NASHVILLE (AP) —Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” has died. He was 80.

The Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Famer died at his home in Osprey, Florida, David Spero, Betts’ manager of 20 years, confirmed. Betts had been battling cancer for more than a year and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Spero said.

“He was surrounded by his whole family and he passed peacefully. They didn’t think he was in any pain,” Spero said by phone.

Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman in the original Allman Brothers Band to help give the group its distinctive sound and create a new genre — Southern rock. Acts ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kid Rock were influenced by the Allmans’ music, which combined the blues, country, R&amp;B and jazz with ‘60s rock.

Founded in 1969, the Allmans were a pioneering jam band, trampling the traditional notion of three-minute pop songs by performing lengthy compositions in concert and on record. The band was also notable as a biracial group from the Deep South.

Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, and founding member Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash a year later. That left Betts and Allman’s younger brother Gregg as the band’s leaders, but they frequently clashed, and substance abuse caused further dysfunction. The band broke up at least twice before reforming, and has had more than a dozen lineups.

The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2012. Betts left the group for good in 2000, and also played solo and with his own band Great Southern, which included his son, guitarist Duane Betts.

Forrest Richard Betts was born Dec. 12, 1943, and was raised in the Bradenton, Florida, area, near the highway 41 he sang about in “Ramblin’ Man.” His family had lived in area since the mid-19th century.

Betts grew up listening to country, bluegrass and Western swing, and played the ukulele and banjo before focusing on the electric guitar because it impressed girls. At 16 he left home for his first road trip, joining the circus to play in a band.

He returned home, and with bassist Oakley joined a group that became the Jacksonville, Florida-based band Second Coming. One night in 1969 Betts and Oakley jammed with Duane Allman, already a successful session musician, and his younger brother, and together they formed the Allman Brothers Band.

The group moved to Macon, Georgia, and released a self-titled debut album in 1969. A year later came the album “Idlewild South,” highlighted by Betts’ instrumental composition “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” which soon became a concert staple.

The 1971 double album “At Fillmore East,” now considered among the greatest live albums of the classic rock era, was the Allmans’ commercial breakthrough and cemented their performing reputation by showcasing the unique guitar interplay between Allman and Betts. Their styles contrasted, with Allman playing bluesy slide guitar, while Betts’ solos and singing tugged the band toward country. When layered in harmony, their playing was especially distinctive.

The group also had two drummers — “Jaimoe” Johanson, who is Black, and Butch Trucks.

Duane Allman died four days after “Fillmore” was certified as a gold record, but the band carried on and crowds continued to grow. The 1973 album “Brothers and Sisters” rose to No. 1 on the charts and featured “Ramblin' Man,” with Betts singing the lead and bringing twang to the Top 40. The song reached No. 2 on the singles charts and was kept out of the No. 1 spot by "Half Breed" by Cher, who later married Gregg Allman.

The soaring sound of Betts’ guitar on “Ramblin’ Man” reverberated in neighborhood bars around the country for decades, and the song underscored his knack for melodic hooks. “Ramblin’ Man” was the Allmans’ only Top Ten hit, but Betts’ catchy 7½-minute instrumental composition “Jessica,” recorded in 1972, became an FM radio staple.

Betts also wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s other best-loved songs, including “Blue Sky” and “Southbound.” In later years the group remained a successful touring act with Betts and Warren Haynes on guitar. Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks died in 2017.

After leaving the Allmans for good, Betts continued to play with his own group and lived in the Bradenton area with his wife, Donna.

