <a href="https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/gsk-and-vir-biotechnology-announce-united-states-government-agreement-to-purchase-additional-supply-of-sotrovimab/">GSK officials said.</a>

Respectively, Michigan, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Louisiana, 
California, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Ohio, New York, and Mississippi 
used the most courses of the Regeneron and Lilly treatments from Jan. 5 
through Jan. 18, KHN’s analysis showed.

In Florida, which used more than 5,200 courses of the outdated 
treatments during that two-week period, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has
 said he is not convinced that the Regeneron and Lilly products don’t 
work against omicron. In Florida, omicron accounted for <a href="https://tracker.rosalind.bio/dashboard?number-of-days=30&amp;graph-display=count">97% of cases</a> as of Jan. 20; delta accounted for 3%.

“We have had practitioners give both of those to people with omicron 
who said the symptoms got resolved,” he said in a Jan. 5 speech provided
 by his spokesperson, Christina Pushaw.

Federal health officials managing allocation of the monoclonal 
antibody therapies paused shipments of the Regeneron and Lilly 
treatments on Dec. 23, after laboratory tests showed they were less 
effective against the surging omicron variant than the delta variant. 
But the Biden administration <a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/investigation-MCM/Bamlanivimab-etesevimab/Pages/bamlanivimab-etesevimab-regen-cov-ordering-update.aspx">resumed shipments on Dec. 31</a>,
 after complaints from DeSantis and some doctors that those therapies 
could still help people in places where the delta variant persisted.

Regeneron itself has said its antibody treatments are ineffective 
against the omicron variant. It contains more than 30 mutations in the 
virus’s spike protein, which makes the variant better at dodging the 
monoclonal antibody treatments.

“It’s really not justified at this point unless there’s some other 
underlying secondary gain, political pressure, or perhaps the providers 
are truly not in touch with the reality of the variant proportions,” 
Ramers said.

Earlier this month, HHS officials indicated that shipments of the 
three monoclonal antibody treatments would continue through Jan. 31, 
despite the growing proportion of omicron cases. A department 
spokesperson on background said the agency would continue to assess “any
 impacts to covid-19’s therapeutic allocations.”

Monoclonal antibody treatments are lab-based molecules that mimic the
 body’s immune response to infection. They are most often given through 
IV infusion, though some can be delivered with an injection. The federal
 government has agreed to purchase millions of doses of the Regeneron 
and Lilly products at a cost of about $2,100 per dose. The medicines are
 free to consumers, though hospitals and clinics do charge fees for 
administering the drugs and monitoring patients during the process.

Other treatments expected to be effective against omicron in 
high-risk, non-hospitalized patients include AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, a 
long-acting injectable monoclonal antibody for immunocompromised people,
 and a three-day infusion of Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir, which is 
approved by the FDA. New oral antiviral pills also are expected to be 
effective, although they, too, remain in short supply.

Providers in several states that have continued to use the Regeneron 
and Lilly products have offered varied reasons. Some said they believed 
delta infections continued to circulate locally; others said they felt 
desperate to try something.

Officials in Michigan, which used more than 5,800 doses of the 
Regeneron and Lilly products during the most recent two weeks, and 
California, which used more than 3,400, have allowed health care 
providers to use their clinical judgment about which treatment to 
prescribe.

But in Mississippi, where omicron is rampant and fewer than half of 
residents have been fully vaccinated, state health officer Dr. Thomas 
Dobbs called for an end to the use of the treatments.

“We will be recommending that clinicians and physicians do not use 
these products right now based on the distribution of omicron vs. 
delta,” he said during a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO0N6_y9FTM">press conference.</a>

At Ramers’ clinic in San Diego, care providers have been dispensing 
scarce doses of the monoclonal antibody treatments only when they’re 
confident they’ll help. That has meant sending batches of positive PCR 
tests to a laboratory in nearby Irvine, where they are screened to see 
whether one of three target genes is not detected, a known marker for an
 omicron infection.

Patients infected with the delta variant were able to be treated with
 REGEN-COV, the Regeneron product, preserving sotrovimab for the growing
 number of omicron cases, said Pauline Lucatero, the clinic’s director 
of nursing.

“Looking into my patients’ eyes and seeing fear, just fear, all I 
could tell them is we believe this treatment works and we’re going to do
 everything we can to save as many people as we can,” she said.

