WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise rates on first-class stamps from 55 cents to 58 cents as part of a host of price hikes and service changes designed to reduce debt for the beleaguered agency.

The request for the changes, which would take effect Aug. 29, was filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission. It includes price hikes for first-class mail, magazines and marketing mailers. The price hikes are part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan for the agency, which faces an estimated $160 billion in operating losses over the next decade.

DeJoy said the increases are necessary to “achieve financial sustainability and service excellence” and will allow the postal service to "remain viable and competitive and offer reliable postal services that are among the most affordable in the world.”

The Washington Post reported that the price hikes also are being accompanied by hundreds of layoffs of “management-level employees.” An email to postal officials seeking confirmation of the layoffs did not receive an immediate response.

The Post Office has grappled with declining revenues for years; in the past decade, overall mail volume has dropped 28 percent, and first-class letters have declined by 47 percent, according to the agency. It also faces fierce competition in the package delivery business from FedEx, UPS and Amazon.

DeJoy, a major donor to former president Donald Trump, became a figure of national controversy last year when he was publicly accused by Democrats of hampering mail service for political reasons. His attempted service cuts were seen as an extension of Trump's opposition to mail-in voting.

After Trump's defeat, DeJoy's position was considered to be in jeopardy. The Senate has approved three new appointees to the Postal Service's governing board, giving the nine-member board a Democratic majority.

However, DeJoy's dismissal is not certain. Postal Service board Chairman Ron Bloom, a Democrat, told House lawmakers in February that DeJoy "in very difficult circumstances is doing a good job.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise rates on first-class stamps from 55 cents to 58 cents as part of a host of price hikes and service changes designed to reduce debt for the beleaguered agency.The request for the changes, which would take effect Aug. 29, was filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission. It includes price hikes for first-class mail, magazines and marketing mailers. The price hikes are part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan for the agency, which faces an estimated $160 billion in operating losses over the next decade.DeJoy said the increases are necessary to “achieve financial sustainability and service excellence” and will allow the postal service to "remain viable and competitive and offer reliable postal services that are among the most affordable in the world.”The Washington Post reported that the price hikes also are being accompanied by hundreds of layoffs of “management-level employees.” An email to postal officials seeking confirmation of the layoffs did not receive an immediate response.The Post Office has grappled with declining revenues for years; in the past decade, overall mail volume has dropped 28 percent, and first-class letters have declined by 47 percent, according to the agency. It also faces fierce competition in the package delivery business from FedEx, UPS and Amazon.DeJoy, a major donor to former president Donald Trump, became a figure of national controversy last year when he was publicly accused by Democrats of hampering mail service for political reasons. His attempted service cuts were seen as an extension of Trump's opposition to mail-in voting.After Trump's defeat, DeJoy's position was considered to be in jeopardy. The Senate has approved three new appointees to the Postal Service's governing board, giving the nine-member board a Democratic majority.However, DeJoy's dismissal is not certain. Postal Service board Chairman Ron Bloom, a Democrat, told House lawmakers in February that DeJoy "in very difficult circumstances is doing a good job.”

Postal Service looks to raise price of first-class stamp again

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget for next year that's piled high with new safety net programs for the poor and middle class, but his generosity depends on taxing corporations and the wealthy to keep the nation's spiking debt from spiraling totally out of control.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?512149-1/president-biden-delivers-remarks-economy">Click here to watch</a> the President's comments on his budget plan

Biden has already described, in general terms, major plans on infrastructure and he won a major victory on COVID-19 relief earlier this year. But Friday's rollout tallies up the costs and incorporates them into the government's existing budget framework, including Social Security and Medicare, to provide a fuller view of the administration's fiscal posture.

The whopping deficit projections reflect a government with steadily accumulating debt that has topped $28 trillion after well over $5 trillion in already approved COVID-19 relief, which would require the government to borrow roughly 50 cents of every dollar it spends this year and next. With the government's structural deficit remaining unchecked, Biden would use proposed tax hikes on businesses and high-earning people to power huge new social programs like universal prekindergarten, large subsidies for child care and guaranteed paid leave.

“The best way to grow our economy is not from the top down, but from the bottom up and the middle out," Biden said in his written budget message. “Our prosperity comes from the people who get up every day, work hard, raise their family, pay their taxes, serve their Nation, and volunteer in their communities.”

The budget incorporates the administration's eight-year, $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5 trillion request for annual operating expenditures for the Pentagon and domestic agencies.

“Together, these ... will be transformational: Strengthening our economy, boosting American competitiveness, and delivering shared prosperity and economic security," said acting White House budget chief Shalanda Young. She called the Biden plan a “budget that puts these pieces together and does exactly what the president told the country he would do. Grow the economy, create jobs and do so responsibly by requiring the wealthiest Americans and big corporations to pay their fair share.”

Biden's budget is sure to give Republicans fresh ammunition for their criticisms of the new Democratic administration as bent on a “tax and spend" agenda that would damage the economy and impose a crushing debt burden on younger Americans. And he's facing a very nettlesome fight with Republicans who say he's shorting the military.

Veteran GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, whose help is needed to pass annual agency budget bills, blasted Biden's plan as “a blueprint for the higher taxes, excessive spending, and disproportionate funding priorities." He added that it ”completely disregards our debt of more than $28 trillion, yet somehow still shortchanges our national security."

Biden is a veteran of a long-gone Washington that fought bitterly in the 1980s and 1990s to wrestle the deficit under control. But there hasn't been any real effort to stem the flow of red ink since a tea party-driven moment in 2011 that produced unpopular automatic spending cuts.

Huge deficits have yet to drive up interest rates as many fiscal hawks have feared, however, and genuine anti-deficit sentiment is difficult to find in either political party.

The unusual timing of the budget rollout — the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day weekend — indicates that the White House isn't eager to trumpet the bad deficit news. Typically, lawmakers host an immediate round of hearings on the budget, but those will have to wait until Congress returns from a weeklong recess.

Under Biden’s plan, the debt held by the public would quickly match the size of the economy and soon eclipse record levels of debt relative to gross domestic product that have stood since World War II. That’s despite more than $3 trillion in proposed tax increases over the decade, including an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, increased capital gains rates on top earners and returning the top personal income tax bracket to 39.6%.

Like all presidential budgets, Biden’s plan is simply a proposal. It’s up to Congress to implement it through tax and spending legislation and annual agency budget bills. With Democrats in control of Capitol Hill, albeit barely, the president has the ability to implement many of his tax and spending plans, though his hopes for awarding greater increases to domestic agencies than to the Pentagon are sure to hit a roadblock with Republicans.

Some Democrats are already balking at Biden’s full menu of tax increases, imperiling his ability to pay for his ambitious social spending. And his plans to increase spending on domestic Cabinet agencies by 16% while limiting defense to a 1.7% increase is politically impossible in the 50-50 Senate.

On Thursday, a top Senate ally, Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called for bipartisan talks to start the annual appropriations bills. There’s incentive for both GOP defense hawks and liberal Democrats like Leahy to bargain since the alternative is a long-term freeze at current spending levels.

