OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police have announced an arrest in the shooting deaths of two people over the weekend in northeast Omaha. 

Police say in a news release that officers arrested 24-year-old Mabior Mabior, of Omaha, early Monday morning on suspicion of criminal homicide and weapons counts. 

Mabior was booked into the Douglas County Jail following his arrest.

 Mabior is accused in early-morning Saturday shooting deaths of 27-year-old Loklok Thok and 24-year-old Duop Tang Deng. 

Police have said one victim was declared dead at the scene, and the other was transported to an Omaha hospital, where he died. Police have not released a possible motive or other details of the shooting.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police have announced an arrest in the shooting deaths of two people over the weekend in northeast Omaha. Police say in a news release that officers arrested 24-year-old Mabior Mabior, of Omaha, early Monday morning on suspicion of criminal homicide and weapons counts. Mabior was booked into the Douglas County Jail following his arrest. Mabior is accused in early-morning Saturday shooting deaths of 27-year-old Loklok Thok and 24-year-old Duop Tang Deng. Police have said one victim was declared dead at the scene, and the other was transported to an Omaha hospital, where he died. Police have not released a possible motive or other details of the shooting.

Omaha police announce arrest in fatal double shooting

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A veterans group has raised more than $1 million to build a lasting monument to the 396 Nebraskans who died in the Vietnam War. 

The $4 million project in Papillion would build a memorial on two acres of city-owned land. 

Howard Ball with the Nebraska Vietnam Veteran Memorial Foundation said the coronavirus pandemic has hurt fundraising efforts but the group is determined to complete the project.

 The group’s efforts have been helped by a $1 million donation from one donor and a $250,000 donation from another person. 

Both those donors want to remain anonymous.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A veterans group has raised more than $1 million to build a lasting monument to the 396 Nebraskans who died in the Vietnam War. The $4 million project in Papillion would build a memorial on two acres of city-owned land. Howard Ball with the Nebraska Vietnam Veteran Memorial Foundation said the coronavirus pandemic has hurt fundraising efforts but the group is determined to complete the project. The group’s efforts have been helped by a $1 million donation from one donor and a $250,000 donation from another person. Both those donors want to remain anonymous.

Nebraska group raises over $1M for Vietnam veterans memorial

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two people were killed in a shooting in Omaha. 

Police said in a news release that officers rushed to the scene around 3 a.m. Saturday in response to gunfire. 

Police found two men with gunshot wounds, 27-year-old Loklok Thok and 24-year-old Duop Tang Deng. 

One was declared dead at the scene, and the other was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center where he was declared dead.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two people were killed in a shooting in Omaha. Police said in a news release that officers rushed to the scene around 3 a.m. Saturday in response to gunfire. Police found two men with gunshot wounds, 27-year-old Loklok Thok and 24-year-old Duop Tang Deng. One was declared dead at the scene, and the other was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center where he was declared dead. No suspect information was provided.

2 men killed in Omaha shooting; police ask public for tips

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Court records show an Iowa gun store refused to sell a semi-automatic rifle to a heavily armed and agitated Colorado man who said he was surprised his friends didn’t suspect he was the Boulder mass shooter. 

Federal agents say Adam Vannoy made the remark Tuesday when he was trying to purchase an AR-style rifle from Sportsman’s Warehouse in Ankeny, Iowa. 

The store denied the sale and notified federal authorities. 

Vannoy allegedly said he had 500 rounds of ammunition in his truck. 

He has been arrested on a federal weapons charge stemming from a March 14 traffic stop in Nebraska, when authorities say he had several firearms, an illegal silencer and marijuana.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Court records show an Iowa gun store refused to sell a semi-automatic rifle to a heavily armed and agitated Colorado man who said he was surprised his friends didn’t suspect he was the Boulder mass shooter. Federal agents say Adam Vannoy made the remark Tuesday when he was trying to purchase an AR-style rifle from Sportsman’s Warehouse in Ankeny, Iowa. The store denied the sale and notified federal authorities. Vannoy allegedly said he had 500 rounds of ammunition in his truck. He has been arrested on a federal weapons charge stemming from a March 14 traffic stop in Nebraska, when authorities say he had several firearms, an illegal silencer and marijuana.

Feds arrest armed Colorado man after remark about Boulder

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A former Grand Island teacher was sentenced to six years and four months in prison for possessing child pornography. 

Thirty-eight-year-old Brian Mohr, a former teacher at Northwest High School in Grand Island and Grand Island Central Catholic, was sentenced Friday. 

He was allowed to report to prison on May 26. Mohr pleaded guilty in November. 

Prosecutors said Mohr received nude and sexually explicit photos of minors from a student. 

Police say the male student pretended to be a female student to get the photos from other teens, then blackmailed the victims for more photos.

 Mohr received more than three dozen lewd images from the student.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A former Grand Island teacher was sentenced to six years and four months in prison for possessing child pornography. Thirty-eight-year-old Brian Mohr, a former teacher at Northwest High School in Grand Island and Grand Island Central Catholic, was sentenced Friday. He was allowed to report to prison on May 26. Mohr pleaded guilty in November. Prosecutors said Mohr received nude and sexually explicit photos of minors from a student. Police say the male student pretended to be a female student to get the photos from other teens, then blackmailed the victims for more photos. Mohr received more than three dozen lewd images from the student.

Former Grand Island teacher sentenced for child porn

CHICAGO (AP) — On federal death row, prisoners fling notes on a string under each other’s cell doors and converse through interconnected air ducts. A top issue these days: whether President Joe Biden will halt executions, several told The Associated Press.

Biden hasn’t spoken publicly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-us-news-pandemics-health-coronavirus-pandemic-ad6b1681aaf4128aa5e3ca0e94672e45">about capital punishment</a>&nbsp;since taking office four days after the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wildlife-coronavirus-pandemic-crime-terre-haute-28e44cc5c026dc16472751bbde0ead50">executed the last of 13 inmates</a>&nbsp;at the Terre Haute, Indiana, penitentiary where all federal death row inmates are held. The six-month run of executions cut their unit from around 63 to 50. Biden’s campaign website said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-prisons-inaugurations-coronavirus-pandemic-executions-365258989e6be8d7077b2f67d8c3e190">he’d work to end federal executions</a>, but he’s never specified how.

Four inmates exchanged emails with the AP through a prison-monitored system they access during the two hours a day they are let out of their 12-by-7-foot, single-inmate cells. Biden’s silence has them on edge, wondering whether political calculations will lead him to back off far-reaching action, like commuting their sentences to life in prison and endorsing legislation striking capital punishment from U.S. statutes.

“There’s not a day that goes by that we’re not scanning the news for hints of when or if the Biden administration will take meaningful action to implement his promises,” said 36-year-old Rejon Taylor, sentenced to death in 2008 for killing an Atlanta restaurant owner.

Everyone on federal death row was convicted of killing someone, their victims often suffering brutal, painful deaths. The dead included children, bank workers and prison guards. One inmate,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ba912545b5dc40729c80328d598ac550">white supremacist Dylann Roof</a>, killed nine Black members of a South Carolina church during a Bible study in 2015. Many Americans believe death is the only salve for such crimes.

Views of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/11/us-support-for-death-penalty-ticks-up-2018/" target="_blank">capital punishment</a>, though, are shifting. One&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/discrimination-racial-injustice-united-states-archive-race-and-ethnicity-ded1f517a0fd64bf1d55c448a06acccc/gallery/acd0f206fc1e4058b6bceb96afced4c0">recent report</a>&nbsp;found people of color are overrepresented on death rows nationwide. Some 40% of federal death row inmates are Black, compared with about 13% of the U.S. population. With growing scrutiny of who gets sentenced to die and why, support for the death penalty has waned, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/68b0dd3c252940a69729cf9480610988">fewer executions are done overall</a>. Virginia lawmakers recently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virginia-death-penalty-repeal-governor-c98c16a996037a4d1e1d497787b7e6f1">voted to abolish it</a>.