Phillip Reese, an assistant professor of journalism at California State University-Sacramento, contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642796023376.png" alt="Dr. Christian Ramers is an infectious disease specialist at Family Health Centers of San Diego, one of the few sites in the nation using lab screening that can tell whether patients are infected with the delta or omicron variant, then treating them accordingly. “Otherwise, you’re giving this false sense of security to a patient that they’re getting treatment,” Ramers says. (Family Health Centers of San Diego)" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Christian Ramers is an infectious disease specialist at Family Health Centers of San Diego, one of the few sites in the nation using lab screening that can tell whether patients are infected with the delta or omicron variant, then treating them accordingly. “Otherwise, you’re giving this false sense of security to a patient that they’re getting treatment,” Ramers says. (Family Health Centers of San Diego)</figcaption>
 </figure>By JONEL ALECCIA <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/states-use-monoclonal-antibody-covid-treatment-ineffective-against-omicron/">Kaiser Health News</a>As the omicron variant completes its sweep across the U.S., states with 
scarce supplies of monoclonal antibody therapies continue to use two 
treatments that federal health officials warn no longer work against the
 highly contagious version of the virus that causes covid-19. The 
antibody treatment now <a href="https://opendata.ncats.nih.gov/variant/activity">most recommended</a> is sotrovimab from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, and it’s in short supply.Use of the newly ineffective treatments produced by Regeneron 
Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Co. is highest in a dozen states. They
 include several Southern states with some of the nation’s lowest 
vaccination rates, but also California, which ranks in the nation’s top 
20 for fully vaccinated residents, a KHN analysis of federal data shows.
 Many hospitals and clinics are still infusing the costly treatments — 
often charging hundreds of dollars a session — that public health 
officials now say are almost certainly useless.That’s because of the near-total dominance of omicron, which accounted for <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#nowcasting">99.5% of new covid infections</a> in the U.S. during the week that ended Jan. 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.That point was underscored this week by updated <a href="https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/statement-on-therapies-for-high-risk-nonhospitalized-patients/?utm_campaign=highlights">guidelines</a> from the National Institutes of Health that now recommend sotrovimab as the primary monoclonal treatment for the disease.Unless providers are certain they are still treating patients 
infected with the delta variant, they shouldn’t use the others, said Dr.
 Mark McClellan, director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy,
 who is also a former commissioner of the FDA and former administrator 
of CMS. And the delta variant is <a href="https://tracker.rosalind.bio/dashboard?number-of-days=30&amp;graph-display=count">increasingly rare</a>, accounting for 3% of cases in Louisiana, 7% in California, and 10% in Ohio, as examples.“There’s not a medical justification based on the evidence on the Regeneron and Lilly products,” McClellan said.Determining which patients are infected with the delta vs. omicron 
variant is complicated, said Dr. Christian Ramers, chief of population 
health and an infectious disease specialist at Family Health Centers of 
San Diego.His clinic is one of the few sites in the nation using laboratory 
screening of positive PCR covid tests that can tell whether patients are
 infected with delta vs. omicron — and then treating them accordingly. 
“Otherwise, you’re giving this false sense of security to a patient that
 they’re getting treatment,” Ramers said. “I don’t think it is ethical, 
and it goes against the principle of doing no harm.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642796149905.png" alt="At Dr. Christian Ramers’ clinic in San Diego, care providers have been dispensing scarce doses of the monoclonal antibody treatments only when they’re confident they’ll help. Prescribing monoclonals that aren’t effective against the omicron variant “goes against the principle of doing no harm,” Ramers says. (Family Health Centers of San Diego)" />
 <figcaption>At Dr. Christian Ramers’ clinic in San Diego, care providers have been dispensing scarce doses of the monoclonal antibody treatments only when they’re confident they’ll help. Prescribing monoclonals that aren’t effective against the omicron variant “goes against the principle of doing no harm,” Ramers says. (Family Health Centers of San Diego)</figcaption>
 </figure>Overall, U.S. hospitals used about 72,000 doses of the Regeneron and 
Lilly monoclonal antibody therapies from Jan. 5 through Jan. 18, 
according to the <a href="https://healthdata.gov/Hospital/COVID-19-Reported-Patient-Impact-and-Hospital-Capa/g62h-syeh">latest figures</a>
 from the Department of Health and Human Services. Data regarding 
hospital-level use of sotrovimab, which became available more recently 
than the other products, is not yet available on the HHS site.By comparison, hospitals used about 153,000 courses of the Regeneron 
and Lilly treatments from Dec. 22 through Jan. 4. They used about 
169,000 courses from Aug. 26 through Sept. 8, near the height of the 
delta surge.On Jan. 19, hospitals still had about 295,000 doses of the Regeneron and Lilly treatments on hand.Nationwide, the federal government is distributing <a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/therapeutics/distribution/Pages/data-tables.aspx">more than 50,000 courses</a>
 of sotrovimab per week, though it remains in short supply. The Biden 
administration has agreed to buy about 1 million doses, including about 
600,000 promised by March, <a href="https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/gsk-and-vir-biotechnology-announce-united-states-government-agreement-to-purchase-additional-supply-of-sotrovimab/">GSK officials said.</a>Respectively, Michigan, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Louisiana, 
California, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Ohio, New York, and Mississippi 
used the most courses of the Regeneron and Lilly treatments from Jan. 5 
through Jan. 18, KHN’s analysis showed.In Florida, which used more than 5,200 courses of the outdated 
treatments during that two-week period, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has
 said he is not convinced that the Regeneron and Lilly products don’t 
work against omicron. In Florida, omicron accounted for <a href="https://tracker.rosalind.bio/dashboard?number-of-days=30&amp;graph-display=count">97% of cases</a> as of Jan. 20; delta accounted for 3%.“We have had practitioners give both of those to people with omicron 
who said the symptoms got resolved,” he said in a Jan. 5 speech provided
 by his spokesperson, Christina Pushaw.Federal health officials managing allocation of the monoclonal 
antibody therapies paused shipments of the Regeneron and Lilly 
treatments on Dec. 23, after laboratory tests showed they were less 
effective against the surging omicron variant than the delta variant. 
But the Biden administration <a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/investigation-MCM/Bamlanivimab-etesevimab/Pages/bamlanivimab-etesevimab-regen-cov-ordering-update.aspx">resumed shipments on Dec. 31</a>,
 after complaints from DeSantis and some doctors that those therapies 
could still help people in places where the delta variant persisted.Regeneron itself has said its antibody treatments are ineffective 
against the omicron variant. It contains more than 30 mutations in the 
virus’s spike protein, which makes the variant better at dodging the 
monoclonal antibody treatments.“It’s really not justified at this point unless there’s some other 
underlying secondary gain, political pressure, or perhaps the providers 
are truly not in touch with the reality of the variant proportions,” 
Ramers said.Earlier this month, HHS officials indicated that shipments of the 
three monoclonal antibody treatments would continue through Jan. 31, 
despite the growing proportion of omicron cases. A department 
spokesperson on background said the agency would continue to assess “any
 impacts to covid-19’s therapeutic allocations.”Monoclonal antibody treatments are lab-based molecules that mimic the
 body’s immune response to infection. They are most often given through 
IV infusion, though some can be delivered with an injection. The federal
 government has agreed to purchase millions of doses of the Regeneron 
and Lilly products at a cost of about $2,100 per dose. The medicines are
 free to consumers, though hospitals and clinics do charge fees for 
administering the drugs and monitoring patients during the process.Other treatments expected to be effective against omicron in 
high-risk, non-hospitalized patients include AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, a 
long-acting injectable monoclonal antibody for immunocompromised people,
 and a three-day infusion of Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir, which is 
approved by the FDA. New oral antiviral pills also are expected to be 
effective, although they, too, remain in short supply.Providers in several states that have continued to use the Regeneron 
and Lilly products have offered varied reasons. Some said they believed 
delta infections continued to circulate locally; others said they felt 
desperate to try something.Officials in Michigan, which used more than 5,800 doses of the 
Regeneron and Lilly products during the most recent two weeks, and 
California, which used more than 3,400, have allowed health care 
providers to use their clinical judgment about which treatment to 
prescribe.But in Mississippi, where omicron is rampant and fewer than half of 
residents have been fully vaccinated, state health officer Dr. Thomas 
Dobbs called for an end to the use of the treatments.“We will be recommending that clinicians and physicians do not use 
these products right now based on the distribution of omicron vs. 
delta,” he said during a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO0N6_y9FTM">press conference.</a>At Ramers’ clinic in San Diego, care providers have been dispensing 
scarce doses of the monoclonal antibody treatments only when they’re 
confident they’ll help. That has meant sending batches of positive PCR 
tests to a laboratory in nearby Irvine, where they are screened to see 
whether one of three target genes is not detected, a known marker for an
 omicron infection.Patients infected with the delta variant were able to be treated with
 REGEN-COV, the Regeneron product, preserving sotrovimab for the growing
 number of omicron cases, said Pauline Lucatero, the clinic’s director 
of nursing.“Looking into my patients’ eyes and seeing fear, just fear, all I 
could tell them is we believe this treatment works and we’re going to do
 everything we can to save as many people as we can,” she said.Phillip Reese, an assistant professor of journalism at California State University-Sacramento, contributed to this report.