The Biden plan comes as the White House is seeking an agreement with Senate Republicans over infrastructure spending. There are growing expectations that he may have to go it alone and pass his plans by relying on support from his narrow Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate.

The flood of Biden’s spending proposals includes numerous new programs to strengthen the “caring economy” with large programs aimed at child and elder care: $437 billion over 10 years to provide free preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds and two years of free community college to all Americans. Also, $225 billion would subsidize child care to allow many to pay a maximum of 7% of their income for all children under age 5.

Another $225 billion over the next decade would create a national family and medical leave program, while $200 billion would make recently enacted subsidy increases under the Obama health care law permanent.

Tax hikes, Biden claims, would pay for his initiatives over the next 15 years, including $2 trillion from corporations from curbing overseas tax preferences and raising rates to 28%.

The increases would drive federal spending to about 25% of the entire economy, while the tax boosts would mean revenues approaching 20% of the size of the economy once implemented.

Last year’s $3.1 trillion budget deficit under President Donald Trump was more than double the previous record, as the coronavirus pandemic shrank revenues and sent spending soaring.

Republicans concerns about the deficit are voiced chiefly when Democrats are in power, and the Biden budget gives them ammunition to attack.

Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecelia Rouse told reporters Friday that the economy is outperforming the budget’s promises of 5.2% economic growth this year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1622232957258.png" alt="Biden's budget incorporates the administration's eight-year, $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5 trillion request for annual operating expenditures for the Pentagon and domestic agencies. He delivered remarks on the plan at&nbsp;Coyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio Thursday-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Biden's budget incorporates the administration's eight-year, $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5 trillion request for annual operating expenditures for the Pentagon and domestic agencies. He delivered remarks on the plan at&nbsp;Coyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio Thursday-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget for next year that's piled high with new safety net programs for the poor and middle class, but his generosity depends on taxing corporations and the wealthy to keep the nation's spiking debt from spiraling totally out of control.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?512149-1/president-biden-delivers-remarks-economy">Click here to watch</a> the President's comments on his budget planBiden has already described, in general terms, major plans on infrastructure and he won a major victory on COVID-19 relief earlier this year. But Friday's rollout tallies up the costs and incorporates them into the government's existing budget framework, including Social Security and Medicare, to provide a fuller view of the administration's fiscal posture.The whopping deficit projections reflect a government with steadily accumulating debt that has topped $28 trillion after well over $5 trillion in already approved COVID-19 relief, which would require the government to borrow roughly 50 cents of every dollar it spends this year and next. With the government's structural deficit remaining unchecked, Biden would use proposed tax hikes on businesses and high-earning people to power huge new social programs like universal prekindergarten, large subsidies for child care and guaranteed paid leave.“The best way to grow our economy is not from the top down, but from the bottom up and the middle out," Biden said in his written budget message. “Our prosperity comes from the people who get up every day, work hard, raise their family, pay their taxes, serve their Nation, and volunteer in their communities.”The budget incorporates the administration's eight-year, $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal and its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and adds details on his $1.5 trillion request for annual operating expenditures for the Pentagon and domestic agencies.“Together, these ... will be transformational: Strengthening our economy, boosting American competitiveness, and delivering shared prosperity and economic security," said acting White House budget chief Shalanda Young. She called the Biden plan a “budget that puts these pieces together and does exactly what the president told the country he would do. Grow the economy, create jobs and do so responsibly by requiring the wealthiest Americans and big corporations to pay their fair share.”Biden's budget is sure to give Republicans fresh ammunition for their criticisms of the new Democratic administration as bent on a “tax and spend" agenda that would damage the economy and impose a crushing debt burden on younger Americans. And he's facing a very nettlesome fight with Republicans who say he's shorting the military.Veteran GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, whose help is needed to pass annual agency budget bills, blasted Biden's plan as “a blueprint for the higher taxes, excessive spending, and disproportionate funding priorities." He added that it ”completely disregards our debt of more than $28 trillion, yet somehow still shortchanges our national security."Biden is a veteran of a long-gone Washington that fought bitterly in the 1980s and 1990s to wrestle the deficit under control. But there hasn't been any real effort to stem the flow of red ink since a tea party-driven moment in 2011 that produced unpopular automatic spending cuts.Huge deficits have yet to drive up interest rates as many fiscal hawks have feared, however, and genuine anti-deficit sentiment is difficult to find in either political party.The unusual timing of the budget rollout — the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day weekend — indicates that the White House isn't eager to trumpet the bad deficit news. Typically, lawmakers host an immediate round of hearings on the budget, but those will have to wait until Congress returns from a weeklong recess.Under Biden’s plan, the debt held by the public would quickly match the size of the economy and soon eclipse record levels of debt relative to gross domestic product that have stood since World War II. That’s despite more than $3 trillion in proposed tax increases over the decade, including an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, increased capital gains rates on top earners and returning the top personal income tax bracket to 39.6%.Like all presidential budgets, Biden’s plan is simply a proposal. It’s up to Congress to implement it through tax and spending legislation and annual agency budget bills. With Democrats in control of Capitol Hill, albeit barely, the president has the ability to implement many of his tax and spending plans, though his hopes for awarding greater increases to domestic agencies than to the Pentagon are sure to hit a roadblock with Republicans.Some Democrats are already balking at Biden’s full menu of tax increases, imperiling his ability to pay for his ambitious social spending. And his plans to increase spending on domestic Cabinet agencies by 16% while limiting defense to a 1.7% increase is politically impossible in the 50-50 Senate.On Thursday, a top Senate ally, Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called for bipartisan talks to start the annual appropriations bills. There’s incentive for both GOP defense hawks and liberal Democrats like Leahy to bargain since the alternative is a long-term freeze at current spending levels.The Biden plan comes as the White House is seeking an agreement with Senate Republicans over infrastructure spending. There are growing expectations that he may have to go it alone and pass his plans by relying on support from his narrow Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate.The flood of Biden’s spending proposals includes numerous new programs to strengthen the “caring economy” with large programs aimed at child and elder care: $437 billion over 10 years to provide free preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds and two years of free community college to all Americans. Also, $225 billion would subsidize child care to allow many to pay a maximum of 7% of their income for all children under age 5.Another $225 billion over the next decade would create a national family and medical leave program, while $200 billion would make recently enacted subsidy increases under the Obama health care law permanent.Tax hikes, Biden claims, would pay for his initiatives over the next 15 years, including $2 trillion from corporations from curbing overseas tax preferences and raising rates to 28%.The increases would drive federal spending to about 25% of the entire economy, while the tax boosts would mean revenues approaching 20% of the size of the economy once implemented.Last year’s $3.1 trillion budget deficit under President Donald Trump was more than double the previous record, as the coronavirus pandemic shrank revenues and sent spending soaring.Republicans concerns about the deficit are voiced chiefly when Democrats are in power, and the Biden budget gives them ammunition to attack.Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecelia Rouse told reporters Friday that the economy is outperforming the budget’s promises of 5.2% economic growth this year.