The group also had two drummers — “Jaimoe” Johanson, who is black, and Butch Trucks.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713458097441.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NASHVILLE (AP) —Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” has died. He was 80.The Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Famer died at his home in Osprey, Florida, David Spero, Betts’ manager of 20 years, confirmed. Betts had been battling cancer for more than a year and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Spero said.“He was surrounded by his whole family and he passed peacefully. They didn’t think he was in any pain,” Spero said by phone.Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman in the original Allman Brothers Band to help give the group its distinctive sound and create a new genre — Southern rock. Acts ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kid Rock were influenced by the Allmans’ music, which combined the blues, country, R&amp;B and jazz with ‘60s rock.Founded in 1969, the Allmans were a pioneering jam band, trampling the traditional notion of three-minute pop songs by performing lengthy compositions in concert and on record. The band was also notable as a biracial group from the Deep South.Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, and founding member Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash a year later. That left Betts and Allman’s younger brother Gregg as the band’s leaders, but they frequently clashed, and substance abuse caused further dysfunction. The band broke up at least twice before reforming, and has had more than a dozen lineups.The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2012. Betts left the group for good in 2000, and also played solo and with his own band Great Southern, which included his son, guitarist Duane Betts.Forrest Richard Betts was born Dec. 12, 1943, and was raised in the Bradenton, Florida, area, near the highway 41 he sang about in “Ramblin’ Man.” His family had lived in area since the mid-19th century.Betts grew up listening to country, bluegrass and Western swing, and played the ukulele and banjo before focusing on the electric guitar because it impressed girls. At 16 he left home for his first road trip, joining the circus to play in a band.He returned home, and with bassist Oakley joined a group that became the Jacksonville, Florida-based band Second Coming. One night in 1969 Betts and Oakley jammed with Duane Allman, already a successful session musician, and his younger brother, and together they formed the Allman Brothers Band.The group moved to Macon, Georgia, and released a self-titled debut album in 1969. A year later came the album “Idlewild South,” highlighted by Betts’ instrumental composition “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” which soon became a concert staple.The 1971 double album “At Fillmore East,” now considered among the greatest live albums of the classic rock era, was the Allmans’ commercial breakthrough and cemented their performing reputation by showcasing the unique guitar interplay between Allman and Betts. Their styles contrasted, with Allman playing bluesy slide guitar, while Betts’ solos and singing tugged the band toward country. When layered in harmony, their playing was especially distinctive.The group also had two drummers — “Jaimoe” Johanson, who is Black, and Butch Trucks.Duane Allman died four days after “Fillmore” was certified as a gold record, but the band carried on and crowds continued to grow. The 1973 album “Brothers and Sisters” rose to No. 1 on the charts and featured “Ramblin' Man,” with Betts singing the lead and bringing twang to the Top 40. The song reached No. 2 on the singles charts and was kept out of the No. 1 spot by "Half Breed" by Cher, who later married Gregg Allman.The soaring sound of Betts’ guitar on “Ramblin’ Man” reverberated in neighborhood bars around the country for decades, and the song underscored his knack for melodic hooks. “Ramblin’ Man” was the Allmans’ only Top Ten hit, but Betts’ catchy 7½-minute instrumental composition “Jessica,” recorded in 1972, became an FM radio staple.Betts also wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s other best-loved songs, including “Blue Sky” and “Southbound.” In later years the group remained a successful touring act with Betts and Warren Haynes on guitar. Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks died in 2017.After leaving the Allmans for good, Betts continued to play with his own group and lived in the Bradenton area with his wife, Donna.The 1971 double album “At Fillmore East,” now considered among the greatest live albums of the classic rock era, was the Allmans’ commercial breakthrough and cemented their performing reputation by showcasing the unique guitar interplay between Allman and Betts. Their styles contrasted, with Allman playing bluesy slide guitar, while Betts’ solos and singing tugged the band toward country. When layered in harmony, their playing was especially distinctive.The group also had two drummers — “Jaimoe” Johanson, who is black, and Butch Trucks.Duane Allman died four days after “Fillmore” was certified as a gold record, but the band carried on and crowds continued to grow. The 1973 album “Brothers and Sisters” rose to No. 1 on the charts and featured “Ramblin' Man,” with Betts singing the lead and bringing twang to the Top 40. The song reached No. 2 on the singles charts and was kept out of the No. 1 spot by "Half Breed" by Cher, who later married Gregg Allman.The soaring sound of Betts’ guitar on “Ramblin’ Man” reverberated in neighborhood bars around the country for decades, and the song underscored his knack for melodic hooks. “Ramblin’ Man” was the Allmans’ only Top Ten hit, but Betts’ catchy 7½-minute instrumental composition “Jessica,” recorded in 1972, became an FM radio staple.Betts also wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s other best-loved songs, including “Blue Sky” and “Southbound.” In later years the group remained a successful touring act with Betts and Warren Haynes on guitar. Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks died in 2017.After leaving the Allmans for good, Betts continued to play with his own group and lived in the Bradenton area with his wife, Donna.

Allman Brothers Band co-founder, legendary guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80

<a href="https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/Letter-re-jury-selection-4-8-24.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>the Trump jury selection questionnaire

NEW YORK (AP) — Two jurors in former President Donald Trump's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-selection-8da8759352478be8effd3d5734aae35e">hush money trial</a>&nbsp;were dismissed Thursday, one after expressing doubt about her ability to be fair and impartial and the other over concerns that some of his answers in court may not have been accurate.

The dismissals reduced to five the number of jurors who have been seated for the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.

The setbacks in the selection process emerged during a frenetic morning in which prosecutors also asked for Trump to be held in contempt over a series of social media posts this week, while the judge in the case barred reporters from identifying jurors' employers after expressing privacy concerns.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-jurors-e47b0494de7688bde0e877ccb90aeca2">The seating of the full jury</a>&nbsp;— whenever it comes — will be a seminal moment in the case, setting the stage for a trial that will place the former president’s legal jeopardy at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-criminal-trial-campaign-833ca03359cb76331f16580ac04e398e">heart of the campaign against Democrat Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and for weeks of testimony about Trump’s private life before he became president.

The jury selection process picked up momentum Tuesday with the selection of seven jurors. But on Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-judge-merchan-c227f5eab200cccffb19ed931b4dac92">Judge Juan Merchan</a>&nbsp;revealed in court that one of the seven, a cancer nurse, had “conveyed that after sleeping on it overnight she had concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial in this case.” And though jurors’ names are being kept confidential, the woman said her family members and friends questioned her about being a juror.

A second seated juror was dismissed after prosecutors raised concerns that may not have been honest in answering a jury selection question by saying that he had never been accused or convicted of a crime.

The IT professional was summoned to court to answer questions after prosecutors said they found an article about a person with the same name who had been arrested in the 1990s for tearing down political posters pertaining to the political right in suburban Westchester County.

A prosecutor had also disclosed that a relative of the man may have been involved in a deferred prosecution agreement in the 1990s with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting Trump’s case.

Because the juror was questioned Thursday at the judge’s bench, off-microphone and out of earshot of reports, it was not known whether the man confirmed or denied either instance was connected to him.

Twelve jurors and six alternates must be seated to hear the trial. Merchan said Tuesday that opening statements could begin as soon as Monday.

The process of picking a jury is a critical phase of any criminal trial but especially so when the defendant is a former president and the presumptive Republican nominee. Prospective jurors have been grilled on their social media posts, personal lives and political views as the lawyers and judge search for biases that would prevent them from being impartial.