Patient, beware: States still pushing ineffective COVID antibody treatments

GRAND ISLAND — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested two people after locating more than 200 pounds of marijuana and THC products during a traffic stop on Interstate 80.

At approximately 9:50 a.m. Thursday, a trooper observed an eastbound Winnebago RV speeding on I-80 at mile marker 348, near Bradshaw. During the traffic stop, an NSP K9 detected the odor of a controlled substance coming from inside the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle revealed 109 pounds of marijuana and 122 pounds of THC edibles. The driver, Adolfo Ramos, 26, of Riverside, California, and passenger Andrew Urena, 30, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, were both arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession with intent to deliver, and no drug tax stamp.

Both were lodged in York County Jail. The York County Sheriff’s Office assisted in this incident.

GRAND ISLAND — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested two people after locating more than 200 pounds of marijuana and THC products during a traffic stop on Interstate 80.At approximately 9:50 a.m. Thursday, a trooper observed an eastbound Winnebago RV speeding on I-80 at mile marker 348, near Bradshaw. During the traffic stop, an NSP K9 detected the odor of a controlled substance coming from inside the vehicle.A search of the vehicle revealed 109 pounds of marijuana and 122 pounds of THC edibles. The driver, Adolfo Ramos, 26, of Riverside, California, and passenger Andrew Urena, 30, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, were both arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession with intent to deliver, and no drug tax stamp.Both were lodged in York County Jail. The York County Sheriff’s Office assisted in this incident.