Biden's $6T budget: Social spending, taxes on business

ATCHISON COUNTY, Mo. —A Nebraska couple were injured in an accident just after 6:30a.m. Friday in Atchison County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Ram pickup driven by Dalton N. Hart, 26, Tarkio, was westbound on U.S. 136 just west of Rock Port.

The driver attempted to make a left turn into a private drive.&nbsp; The pickup traveled into the path of a 1938 Chevy Deluxe driven by Kenneth D. Holmes, 50, Auburn, Nebraska.&nbsp; The vehicles collided head-on.

Atchison-Holt ambulance transported Holmes and a passenger in the Chevy Stephanie D. Holmes, 44, Auburn, to Community Hospital in Fairfax. An air ambulance later transferred them to University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Hart was not injured and properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP. The Chevy did not have seat belts.

ATCHISON COUNTY, Mo. —A Nebraska couple were injured in an accident just after 6:30a.m. Friday in Atchison County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Ram pickup driven by Dalton N. Hart, 26, Tarkio, was westbound on U.S. 136 just west of Rock Port.The driver attempted to make a left turn into a private drive.&nbsp; The pickup traveled into the path of a 1938 Chevy Deluxe driven by Kenneth D. Holmes, 50, Auburn, Nebraska.&nbsp; The vehicles collided head-on.Atchison-Holt ambulance transported Holmes and a passenger in the Chevy Stephanie D. Holmes, 44, Auburn, to Community Hospital in Fairfax. An air ambulance later transferred them to University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Hart was not injured and properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP. The Chevy did not have seat belts.

Neb. couple airlifted to hospital after head-on crash in 1938 Chevy

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A Bellevue man charged in the deaths of his two young children has been returned to Nebraska and appeared in court Friday for a bond hearing. 

The Omaha World-Herald reports that 36-year-old Adam Price was returned to Nebraska from California on Thursday night. 

On Friday, he was ordered held on $2.5 million bail. Price is charged with two counts of negligent child abuse resulting in the deaths of his children, 5-year-old Emily and 3-year-old Theodore.

 The children had been with Price for a court-ordered visitation when they were found dead May 16 in Price's home. 

Price was nowhere to be found and was arrested hours later in Pacifica, California.

 Authorities have not yet said how the children died.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A Bellevue man charged in the deaths of his two young children has been returned to Nebraska and appeared in court Friday for a bond hearing. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 36-year-old Adam Price was returned to Nebraska from California on Thursday night. On Friday, he was ordered held on $2.5 million bail. Price is charged with two counts of negligent child abuse resulting in the deaths of his children, 5-year-old Emily and 3-year-old Theodore. The children had been with Price for a court-ordered visitation when they were found dead May 16 in Price's home. Price was nowhere to be found and was arrested hours later in Pacifica, California. Authorities have not yet said how the children died.

Man charged in deaths of children returned to Nebraska

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A judge has granted a temporary injunction to keep the Sarpy County Board from naming a new county treasurer while a lawsuit filed by the ousted former treasurer proceeds. 

Television station WOWT reports that District Judge Geoffrey Hall issued a temporary injunction this week in the lawsuit of Brian Zuger, who was voted out of his elected office by the county board in April. 

The vote followed a state auditor's report earlier this year citing missteps by Zuger’s office that caused Millard Public Schools to miss out on a nearly $2.4 million tax payment, while Bellevue’s school district was overpaid by $2.3 million. 

Zuger has defended his work, saying his office had been trying to correct yearslong problems.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A judge has granted a temporary injunction to keep the Sarpy County Board from naming a new county treasurer while a lawsuit filed by the ousted former treasurer proceeds. Television station WOWT reports that District Judge Geoffrey Hall issued a temporary injunction this week in the lawsuit of Brian Zuger, who was voted out of his elected office by the county board in April. The vote followed a state auditor's report earlier this year citing missteps by Zuger’s office that caused Millard Public Schools to miss out on a nearly $2.4 million tax payment, while Bellevue’s school district was overpaid by $2.3 million. Zuger has defended his work, saying his office had been trying to correct yearslong problems.

Sarpy County Board ordered to hold off naming new treasurer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Friday blocked creation of a bipartisan panel to study the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, turning aside the independent investigation in a show of party loyalty to former President Donald Trump and an effort to shift the political focus away from the violent insurrection by his GOP supporters.

The Senate vote was 54-35 — short of the 60 votes needed to take up a House-passed bill that would have formed a 10-member commission evenly split between the two parties.&nbsp;

 It came a day after emotional appeals from police who fought with the rioters and lawmakers who fled Capitol chambers that day.

Six Republicans voted with Democrats to move forward. Eleven senators missed the rare Friday vote.

Though the Jan. 6 commission bill passed the House earlier this month with the support of almost three dozen Republicans, GOP senators said they believe the commission would eventually be used against them politically. And Trump, who still has a firm hold on the party, has called it a “Democrat trap.”

The vote is emblematic of the profound mistrust between the two parties since the siege, especially among Republicans, as some in the party have downplayed the violence and defended the rioters who supported Trump and his false insistence that the election was stolen from him.

The attack was the worst on the Capitol in 200 years and interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win over Trump. Four people died that day, and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick collapsed and died afterward of what authorities said were natural causes. Two police officers took their own lives in the days after the riots.

The vote came after Sicknick’s mother, girlfriend and two police officers who fought the rioters went office to office and asked Republicans to support the commission.

While initially saying he was open to the idea of the commission, which would be modeled after an investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-republicans-insurrection-commission-e0ffe4990ad8f2634ca83b95a2c2c64c">turned firmly against it</a>&nbsp;in recent days. He has said he believes the panel’s investigation would be partisan despite the even split among party members.

McConnell, who once&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcconnell-trump-fed-lies-to-mob-36871d68df56a10be1c46ed364ad6de6">said Trump was responsible for provoking the mob attack</a>&nbsp;on the Capitol, said of Democrats, “They’d like to continue to litigate the former president, into the future.”

Still, six in his caucus defied him, arguing that an independent look is needed.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Thursday evening that she needs to know more about what happened that day and why.

“Truth is hard stuff, but we’ve got a responsibility to it,” she told reporters. “We just can’t pretend that nothing bad happened, or that people just got too excitable. Something bad happened. And it’s important to lay that out.”

Of her colleagues opposing the commission, Murkowski said some are concerned that “we don’t want to rock the boat.”

GOP opposition to the bipartisan panel has revived Democratic pressure to do away with the filibuster, a time-honored Senate tradition that requires a vote by 60 of the 100 senators to cut off debate and advance a bill. With the Senate evenly split 50-50, Democrats need support of 10 Republicans to move to the commission bill.

The Republicans’ political arguments over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-capitol-lockdown-2f56a611445df15fb9640893bb9f7a93">the violent siege</a>&nbsp;— which is still raw for many in the Capitol, almost five months later — have frustrated not only Democrats but also those who fought off the rioters.

Michael Fanone, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who responded to the attack, joined Sicknick’s family on Capitol Hill Thursday. In between meetings with Republican senators, he said a commission is “necessary for us to heal as a nation from the trauma that we all experienced that day.” Fanone has described being dragged down the Capitol steps by rioters who shocked him with a stun gun and beat him.