Inside the court, there’s broad acknowledgment of the futility in trying to find jurors without knowledge of Trump. A prosecutor this week said that lawyers were not looking for people who had been “living under a rock for the past eight years.”

But Thursday's events laid bare the inherent challenges of selecting a jury for such a landmark, high-publicity case. More than half the members of a group of 96 prospective jurors brought into the courtroom were dismissed Thursday, most after saying they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial.

After dismissing from the jury the nurse who had already been selected, Merchan ordered journalists in court not to report prospective jurors’ answers to questions about their current and former employers.

He said that “as evidenced by what’s happened already, it’s become a problem.” The answers also will be redacted from court transcripts.

Prosecutors had asked that the employer inquiries be axed from the jury questionnaire. Defense lawyer Todd Blanche responded that “depriving us of the information because of what the press is doing isn’t the answer.”

The district attorney's office on Monday sought a $3,000 fine for Trump for three Truth Social posts they said violated the order. Since then, though, prosecutors say he's made seven additional posts that they believe violate the order.

Several of the posts involved an article that referred to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen as a “serial perjurer,” and one from Wednesday repeated a claim by a Fox News host that liberal activists were lying to get on the jury, said prosecutor Christopher Conroy.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove said Cohen “has been attacking President Trump in public statements,” and Trump was just replying.

The judge had already scheduled a hearing for next week on the prosecution’s request for contempt sanctions over Trump’s posts.

The trial centers on a $130,000 payment that Trump's lawyer and personal fixer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">Michael Cohen</a>, made shortly before the 2016 election to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the race's final days.

Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.

Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted, though it's not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.

The hush money case is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">one of four criminal prosecutions</a>&nbsp;involving Trump as he vies to reclaim the White House, but it's possible that it will be the sole case to reach trial before November's presidential election.

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-selection-8da8759352478be8effd3d5734aae35e">hush money trial of Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.

Meanwhile, the jury selection process took a step back when one of the seven jurors who had been picked, an oncology nurse, was dismissed after telling the court that she had become concerned about her ability to be impartial in the first-ever criminal case against a former president.

Although the jurors’ names are being kept confidential, the woman said her family members and friends questioned her about being a juror.

The dismissal leaves six on the panel so far, including a software engineer, an information technology professional, a sales professional, an English teacher and two lawyers.

Twelve more people must still be sworn in, with the judge saying he anticipated opening statements in the landmark case to be given as early as next week.

After dismissing the juror, Judge Juan Merchan ordered journalists in court not to report prospective jurors’ answers to questions about their current and former employers.

The judge said he agreed “that that information is necessary.”

The social media posts at issue were made by Trump since Monday, when prosecutors first sought a $3,000 fine for Trump for three Truth Social posts they said violated the order.

Prosecutor Christopher Conroy said several of the posts involved an article that referred to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen as a “serial perjurer,” and one from Wednesday that repeated a claim by a Fox News host that liberal activists were lying to get on the jury.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-jurors-e47b0494de7688bde0e877ccb90aeca2">The seating of the Manhattan jury</a>&nbsp;— whenever it comes — will be a seminal moment in the case, setting the stage for a trial that will place the former president's legal jeopardy at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-criminal-trial-campaign-833ca03359cb76331f16580ac04e398e">heart of the campaign against Democrat Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and feature potentially unflattering testimony about Trump's private life in the years before he became president.

The process of picking a jury is a critical phase of any criminal trial but especially so when the defendant is a former president and the presumptive Republican nominee.

Prospective jurors have been grilled on their social media posts, personal lives and political views as the lawyers and judge search for biases that would prevent them from being impartial.

Inside the court, there's broad acknowledgment of the futility in trying to find jurors without knowledge of Trump, with a prosecutor this week saying that lawyers were not looking for people who had been “living under a rock for the past eight years.”

To that end, at least some of the jurors selected acknowledged having their own opinions about Trump.

“I find him fascinating and mysterious," one juror selected for the case, an IT professional, said under questioning. “He walks into a room and he sets people off, one way or the other. I find that really interesting. ‘Really? This one guy could do all of this? Wow.’ That’s what I think.”

The process has moved swifter than expected, prompting Trump when leaving the courthouse on Tuesday to complain to reporters that the judge,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-judge-merchan-c227f5eab200cccffb19ed931b4dac92">Juan Merchan</a>, was “rushing” the trial.

The case centers on a $130,000 payment that Trump's lawyer and personal fixer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">Michael Cohen</a>, made shortly before the 2016 election to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the race's final days.

Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could face up to four years in prison if convicted, though it's not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.