Troopers find 231 LBs of marijuana, THC products in I-80 traffic stop

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man charged with fatally hitting another man in his Lincoln front yard has pleaded no contest to attempting to leave the scene of a fatal accident and misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide.

 The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 31-year-old Hani Hadgi faces more time behind bars when he's sentenced in March. 

Prosecutors say Hadgi was driving a sport utility vehicle recklessly when he hit 41-year-old Victor Melendez the night of Sept. 22, 2020. 

An officer who arrived at the scene of the crash testified he saw Hadgi get out of the crashed SUV and leave in a red car, without checking on Melendez. 

Hadgi is already serving a two- to three-year prison sentence on separate drug charges.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man charged with fatally hitting another man in his Lincoln front yard has pleaded no contest to attempting to leave the scene of a fatal accident and misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 31-year-old Hani Hadgi faces more time behind bars when he's sentenced in March. Prosecutors say Hadgi was driving a sport utility vehicle recklessly when he hit 41-year-old Victor Melendez the night of Sept. 22, 2020. An officer who arrived at the scene of the crash testified he saw Hadgi get out of the crashed SUV and leave in a red car, without checking on Melendez. Hadgi is already serving a two- to three-year prison sentence on separate drug charges.

Man pleads no contest to 2020 fatal hit-and-run in Lincoln

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a woman who was walking the traffic lanes of a busy Omaha street died after being hit by a car. 

Television station WOWT reports that the crash happened just after 10 p.m. Thursday on Maple Street near the intersection of 95th Street.

 Investigators say a 37-year-old man driving a car along Maple came upon 35-year-old Victoria Castro walking in the westbound lane and swerved, but was unable to avoid hitting Castro. 

Castro was taken with critical injuries to a hospital, where she died.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a woman who was walking the traffic lanes of a busy Omaha street died after being hit by a car. Television station WOWT reports that the crash happened just after 10 p.m. Thursday on Maple Street near the intersection of 95th Street. Investigators say a 37-year-old man driving a car along Maple came upon 35-year-old Victoria Castro walking in the westbound lane and swerved, but was unable to avoid hitting Castro. Castro was taken with critical injuries to a hospital, where she died. The driver of the car was not injured.

Investigators: Woman walking in Omaha street fatally hit

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gretna High School has been stripped of its 2021 Class A state football championship following a vote of the Nebraska Schools Activities Association board.

 The board voted 8-0 to uphold executive director Jay Bellar’s ruling that the Dragons used an ineligible player last season. 

Gretna beat Omaha Westside 7-3 in the November title game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

 The school must return the championship trophy, but the players will be allowed to keep their medals. 

There will be no Class A champion listed for 2021.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gretna High School has been stripped of its 2021 Class A state football championship following a vote of the Nebraska Schools Activities Association board. The board voted 8-0 to uphold executive director Jay Bellar’s ruling that the Dragons used an ineligible player last season. Gretna beat Omaha Westside 7-3 in the November title game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The school must return the championship trophy, but the players will be allowed to keep their medals. There will be no Class A champion listed for 2021.

Gretna stripped of 2021 state high school football title

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Attorney General is accusing a couple from Brooklyn, New York, of committing a $59.6 million Medicaid fraud involving several nursing homes in Nebraska.

 In a complaint filed in Lancaster County, Joseph and Rosie Schwartz and Skyline Healthcare are accused of making decisions that were detrimental to 22 Nebraska nursing homes in order to enrich themselves.

 The homes were operated under the Cottonwood Healthcare name. 

The couple's facilities were put in receivership in 2018. 

The Lincoln Journal Star reports the lawsuit says the company made false records and did not maintain documents in order to receive payments to which they were not entitled.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Attorney General is accusing a couple from Brooklyn, New York, of committing a $59.6 million Medicaid fraud involving several nursing homes in Nebraska. In a complaint filed in Lancaster County, Joseph and Rosie Schwartz and Skyline Healthcare are accused of making decisions that were detrimental to 22 Nebraska nursing homes in order to enrich themselves. The homes were operated under the Cottonwood Healthcare name. The couple's facilities were put in receivership in 2018. The Lincoln Journal Star reports the lawsuit says the company made false records and did not maintain documents in order to receive payments to which they were not entitled.

New York couple accused of Nebraska nursing homes fraud

OMAHA&nbsp; — The latest and greatest in the automotive industry will be on display this weekend at the Midlands International Auto Show and Nebraska State Troopers will be on hand to promote traffic safety.

“The Midlands Auto Show is an excellent place to connect with the public and the auto industry to promote traffic safety,” said Captain Matt Sutter, Commander of Troop A, based in Omaha. “We’ll have troopers there to showcase the life-saving power of seat belts, as well as discuss the dangers of impaired and distracted driving.”