Sandra Garza, the partner of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who collapsed and died after battling the rioters, said of the Republican senators, “You know they are here today and with their families and comfortable because of the actions of law enforcement that day.”

“So I don’t understand why they would resist getting to the bottom of what happened that day and fully understanding how to prevent it. Just boggles my mind,” she said.

Video of the rioting shows two men spraying Sicknick and another officer with a chemical, but the Washington medical examiner said he suffered a stroke and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-government-and-politics-b497800805aedae48b72bc4837b90042">died from natural causes</a>.

Garza attended the meetings with Sicknick’s mother, Gladys Sicknick. In a statement Wednesday, Mrs. Sicknick suggested the opponents of the commission “visit my son’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward.”

Dozens of other police officers were injured as the rioters pushed past them, breaking through windows and doors and hunting for lawmakers. The protesters constructed a mock gallows in front of the Capitol and called for the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence, who was overseeing the certification of the presidential vote.

“We have a mob overtake the Capitol, and we can’t get the Republicans to join us in making historic record of that event? That is sad,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat. “That tells you what’s wrong with the Senate and what’s wrong with the filibuster.”

Many Democrats are warning that if Republicans are willing to use the filibuster to stop an arguably popular measure, it shows the limits of trying to broker compromises, particularly on bills related to election reforms or other aspects of the Democrats’ agenda.

For now, though, Democrats don’t have the votes to change the rule. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, both moderate Democrats, have said they want to preserve the filibuster.

Biden, asked about the commission at a stop in Cleveland, said Thursday, “I can’t imagine anyone voting against” it.

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who once supported the idea of the commission, said he now believes Democrats are trying to use it as a political tool.

“I don’t think this is the only way to get to the bottom of what happened,” Cornyn said, noting that Senate committees are also looking at the siege.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1622217251264.png" alt="Vote counting on Friday on the floor of the United State's Senate-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Vote counting on Friday on the floor of the United State's Senate-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Friday blocked creation of a bipartisan panel to study the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, turning aside the independent investigation in a show of party loyalty to former President Donald Trump and an effort to shift the political focus away from the violent insurrection by his GOP supporters.The Senate vote was 54-35 — short of the 60 votes needed to take up a House-passed bill that would have formed a 10-member commission evenly split between the two parties.&nbsp; It came a day after emotional appeals from police who fought with the rioters and lawmakers who fled Capitol chambers that day.Six Republicans voted with Democrats to move forward. Eleven senators missed the rare Friday vote.Though the Jan. 6 commission bill passed the House earlier this month with the support of almost three dozen Republicans, GOP senators said they believe the commission would eventually be used against them politically. And Trump, who still has a firm hold on the party, has called it a “Democrat trap.”The vote is emblematic of the profound mistrust between the two parties since the siege, especially among Republicans, as some in the party have downplayed the violence and defended the rioters who supported Trump and his false insistence that the election was stolen from him.The attack was the worst on the Capitol in 200 years and interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win over Trump. Four people died that day, and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick collapsed and died afterward of what authorities said were natural causes. Two police officers took their own lives in the days after the riots.The vote came after Sicknick’s mother, girlfriend and two police officers who fought the rioters went office to office and asked Republicans to support the commission.While initially saying he was open to the idea of the commission, which would be modeled after an investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-republicans-insurrection-commission-e0ffe4990ad8f2634ca83b95a2c2c64c">turned firmly against it</a>&nbsp;in recent days. He has said he believes the panel’s investigation would be partisan despite the even split among party members.McConnell, who once&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mcconnell-trump-fed-lies-to-mob-36871d68df56a10be1c46ed364ad6de6">said Trump was responsible for provoking the mob attack</a>&nbsp;on the Capitol, said of Democrats, “They’d like to continue to litigate the former president, into the future.”Still, six in his caucus defied him, arguing that an independent look is needed.Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Thursday evening that she needs to know more about what happened that day and why.“Truth is hard stuff, but we’ve got a responsibility to it,” she told reporters. “We just can’t pretend that nothing bad happened, or that people just got too excitable. Something bad happened. And it’s important to lay that out.”Of her colleagues opposing the commission, Murkowski said some are concerned that “we don’t want to rock the boat.”GOP opposition to the bipartisan panel has revived Democratic pressure to do away with the filibuster, a time-honored Senate tradition that requires a vote by 60 of the 100 senators to cut off debate and advance a bill. With the Senate evenly split 50-50, Democrats need support of 10 Republicans to move to the commission bill.The Republicans’ political arguments over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-capitol-lockdown-2f56a611445df15fb9640893bb9f7a93">the violent siege</a>&nbsp;— which is still raw for many in the Capitol, almost five months later — have frustrated not only Democrats but also those who fought off the rioters.Michael Fanone, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who responded to the attack, joined Sicknick’s family on Capitol Hill Thursday. In between meetings with Republican senators, he said a commission is “necessary for us to heal as a nation from the trauma that we all experienced that day.” Fanone has described being dragged down the Capitol steps by rioters who shocked him with a stun gun and beat him.Sandra Garza, the partner of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who collapsed and died after battling the rioters, said of the Republican senators, “You know they are here today and with their families and comfortable because of the actions of law enforcement that day.”“So I don’t understand why they would resist getting to the bottom of what happened that day and fully understanding how to prevent it. Just boggles my mind,” she said.Video of the rioting shows two men spraying Sicknick and another officer with a chemical, but the Washington medical examiner said he suffered a stroke and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-government-and-politics-b497800805aedae48b72bc4837b90042">died from natural causes</a>.Garza attended the meetings with Sicknick’s mother, Gladys Sicknick. In a statement Wednesday, Mrs. Sicknick suggested the opponents of the commission “visit my son’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward.”Dozens of other police officers were injured as the rioters pushed past them, breaking through windows and doors and hunting for lawmakers. The protesters constructed a mock gallows in front of the Capitol and called for the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence, who was overseeing the certification of the presidential vote.“We have a mob overtake the Capitol, and we can’t get the Republicans to join us in making historic record of that event? That is sad,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat. “That tells you what’s wrong with the Senate and what’s wrong with the filibuster.”Many Democrats are warning that if Republicans are willing to use the filibuster to stop an arguably popular measure, it shows the limits of trying to broker compromises, particularly on bills related to election reforms or other aspects of the Democrats’ agenda.For now, though, Democrats don’t have the votes to change the rule. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, both moderate Democrats, have said they want to preserve the filibuster.Biden, asked about the commission at a stop in Cleveland, said Thursday, “I can’t imagine anyone voting against” it.Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who once supported the idea of the commission, said he now believes Democrats are trying to use it as a political tool.“I don’t think this is the only way to get to the bottom of what happened,” Cornyn said, noting that Senate committees are also looking at the siege.

GOP blocks bipartisan probe of deadly Jan. 6 riot at Capitol

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska prisoner already serving a life sentence for murder has been indicted on a new first-degree murder charge accusing him of killing his cellmate last year at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. 