The death row prisoners expressed relief at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-leaves-white-house-ad718c0048c341d0044c4709fb23c8dd">Donald Trump’s departure from the White House</a>&nbsp;after he presided over more federal executions than any other president in 130 years. Gone is the ever-present fear that guards would appear at their cell door to say the warden needed to speak to them — dreaded words that meant your execution had been scheduled.

They described death row as a close-knit community where bonds are forged. All said they were still reeling from seeing friends escorted away for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executioners-sanitized-accounts-of-death-25d133f59039150c2e308ba1a2a5caef">execution by lethal injection</a>&nbsp;at a garage-size building nearby.

“When it’s quiet here, which it often is, you’ll hear someone say, ‘Damn, I can’t believe they’re gone!’ We all know what they are referencing,” said Daniel Troya, sentenced in 2009 for participating in drug-related killings of a Florida man, his wife and their two children.

The federal executions during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">the coronavirus pandemic</a>&nbsp;were likely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/public-health-prisons-health-coronavirus-pandemic-executions-9c355b58c78492613eedbf1c7c1fb42c">superspreader events</a>. In December, 70% of the death row inmates had COVID-19, some possibly infected via air ducts through which they communicate.

The AP attended all 13 federal executions.

Five of the first six inmates executed were white. Six of the last seven were Black, including Dustin Higgs, the final inmate put to death, on Jan. 16 for ordering the killing of three Maryland women.

Memories of speaking to Higgs just before his execution still pain Sherman Fields, who is on death row but has a resentencing for convictions in the killing of his girlfriend after escaping from a jail in Waco, Texas.

“He kept saying he’s innocent and he didn’t want to die,” Fields, 46, said. “He’s my friend. It was very hard.”

While there were rumors Biden would take action on the death penalty in his first days as president, there have been no announcements. As he grapples with issues like the coronavirus and the economy, capital punishment appears to be on a back burner.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdky/pr/death-penalty-sought-murder-fort-campbell-soldier" target="_blank">Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are still saying</a>&nbsp;they’ll pursue death sentences.

Even if he’d hoped to, Biden can’t set aside the death penalty issue entirely. It came up Monday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/court-could-reimpose-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-death-sentence-719087dcbe7145514094fe3c7da8d9bf">when the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said it will consider a request — first made by the Trump administration — to reinstate the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that a lower court tossed in July. The Biden administration could chose to say the government no longer opposes the lower court decision, though that, like everything with the death penalty, would undoubtedly create controversy.

The easiest step politically for Biden would be to simply instruct his Justice Department not to carry out any executions during his presidency. That would spare inmates’ lives for at least four years but would leave the door open for a future president to resume them.

The inmates first learned federal executions would restart after 17 years in 2019 when the first inmates were put on execution lists. More were added throughout 2020.

Through last year, inmates would flinch whenever they heard the jangle of thick key rings as a larger-than-normal contingent of guards entered their floor. That sound meant guards would soon stop at an inmate’s door and that he’d soon be in the warden’s office to be handed his death warrant.

When a frantic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d758efe397b4443b22c79e2bfc65df84">Keith Nelson</a>, convicted of raping and killing a Kansas girl, kept saying a year ago he was sure he’d be selected next to die, one inmate yelled at him to “shut up,” that he was unnerving everyone else, Troya recalled. Nelson was executed on Aug. 28.

Emotions ran high as execution days approached. As guards led condemned men away, other inmates shouted, “Come on! Fight ’em!” Troya said. None appeared to resist.

Inmates can’t access the regular internet but could follow news of last-minute appeals on TVs in their cells. When broadcasts confirmed an execution had been carried out, Taylor said, a hush fell on death row, followed by a chorus of curses.

Inmates know that Biden, while a senator, played a key role in passing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ae20ddaea4b51e57b5d7eff0f0c9ffcb">a 1994 crime bill</a>&nbsp;that increased federal crimes for which someone could be put to death.

“I don’t trust Biden,” Troya said. “He set the rules to get us all here in the first place.”

Several inmates said Brandon Bernard’s death was especially hard to process. They described him as introspective and kind. Bernard, convicted of participating in the Texas carjacking, robbery and killing of an Iowa couple, also organized a death-row crocheting group that shared patterns and knitting tips.

“The gentlest guy on federal death row,” Fields said.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-prisons-killeen-13044e3f1ab9e0e140c57d8012b67abb">Bernard’s case</a>&nbsp;drew the attention of reality TV star Kim Kardashian and other celebrities, who pleaded on Twitter for Trump to commute his sentence.

His lawyers said Bernard, 18 at the time and the lowest-ranking member of a street gang, was pressured to light a car on fire with Todd and Stacie Bagley’s bodies inside. They said he believed the Bagleys were already dead after a gang leader shot them in the head.

He and co-defendant Christopher Vialva, both of whom were Black, were convicted by a nearly all-white Texas jury in 2000.

Strapped to a cross-shaped gurney on Dec. 10, Bernard addressed the couple’s relatives in an adjoining death-chamber witness room, repeatedly apologizing and telling them he hoped his death would bring them closure.

After his execution, Todd Bagley’s mother called the killings an “act of unnecessary evil.” She said the executions of Bernard and of Vialva months earlier did bring closure. But she also expressed gratitude to both for apologizing. Beginning to cry, she told reporters: “I can very much say — I forgive them.”

Troya said he thinks often about Bernard, Vialva and Higgs, whom he considered close friends. All three, he said, had long since transformed themselves into better people and were mentoring other inmates.