The Midlands International Auto Show runs from Friday, January 21 through Sunday, January 23, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. The event features the latest innovations of the automotive industry.

Visitors to the auto show will have the opportunity to experience seat belt demonstrations such as the NSP Seat Belt Persuader. The NSP booth is located in the center-rear of the exhibition hall. The NSP booth is made possible thanks to the Nebraska Department of Transportation – Highway Safety Office.

Visitors can get more information about the show at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.omahaautoshow.com/" target="_blank">Omaha Auto Show</a>.

OMAHA&nbsp; — The latest and greatest in the automotive industry will be on display this weekend at the Midlands International Auto Show and Nebraska State Troopers will be on hand to promote traffic safety.“The Midlands Auto Show is an excellent place to connect with the public and the auto industry to promote traffic safety,” said Captain Matt Sutter, Commander of Troop A, based in Omaha. “We’ll have troopers there to showcase the life-saving power of seat belts, as well as discuss the dangers of impaired and distracted driving.”The Midlands International Auto Show runs from Friday, January 21 through Sunday, January 23, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. The event features the latest innovations of the automotive industry.Visitors to the auto show will have the opportunity to experience seat belt demonstrations such as the NSP Seat Belt Persuader. The NSP booth is located in the center-rear of the exhibition hall. The NSP booth is made possible thanks to the Nebraska Department of Transportation – Highway Safety Office.Visitors can get more information about the show at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.omahaautoshow.com/" target="_blank">Omaha Auto Show</a>.

Troopers highlight traffic safety at Midlands Auto Show

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the latest setback for abortion rights in Texas, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to speed up the ongoing court case over the state’s ban on most abortions.

Over dissents from the three liberal justices, the court declined to order a federal appeals court to return the case to a federal judge who had temporarily blocked the law’s enforcement. The court offered no explanation for its action.

The Texas ban is thus likely to remain in effect for the foreseeable future, following a decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to send the case to the Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely controlled by Republican justices and does not have to act immediately.

Abortion providers had asked the high court to countermand the appellate order, which they said in court papers has no purpose other than to delay legal proceedings and prevent clinics from offering abortions beyond around six weeks of pregnancy.

The law has devastated abortion care in Texas, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote. “Instead of stopping a Fifth Circuit panel from indulging Texas’ newest delay tactics, the Court allows the State yet again to extend the deprivation of the federal constitutional rights of its citizens through procedural manipulation,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. “The Court may look the other way, but I cannot.”

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberals in December in a dissent that called for allowing a broader challenge to the law and a quick return to the lower federal court. Roberts did not note his position on Thursday.

Clinics fear that their challenge to the law might not be resolved before the justices rule in a Mississippi case that could roll back abortion rights across the country. That decision, which could overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade case from 1973, is expected by late June.

The Texas law that bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected — usually around six weeks, before some women know they are pregnant — has been in effect since September. Last month, the high court kept the law in place and allowed only a narrow challenge against the restrictions to proceed.

The providers thought their best chance for a favorable outcome was before U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin. Pitman issued an order in October blocking the law, though the appeals court put his ruling on hold just a couple of days later.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638369620989.png" alt="Abortion protesters outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Abortion protesters outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — In the latest setback for abortion rights in Texas, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to speed up the ongoing court case over the state’s ban on most abortions.Over dissents from the three liberal justices, the court declined to order a federal appeals court to return the case to a federal judge who had temporarily blocked the law’s enforcement. The court offered no explanation for its action.The Texas ban is thus likely to remain in effect for the foreseeable future, following a decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to send the case to the Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely controlled by Republican justices and does not have to act immediately.Abortion providers had asked the high court to countermand the appellate order, which they said in court papers has no purpose other than to delay legal proceedings and prevent clinics from offering abortions beyond around six weeks of pregnancy.The law has devastated abortion care in Texas, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote. “Instead of stopping a Fifth Circuit panel from indulging Texas’ newest delay tactics, the Court allows the State yet again to extend the deprivation of the federal constitutional rights of its citizens through procedural manipulation,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. “The Court may look the other way, but I cannot.”Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberals in December in a dissent that called for allowing a broader challenge to the law and a quick return to the lower federal court. Roberts did not note his position on Thursday.Clinics fear that their challenge to the law might not be resolved before the justices rule in a Mississippi case that could roll back abortion rights across the country. That decision, which could overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade case from 1973, is expected by late June.The Texas law that bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected — usually around six weeks, before some women know they are pregnant — has been in effect since September. Last month, the high court kept the law in place and allowed only a narrow challenge against the restrictions to proceed.The providers thought their best chance for a favorable outcome was before U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin. Pitman issued an order in October blocking the law, though the appeals court put his ruling on hold just a couple of days later.

Court rejects attempt to block nation's most restrictive abortion law

NEW YORK (AP) — Meat Loaf, the heavyweight rock superstar loved by millions for his “Bat Out of Hell” album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” has died. He was 74.