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 31-year-old Angelo Bol was indicted this week in the November death of 20-year-old Kevin Carter.

 Authorities have not released details on how Carter was killed. 

He was serving a 6-to-9-year sentence for taking part in the beating and stabbing of a man in Douglas County in 2019. 

Bol is serving a life sentence for the 2014 shooting death a co-worker at a Gibbon meatpacking plant.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska prisoner already serving a life sentence for murder has been indicted on a new first-degree murder charge accusing him of killing his cellmate last year at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that 31-year-old Angelo Bol was indicted this week in the November death of 20-year-old Kevin Carter. Authorities have not released details on how Carter was killed. He was serving a 6-to-9-year sentence for taking part in the beating and stabbing of a man in Douglas County in 2019. Bol is serving a life sentence for the 2014 shooting death a co-worker at a Gibbon meatpacking plant.

Nebraska inmate indicted for murder in death of cellmate

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The federal government has argued that the U.S. Supreme Court should not take up a lawsuit in Wyoming over a blocked coal export terminal because the company behind the proposal is bankrupt and won’t be building the project. 

The Casper Star-Tribune reported Wednesday that U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in a brief that there is no legal controversy for the high court to consider because the Millennium Bulk Terminal project won’t proceed. 

The proposed terminal’s parent company Lighthouse Resources Inc. declared bankruptcy in December.

 It then failed to find an interested buyer. 

Republican Gov. Mark Gordon said the two states would file a legal response to the brief.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The federal government has argued that the U.S. Supreme Court should not take up a lawsuit in Wyoming over a blocked coal export terminal because the company behind the proposal is bankrupt and won’t be building the project. The Casper Star-Tribune reported Wednesday that U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in a brief that there is no legal controversy for the high court to consider because the Millennium Bulk Terminal project won’t proceed. The proposed terminal’s parent company Lighthouse Resources Inc. declared bankruptcy in December. It then failed to find an interested buyer. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon said the two states would file a legal response to the brief.

US Supreme Court asked to not consider Wyoming coal lawsuit

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska has netted $400 million in financing through the sale of municipal bonds to be used for a growing list of renovations and replacement projects.

 The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the sale took place Wednesday, and money garnered will go toward an $800 million backlog of projects at campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney, as well as the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. 

The projects include a $75 million replacement of the Westbrook Music Building at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and construction of a $37.5 million College of Allied Health Professions building for the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska has netted $400 million in financing through the sale of municipal bonds to be used for a growing list of renovations and replacement projects. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the sale took place Wednesday, and money garnered will go toward an $800 million backlog of projects at campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney, as well as the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. The projects include a $75 million replacement of the Westbrook Music Building at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and construction of a $37.5 million College of Allied Health Professions building for the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus.

NU reaps $400M in sale of municipal bonds for renovations

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declined a request by the pork industry to increase the speed at which pigs can be processed into meat. 

The ruling is a victory to slaughterhouse workers who had raised safety concerns about the plan. 

The USDA announced Wednesday it would enforce a Minnesota judge’s order issued in March. 

The judge struck down plans finalized by the USDA under former President Donald Trump’s administration that would have lifted maximum line speeds at pork slaughterhouses, allowing dozens of plants to speed up production. 

The judge found the USDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it refused to consider the impact of faster line speeds on worker safety.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declined a request by the pork industry to increase the speed at which pigs can be processed into meat. The ruling is a victory to slaughterhouse workers who had raised safety concerns about the plan. The USDA announced Wednesday it would enforce a Minnesota judge’s order issued in March. The judge struck down plans finalized by the USDA under former President Donald Trump’s administration that would have lifted maximum line speeds at pork slaughterhouses, allowing dozens of plants to speed up production. The judge found the USDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it refused to consider the impact of faster line speeds on worker safety.

USDA rejects request for faster pork slaughterhouse speeds

SEWARD, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say sheriff's deputies in a southeast Nebraska county seized 103 pounds of methamphetamine in two stops this week. 

Seward County Sheriff Michael Vance says deputies recovered 3 pounds of the drug on Monday near the Goehner exit off Interstate 80.

A man from Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a woman from California were arrested. On Wednesday, deputies stopped a minivan for a traffic violation near the Milford exit on the interstate. A search found 100 pounds of methamphetamine in the van. A man identified as Dallas T. Faarmausili from Benton, Washington, was arrested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1622149005354.png" alt="Faarmausili -photo Seward County" />
 <figcaption>Faarmausili -photo Seward County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEWARD, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say sheriff's deputies in a southeast Nebraska county seized 103 pounds of methamphetamine in two stops this week. Seward County Sheriff Michael Vance says deputies recovered 3 pounds of the drug on Monday near the Goehner exit off Interstate 80.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1622149047341.png" alt="Deputies say the meth was purchased for $2 million dollars and was to be delivered to New Jersey" />
 <figcaption>Deputies say the meth was purchased for $2 million dollars and was to be delivered to New Jersey</figcaption>
 </figure>A man from Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a woman from California were arrested. On Wednesday, deputies stopped a minivan for a traffic violation near the Milford exit on the interstate. A search found 100 pounds of methamphetamine in the van. A man identified as Dallas T. Faarmausili from Benton, Washington, was arrested.

Nebraska deputies seize 103 pounds of meth bought for $2M

CUSTER, S.D. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service says crews are working to clear roads and trails in the southern Black Hills which are blocked by debris from weekend tornadoes. 

The National Weather Services in Rapid City has confirmed two tornadoes traveled across many jurisdictions Sunday, including the National Forest. 

According to the weather service, the first tornado was reported south of Custer and traveled 6.5 miles. 

The second tornado touched down northeast of Custer and traveled 5.4 miles. 

The Forest Service is asking the public to refrain from cutting firewood in the impacted areas.&nbsp;

CUSTER, S.D. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service says crews are working to clear roads and trails in the southern Black Hills which are blocked by debris from weekend tornadoes. The National Weather Services in Rapid City has confirmed two tornadoes traveled across many jurisdictions Sunday, including the National Forest. According to the weather service, the first tornado was reported south of Custer and traveled 6.5 miles. The second tornado touched down northeast of Custer and traveled 5.4 miles. The Forest Service is asking the public to refrain from cutting firewood in the impacted areas.&nbsp;

Crews clearing tornado damage in Black Hills National Forest

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 16-year-old will stand trial for first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man at Westroads Mall in Omaha.

 A judge ruled Wednesday that Makhi Woolridge-Jones, of Omaha, will also be tried for first-degree assault and two firearms charges related to the shooting April 17.

 He is accused of fatally shooting Trequez Swift and injuring 22-year-old Ja’Keya Veland. 

Police have said the shooting was gang related. 

A police detective testified that Swift was shot twice as he ran from Wooldridge-Jones after they argued. He died about three hours later at a hospital.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 16-year-old will stand trial for first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man at Westroads Mall in Omaha. A judge ruled Wednesday that Makhi Woolridge-Jones, of Omaha, will also be tried for first-degree assault and two firearms charges related to the shooting April 17. He is accused of fatally shooting Trequez Swift and injuring 22-year-old Ja’Keya Veland. Police have said the shooting was gang related. A police detective testified that Swift was shot twice as he ran from Wooldridge-Jones after they argued. He died about three hours later at a hospital.