“They killed future prison role models,” he said. “So much potential, lost for nothing.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598525494909.png" alt="Keith Dwayne Nelson convicted of killing a Kansas girl was the fifth federal inmate put to death in 2020 -photo Wyandotte Co." />
 <figcaption>Keith Dwayne Nelson convicted of killing a Kansas girl was the fifth federal inmate put to death in 2020 -photo Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>CHICAGO (AP) — On federal death row, prisoners fling notes on a string under each other’s cell doors and converse through interconnected air ducts. A top issue these days: whether President Joe Biden will halt executions, several told The Associated Press.Biden hasn’t spoken publicly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-us-news-pandemics-health-coronavirus-pandemic-ad6b1681aaf4128aa5e3ca0e94672e45">about capital punishment</a>&nbsp;since taking office four days after the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wildlife-coronavirus-pandemic-crime-terre-haute-28e44cc5c026dc16472751bbde0ead50">executed the last of 13 inmates</a>&nbsp;at the Terre Haute, Indiana, penitentiary where all federal death row inmates are held. The six-month run of executions cut their unit from around 63 to 50. Biden’s campaign website said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-prisons-inaugurations-coronavirus-pandemic-executions-365258989e6be8d7077b2f67d8c3e190">he’d work to end federal executions</a>, but he’s never specified how.Four inmates exchanged emails with the AP through a prison-monitored system they access during the two hours a day they are let out of their 12-by-7-foot, single-inmate cells. Biden’s silence has them on edge, wondering whether political calculations will lead him to back off far-reaching action, like commuting their sentences to life in prison and endorsing legislation striking capital punishment from U.S. statutes.“There’s not a day that goes by that we’re not scanning the news for hints of when or if the Biden administration will take meaningful action to implement his promises,” said 36-year-old Rejon Taylor, sentenced to death in 2008 for killing an Atlanta restaurant owner.Everyone on federal death row was convicted of killing someone, their victims often suffering brutal, painful deaths. The dead included children, bank workers and prison guards. One inmate,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ba912545b5dc40729c80328d598ac550">white supremacist Dylann Roof</a>, killed nine Black members of a South Carolina church during a Bible study in 2015. Many Americans believe death is the only salve for such crimes.Views of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/11/us-support-for-death-penalty-ticks-up-2018/" target="_blank">capital punishment</a>, though, are shifting. One&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/discrimination-racial-injustice-united-states-archive-race-and-ethnicity-ded1f517a0fd64bf1d55c448a06acccc/gallery/acd0f206fc1e4058b6bceb96afced4c0">recent report</a>&nbsp;found people of color are overrepresented on death rows nationwide. Some 40% of federal death row inmates are Black, compared with about 13% of the U.S. population. With growing scrutiny of who gets sentenced to die and why, support for the death penalty has waned, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/68b0dd3c252940a69729cf9480610988">fewer executions are done overall</a>. Virginia lawmakers recently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virginia-death-penalty-repeal-governor-c98c16a996037a4d1e1d497787b7e6f1">voted to abolish it</a>.The death row prisoners expressed relief at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-leaves-white-house-ad718c0048c341d0044c4709fb23c8dd">Donald Trump’s departure from the White House</a>&nbsp;after he presided over more federal executions than any other president in 130 years. Gone is the ever-present fear that guards would appear at their cell door to say the warden needed to speak to them — dreaded words that meant your execution had been scheduled.They described death row as a close-knit community where bonds are forged. All said they were still reeling from seeing friends escorted away for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executioners-sanitized-accounts-of-death-25d133f59039150c2e308ba1a2a5caef">execution by lethal injection</a>&nbsp;at a garage-size building nearby.“When it’s quiet here, which it often is, you’ll hear someone say, ‘Damn, I can’t believe they’re gone!’ We all know what they are referencing,” said Daniel Troya, sentenced in 2009 for participating in drug-related killings of a Florida man, his wife and their two children.The federal executions during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">the coronavirus pandemic</a>&nbsp;were likely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/public-health-prisons-health-coronavirus-pandemic-executions-9c355b58c78492613eedbf1c7c1fb42c">superspreader events</a>. In December, 70% of the death row inmates had COVID-19, some possibly infected via air ducts through which they communicate.The AP attended all 13 federal executions.Five of the first six inmates executed were white. Six of the last seven were Black, including Dustin Higgs, the final inmate put to death, on Jan. 16 for ordering the killing of three Maryland women.Memories of speaking to Higgs just before his execution still pain Sherman Fields, who is on death row but has a resentencing for convictions in the killing of his girlfriend after escaping from a jail in Waco, Texas.“He kept saying he’s innocent and he didn’t want to die,” Fields, 46, said. “He’s my friend. It was very hard.”While there were rumors Biden would take action on the death penalty in his first days as president, there have been no announcements. As he grapples with issues like the coronavirus and the economy, capital punishment appears to be on a back burner.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdky/pr/death-penalty-sought-murder-fort-campbell-soldier" target="_blank">Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are still saying</a>&nbsp;they’ll pursue death sentences.Even if he’d hoped to, Biden can’t set aside the death penalty issue entirely. It came up Monday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/court-could-reimpose-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-death-sentence-719087dcbe7145514094fe3c7da8d9bf">when the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said it will consider a request — first made by the Trump administration — to reinstate the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that a lower court tossed in July. The Biden administration could chose to say the government no longer opposes the lower court decision, though that, like everything with the death penalty, would undoubtedly create controversy.The easiest step politically for Biden would be to simply instruct his Justice Department not to carry out any executions during his presidency. That would spare inmates’ lives for at least four years but would leave the door open for a future president to resume them.The inmates first learned federal executions would restart after 17 years in 2019 when the first inmates were put on execution lists. More were added throughout 2020.Through last year, inmates would flinch whenever they heard the jangle of thick key rings as a larger-than-normal contingent of guards entered their floor. That sound meant guards would soon stop at an inmate’s door and that he’d soon be in the warden’s office to be handed his death warrant.When a frantic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d758efe397b4443b22c79e2bfc65df84">Keith Nelson</a>, convicted of raping and killing a Kansas girl, kept saying a year ago he was sure he’d be selected next to die, one inmate yelled at him to “shut up,” that he was unnerving everyone else, Troya recalled. Nelson was executed on Aug. 28.Emotions ran high as execution days approached. As guards led condemned men away, other inmates shouted, “Come on! Fight ’em!” Troya said. None appeared to resist.Inmates can’t access the regular internet but could follow news of last-minute appeals on TVs in their cells. When broadcasts confirmed an execution had been carried out, Taylor said, a hush fell on death row, followed by a chorus of curses.Inmates know that Biden, while a senator, played a key role in passing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ae20ddaea4b51e57b5d7eff0f0c9ffcb">a 1994 crime bill</a>&nbsp;that increased federal crimes for which someone could be put to death.“I don’t trust Biden,” Troya said. “He set the rules to get us all here in the first place.”Several inmates said Brandon Bernard’s death was especially hard to process. They described him as introspective and kind. Bernard, convicted of participating in the Texas carjacking, robbery and killing of an Iowa couple, also organized a death-row crocheting group that shared patterns and knitting tips.“The gentlest guy on federal death row,” Fields said.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-prisons-killeen-13044e3f1ab9e0e140c57d8012b67abb">Bernard’s case</a>&nbsp;drew the attention of reality TV star Kim Kardashian and other celebrities, who pleaded on Twitter for Trump to commute his sentence.His lawyers said Bernard, 18 at the time and the lowest-ranking member of a street gang, was pressured to light a car on fire with Todd and Stacie Bagley’s bodies inside. They said he believed the Bagleys were already dead after a gang leader shot them in the head.He and co-defendant Christopher Vialva, both of whom were Black, were convicted by a nearly all-white Texas jury in 2000.Strapped to a cross-shaped gurney on Dec. 10, Bernard addressed the couple’s relatives in an adjoining death-chamber witness room, repeatedly apologizing and telling them he hoped his death would bring them closure.After his execution, Todd Bagley’s mother called the killings an “act of unnecessary evil.” She said the executions of Bernard and of Vialva months earlier did bring closure. But she also expressed gratitude to both for apologizing. Beginning to cry, she told reporters: “I can very much say — I forgive them.”Troya said he thinks often about Bernard, Vialva and Higgs, whom he considered close friends. All three, he said, had long since transformed themselves into better people and were mentoring other inmates.“They killed future prison role models,” he said. “So much potential, lost for nothing.”

On federal death row, inmates talk about Biden, executions

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Wary regulators have not approved a major railroad merger since the 1990s, but industry analysts say Canadian Pacific’s proposed $25 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern has a good chance of getting the green light because there is little overlap between the two lines.

The deal is also set to capitalize on growing trade across North America by creating the first railroad that would link the United States, Mexico and Canada. Executives at the companies say those opportunities should help the combined railroad generate more revenue.

The Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern deal announced Sunday would combine the two smallest of the major railroads into one entity. Independent railroad analyst Tony Hatch said doing that should help stabilize the industry overall and should not lead to another round of railroad mergers.

Some, however, are already expressing concern that the combination of the two railroads could hurt shippers if they are left with fewer options.

“The freight rail industry is already highly consolidated with a small number of railroads controlling most of the rail traffic in the United States and we are concerned that this merger could potentially lead to a greater concentration of market power,” said Scott Jensen, a spokesman for the chemicals industry trade group American Chemistry Council.

The service problems and economic damage that followed railroad mergers in the 1990s are part of why regulators adopted tough rules for major railroad mergers in 2001. Regulators have said that, generally, any merger involving a major railroad must enhance competition and serve the public interest. Similar deals are blocked in other industries only if there is a risk that competition will be reduced.

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern said they expect U.S. railroad regulators at the Surface Transportation Board to complete their review of the deal by around the middle of 2022. A spokesman for the board didn’t immediately respond Monday to questions about how the deal will be reviewed.

Morningstar analyst Matthew Young said he doesn’t think the proposed deal will hurt competition overall because the railroads don’t compete directly now.

“These rails generally don’t compete head to head in specific markets, thus a merger shouldn’t result in fewer rail-service options for shippers in most corridors,” Young said Monday in a research note.

Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said he thinks there is a good chance the deal will be approved by regulators.

“There’s really no overlap on their lines. So I think there is really minimal impact on customers,” Windau said.

Executives at both the railroads argue that customers will be helped, not hurt, by the combination because they’ll be able to ship goods throughout North America without having to have shipments handed off between railroads.