The hush money case is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">one of four criminal prosecutions</a>&nbsp;Trump is confronting as he vies to reclaim the White House, but it's possible that it will be the sole case to reach trial before November's presidential election. Appeals and other legal wrangling have caused delays in cases charging Trump with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">plotting to overturn the 2020 election results</a>&nbsp;and with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">illegally hoarding classified documents</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713452408310.png" alt="Former President Trump after court on Tuesday -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Former President Trump after court on Tuesday -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/Letter-re-jury-selection-4-8-24.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>the Trump jury selection questionnaireNEW YORK (AP) — Two jurors in former President Donald Trump's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-selection-8da8759352478be8effd3d5734aae35e">hush money trial</a>&nbsp;were dismissed Thursday, one after expressing doubt about her ability to be fair and impartial and the other over concerns that some of his answers in court may not have been accurate.The dismissals reduced to five the number of jurors who have been seated for the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.The setbacks in the selection process emerged during a frenetic morning in which prosecutors also asked for Trump to be held in contempt over a series of social media posts this week, while the judge in the case barred reporters from identifying jurors' employers after expressing privacy concerns.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-jurors-e47b0494de7688bde0e877ccb90aeca2">The seating of the full jury</a>&nbsp;— whenever it comes — will be a seminal moment in the case, setting the stage for a trial that will place the former president’s legal jeopardy at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-criminal-trial-campaign-833ca03359cb76331f16580ac04e398e">heart of the campaign against Democrat Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and for weeks of testimony about Trump’s private life before he became president.The jury selection process picked up momentum Tuesday with the selection of seven jurors. But on Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-judge-merchan-c227f5eab200cccffb19ed931b4dac92">Judge Juan Merchan</a>&nbsp;revealed in court that one of the seven, a cancer nurse, had “conveyed that after sleeping on it overnight she had concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial in this case.” And though jurors’ names are being kept confidential, the woman said her family members and friends questioned her about being a juror.A second seated juror was dismissed after prosecutors raised concerns that may not have been honest in answering a jury selection question by saying that he had never been accused or convicted of a crime.The IT professional was summoned to court to answer questions after prosecutors said they found an article about a person with the same name who had been arrested in the 1990s for tearing down political posters pertaining to the political right in suburban Westchester County.A prosecutor had also disclosed that a relative of the man may have been involved in a deferred prosecution agreement in the 1990s with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting Trump’s case.Because the juror was questioned Thursday at the judge’s bench, off-microphone and out of earshot of reports, it was not known whether the man confirmed or denied either instance was connected to him.Twelve jurors and six alternates must be seated to hear the trial. Merchan said Tuesday that opening statements could begin as soon as Monday.The process of picking a jury is a critical phase of any criminal trial but especially so when the defendant is a former president and the presumptive Republican nominee. Prospective jurors have been grilled on their social media posts, personal lives and political views as the lawyers and judge search for biases that would prevent them from being impartial.Inside the court, there’s broad acknowledgment of the futility in trying to find jurors without knowledge of Trump. A prosecutor this week said that lawyers were not looking for people who had been “living under a rock for the past eight years.”But Thursday's events laid bare the inherent challenges of selecting a jury for such a landmark, high-publicity case. More than half the members of a group of 96 prospective jurors brought into the courtroom were dismissed Thursday, most after saying they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial.After dismissing from the jury the nurse who had already been selected, Merchan ordered journalists in court not to report prospective jurors’ answers to questions about their current and former employers.He said that “as evidenced by what’s happened already, it’s become a problem.” The answers also will be redacted from court transcripts.Prosecutors had asked that the employer inquiries be axed from the jury questionnaire. Defense lawyer Todd Blanche responded that “depriving us of the information because of what the press is doing isn’t the answer.”The district attorney's office on Monday sought a $3,000 fine for Trump for three Truth Social posts they said violated the order. Since then, though, prosecutors say he's made seven additional posts that they believe violate the order.Several of the posts involved an article that referred to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen as a “serial perjurer,” and one from Wednesday repeated a claim by a Fox News host that liberal activists were lying to get on the jury, said prosecutor Christopher Conroy.Trump lawyer Emil Bove said Cohen “has been attacking President Trump in public statements,” and Trump was just replying.The judge had already scheduled a hearing for next week on the prosecution’s request for contempt sanctions over Trump’s posts.The trial centers on a $130,000 payment that Trump's lawyer and personal fixer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">Michael Cohen</a>, made shortly before the 2016 election to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the race's final days.Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted, though it's not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.The hush money case is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">one of four criminal prosecutions</a>&nbsp;involving Trump as he vies to reclaim the White House, but it's possible that it will be the sole case to reach trial before November's presidential election.--------NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-trial-jury-selection-8da8759352478be8effd3d5734aae35e">hush money trial of Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.Meanwhile, the jury selection process took a step back when one of the seven jurors who had been picked, an oncology nurse, was dismissed after telling the court that she had become concerned about her ability to be impartial in the first-ever criminal case against a former president.Although the jurors’ names are being kept confidential, the woman said her family members and friends questioned her about being a juror.The dismissal leaves six on the panel so far, including a software engineer, an information technology professional, a sales professional, an English teacher and two lawyers.Twelve more people must still be sworn in, with the judge saying he anticipated opening statements in the landmark case to be given as early as next week.After dismissing the juror, Judge Juan Merchan ordered journalists in court not to report prospective jurors’ answers to questions about their current and former employers.He said that “as evidenced by what’s happened already, it’s become a problem.” The answers also will be redacted from court transcripts.Prosecutors had asked that the employer inquiries be axed from the jury questionnaire. Defense lawyer Todd Blanche responded that “depriving us of the information because of what the press is doing isn’t the answer.”The judge said he agreed “that that information is necessary.”The social media posts at issue were made by Trump since Monday, when prosecutors first sought a $3,000 fine for Trump for three Truth Social posts they said violated the order.Prosecutor Christopher Conroy said several of the posts involved an article that referred to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen as a “serial perjurer,” and one from Wednesday that repeated a claim by a Fox News host that liberal activists were lying to get on the jury.Trump lawyer Emil Bove said Cohen “has been attacking President Trump in public statements,” and Trump was just replying.The judge had already scheduled a hearing for next week on the prosecution’s request for contempt sanctions over Trump’s posts.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-jurors-e47b0494de7688bde0e877ccb90aeca2">The seating of the Manhattan jury</a>&nbsp;— whenever it comes — will be a seminal moment in the case, setting the stage for a trial that will place the former president's legal jeopardy at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-criminal-trial-campaign-833ca03359cb76331f16580ac04e398e">heart of the campaign against Democrat Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and feature potentially unflattering testimony about Trump's private life in the years before he became president.The process of picking a jury is a critical phase of any criminal trial but especially so when the defendant is a former president and the presumptive Republican nominee.Prospective jurors have been grilled on their social media posts, personal lives and political views as the lawyers and judge search for biases that would prevent them from being impartial.Inside the court, there's broad acknowledgment of the futility in trying to find jurors without knowledge of Trump, with a prosecutor this week saying that lawyers were not looking for people who had been “living under a rock for the past eight years.”To that end, at least some of the jurors selected acknowledged having their own opinions about Trump.“I find him fascinating and mysterious," one juror selected for the case, an IT professional, said under questioning. “He walks into a room and he sets people off, one way or the other. I find that really interesting. ‘Really? This one guy could do all of this? Wow.’ That’s what I think.”The process has moved swifter than expected, prompting Trump when leaving the courthouse on Tuesday to complain to reporters that the judge,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-judge-merchan-c227f5eab200cccffb19ed931b4dac92">Juan Merchan</a>, was “rushing” the trial.The case centers on a $130,000 payment that Trump's lawyer and personal fixer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">Michael Cohen</a>, made shortly before the 2016 election to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the race's final days.Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could face up to four years in prison if convicted, though it's not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.The hush money case is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">one of four criminal prosecutions</a>&nbsp;Trump is confronting as he vies to reclaim the White House, but it's possible that it will be the sole case to reach trial before November's presidential election. Appeals and other legal wrangling have caused delays in cases charging Trump with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">plotting to overturn the 2020 election results</a>&nbsp;and with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">illegally hoarding classified documents</a>.