Teenager will stand trial for murder in Omaha mall shooting

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — The man accused of killing two workers and wounding two others during a shooting at a Nebraska fast-food restaurant last fall has been charged with stabbing a fellow jail inmate.

 Roberto Silva Jr. has been charged with second-degree assault and using a weapon to commit a felony in connection with the jail assault that took place earlier this month. 

Court documents say Silva was found standing near another inmate who had cuts to his ear, neck and body. 

The other inmate told officers Silva had stabbed him. 

Silva was already facing murder and arson charges in connection with the Nov. 21 shooting at a Sonic Drive-in restaurant in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — The man accused of killing two workers and wounding two others during a shooting at a Nebraska fast-food restaurant last fall has been charged with stabbing a fellow jail inmate. Roberto Silva Jr. has been charged with second-degree assault and using a weapon to commit a felony in connection with the jail assault that took place earlier this month. Court documents say Silva was found standing near another inmate who had cuts to his ear, neck and body. The other inmate told officers Silva had stabbed him. Silva was already facing murder and arson charges in connection with the Nov. 21 shooting at a Sonic Drive-in restaurant in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue.

Man accused of restaurant shooting charged in jail assault

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal car accident and have&nbsp; identified 32-year-old Kasondra Mantey of Wichita as the victim.

Just before midnight Wednesday, Mantey was driving a vehicle eastbound in the 1400 Block of Pawnee in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.&nbsp; The car left the road and struck a power pole.

First responders pronounced her dead at the scene.

This is the 18th traffic fatality in Wichita this year, according to Macy.

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal car accident and have&nbsp; identified 32-year-old Kasondra Mantey of Wichita as the victim.Just before midnight Wednesday, Mantey was driving a vehicle eastbound in the 1400 Block of Pawnee in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.&nbsp; The car left the road and struck a power pole.First responders pronounced her dead at the scene.This is the 18th traffic fatality in Wichita this year, according to Macy.

Police: Kan. woman died after car struck power pole

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is reporting its lowest level of new virus cases since last April — shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began.

 State health officials said 521 virus cases were reported over the past week.

 That is the smallest number of new positive cases in the state since April 2020. 

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska also decreased over the past two weeks from 195.43 new cases per day on May 11 to 74.43 new cases per day on Tuesday. 

Over the past week, five new deaths were reported to give the state a total of 2,249 deaths.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is reporting its lowest level of new virus cases since last April — shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began. State health officials said 521 virus cases were reported over the past week. That is the smallest number of new positive cases in the state since April 2020. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska also decreased over the past two weeks from 195.43 new cases per day on May 11 to 74.43 new cases per day on Tuesday. Over the past week, five new deaths were reported to give the state a total of 2,249 deaths.

Virus cases at lowest level in Nebraska since last April

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska county that was ordered to pay a $28.1 million legal judgment for sending six innocent people to prison will get $4 million from the state to help pay it off. 

Gov. Pete Ricketts signed off on the payment on Tuesday, despite raising objections to a 2019 measure that allowed Gage County to impose a half-cent sales tax without voter approval to pay some of the debt. 

Ricketts says he approved the new law because of the additional economic impact of the pandemic on county residents.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska county that was ordered to pay a $28.1 million legal judgment for sending six innocent people to prison will get $4 million from the state to help pay it off. Gov. Pete Ricketts signed off on the payment on Tuesday, despite raising objections to a 2019 measure that allowed Gage County to impose a half-cent sales tax without voter approval to pay some of the debt. Ricketts says he approved the new law because of the additional economic impact of the pandemic on county residents.

Nebraska county to get $4M from state to pay legal judgment

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory.

After months of minimizing that possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden administration is joining worldwide pressure for China to be more open about the outbreak, aiming to head off GOP complaints the president has not been tough enough as well as to use the opportunity to press China on alleged obstruction.

&nbsp;China is accusing the Biden administration of playing politics and shirking its responsibility in calling for the investigation. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says President Joe Biden's order shows that the U.S. “does not care about facts and truth, nor is it interested in serious scientific origin tracing."

Biden asked U.S. intelligence agencies to report back within 90 days. He directed U.S. national laboratories to assist with the investigation and the intelligence community to prepare a list of specific queries for the Chinese government. He called on China to cooperate with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-technology-coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-9fc262598b4a6e1fc5ff223fdd748cea">international probes into the origins of the pandemic</a>.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have promoted the theory that the virus emerged from a laboratory accident rather than naturally through human contact with an infected animal in Wuhan, China.

Biden in a statement said the majority of the intelligence community had “coalesced” around those two scenarios but “do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.” He revealed that two agencies lean toward the animal link and “one leans more toward” the lab theory, “each with low or moderate confidence.”

“The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” said Biden.

His statement came after weeks of the administration endeavoring to avoid public discussion of the lab leak theory and privately suggesting it was farfetched.

In another sign of shifting attitudes, the Senate approved two Wuhan lab-related amendments without opposition, attaching them to a largely unrelated bill to increase U.S. investments in innovation.

One of the amendments, from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., would block U.S. funding of Chinese “gain of function” research on enhancing the severity or transmissibility of a virus. Paul has been critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, and aggressively questioned him at a recent Senate hearing over the work in China. The other amendment was from GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and it would prevent any funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Both were approved without roll call votes as part of the broader bill that is still under debate in the Senate.

As for the origin of pandemic, Fauci, a White House coronavirus adviser, said Wednesday that he and most others in the scientific community “believe that the most likely scenario is that this was a natural occurrence, but no one knows that 100% for sure.”

“And since there’s a lot of concern, a lot of speculation and since no one absolutely knows that, I believe we do need the kind of investigation where there’s open transparency and all the information that’s available, to be made available, to scrutinize,” Fauci said at a Senate hearing.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the White House supports a new World Health Organization investigation in China, but she added that an effective probe “would require China finally stepping up and allowing access needed to determine the origins.”

Biden still held out the possibility that a firm conclusion may never be reached, given the Chinese government’s refusal to fully cooperate with international investigations.

“The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19,” he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, without mentioning the Biden order, accused unnamed political forces of being fixated on a blame game while ignoring the urgent need to combat the pandemic.

“Smear campaign and blame shifting are making a comeback, and the conspiracy theory of ‘lab leak’ is resurfacing,” it said in a statement posted Wednesday on its website.

Administration officials continue to harbor strong doubts about the lab leak theory. Rather, they view China’s refusal to cooperate in the investigation — particularly on something of such magnitude — as emblematic of other irresponsible actions on the world stage.

Privately, administration officials say the end result, if ever known, won’t change anything, but note China’s stonewalling is now on display for the world to see.

The State Department, which ended one Trump-era probe into the Chinese lab theory this spring, said it was continuing to cooperate with other government agencies and pressed China to cooperate with the world.