“There’s savings across the board and benefits across the board that are so compelling,” Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel said. As railroad customers learn about the deal, “I think they are going to be excited by this — not threatened by this.”

Five years ago, Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Pacific abandoned its roughly $30 billion attempt to takeover rival Norfolk Southern after it encountered strong opposition from Norfolk Southern, politicians, rail customers along the route and other railroads. So the new rules for railroad mergers still haven’t been tested.

But unlike then, the boards of both Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific unanimously backed this deal. The combined company would operate about 20,000 miles of railway, employ 20,000 people and generate annual revenue of about $8.7 billion. Both railroads said they expect to add jobs overall across the combined network as volume grows.

The deal values Kansas City Southern at $275 per share, which represents a significant premium to Friday’s closing price of $224. Kansas City Southern shareholders will receive 0.489 shares of Canadian Pacific stock and $90 cash as part of the deal, and they will control roughly 25% of the combined company.

The railroads said this deal is timed well because Mexico, the United States and Canada agreed to a new regional trade pact last year that is expected to boost trade and investment across North America.

Officials said Kansas City Southern’s base in Kansas City, Missouri, would become Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s new U.S. headquarters after the deal but Canadian Pacific’s current U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, will remain an important base of operations for the company.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Wary regulators have not approved a major railroad merger since the 1990s, but industry analysts say Canadian Pacific’s proposed $25 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern has a good chance of getting the green light because there is little overlap between the two lines.The deal is also set to capitalize on growing trade across North America by creating the first railroad that would link the United States, Mexico and Canada. Executives at the companies say those opportunities should help the combined railroad generate more revenue.The Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern deal announced Sunday would combine the two smallest of the major railroads into one entity. Independent railroad analyst Tony Hatch said doing that should help stabilize the industry overall and should not lead to another round of railroad mergers.Some, however, are already expressing concern that the combination of the two railroads could hurt shippers if they are left with fewer options.“The freight rail industry is already highly consolidated with a small number of railroads controlling most of the rail traffic in the United States and we are concerned that this merger could potentially lead to a greater concentration of market power,” said Scott Jensen, a spokesman for the chemicals industry trade group American Chemistry Council.The service problems and economic damage that followed railroad mergers in the 1990s are part of why regulators adopted tough rules for major railroad mergers in 2001. Regulators have said that, generally, any merger involving a major railroad must enhance competition and serve the public interest. Similar deals are blocked in other industries only if there is a risk that competition will be reduced.Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern said they expect U.S. railroad regulators at the Surface Transportation Board to complete their review of the deal by around the middle of 2022. A spokesman for the board didn’t immediately respond Monday to questions about how the deal will be reviewed.Morningstar analyst Matthew Young said he doesn’t think the proposed deal will hurt competition overall because the railroads don’t compete directly now.“These rails generally don’t compete head to head in specific markets, thus a merger shouldn’t result in fewer rail-service options for shippers in most corridors,” Young said Monday in a research note.Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said he thinks there is a good chance the deal will be approved by regulators.“There’s really no overlap on their lines. So I think there is really minimal impact on customers,” Windau said.Executives at both the railroads argue that customers will be helped, not hurt, by the combination because they’ll be able to ship goods throughout North America without having to have shipments handed off between railroads.“There’s savings across the board and benefits across the board that are so compelling,” Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel said. As railroad customers learn about the deal, “I think they are going to be excited by this — not threatened by this.”Five years ago, Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Pacific abandoned its roughly $30 billion attempt to takeover rival Norfolk Southern after it encountered strong opposition from Norfolk Southern, politicians, rail customers along the route and other railroads. So the new rules for railroad mergers still haven’t been tested.But unlike then, the boards of both Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific unanimously backed this deal. The combined company would operate about 20,000 miles of railway, employ 20,000 people and generate annual revenue of about $8.7 billion. Both railroads said they expect to add jobs overall across the combined network as volume grows.The deal values Kansas City Southern at $275 per share, which represents a significant premium to Friday’s closing price of $224. Kansas City Southern shareholders will receive 0.489 shares of Canadian Pacific stock and $90 cash as part of the deal, and they will control roughly 25% of the combined company.The railroads said this deal is timed well because Mexico, the United States and Canada agreed to a new regional trade pact last year that is expected to boost trade and investment across North America.Officials said Kansas City Southern’s base in Kansas City, Missouri, would become Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s new U.S. headquarters after the deal but Canadian Pacific’s current U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, will remain an important base of operations for the company.

KC railroad deal seen more likely to gain regulators’ OK

KANSAS CITY (AP) — His last job was selling cars, but in his new gig, working to turn the tide against a pandemic, Herman Simmons knows not to be too pushy or overbearing.

He’s one of more than 50 outreach workers a Chicago hospital has enlisted to promote vaccination against COVID-19 in hard-hit Black and brown neighborhoods.

Their job is approaching strangers at laundromats, grocery stores and churches,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-do-we-know-covid-19-vaccines-safe-b688bd470d2eb8a74953dd34d29fd756">handing out educational material</a>&nbsp;and making vaccination appointments for those who are willing.

“I see myself as my brother’s keeper. I don’t try to force them. I’m persistent,” he said.

Top U.S. health officials say they’re in a race to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible as COVID-19 variants spread, mask and distancing rules are relaxed, and Americans crave a return to normalcy.

As part of these efforts, the Biden administration announced Thursday it will invest nearly $10 billion to expand vaccine access in communities of color, rural areas, low-income populations and other underserved communities. Some of the money will go to community health centers. Funding comes mostly from the American Rescue Plan.

While the U.S. is vaccinating roughly 2.5 million people daily and nearly 1 in 3 adults have received at least one shot, roughly that many say they are skeptical or won’t get vaccinated.

“There will be a hard core that never want to be vaccinated and we can’t do anything about that,” said Dr. Eric Toner, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

He said that number is unlikely to prevent effective control of the virus. To make sure it doesn’t, authorities are working to change minds and boost access in minority communities where skepticism is among the hurdles to vaccination.

They’re showcasing Black leaders getting shots, preaching vaccination benefits at Sunday services, holding Zoom meetings where experts dismantle the myths. Michigan is enlisting barber shops and salons. Mobile clinics have been set up to vaccinate Kentucky racetrack workers and California migrant workers.

In the socially distanced age of COVID-19, the in-the-trenches work of regular folk-turned-recruiters stands out.

Simmons is Black, amiable and talkative — a natural for this kind of work.

“I tell ’em I was a little afraid at first” about getting the shots, said Simmons, who quit the car dealership when co-workers got sick with the virus. He tells them he has friends and family members who’ve died, and how easy it is to sign up.

“I would like to say that I get more sign-ins than not,” Simmons said, “but I don’t think that’s the case.’’

“They don’t trust it. Some think the vaccines were made too quickly to be safe,” he said. “They feel like lab rats.”

That’s a common narrative. But it’s not the whole story.

For many Black people, mistrust of medical institutions is deep-seated. Their reasons are varied, vehement and often valid. And they don’t even start with Tuskegee, the U.S. government study that began in 1932 and withheld treatment for Black men with syphilis.

Mistrust stems from surgeries on enslaved women to the absence of Black people in studies that guide modern-day medical decisions. It includes mistaken assumptions claiming race-based biological differences, and disrespect in the doctor’s office.

Some are afraid of needles. Some believe internet myths. And some say they intend to get vaccinated but want to wait and see how others fare first. For some, the problem is no transportation to vaccination sites, no internet to get information on where and when to get vaccinated, or no regular physician. However, the shots are free and you don’t need a doctor to get them.

Some U.S. polls and statistics show hesitancy in some communities of color is falling, though vaccination rates are still highest among white people. In Chicago, the gap has narrowed but rates for first doses are 36% white people, 30% Hispanic people and 24% Black people.

On a chilly March Saturday, his battleground was a laundromat in a working-class neighborhood southwest of downtown Chicago. Saint Anthony Hospital had set up a makeshift center where recruits gathered as outreach workers took down contact information and arranged appointments.