Trump judge warns media; 2 jurors dismissed

As leader of the Nebraska Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee, former Sen. John Stinner held a uniquely powerful post that allowed him to help direct how state tax dollars were invested.

In that role, the lawmaker from Gering proved to be a powerful champion for behavioral health, said Erin Schneider, EdD, deputy director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.&nbsp;

“Sen. Stinner often worked directly to ensure the state budget included strong funding for key behavioral health issues,” Dr. Schneider said.

Two examples of Sen. Stinner’s behavioral health advocacy occurred in 2022, his last in the legislature, when he worked to:

Thanks to his efforts to advance behavioral health care, BHECN presented Stinner with the 2023 BHECN Distinguished Service Award on April 16 during the organization’s annual awards dinner in Omaha.

The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor bestowed by BHECN and is presented to individuals who provide inspirational leadership, service, advocacy and heart in support of behavioral health workforce development in Nebraska.

“Sen. Stinner deeply understands the importance of behavioral health care and its impact on the state as a whole,” said BHECN Director Marley Doyle, MD. “This understanding allowed him to make vital contributions that will improve the health and well-being for many Nebraskans for years to come.”

Four others received awards at the dinner including:

<a href="https://www.unmc.edu/bhecn/" target="_blank">Learn more about BHECN</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713451435824.jpeg" alt="Top row from left, former Sen. John Stinner and Kenton Shaffer, MD. Bottom row from left: Cecilia Poon, PhD, Laurie Halpenny, and Robin Conyers. " />
 <figcaption>Top row from left, former Sen. John Stinner and Kenton Shaffer, MD. Bottom row from left: Cecilia Poon, PhD, Laurie Halpenny, and Robin Conyers. </figcaption>
 </figure>UNMCAs leader of the Nebraska Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee, former Sen. John Stinner held a uniquely powerful post that allowed him to help direct how state tax dollars were invested.In that role, the lawmaker from Gering proved to be a powerful champion for behavioral health, said Erin Schneider, EdD, deputy director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.&nbsp;“Sen. Stinner often worked directly to ensure the state budget included strong funding for key behavioral health issues,” Dr. Schneider said.Two examples of Sen. Stinner’s behavioral health advocacy occurred in 2022, his last in the legislature, when he worked to:<ul>
 <li>Increase BHECN’s annual operating budget; and</li><li>Allocate $25.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to BHECN to distribute to organizations throughout the state to address Nebraska’s behavioral health workforce shortage and behavioral health issues that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.</li>
 </ul>Thanks to his efforts to advance behavioral health care, BHECN presented Stinner with the 2023 BHECN Distinguished Service Award on April 16 during the organization’s annual awards dinner in Omaha.The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor bestowed by BHECN and is presented to individuals who provide inspirational leadership, service, advocacy and heart in support of behavioral health workforce development in Nebraska.“Sen. Stinner deeply understands the importance of behavioral health care and its impact on the state as a whole,” said BHECN Director Marley Doyle, MD. “This understanding allowed him to make vital contributions that will improve the health and well-being for many Nebraskans for years to come.”Four others received awards at the dinner including:<ul>
 <li>Robin Conyers&nbsp;and&nbsp;Cecilia Poon, PhD,&nbsp;who received the 2023 Ambassador Award. Conyers is vice president of behavioral services for CHI Health/Central Division of CommonSpirit Health. Dr. Poon is a staff psychologist in the Nebraska Medicine Department of Psychology, training director of the Clinical Health Psychology Pre-Doctoral Internship at Nebraska Medicine and adjunct assistant professor in the UNMC Department of Psychiatry. The award recognizes individuals for outstanding efforts in mentoring the future behavioral health workforce in Nebraska.</li><li>Kenton Shaffer, MD,&nbsp;a retired pediatrician from Kearney, received the BHECN Champion Award, which recognizes outstanding service and outreach to the behavioral health community by a student, trainee or health care professional.</li><li>Laurie Halpenny&nbsp;of Omaha – who has long advocated for children with developmental disabilities -- received the BHECN Courage Award. The award recognizes outstanding service and outreach to the behavioral health community by a consumer of behavioral health services or a family member.</li>
 </ul><a href="https://www.unmc.edu/bhecn/" target="_blank">Learn more about BHECN</a>.