“China’s position that their part in this investigation is complete is disappointing and at odds with the rest of the international community that is working collaboratively across the board to bring an end to this pandemic and improve global health security,” said spokesman Ned Price.

Research into the origins of the virus is critically important, said Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatchewan, Canada, because, “If you don’t know where it came from, how are you going to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/or-state-wire-ohio-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-health-4c7a3728b79700faea66a6d5b57966fe">stop it from spreading it again</a>?”

“The great probability is still that this virus came from a wildlife reservoir,” he said, pointing to the fact that spillover events – when viruses jump from animals to humans – are common in nature, and that scientists already know of two similar beta coronaviruses that evolved in bats and caused epidemics when humans were infected, SARS1 and MERS. “The evidence we so far have suggests that this virus came from wildlife,” he said

However, the case is not completely closed. “There are probabilities, and there are possibilities,” said Banerjee. “Because nobody has identified a virus that’s 100% identical to SARS-CoV-2 in any animal, there is still room for researchers to ask about other possibilities.”

Andy Slavitt, Biden’s senior adviser for the coronavirus, said Tuesday that the world needs to “get to the bottom ... whatever the answer may be.”

“We need a completely transparent process from China; we need the WHO to assist in that matter,”″ Slavitt said. “We don’t feel like we have that now.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582725655069.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory.After months of minimizing that possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden administration is joining worldwide pressure for China to be more open about the outbreak, aiming to head off GOP complaints the president has not been tough enough as well as to use the opportunity to press China on alleged obstruction.&nbsp;China is accusing the Biden administration of playing politics and shirking its responsibility in calling for the investigation. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says President Joe Biden's order shows that the U.S. “does not care about facts and truth, nor is it interested in serious scientific origin tracing."Biden asked U.S. intelligence agencies to report back within 90 days. He directed U.S. national laboratories to assist with the investigation and the intelligence community to prepare a list of specific queries for the Chinese government. He called on China to cooperate with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-technology-coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-9fc262598b4a6e1fc5ff223fdd748cea">international probes into the origins of the pandemic</a>.Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have promoted the theory that the virus emerged from a laboratory accident rather than naturally through human contact with an infected animal in Wuhan, China.Biden in a statement said the majority of the intelligence community had “coalesced” around those two scenarios but “do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.” He revealed that two agencies lean toward the animal link and “one leans more toward” the lab theory, “each with low or moderate confidence.”“The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” said Biden.His statement came after weeks of the administration endeavoring to avoid public discussion of the lab leak theory and privately suggesting it was farfetched.In another sign of shifting attitudes, the Senate approved two Wuhan lab-related amendments without opposition, attaching them to a largely unrelated bill to increase U.S. investments in innovation.One of the amendments, from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., would block U.S. funding of Chinese “gain of function” research on enhancing the severity or transmissibility of a virus. Paul has been critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, and aggressively questioned him at a recent Senate hearing over the work in China. The other amendment was from GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and it would prevent any funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.Both were approved without roll call votes as part of the broader bill that is still under debate in the Senate.As for the origin of pandemic, Fauci, a White House coronavirus adviser, said Wednesday that he and most others in the scientific community “believe that the most likely scenario is that this was a natural occurrence, but no one knows that 100% for sure.”“And since there’s a lot of concern, a lot of speculation and since no one absolutely knows that, I believe we do need the kind of investigation where there’s open transparency and all the information that’s available, to be made available, to scrutinize,” Fauci said at a Senate hearing.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the White House supports a new World Health Organization investigation in China, but she added that an effective probe “would require China finally stepping up and allowing access needed to determine the origins.”Biden still held out the possibility that a firm conclusion may never be reached, given the Chinese government’s refusal to fully cooperate with international investigations.“The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19,” he said.The Chinese embassy in Washington, without mentioning the Biden order, accused unnamed political forces of being fixated on a blame game while ignoring the urgent need to combat the pandemic.“Smear campaign and blame shifting are making a comeback, and the conspiracy theory of ‘lab leak’ is resurfacing,” it said in a statement posted Wednesday on its website.Administration officials continue to harbor strong doubts about the lab leak theory. Rather, they view China’s refusal to cooperate in the investigation — particularly on something of such magnitude — as emblematic of other irresponsible actions on the world stage.Privately, administration officials say the end result, if ever known, won’t change anything, but note China’s stonewalling is now on display for the world to see.The State Department, which ended one Trump-era probe into the Chinese lab theory this spring, said it was continuing to cooperate with other government agencies and pressed China to cooperate with the world.“China’s position that their part in this investigation is complete is disappointing and at odds with the rest of the international community that is working collaboratively across the board to bring an end to this pandemic and improve global health security,” said spokesman Ned Price.Research into the origins of the virus is critically important, said Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatchewan, Canada, because, “If you don’t know where it came from, how are you going to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/or-state-wire-ohio-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-health-4c7a3728b79700faea66a6d5b57966fe">stop it from spreading it again</a>?”“The great probability is still that this virus came from a wildlife reservoir,” he said, pointing to the fact that spillover events – when viruses jump from animals to humans – are common in nature, and that scientists already know of two similar beta coronaviruses that evolved in bats and caused epidemics when humans were infected, SARS1 and MERS. “The evidence we so far have suggests that this virus came from wildlife,” he saidHowever, the case is not completely closed. “There are probabilities, and there are possibilities,” said Banerjee. “Because nobody has identified a virus that’s 100% identical to SARS-CoV-2 in any animal, there is still room for researchers to ask about other possibilities.”Andy Slavitt, Biden’s senior adviser for the coronavirus, said Tuesday that the world needs to “get to the bottom ... whatever the answer may be.”“We need a completely transparent process from China; we need the WHO to assist in that matter,”″ Slavitt said. “We don’t feel like we have that now.”___

U.S., China at odds over Biden's order to investigate COVID origin

LA VISTA, Neb. (AP) — Officials in eastern Nebraska have suspended the search of a lake and recreational area as they try to find an 11-year-old autistic boy missing for more than a week.

 La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten says officials have combed the Walnut Creek Recreation Area and even lowered the park's lake by several feet in the search for 11-year-old Ryan Larsen. 

Police will now focus their efforts on looking through surveillance video gathered from around the La Vista area to see if the boy appears in any of it. 

So far, police say, only one image believed to be Ryan has been found on a La Vista business surveillance video about 90 minutes after the boy went missing from his school.

LA VISTA, Neb. (AP) — Officials in eastern Nebraska have suspended the search of a lake and recreational area as they try to find an 11-year-old autistic boy missing for more than a week. La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten says officials have combed the Walnut Creek Recreation Area and even lowered the park's lake by several feet in the search for 11-year-old Ryan Larsen. Police will now focus their efforts on looking through surveillance video gathered from around the La Vista area to see if the boy appears in any of it. So far, police say, only one image believed to be Ryan has been found on a La Vista business surveillance video about 90 minutes after the boy went missing from his school.

Officials suspend search of lake area in case of missing boy

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County officials say a man has died in a crash west of Omaha. 