Masked and carrying a folder of vaccine information, Simmons approached Tasha McClinton, 34, a stylish Black woman with long blond tresses pulling clothes from an orange duffel bag and heaving them into a washer.

His shirt was the first pitch, emblazoned with the words, “It’s Worth the Shot,” and an image of a syringe. Next he offered to sign her up. McClinton shook her head no and listed her reasons.

She hasn’t been sick, she said, and no one in her family has gotten COVID-19. “It might cause me to have complications,” she added. Simmons accepted that and walked away.

But he returned a few minutes later, apologizing “if I caught you off guard,” and told her: “I was just really interested in why you aren’t interested.’’ She said she doesn’t trust the shots and declined his pamphlets.

“You don’t want to be really pushy,” Simmons said later. “You got to be a good judge of character too.’’

C.B. Johnson, who runs a Chicago drug recovery group in the Black neighborhood where he grew up, is helping people there get vaccinated. He said that insider cred helps. So does patience.

“We deal with a lot of people that a lot of people don’t want to deal with,” Johnson said. “We’re able to give them the option to say, ‘Hey, if you want to do it we can get you there, but if you don’t, we will still be here when you decide that you want to.‘’’

“When you listen to what their concerns are and you hear them out and you validate their concerns, and then you come back and explain to them, ‘Hey, look, I mean what happens if you catch COVID? Would you rather have the vaccine that helps you?’”

Community activist Debra Stanley helps lead a support group for former drug users and ex-offenders in South Bend, Indiana. Vaccination was the topic at a recent meeting, and skeptics spoke up.

When Goodwill employee Sonya Chandler mentioned seeing social media posts about weird vaccine side effects, Darryl McKinney, an Air Force vet, whipped out his cellphone and read Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information aloud.

Stanley gently chided in responding: “Darryl got his information from CDC, you got yours from Facebook. Know your sources.”

Still, McKinney said he doesn’t trust the U.S. government and won’t get vaccinated.

“Last time I was at my barber, a few guys were talking about it,” McKinney said. “We’re not going to be guinea pigs.’’

Stanley said she’s not out to twist arms.

“Our whole thing is staying abreast of all the information and making sure the latest gets to the people,” she said. “We don’t ever believe it’s our role to promote a decision. It is our role to ensure that people have the best information when they get ready to make their decision.’’

Chandler said later that the meeting “made me more aware. Now I’m looking at it as, well, I may as well get the shot because it will help the rest of the community to not get sick.”

Back at the Chicago laundromat, Simmons scored a win with Theopulis Polk, a 62-year-old demolition worker he approached on the sidewalk. The gray-bearded Black man readily agreed to sign up. Inside, he retrieved a wad of dog-eared paper scraps from the pocket of his faded green coveralls, fumbling to find the one where his phone number was scrawled.

“I’ve been wanting to get vaccinated but I don’t have no primary doctor,” Polk said. He said he knows people who’ve died from COVID-19, and works around people who don’t wear masks. He lives in this neighborhood, so getting to the vaccination site at nearby Saint Anthony’s won’t be difficult.

“I’m scared of needles. I hate to get any kind of shots. But you have to,” Polk said. “I’m not worried because I’ve got God on my side.’’

KANSAS CITY (AP) — His last job was selling cars, but in his new gig, working to turn the tide against a pandemic, Herman Simmons knows not to be too pushy or overbearing.He’s one of more than 50 outreach workers a Chicago hospital has enlisted to promote vaccination against COVID-19 in hard-hit Black and brown neighborhoods.Their job is approaching strangers at laundromats, grocery stores and churches,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-do-we-know-covid-19-vaccines-safe-b688bd470d2eb8a74953dd34d29fd756">handing out educational material</a>&nbsp;and making vaccination appointments for those who are willing.“I see myself as my brother’s keeper. I don’t try to force them. I’m persistent,” he said.Top U.S. health officials say they’re in a race to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible as COVID-19 variants spread, mask and distancing rules are relaxed, and Americans crave a return to normalcy.As part of these efforts, the Biden administration announced Thursday it will invest nearly $10 billion to expand vaccine access in communities of color, rural areas, low-income populations and other underserved communities. Some of the money will go to community health centers. Funding comes mostly from the American Rescue Plan.While the U.S. is vaccinating roughly 2.5 million people daily and nearly 1 in 3 adults have received at least one shot, roughly that many say they are skeptical or won’t get vaccinated.“There will be a hard core that never want to be vaccinated and we can’t do anything about that,” said Dr. Eric Toner, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.He said that number is unlikely to prevent effective control of the virus. To make sure it doesn’t, authorities are working to change minds and boost access in minority communities where skepticism is among the hurdles to vaccination.They’re showcasing Black leaders getting shots, preaching vaccination benefits at Sunday services, holding Zoom meetings where experts dismantle the myths. Michigan is enlisting barber shops and salons. Mobile clinics have been set up to vaccinate Kentucky racetrack workers and California migrant workers.In the socially distanced age of COVID-19, the in-the-trenches work of regular folk-turned-recruiters stands out.Simmons is Black, amiable and talkative — a natural for this kind of work.“I tell ’em I was a little afraid at first” about getting the shots, said Simmons, who quit the car dealership when co-workers got sick with the virus. He tells them he has friends and family members who’ve died, and how easy it is to sign up.Sometimes it’s a tough sell.“I would like to say that I get more sign-ins than not,” Simmons said, “but I don’t think that’s the case.’’“They don’t trust it. Some think the vaccines were made too quickly to be safe,” he said. “They feel like lab rats.”That’s a common narrative. But it’s not the whole story.For many Black people, mistrust of medical institutions is deep-seated. Their reasons are varied, vehement and often valid. And they don’t even start with Tuskegee, the U.S. government study that began in 1932 and withheld treatment for Black men with syphilis.Mistrust stems from surgeries on enslaved women to the absence of Black people in studies that guide modern-day medical decisions. It includes mistaken assumptions claiming race-based biological differences, and disrespect in the doctor’s office.Some are afraid of needles. Some believe internet myths. And some say they intend to get vaccinated but want to wait and see how others fare first. For some, the problem is no transportation to vaccination sites, no internet to get information on where and when to get vaccinated, or no regular physician. However, the shots are free and you don’t need a doctor to get them.Some U.S. polls and statistics show hesitancy in some communities of color is falling, though vaccination rates are still highest among white people. In Chicago, the gap has narrowed but rates for first doses are 36% white people, 30% Hispanic people and 24% Black people.Simmons is on a mission to change that.On a chilly March Saturday, his battleground was a laundromat in a working-class neighborhood southwest of downtown Chicago. Saint Anthony Hospital had set up a makeshift center where recruits gathered as outreach workers took down contact information and arranged appointments.Masked and carrying a folder of vaccine information, Simmons approached Tasha McClinton, 34, a stylish Black woman with long blond tresses pulling clothes from an orange duffel bag and heaving them into a washer.His shirt was the first pitch, emblazoned with the words, “It’s Worth the Shot,” and an image of a syringe. Next he offered to sign her up. McClinton shook her head no and listed her reasons.She hasn’t been sick, she said, and no one in her family has gotten COVID-19. “It might cause me to have complications,” she added. Simmons accepted that and walked away.But he returned a few minutes later, apologizing “if I caught you off guard,” and told her: “I was just really interested in why you aren’t interested.’’ She said she doesn’t trust the shots and declined his pamphlets.“You don’t want to be really pushy,” Simmons said later. “You got to be a good judge of character too.’’C.B. Johnson, who runs a Chicago drug recovery group in the Black neighborhood where he grew up, is helping people there get vaccinated. He said that insider cred helps. So does patience.“We deal with a lot of people that a lot of people don’t want to deal with,” Johnson said. “We’re able to give them the option to say, ‘Hey, if you want to do it we can get you there, but if you don’t, we will still be here when you decide that you want to.‘’’“When you listen to what their concerns are and you hear them out and you validate their concerns, and then you come back and explain to them, ‘Hey, look, I mean what happens if you catch COVID? Would you rather have the vaccine that helps you?’”Community activist Debra Stanley helps lead a support group for former drug users and ex-offenders in South Bend, Indiana. Vaccination was the topic at a recent meeting, and skeptics spoke up.When Goodwill employee Sonya Chandler mentioned seeing social media posts about weird vaccine side effects, Darryl McKinney, an Air Force vet, whipped out his cellphone and read Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information aloud.Stanley gently chided in responding: “Darryl got his information from CDC, you got yours from Facebook. Know your sources.”Still, McKinney said he doesn’t trust the U.S. government and won’t get vaccinated.“Last time I was at my barber, a few guys were talking about it,” McKinney said. “We’re not going to be guinea pigs.’’Stanley said she’s not out to twist arms.“Our whole thing is staying abreast of all the information and making sure the latest gets to the people,” she said. “We don’t ever believe it’s our role to promote a decision. It is our role to ensure that people have the best information when they get ready to make their decision.’’Chandler said later that the meeting “made me more aware. Now I’m looking at it as, well, I may as well get the shot because it will help the rest of the community to not get sick.”Back at the Chicago laundromat, Simmons scored a win with Theopulis Polk, a 62-year-old demolition worker he approached on the sidewalk. The gray-bearded Black man readily agreed to sign up. Inside, he retrieved a wad of dog-eared paper scraps from the pocket of his faded green coveralls, fumbling to find the one where his phone number was scrawled.“I’ve been wanting to get vaccinated but I don’t have no primary doctor,” Polk said. He said he knows people who’ve died from COVID-19, and works around people who don’t wear masks. He lives in this neighborhood, so getting to the vaccination site at nearby Saint Anthony’s won’t be difficult.“I’m scared of needles. I hate to get any kind of shots. But you have to,” Polk said. “I’m not worried because I’ve got God on my side.’’