 Former Sen. John Stinner, others recognized at BHECN awards dinner

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has dismissed all impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/alejandro-mayorkas">Alejandro Mayorkas</a>, ending the House Republican push to remove the Cabinet secretary from office over his handling of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-security-migrants-homeland-security-1c6e9f612dff721191c0254f980947a5">the U.S.-Mexico border</a>&nbsp;and ending his trial before arguments even began.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?534981-1/senate-session&amp;live">Click here to watch a replay of the Senate</a>&nbsp;impeachment debate.

<a href="https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2024/01/Articles-of-Impeachment.pdf">Click here to read full</a>&nbsp;articles of impeachment against Sec. Mayorkas

Senators voted to dismiss both articles of impeachment and end the trial, with Democrats arguing that the articles were unconstitutional. The first article charged Mayorkas with “willful and systemic refusal to comply" with immigration law. The second article charged Mayorkas with a “breach of trust” for saying the border was secure. The votes were 51-48 and 51-49, both along party lines.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the House Republicans’ case failed to meet “the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors” and could set a dangerous precedent.

“For the sake of the Senate’s integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today’s charges,” said Schumer, D-N.Y., as he opened Wednesday’s session.

Senate Republicans had argued for a full impeachment trial after the House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-mayorkas-impeachment-vote-border-security-80cbd5bbb8f512c6814f155f825a1214">narrowly voted</a>&nbsp;in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the border, arguing in the two articles that he “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws. The House vote was the first time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary was impeached.

An outright dismissal of House Republicans’ prosecution of Mayorkas, with no chance to argue the case, is an embarrassing defeat for House Republicans and embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who made the impeachment a priority. And it is likely to resonate politically for both Republicans and Democrats in a presidential election year when border security has been a top issue.

Republicans argue that President Joe Biden has been weak on the border as arrests for illegal crossings skyrocketed to more than 2 million people during the last two years of his term, though they have fallen from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32">a record-high</a>&nbsp;of 250,000 in December amid heightened enforcement in Mexico. Democrats say that instead of impeaching Mayorkas, Republicans should have accepted a bipartisan Senate compromise aimed at reducing the number of migrants who come into the U.S. illegally.

House impeachment managers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-mayorkas-impeachment-trial-border-security-63e9ec242ec8a2f0a95f84497c506e0d">delivered the charges to the Senate</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday, standing in the well of the Senate and reading them aloud to a captive audience of senators. But they did not get a chance to present the case before the Senate dismissed it.

Once the senators were sworn in on Wednesday, the chamber turned into the court of impeachment, with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington presiding. Murray is the president pro tempore of the Senate, or the senior-most member of the majority party who sits in for the vice president. Senators approached the front of the Senate in groups of four to sign an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/political-news-57ef0cdd29d9875b13713f4974eab9d5">oath book</a>&nbsp;that is stored in the National Archives.

Schumer then called for the votes to dismiss the trial after Republicans rejected a proposed agreement for Senate debate time and several votes on GOP objections. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt said Democrats were “bulldozing 200 years of precedent" on impeachments by trying to dismiss the trial.

Angry Republicans called for several votes to delay the inevitable final outcome, but none of them passed as all Democrats and three Independents held together.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said “history will not judge this moment well.”

“This process must not be abused," McConnell said. "It must not be short-circuited."

Still, Republicans similarly moved to dismiss former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial in 2021, weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2021-united-states-capitol-riot">the Jan. 6, 2021, attack</a>&nbsp;on the Capitol. All but five GOP senators — including McConnell — voted to end the trial, arguing it was unconstitutional because Trump had already left office.

As Johnson signed the articles Monday in preparation for sending them across the Capitol, he said Schumer should convene a trial to “hold those who engineered this crisis to full account.”

Schumer “is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people,” Johnson said. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial.”

Even if the Senate held a trial, Republicans would not be able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office — Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they appear to be united against the impeachment effort. Not one House Democrat supported it, either.

Mayorkas, who was in New York on Wednesday to launch a campaign for children’s online safety, reiterated that he’s focused on the work of his department. “The Senate is going to do what the Senate considers to be appropriate as that proceeds,” he said. “I am here in New York City on Wednesday morning fighting online sexual exploitation and abuse. I’m focused on our mission.”

Johnson delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-shutdown-budget-speaker-johnson-85dc1e93f6c49c154c02a166d0e8e784">government funding</a>&nbsp;legislation and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mayorkas-impeachment-house-speaker-johnson-border-534cbf59e92c9cf141bba1ff38dc01cf">punted again</a>&nbsp;after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.

At a hearing with Mayorkas on Tuesday about President Joe Biden's budget request for the department, some of the House impeachment managers previewed the arguments they would have made.

Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, the chairman of the House Homeland Security panel, told the secretary that he has a duty under the law to control and guard U.S. borders, and “during your three years as secretary, you have failed to fulfill this oath. You have refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress, and you have breached the public trust.”

Mayorkas defended the department's efforts but said the nation's immigration system is “fundamentally broken, and only Congress can fix it."