The singer born Marvin Lee Aday died Thursday, according to a family statement provided by his longtime agent Michael Greene.

“Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight,” the statement said. “We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man... From his heart to your souls…don’t ever stop rocking!”

No cause or other details were given, but Aday had numerous health scares over the years.

“Bat Out of a Hell,” his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman and producer Todd Rundgren, came out in 1977 and made him one of the most recognizable performers in rock. Fans fell hard for the roaring vocals of the long-haired, 250-plus pound singer and for the comic non-romance of the title track, “You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” an operatic cautionary tale about going all the way. “Paradise” was a duet with Ellen Foley that featured play by play from New York Yankees broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, who alleged — to much skepticism — that he was unaware of any alternate meanings to reaching third base and heading for home.

After a slow start and mixed reviews, “Bat Out of a Hell” became one of the top-selling albums in history, with worldwide sales of more than 40 million copies. Meat Loaf wasn’t a consistent hit maker, especially after falling out for years with Steinman. But he maintained close ties with his fans through his manic live shows, social media and his many television, radio and film appearances, including “Fight Club” and cameos on “Glee” and “South Park.”

Friends and fans reacted to the death on social media.

“I hope paradise is as you remember it from the dashboard light, Meat Loaf,” actor Stephen Fry said on Twitter.

Meat Loaf’s biggest musical success after “Bat Out of Hell” was “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell,” a 1993 reunion with Steinman that sold more than 15 million copies and featured the Grammy-winning single “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-new-york-city-music-celine-dion-jim-steinman-d8883fd53f04417143d59eddd06c5d07">Steinman died in April</a>.

Aday’s other albums included “Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose,” “Hell in a Handbasket” and “Braver Than We Are.”

A native of Dallas, Aday was the son of a school teacher who raised him on her own after divorcing his alcoholic father, a police officer. Aday was singing and acting in high school (Mick Jagger was an early favorite, so was Ethel Merman) and attended Lubbock Christian College and what is now the University of North Texas. Among his more notable childhood memories: Seeing John F. Kennedy arrive at Love Field in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, then learning the president had been assassinated and driving to Parkland Hospital and watching a bloodied Jackie Kennedy step out of a car.

He was still a teenager when his mother died and when he acquired the nickname Meat Loaf, the alleged origins of which range from his weight to a favorite recipe of his mother’s. He left for Los Angeles after college and was soon fronting the band Meat Loaf Soul. For years, he alternated between music and the stage, recording briefly for Motown, opening for such acts as the Who and the Grateful Dead and appearing in the Broadway production of “Hair.”

By the mid-1970s, he was playing the lobotomized biker Eddie in the theater and film versions of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” had served as an understudy for his friend John Belushi for the stage production of National Lampoon and had begun working with Steinman on “Bat Out of Hell.” The dense, pounding production was openly influenced by Wagner, Phil Spector and Bruce Springsteen, whose bandmates Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg played on the record. Rundgren initially thought of the album as a parody of Springsteen’s grandiose style.

Steinman had known Meat Loaf since the singer appeared in his 1973 musical “More Than You Deserve” and some of the songs on “Bat Out of Hell,” including “All Revved Up With No Place to Go,” were initially written for a planned stage show based on the story of Peter Pan. “Bat Out of Hell” took more than two years to find a taker as numerous record executives turned it down, including RCA’s Clive Davis, who disparaged Steinman’s songs and acknowledged that he had misjudged the singer: “The songs were coming over as very theatrical, and Meat Loaf, despite a powerful voice, just didn’t look like a star,” Davis wrote in his memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life.”

With the help of another Springsteen sideman, Steve Van Zandt, “Bat Out of Hell” was acquired by Cleveland International, a subsidiary of Epic Records. The album made little impact until months after its release, when a concert video of the title track was aired on the British program the Old Grey Whistle Test. In the U.S., his connection to “Rocky Horror” helped when he convinced producer Lou Adler to use a video for “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” as a trailer for the cult movie. But Meat Loaf was so little known at first that he began his “Bat Out of Hell” tour in Chicago as the opening act for Cheap Trick, then one of the world’s hottest groups.

“I remember pulling up at the theater and it says, ‘TONIGHT: CHEAP TRICK, WITH MEAT LOAF.’ And I said to myself, ‘These people think we’re serving dinner,’” Meat Loaf explained in 2013 on the syndicated radio show “In the Studio.”

“And we walk out on stage and these people were such Cheap Trick fans they booed us from the start. They were getting up and giving us the finger. The first six rows stood up and screamed. ... When we finished, most of the boos had stopped and we were almost getting applause.”