The Omaha World-Herald reports the crash happened Monday evening on a county road east of Venice, about 20 miles west of downtown Omaha. 

Investigators say 61-year-old Daniel Baber Sr., of Venice, was driving a car northbound when he veered across the road and hit a tree. 

Sheriff's deputies say Baber died at the scene. An autopsy has been performed, and officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County officials say a man has died in a crash west of Omaha. The Omaha World-Herald reports the crash happened Monday evening on a county road east of Venice, about 20 miles west of downtown Omaha. Investigators say 61-year-old Daniel Baber Sr., of Venice, was driving a car northbound when he veered across the road and hit a tree. Sheriff's deputies say Baber died at the scene. An autopsy has been performed, and officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.

Officials say man dies in crash southwest of Omaha

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — In the end, the buildup seemed to eclipse the finale.

People across New Zealand and around the world stayed up Wednesday to watch a cosmic event called a super blood moon, a combination of a total lunar eclipse and a brighter-than-usual supermoon.

During the buildup, a glittering moon rose above the horizon. As the Earth’s shadow began taking bites from the moon, it created a dramatic effect. Half the moon vanished, leaving it looking like a black-and-white cookie.

When the full eclipse took hold, however, the moon darkened, turning a smudgy burnt orange color for many viewers.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1621942895979.png" alt="A telescopic visualization of the 2021 total lunar eclipse. Credit: NASA’s Scientifc Visualization Studio" />
 <figcaption>A telescopic visualization of the 2021 total lunar eclipse. Credit: NASA’s Scientifc Visualization Studio</figcaption>
 </figure>WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — In the end, the buildup seemed to eclipse the finale.People across New Zealand and around the world stayed up Wednesday to watch a cosmic event called a super blood moon, a combination of a total lunar eclipse and a brighter-than-usual supermoon.During the buildup, a glittering moon rose above the horizon. As the Earth’s shadow began taking bites from the moon, it created a dramatic effect. Half the moon vanished, leaving it looking like a black-and-white cookie.When the full eclipse took hold, however, the moon darkened, turning a smudgy burnt orange color for many viewers.In celestial terms, it was a wonder: a projection of the world’s sunsets and sunrises onto the black canvas of the eclipsed moon. But for people peering up from their backyards, it wasn’t quite the brilliant display they’d anticipated. Not quite super or blood-colored.“It was not that vivid for those on ground,” said Ben Noll, a meteorologist with New Zealand scientific research agency NIWA. “Personally, I thought there would be a bit more red in the sky.”Still, Noll thought that overall, the evening was sensational. He heard plenty of people cheering and cars honking in downtown Auckland where he watched it all unfold.John Rowe, an educator at the Stardome Observatory &amp; Planetarium in Auckland, said it was like the moon turned into a big, spooky smile looking down at him. That’s because of a bright rim that remained at the bottom.Rowe also enjoyed seeing surrounding stars appear to brighten as the light from the moon dimmed.The full eclipse lasted about 15 minutes, while the whole cosmic show lasted five hours. A partial eclipse began as the moon edged into the Earth’s outer shadow, called the penumbra, before moving more fully into the main shadow and then reversing the process.Rowe likes to imagine it as if he’s standing on the moon. The Earth would come across and block out the sun. The reddish light around the edges would be the sunsets and sunrises happening at that time on Earth, projected onto the moon’s surface. Pretty cool, he reckons.The color of the moon during the total eclipse can appear different depending on where people are in the world, and by factors like the amount of dust in the atmosphere and global weather.In much of New Zealand, the weather remained calm and clear on Wednesday, providing excellent viewing conditions.The same was true in Australia, although those in South Korea struck out because rain and cloudy weather across much of the country obscured the eclipse. There also was disappointment in Japan because of cloudy weather, with many posting messages like “I can’t see anything” on Twitter.Some places in the Pacific and East Asia got to see the show before midnight, while night owls in Hawaii and the western part of North America got to watch it in the early morning hours.Sky gazers along the U.S. East Coast were out of luck because the moon was setting and the sun rising. Europe, Africa and western Asia all missed out as well.In Anchorage, Alaska, Doug Henie didn’t know what to expect from his first lunar eclipse. He and his wife saw just a sliver of the moon as they drove to a prime viewing spot, on a hill off a winding road between Cook Inlet and the Anchorage airport.Once they arrived, he set up his camera as the eclipse neared totality just after 3 a.m. local time, when it looked more like dusk than night. That’s because Anchorage had more than 18 hours of sunlight on Wednesday.“It’s kind of cool,” Henie said. “I was kind of hoping to see a little more action, I guess, but now it’s lightened up. The light is certainly coming back.”In Hong Kong, Dickson Fu left work early to watch the eclipse from a seaside promenade in the Sai Kung neighborhood.Fu, who is president of Hong Kong’s Sky Observers’ Association, picked that particular spot because it would give him an unobstructed view.“In recent years I’m more interested in taking photos, and in the past few days I have already done rehearsals, testing out equipment such as the camera and lenses,” said Fu.For those living in places where the eclipse wasn’t visible, there were livestreams available. And everyone around the world got to see the bright moon, weather permitting.It was the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years.The moon was more than 220,000 miles (357,460 kilometers) away at its fullest. It was this proximity, combined with a full moon, that qualified it as a supermoon, making it appear slightly bigger and more brilliant in the sky.----------CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years coincides with a supermoon this week for quite a cosmic show.This super “blood” moon will be visible Wednesday across the Pacific — offering the best viewing — as well as the western half of North America, bottom of South America and eastern Asia.Better look quick: The total eclipse will last about 15 minutes as Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun. But the entire show will last five hours, as Earth’s shadow gradually covers the moon, then starts to ebb. The reddish-orange color is the result of all the sunrises and sunsets in Earth’s atmosphere projected onto the surface of the eclipsed moon.“Hawaii has the best seat in the house and then short of that will be California and the Pacific Northwest,” said NASA’s Noah Petro, project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. New Zealand and Australia also will have prime viewing.Circling the moon for 12 years, the orbiter will measure temperatures changes on the lunar surface during the eclipse. Telescopes atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea also will monitor the moon, Petro said.The moon will be setting and the sun rising along the U.S. East Coast, leaving skygazers — Petro in Virginia included — pretty much out of luck. Europe, Africa and western Asia will miss everything. There will be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmrwVtUTPtU" target="_blank">livestreams</a>&nbsp;available.Everyone everywhere, though, can still soak in the brighter than usual moon, weather permitting.The moon will be more than 220,000 miles away at its fullest. It’s this proximity, combined with a full moon, that qualifies it as a supermoon, making it appear slightly bigger and more brilliant in the sky.Last month’s supermoon, by contrast, was 96 miles (155 kilometers) more distant.Unlike a solar eclipse, there’s no harm in looking at an eclipsed moon.More lunar shows are on the horizon.“For people who might feel like we’re missing out, set your calendars for Nov. 19 of this year,” Petro said. This will be a nearly total eclipse where the moon dims but doesn’t turn red.The next total lunar eclipse will be May 2022. The last one was January 2019.___