Vaccination race enlists grassroots aides to fight mistrust

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators are pushing to keep in place specific rules for tracing the close contacts of people exposed to COVID-19 despite public health groups’ opposition.

(Click below to listen to the committee discussion on the proposal)

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/sb304_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">a bill</a>&nbsp;making limits on COVID-19 contact tracing permanent, rather than repealing them May 1. The GOP-controlled Legislature approved the rules last year at Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s request. He argued that they&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-kansas-coronavirus-pandemic-topeka-derek-schmidt-abfa3c6b1634a5b670a6943e9a3f37aa">protect the privacy</a>&nbsp;of infected people and prevent information about them from becoming public.

The committee’s voice vote Friday sent the measure next to the full Senate. It applies only to COVID-19 and not other diseases, and a key provision prevents people exposed to the novel coronavirus from being forced to disclose their close contacts. It also says people can’t face criminal charges or civil lawsuits for refusing.

“It’s a small change we are addressing while we are in session, keeping privacy protections in place,” said Committee Chair Kellie Warren, a Lenexa Republican.

But public health officials have said the rules&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bills-kansas-wichita-topeka-virus-outbreak-1402959bab4ae0016d313fae13258c62">hinder contact tracing,&nbsp;</a>and two public health associations told the Senate committee that it makes no sense to have different rules for COVID-19 and all other diseases.

“Let health care professionals have all the tools in the chest they need,” said Democratic Sen. David Haley, of Kansas City, Kansas.

By JOHN HANNATOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators are pushing to keep in place specific rules for tracing the close contacts of people exposed to COVID-19 despite public health groups’ opposition.(Click below to listen to the committee discussion on the proposal)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vs5cWpA-iWM?start=194" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/sb304_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">a bill</a>&nbsp;making limits on COVID-19 contact tracing permanent, rather than repealing them May 1. The GOP-controlled Legislature approved the rules last year at Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s request. He argued that they&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-kansas-coronavirus-pandemic-topeka-derek-schmidt-abfa3c6b1634a5b670a6943e9a3f37aa">protect the privacy</a>&nbsp;of infected people and prevent information about them from becoming public.The committee’s voice vote Friday sent the measure next to the full Senate. It applies only to COVID-19 and not other diseases, and a key provision prevents people exposed to the novel coronavirus from being forced to disclose their close contacts. It also says people can’t face criminal charges or civil lawsuits for refusing.“It’s a small change we are addressing while we are in session, keeping privacy protections in place,” said Committee Chair Kellie Warren, a Lenexa Republican.But public health officials have said the rules&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bills-kansas-wichita-topeka-virus-outbreak-1402959bab4ae0016d313fae13258c62">hinder contact tracing,&nbsp;</a>and two public health associations told the Senate committee that it makes no sense to have different rules for COVID-19 and all other diseases.“Let health care professionals have all the tools in the chest they need,” said Democratic Sen. David Haley, of Kansas City, Kansas.

🎥  Kan. lawmakers push to keep COVID contact-tracing rules

DETROIT (AP) — A federal judge in Michigan should have blocked a Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/6c1af80fb290472c89fb930e223505af">ban on bump stocks</a>, a device that allows semiautomatic firearms to fire rapidly, an appeals court said Thursday.

The ban came in response to a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas in which a gunman attached bump stocks to assault-style rifles to shoot concertgoers from his hotel room.

The prohibition came in the form of a regulation from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which treated bump stocks as if they are illegal machine guns. But the court, in a 2-1 decision, said changes in criminal law are up to Congress.

“It is not the role of the executive — particularly the unelected administrative state — to dictate to the public what is right and what is wrong,” said judges Alice Batchelder and Eric Murphy of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The court also said a bump stock doesn’t qualify as a machine gun.

“This is great news,” said Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Virginia-based Gun Owners of America.

In 2019, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney in western Michigan turned down an injunction that would have stopped the bump stock ban. The case now will return to his court.

Gun owner groups “are likely to prevail on the merits and ... their motion for an injunction should have been granted,” the appeals court said.

Decisions from the 6th Circuit set legal precedent in federal courts in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.

There have been different opinions about the bump stock ban in federal courts across the country, which makes it a strong candidate for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. A year ago, the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/36d807ad9ea481fc88c7f679dbfa1857">turned down</a>&nbsp;an appeal, but it was a procedural step in a case that wasn’t fully developed.

“Waiting should not be mistaken for lack of concern,” Justice Neil Gorsuch said at the time.

DETROIT (AP) — A federal judge in Michigan should have blocked a Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/6c1af80fb290472c89fb930e223505af">ban on bump stocks</a>, a device that allows semiautomatic firearms to fire rapidly, an appeals court said Thursday.The ban came in response to a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas in which a gunman attached bump stocks to assault-style rifles to shoot concertgoers from his hotel room.The prohibition came in the form of a regulation from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which treated bump stocks as if they are illegal machine guns. But the court, in a 2-1 decision, said changes in criminal law are up to Congress.“It is not the role of the executive — particularly the unelected administrative state — to dictate to the public what is right and what is wrong,” said judges Alice Batchelder and Eric Murphy of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.The court also said a bump stock doesn’t qualify as a machine gun.“This is great news,” said Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Virginia-based Gun Owners of America.In 2019, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney in western Michigan turned down an injunction that would have stopped the bump stock ban. The case now will return to his court.Gun owner groups “are likely to prevail on the merits and ... their motion for an injunction should have been granted,” the appeals court said.Decisions from the 6th Circuit set legal precedent in federal courts in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.There have been different opinions about the bump stock ban in federal courts across the country, which makes it a strong candidate for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. A year ago, the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/36d807ad9ea481fc88c7f679dbfa1857">turned down</a>&nbsp;an appeal, but it was a procedural step in a case that wasn’t fully developed.“Waiting should not be mistaken for lack of concern,” Justice Neil Gorsuch said at the time.___

Court deals blow to nationwide bump stock ban

SALEM, S.D. (AP) — After a swastika and racial slur were spray-painted on a Black man’s car in Salem, South Dakota, the sheriff’s office is investigating the incident as a hate crime. 