He is survived by Deborah Gillespie, his wife since 2007, and by daughters Pearl and Amanda Aday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642762468813.png" alt="“Bat Out of a Hell,” his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman and producer Todd Rundgren, came out in 1977&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>“Bat Out of a Hell,” his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman and producer Todd Rundgren, came out in 1977&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Meat Loaf, the heavyweight rock superstar loved by millions for his “Bat Out of Hell” album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” has died. He was 74.The singer born Marvin Lee Aday died Thursday, according to a family statement provided by his longtime agent Michael Greene.“Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight,” the statement said. “We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man... From his heart to your souls…don’t ever stop rocking!”No cause or other details were given, but Aday had numerous health scares over the years.“Bat Out of a Hell,” his mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman and producer Todd Rundgren, came out in 1977 and made him one of the most recognizable performers in rock. Fans fell hard for the roaring vocals of the long-haired, 250-plus pound singer and for the comic non-romance of the title track, “You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” an operatic cautionary tale about going all the way. “Paradise” was a duet with Ellen Foley that featured play by play from New York Yankees broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, who alleged — to much skepticism — that he was unaware of any alternate meanings to reaching third base and heading for home.After a slow start and mixed reviews, “Bat Out of a Hell” became one of the top-selling albums in history, with worldwide sales of more than 40 million copies. Meat Loaf wasn’t a consistent hit maker, especially after falling out for years with Steinman. But he maintained close ties with his fans through his manic live shows, social media and his many television, radio and film appearances, including “Fight Club” and cameos on “Glee” and “South Park.”Friends and fans reacted to the death on social media.“I hope paradise is as you remember it from the dashboard light, Meat Loaf,” actor Stephen Fry said on Twitter.Meat Loaf’s biggest musical success after “Bat Out of Hell” was “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell,” a 1993 reunion with Steinman that sold more than 15 million copies and featured the Grammy-winning single “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-new-york-city-music-celine-dion-jim-steinman-d8883fd53f04417143d59eddd06c5d07">Steinman died in April</a>.Aday’s other albums included “Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose,” “Hell in a Handbasket” and “Braver Than We Are.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642762315280.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>A native of Dallas, Aday was the son of a school teacher who raised him on her own after divorcing his alcoholic father, a police officer. Aday was singing and acting in high school (Mick Jagger was an early favorite, so was Ethel Merman) and attended Lubbock Christian College and what is now the University of North Texas. Among his more notable childhood memories: Seeing John F. Kennedy arrive at Love Field in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, then learning the president had been assassinated and driving to Parkland Hospital and watching a bloodied Jackie Kennedy step out of a car.He was still a teenager when his mother died and when he acquired the nickname Meat Loaf, the alleged origins of which range from his weight to a favorite recipe of his mother’s. He left for Los Angeles after college and was soon fronting the band Meat Loaf Soul. For years, he alternated between music and the stage, recording briefly for Motown, opening for such acts as the Who and the Grateful Dead and appearing in the Broadway production of “Hair.”By the mid-1970s, he was playing the lobotomized biker Eddie in the theater and film versions of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” had served as an understudy for his friend John Belushi for the stage production of National Lampoon and had begun working with Steinman on “Bat Out of Hell.” The dense, pounding production was openly influenced by Wagner, Phil Spector and Bruce Springsteen, whose bandmates Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg played on the record. Rundgren initially thought of the album as a parody of Springsteen’s grandiose style.Steinman had known Meat Loaf since the singer appeared in his 1973 musical “More Than You Deserve” and some of the songs on “Bat Out of Hell,” including “All Revved Up With No Place to Go,” were initially written for a planned stage show based on the story of Peter Pan. “Bat Out of Hell” took more than two years to find a taker as numerous record executives turned it down, including RCA’s Clive Davis, who disparaged Steinman’s songs and acknowledged that he had misjudged the singer: “The songs were coming over as very theatrical, and Meat Loaf, despite a powerful voice, just didn’t look like a star,” Davis wrote in his memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life.”With the help of another Springsteen sideman, Steve Van Zandt, “Bat Out of Hell” was acquired by Cleveland International, a subsidiary of Epic Records. The album made little impact until months after its release, when a concert video of the title track was aired on the British program the Old Grey Whistle Test. In the U.S., his connection to “Rocky Horror” helped when he convinced producer Lou Adler to use a video for “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” as a trailer for the cult movie. But Meat Loaf was so little known at first that he began his “Bat Out of Hell” tour in Chicago as the opening act for Cheap Trick, then one of the world’s hottest groups.“I remember pulling up at the theater and it says, ‘TONIGHT: CHEAP TRICK, WITH MEAT LOAF.’ And I said to myself, ‘These people think we’re serving dinner,’” Meat Loaf explained in 2013 on the syndicated radio show “In the Studio.”“And we walk out on stage and these people were such Cheap Trick fans they booed us from the start. They were getting up and giving us the finger. The first six rows stood up and screamed. ... When we finished, most of the boos had stopped and we were almost getting applause.”He is survived by Deborah Gillespie, his wife since 2007, and by daughters Pearl and Amanda Aday.___

Meat Loaf, 'Bat Out of Hell' rock superstar, dies at 74

U.S. households can now request free at-home COVID-19 test kits through a new <a href="https://www.today.com/video/biden-administration-launches-website-for-free-at-home-covid-19-tests-131182149956" target="_blank">Biden administration program</a>. But when the government rolls out big initiatives, such <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21774-scam-alert-government-relief-checks-trigger-latest-coronavirus-scam">as the stimulus checks</a>, scammers typically find ways to take advantage. This time, watch out for <a href="https://www.bbb.org/all/spot-a-scam/how-to-identify-a-fake-website" target="_blank">lookalike websites</a> when requesting your tests. These scam sites may ask for payment or personal information, such as your Social Security number.