The impeachment trial is the third in five years. Democrats impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-politics-election-2020-d78192d45b176f73ad435ae9fb926ed3">his dealings with Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-vote-capitol-siege-0a6f2a348a6e43f27d5e1dc486027860">second time</a>&nbsp;in the days after the Capitol attack.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-ut-state-wire-acquittals-politics-93c85dcfb0e6b2185391965e77ebea51">Trump was acquitted</a>&nbsp;by the Senate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-riots-trials-impeachments-b245b52fd7d4a079ae199c954baba452">both times</a>.

If the Senate had moved to a trial on Mayorkas, senators would have been forced to sit in their seats for the duration, maybe weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas made their cases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to dismiss the first of two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/alejandro-mayorkas">Alejandro Mayorkas</a>, the first step in ending its trial on his handling of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-security-migrants-homeland-security-1c6e9f612dff721191c0254f980947a5">the U.S.-Mexico border</a>,

Democrats said the article, which charged Mayorkas with “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” is unconstitutional. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for a second vote that would dismiss the second article, which charges Mayorkas with a breach of trust over saying that the border was secure.

The vote to dismiss the first article was 51-48 along party lines, with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting “present.”

If the Senate votes to dismiss both articles, the trial will be over before arguments start. Schumer said the House Republicans' case fails to meet "the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors" and could set a dangerous precedent.

“For the sake of the Senate's integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today's charges,” said Schumer, D-N.Y., as he opened Wednesday's session.

The House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-mayorkas-impeachment-vote-border-security-80cbd5bbb8f512c6814f155f825a1214">narrowly voted</a>&nbsp;in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the border, arguing in the two articles that he “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws. House impeachment managers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-mayorkas-impeachment-trial-border-security-63e9ec242ec8a2f0a95f84497c506e0d">delivered the charges to the Senate</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday, standing in the well of the Senate and reading them aloud to a captive audience of senators.

An outright dismissal of House Republicans’ prosecution of Mayorkas, with no chance to argue the case, would be an embarrassing defeat for House Republicans and embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who made the impeachment a priority. And it is likely to resonate politically for both Republicans and Democrats in a presidential election year when border security has been a top issue.

Schumer then called for the votes to dismiss the trial after Republicans rejected a proposed agreement for Senate debate time and several votes on GOP objections. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called for a delay in the proceedings while Republican senators huddled on the floor to discuss how to proceed and called for several votes to delay the final outcome. All the votes were party-line.

In any case, Republicans would not be able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office — Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they appear to be united against the impeachment effort. Not one House Democrat supported it, either.

While most Republicans oppose quick dismissal, some have hinted they could vote with Democrats.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said last week he wasn’t sure what he would do if there were a move to dismiss the trial. “I think it’s virtually certain that there will not be the conviction of someone when the constitutional test has not been met,” he said.

At the same time, Romney said he wants to at least express his view that “Mayorkas has done a terrible job, but he’s following the direction of the president and has not met the constitutional test of a high crime or misdemeanor.”

The two articles argue that Mayorkas not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. The House vote was the first time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary was impeached.

Since then, Johnson delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-shutdown-budget-speaker-johnson-85dc1e93f6c49c154c02a166d0e8e784">government funding</a>&nbsp;legislation and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mayorkas-impeachment-house-speaker-johnson-border-534cbf59e92c9cf141bba1ff38dc01cf">punted again</a>&nbsp;after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.

House impeachment managers previewed some of their arguments at a hearing with Mayorkas on Tuesday morning about President Joe Biden's budget request for the department.

Other impeachment managers are Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ben Cline of Virginia, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Laurel Lee of Florida, August Plfuger of Texas and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

If Democrats were unable to dismiss or table both articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues.

The impeachment trial is the third in five years. Democrats impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-politics-election-2020-d78192d45b176f73ad435ae9fb926ed3">his dealings with Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-vote-capitol-siege-0a6f2a348a6e43f27d5e1dc486027860">a second time</a>&nbsp;in the days after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2021-united-states-capitol-riot">the Jan. 6, 2021, attack</a>&nbsp;on the Capitol.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-ut-state-wire-acquittals-politics-93c85dcfb0e6b2185391965e77ebea51">Trump was acquitted</a>&nbsp;by the Senate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-riots-trials-impeachments-b245b52fd7d4a079ae199c954baba452">both times</a>.

At a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for the duration, maybe weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas make their cases. The Senate is allowed to call witnesses, as well, if it so decides, and it can ask questions of both sides after the opening arguments are finished.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday opened the impeachment trial of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/alejandro-mayorkas">Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas</a>&nbsp;over his handling of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-security-migrants-homeland-security-1c6e9f612dff721191c0254f980947a5">the U.S.-Mexico border</a>, swearing in senators as jurors while Democrats said they wanted to end the trial before arguments even begin.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that he will move to dismiss the trial, arguing that House Republicans' two impeachment articles “fail to meet the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors" and could set a dangerous precedent.

“For the sake of the Senate's integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today's charges,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said as he opened the Senate.

Now that the the senators are sworn in, the chamber has turned into the court of impeachment, with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington presiding. Murray is the president pro tempore of the Senate, or the senior-most member of the majority party who sits in for the vice president. Senators approached the front of the Senate in groups of four to sign an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/political-news-57ef0cdd29d9875b13713f4974eab9d5">oath book</a>&nbsp;that is stored in the National Archives.

The entire process could be done within hours. Schumer said he will seek an agreement from Republicans for a period of debate — an offer they are unlikely to accept — and then allow some Republican objections. He will them move to dismiss the trial and hold a vote.