Josh Gadsden says he woke up early Thursday to find his Dodge Charger spray painted with racist symbols, including the N-word, a swastika and what he said appeared to be the Confederate flag, KELO-TV reported.

 Gadsden, who has lived in Salem for five years, says that this is not the first time he has experienced racism. 

The McCook County Sheriff’s office says if the perpetrator is caught they would face felony vandalism and hate crime charges.

SALEM, S.D. (AP) — After a swastika and racial slur were spray-painted on a Black man’s car in Salem, South Dakota, the sheriff’s office is investigating the incident as a hate crime. Josh Gadsden says he woke up early Thursday to find his Dodge Charger spray painted with racist symbols, including the N-word, a swastika and what he said appeared to be the Confederate flag, KELO-TV reported. Gadsden, who has lived in Salem for five years, says that this is not the first time he has experienced racism. The McCook County Sheriff’s office says if the perpetrator is caught they would face felony vandalism and hate crime charges.

Police investigating a hate crime in South Dakota town

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A 26,000-square-foot mansion built with stolen money on the west side of Billings has been sold for $7.5 million.

 The 10-bedroom, 19-bathroom residence was purchased by Jock and Cathy Clause. 

The two are former owners of a mobile home park in Billings. 

The mansion was built six years ago by Larry Price Jr., a former Signal Peak mine executive. 

Price is serving five years in prison after stealing millions of dollars from the mine and investors. 

After closing costs, sale proceeds will go to pay back taxes, $1.7 million could be forfeited to the government and at least $1.1 million is owed to builders and material companies. Whatever's left goes to investors.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A 26,000-square-foot mansion built with stolen money on the west side of Billings has been sold for $7.5 million. The 10-bedroom, 19-bathroom residence was purchased by Jock and Cathy Clause. The two are former owners of a mobile home park in Billings. The mansion was built six years ago by Larry Price Jr., a former Signal Peak mine executive. Price is serving five years in prison after stealing millions of dollars from the mine and investors. After closing costs, sale proceeds will go to pay back taxes, $1.7 million could be forfeited to the government and at least $1.1 million is owed to builders and material companies. Whatever's left goes to investors.

Infamous Billings mansion, built with stolen money, sold

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Omaha health care companies have agreed to settle with the Nebraska attorney general’s office on charges of misleading advertising, marketing, distribution and sales of coronavirus antibody testing.

 The Omaha World-Herald reports that Attorney General Doug Peterson alleged that Pivot Concierge Health and Banyan Medical Systems violated Nebraska’s consumer protection law and a federal deceptive trade practices law. 

Under a settlement signed this week, both companies must disclose the risks and limitations of COVID-19 testing products and comply with the law. 

Pivot Concierge Health must also pay $25,000 to the state.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Omaha health care companies have agreed to settle with the Nebraska attorney general’s office on charges of misleading advertising, marketing, distribution and sales of coronavirus antibody testing. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Attorney General Doug Peterson alleged that Pivot Concierge Health and Banyan Medical Systems violated Nebraska’s consumer protection law and a federal deceptive trade practices law. Under a settlement signed this week, both companies must disclose the risks and limitations of COVID-19 testing products and comply with the law. Pivot Concierge Health must also pay $25,000 to the state.

Omaha firms settle with state over COVID antibody tests

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday reversed a ruling by a lower court judge who denied a same-sex couple's petition to adopt a child, based not on state law but on the legal definition of "wife" that he pulled from a law dictionary.

The reversal came in the case of two married women who sought last year to adopt a 3-year-old child whom they had raised since her birth. Dixon County Judge Douglas Luebe denied the petition, saying he had no jurisdiction to grant the request to the women, who were listed in their petition as "wife and wife," because a law dictionary defined "wife" as "'a woman who has a lawful living husband.'"

The Nebraska high court rejected that reasoning, saying state adoption laws clearly allow a same-sex married couple to adopt, and that "any adult person or persons" can adopt a child. So set is the law that the Nebraska Attorney General declined to file a brief defending the judge's ruling.

The judge's reasoning was flawed, the high court said, because the plain language of the state law doesn't preclude same-sex married couples from adopting.

"The only caveat contained in the statute is that if the person had 'a husband or wife,' the husband or wife had to join in the petition" to adopt, Justice William B. Cassel wrote for the high court. That requirement has always existed in state adoption law, because were the adopting parent to die, their spouse would have no legal rights to the child, who could then become a ward of the state.

Luebe did not return messages left at his offices in Dakota, Dixon and Ponca counties. He later contacted Nebraska Supreme Court spokeswoman Janet Bancroft to relay a message to The Associated Press that he would have no comment. Judges in Nebraska are ethically barred from commenting on specific cases, Bancroft said.

It's not the first time the Nebraska Supreme Court has made clear its stance on the legality of same-sex adoption.

In 2017, the high court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/556aecae427c4c1ab6788d8662cc52db" target="_blank">affirmed&nbsp;</a>a judge's ruling striking down a 1995 state policy that banned same-sex couples from serving as foster parents or adopting wards of the state. In a scorching opinion, the high court slammed the former policy as akin to hanging a "Whites Only" sign on a hiring-office door.

Sara Rips, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska who represented the couple in their appeal, said Friday's ruling should solidify that married LGBTQ couples have the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

"But I think there will always be challenges," Rips said. "I think we have a lot of fight left to go."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/6/1559617481129.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By MARGERY A. BECK-Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday reversed a ruling by a lower court judge who denied a same-sex couple's petition to adopt a child, based not on state law but on the legal definition of "wife" that he pulled from a law dictionary.The reversal came in the case of two married women who sought last year to adopt a 3-year-old child whom they had raised since her birth. Dixon County Judge Douglas Luebe denied the petition, saying he had no jurisdiction to grant the request to the women, who were listed in their petition as "wife and wife," because a law dictionary defined "wife" as "'a woman who has a lawful living husband.'"The Nebraska high court rejected that reasoning, saying state adoption laws clearly allow a same-sex married couple to adopt, and that "any adult person or persons" can adopt a child. So set is the law that the Nebraska Attorney General declined to file a brief defending the judge's ruling.The judge's reasoning was flawed, the high court said, because the plain language of the state law doesn't preclude same-sex married couples from adopting."The only caveat contained in the statute is that if the person had 'a husband or wife,' the husband or wife had to join in the petition" to adopt, Justice William B. Cassel wrote for the high court. That requirement has always existed in state adoption law, because were the adopting parent to die, their spouse would have no legal rights to the child, who could then become a ward of the state.Luebe did not return messages left at his offices in Dakota, Dixon and Ponca counties. He later contacted Nebraska Supreme Court spokeswoman Janet Bancroft to relay a message to The Associated Press that he would have no comment. Judges in Nebraska are ethically barred from commenting on specific cases, Bancroft said.It's not the first time the Nebraska Supreme Court has made clear its stance on the legality of same-sex adoption.In 2017, the high court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/556aecae427c4c1ab6788d8662cc52db" target="_blank">affirmed&nbsp;</a>a judge's ruling striking down a 1995 state policy that banned same-sex couples from serving as foster parents or adopting wards of the state. In a scorching opinion, the high court slammed the former policy as akin to hanging a "Whites Only" sign on a hiring-office door.Sara Rips, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska who represented the couple in their appeal, said Friday's ruling should solidify that married LGBTQ couples have the same rights as married heterosexual couples."But I think there will always be challenges," Rips said. "I think we have a lot of fight left to go."

Ruling denying adoption by same-sex Nebraska couple reversed

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ambitious Republicans are starting to make moves in Iowa, long a proving ground for future presidents. Their first step is finding out whether activists there have gotten over the last one.

Former President Donald Trump remains a hulking presence in Iowa, where he won twice by healthy margins. He’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-leaves-white-house-ad718c0048c341d0044c4709fb23c8dd">hinted he’ll run again</a>, and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump-technology-49a24edd6d10888dbad61689c24b05a5">false claims</a>&nbsp;that the last election was stolen still dominate some Republican circles.