You hear about the free COVID-19 tests and do a search for it online.
 Or you see a post or ad on social media or receive an unsolicited email
 or text. These communications urge you to request your free tests 
immediately by clicking on a link.

You follow the link to a website that looks official at first glance.
 It may have the United States Postal Service (USPS) logo, just like the
 real website. It also has a form to request your tests. But when you 
start filling out the form, you notice something unusual. This fake 
version may ask you for personal information, such as your Social 
Security number or Medicare ID. It could also request your credit card 
details, under the guise of <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/24189-bbb-tip-read-the-fine-print-before-signing-up-for-a-free-trial-offer" target="_blank">needing to pay for shipping</a>
 (note: the real page does not ask for payment or your SSN). Before you 
know it, you have given up your information to a scammer.

Learn more about <a href="https://www.bbb.org/all/spot-a-scam/how-to-identify-a-fake-website" target="_blank">identifying fake websites</a> and <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21686-how-to-avoid-impostor-scams" target="_blank">spotting impostor scams</a>. Read about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21989-top-6-coronavirus-scams-bbb" target="_blank">other popular COVID-19 scams</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/22395-bbb-scam-alert-want-a-covid-test-theres-a-scam-for-that" target="_blank">additional testing scams</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579883951052.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BBBU.S. households can now request free at-home COVID-19 test kits through a new <a href="https://www.today.com/video/biden-administration-launches-website-for-free-at-home-covid-19-tests-131182149956" target="_blank">Biden administration program</a>. But when the government rolls out big initiatives, such <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21774-scam-alert-government-relief-checks-trigger-latest-coronavirus-scam">as the stimulus checks</a>, scammers typically find ways to take advantage. This time, watch out for <a href="https://www.bbb.org/all/spot-a-scam/how-to-identify-a-fake-website" target="_blank">lookalike websites</a> when requesting your tests. These scam sites may ask for payment or personal information, such as your Social Security number.<h2>How the scam may work</h2>You hear about the free COVID-19 tests and do a search for it online.
 Or you see a post or ad on social media or receive an unsolicited email
 or text. These communications urge you to request your free tests 
immediately by clicking on a link.You follow the link to a website that looks official at first glance.
 It may have the United States Postal Service (USPS) logo, just like the
 real website. It also has a form to request your tests. But when you 
start filling out the form, you notice something unusual. This fake 
version may ask you for personal information, such as your Social 
Security number or Medicare ID. It could also request your credit card 
details, under the guise of <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/24189-bbb-tip-read-the-fine-print-before-signing-up-for-a-free-trial-offer" target="_blank">needing to pay for shipping</a>
 (note: the real page does not ask for payment or your SSN). Before you 
know it, you have given up your information to a scammer.<h2>Tips to identify a fake website</h2><ul>
 <li>Look closely at the domain name.&nbsp;One way that fake 
websites trick people is by using a domain name that is extremely close 
to a real business’s or organization’s domain name. For example, the 
real COVID-19 test request website is <a href="https://special.usps.com/testkits" target="_blank">special.usps.com/testkits</a>.
 Scammers may swap two letters or make a slight misspelling. If you find
 a spelling error in the domain name, you’re not on the official site, 
and it’s best to close the tab. </li><li>Watch out for tricky subdomains. Sometimes 
attackers hope you will confuse a subdomain with the real domain name. 
For example, a scammer might use the subdomain name usps.faketestkit.com
 hoping you won’t notice that "faketestkit.com" is not the correct 
domain name to get your free test kit, which is usps.com. </li><li>The real website asks only for your name and address. You do not need to pay for the tests using the <a href="https://special.usps.com/testkits" target="_blank">government program</a> &nbsp;–
 even for shipping. And you will not be asked for insurance details, 
your Social Security number or any other sensitive information.</li>
 </ul><h2>For more information</h2>Learn more about <a href="https://www.bbb.org/all/spot-a-scam/how-to-identify-a-fake-website" target="_blank">identifying fake websites</a> and <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21686-how-to-avoid-impostor-scams" target="_blank">spotting impostor scams</a>. Read about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21989-top-6-coronavirus-scams-bbb" target="_blank">other popular COVID-19 scams</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/22395-bbb-scam-alert-want-a-covid-test-theres-a-scam-for-that" target="_blank">additional testing scams</a>.If you’ve spotted a scam, report it to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbb.org/ScamTracker" target="_blank">BBB Scam Tracker</a>, even if you didn’t fall victim or lose any money. Your report can help others avoid common scam tactics.