But that doesn’t mean Trump has frozen the field of potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates. Several GOP politicians have plans for trips to Iowa and other early nominating states this spring. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the first since the election to gauge Iowans’ interest in person this week.

Party activists say these early arrivals are welcome, despite Trump’s enduring popularity and the pervasive belief he was somehow wronged in his 2020 defeat. But interviews with GOP county party leaders and local activists around the state expose the difference between their declared love for Trump and hope he runs again.

“There are Trumpsters who can’t wait for him to run again. They are the ones still moaning and groaning that they were cheated out of the election,” said Gwen Ecklund, a veteran former county chairwoman in conservative western Iowa. “But there are some — average, rank-and-file Republicans — who are turning the page.”

That’s who Pompeo will be looking for in this very early phase. The former top Trump diplomat and successful Kansas politician spoke Friday with a regular Republican breakfast group and up-and-coming Republicans in Des Moines as well as meet privately with top Iowa party officials.

Pompeo is fresh off a national political speaking debut at the American Conservative Union’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cpac-false-trump-claims-40eeace4eec6a286dc6e8fb50f0afd5b">CPAC conference</a>&nbsp;last month in Florida. As he’s expected to in Iowa, Pompeo subtly distinguished himself, without alienating Republicans still loyal to Trump and hoping for a 2024 comeback.

“I had the chance to bring home American hostages from Pyongyang,” Pompeo told the audience in Orlando. “‘America first’ takes some real courage. It takes a secretary of state willing to walk into a room and tell it like it is, and a president who will have his back.”

Others will attempt to walk the same line.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott plans to follow the well-worn path of presidential prospects with an April 1 trip to Cedar Rapids. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is scheduled to meet Republicans in eastern Iowa’s Quad Cities on April 15, all signs of an an exceptionally early start to the 2024 campaign.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who has met virtually with Republicans in the leadoff primary state New Hampshire, is also making plans to visit Iowa in the coming months, advisers said.

They’ll get a fair hearing, Henry County Republican chairwoman Nancy Amos said. But most in her southeast corner of Iowa want to see Trump run again.

“Oh, sure, we’ll go and listen to them. It’s not like we won’t give others a chance,” said Amos, who represents one of a string of Mississippi River counties Trump carried after Democrat Barack Obama had earlier. “It’s just most of the talk is about Trump.”

Trump’s enduring popularity, however, doesn’t mean everyone wants him to run again. Though Trump carried Crawford County — where Ecklund is GOP co-chairwoman — by more than 30 percentage points twice, she’s encountered Republicans “ready to move on” and “tired of extreme controversy.”

Statewide, views of Trump have dimmed some since he carried Iowa by about 8 percentage points in November. In The Des Moines Register’s March Iowa Poll, 53% of Iowans viewed the former president unfavorably and 45% favorably, about the reverse of a year ago.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1616766061345.png" alt="Mike Pompeo spoke to the Pottawattamie County GOP in Council Bluffs, IA Thursday evening-photo courtesy Secretary Pompeo" />
 <figcaption>Mike Pompeo spoke to the Pottawattamie County GOP in Council Bluffs, IA Thursday evening-photo courtesy Secretary Pompeo</figcaption>
 </figure>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ambitious Republicans are starting to make moves in Iowa, long a proving ground for future presidents. Their first step is finding out whether activists there have gotten over the last one.Former President Donald Trump remains a hulking presence in Iowa, where he won twice by healthy margins. He’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-leaves-white-house-ad718c0048c341d0044c4709fb23c8dd">hinted he’ll run again</a>, and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump-technology-49a24edd6d10888dbad61689c24b05a5">false claims</a>&nbsp;that the last election was stolen still dominate some Republican circles.But that doesn’t mean Trump has frozen the field of potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates. Several GOP politicians have plans for trips to Iowa and other early nominating states this spring. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the first since the election to gauge Iowans’ interest in person this week.Party activists say these early arrivals are welcome, despite Trump’s enduring popularity and the pervasive belief he was somehow wronged in his 2020 defeat. But interviews with GOP county party leaders and local activists around the state expose the difference between their declared love for Trump and hope he runs again.“There are Trumpsters who can’t wait for him to run again. They are the ones still moaning and groaning that they were cheated out of the election,” said Gwen Ecklund, a veteran former county chairwoman in conservative western Iowa. “But there are some — average, rank-and-file Republicans — who are turning the page.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1616766008619.png" alt="Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was elected to serve Kansas 4th congressional district in 2010 until he accepted appointment as CIA Director in 2017." />
 <figcaption>Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was elected to serve Kansas 4th congressional district in 2010 until he accepted appointment as CIA Director in 2017.</figcaption>
 </figure>That’s who Pompeo will be looking for in this very early phase. The former top Trump diplomat and successful Kansas politician spoke Friday with a regular Republican breakfast group and up-and-coming Republicans in Des Moines as well as meet privately with top Iowa party officials.Pompeo is fresh off a national political speaking debut at the American Conservative Union’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cpac-false-trump-claims-40eeace4eec6a286dc6e8fb50f0afd5b">CPAC conference</a>&nbsp;last month in Florida. As he’s expected to in Iowa, Pompeo subtly distinguished himself, without alienating Republicans still loyal to Trump and hoping for a 2024 comeback.“I had the chance to bring home American hostages from Pyongyang,” Pompeo told the audience in Orlando. “‘America first’ takes some real courage. It takes a secretary of state willing to walk into a room and tell it like it is, and a president who will have his back.”Others will attempt to walk the same line.Florida Sen. Rick Scott plans to follow the well-worn path of presidential prospects with an April 1 trip to Cedar Rapids. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is scheduled to meet Republicans in eastern Iowa’s Quad Cities on April 15, all signs of an an exceptionally early start to the 2024 campaign.Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who has met virtually with Republicans in the leadoff primary state New Hampshire, is also making plans to visit Iowa in the coming months, advisers said.They’ll get a fair hearing, Henry County Republican chairwoman Nancy Amos said. But most in her southeast corner of Iowa want to see Trump run again.“Oh, sure, we’ll go and listen to them. It’s not like we won’t give others a chance,” said Amos, who represents one of a string of Mississippi River counties Trump carried after Democrat Barack Obama had earlier. “It’s just most of the talk is about Trump.”Trump’s enduring popularity, however, doesn’t mean everyone wants him to run again. Though Trump carried Crawford County — where Ecklund is GOP co-chairwoman — by more than 30 percentage points twice, she’s encountered Republicans “ready to move on” and “tired of extreme controversy.”Statewide, views of Trump have dimmed some since he carried Iowa by about 8 percentage points in November. In The Des Moines Register’s March Iowa Poll, 53% of Iowans viewed the former president unfavorably and 45% favorably, about the reverse of a year ago.In an unscientific measure, a straw poll of 1,000 attendees at the CPAC conference found that 97% of these devout conservative activists approved of the job Trump had done as president, though only 68% said he, now age 74, should run again in four years.Yet, Trump prompted roaring applause and a standing ovation in Orlando when he told the audience, “Who knows, I may even decide to beat them a third time,” alluding to his false claim that he won the 2020 election.Members of his own administration, including Attorney General William Barr, say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b1f1488796c9a98c4b1a9061a6c7f49d">no proof of widespread voter fraud</a>&nbsp;has been uncovered. Courts in multiple battleground states have thrown out&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-losing-election-lawsuits-36d113484ac0946fa5f0614deb7de15e">a barrage of lawsuits</a>&nbsp;filed on behalf of the president.In a January Pew Research poll, taken after the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, a 57% majority of Republicans said Trump should continue to be a major political figure for many years to come.To maintain his influence, he’s going to have to find a way back to the spotlight, a challenge without his signature Twitter account, said Republican pollster Ed Goeas, who has advised Republican Senate candidates including Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.“At some point he’s going to figure out how to get more attention than he’s getting now, or he’s going to fade into the sunset,” Goeas said. “I just think Donald Trump two years from now is going to look very different than Donald Trump of a month ago.”___