To win that vote, Schumer will need the support of all of the Senate's Democrats and three independents.

If Democrats are unable to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats could end the impeachment trial of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/alejandro-mayorkas">Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday before arguments even begin.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to call votes to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas after senators are sworn in as jurors midday, a move that could scuttle the trial and frustrate Republicans who have demanded that House prosecutors be able to make their case. Democrats appear to be united in opposition to moving forward.

The House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-mayorkas-impeachment-vote-border-security-80cbd5bbb8f512c6814f155f825a1214">narrowly voted</a>&nbsp;in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-security-migrants-homeland-security-1c6e9f612dff721191c0254f980947a5">the U.S.-Mexico border</a>, arguing in the two articles that he “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws. House impeachment managers appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., delivered the charges to the Senate on Tuesday, standing in the well of the Senate and reading them aloud to a captive audience of senators.

The entire process could be done within hours on Wednesday. Majority Democrats have said the GOP case against Mayorkas doesn’t rise to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/cc4471115abf4d7bad43e07cb64958d7">“high crimes and misdemeanors”</a>&nbsp;laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Schumer probably has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he decides to do so.

Schumer has said he wants to “address this issue as expeditiously as possible.”

“Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress.”

Mayorkas, who was in New York to launch a campaign for children’s online safety, reiterated that he’s focused on the work of his department. “The Senate is going to do what the Senate considers to be appropriate as that proceeds,” he said. “I am here in New York City on Wednesday morning fighting online sexual exploitation and abuse. I’m focused on our mission.”

Once the senators are sworn in on Wednesday, the chamber will turn into the court of impeachment, with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington presiding. Murray is the president pro tempore of the Senate, or the senior-most member of the majority party who sits in for the vice president.

Exactly how Democrats will proceed on Wednesday is still unclear. Impeachment rules generally allow the Senate majority to decide how to manage the trial, and Schumer has not said exactly what he will do.

Senate Republicans are likely to try to raise a series of objections if Schumer calls votes to dismiss or table. But ultimately they cannot block a dismissal if majority Democrats have the votes.

🎥 Despite effort of Kan. Senator historic impeachment ends with no trial

NEW YORK (AP) —Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA on Wednesday after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on the Raptors to lose.

Porter is the second person to be banned by Commissioner Adam Silver for violating league rules. The other was now-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014, shortly after Silver took office.

In making the announcement, Silver called Porter's actions “blatant.”

“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” Silver said.

The investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter's performance in a game on March 20 against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.

Porter took himself out of that game after less than three minutes, claiming illness, none of his stats meeting the totals set in the parlay. The $80,000 bet was frozen and not paid out, the league said, and the NBA started an investigation not long afterward.

“You don't want this for the kid, you don't want this for our team and we don't want this for our league, that's for sure," Raptors President Masai Ujiri said Wednesday in Toronto, speaking shortly before the NBA announced Porter's ban. “My first reaction is obviously surprise, because none of us, I don't think anybody, saw this coming.”

Later, after the NBA revealed the ban, the Raptors said they are "fully supportive of the league’s decision to ban Jontay Porter from the NBA and are grateful for the swift resolution to this investigation. We will continue to cooperate with all ongoing inquiries.”

The league has partnerships and other relationships with more than two dozen gaming companies, many of whom advertise during NBA games in a variety of ways. Silver himself has been a longtime proponent of legal sports wagering, but the league has very strict rules for players and employees regarding betting.

And what Porter was found to have done was in violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states: “Any Player who, directly or indirectly, wagers money or anything of value on any game or event in the Association or in the NBA G League shall, on being charged with such wagering, be given an opportunity to answer such charges after due notice, and the decision of the Commissioner shall be final, binding, and conclusive and unappealable.”

Silver cautioned last week that this move was possible, saying what Porter was accused of represented “cardinal sin” in the NBA. Porter has not commented since the investigation began, and never played for the Raptors again — he was listed as out for all of Toronto's games for the remainder of the season citing personal reasons.

The league also determined that Porter — the brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. — placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using someone else's betting account. The bets ranged from $15 to $22,000; the total wagered was $54,094 and generated a payout of $76,059, or net winnings of $21,965.

Those wagers did not involve any game in which Porter played, the NBA said. But three of the wagers were multi-game parlays, including a bet where Porter — who was not playing in the games involved — wagered on the Raptors to lose. All three of those bets lost.

“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players,” Silver said. "Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”

Porter was on what is called a two-way contract, meaning he could play for both the Raptors and their affiliate in the G League. His salary for this year was around $410,000; had the Raptors signed him to a standard NBA contract next season, as seemed possible, his salary would have exceeded $2 million.

The 24-year-old Porter averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games, including five starts. He also played in 11 games for Memphis in the 2020-21 season.

ESPN first reported the investigation, which it said surrounded Porter’s performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20. In both games, Porter played briefly before leaving citing injury or illness. Porter played 4 minutes, 24 seconds against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first of those games, then 2:43 against Sacramento in the second game.

In both of those games, Porter did not come close to hitting the prop-wager lines for points, rebounds and 3-pointers that bettors could play at some sportsbooks. For example, one set of prop wagers for Porter for the Clippers game was set at 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists; he finished with no points, three rebounds and one assist. For the Kings game, they were around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds; Porter finished that game with no points and two rebounds.

The league said its probe “remains open and may result in further findings,” and that those findings are being shared with federal prosecutors.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713394692575.png" alt="&nbsp;Jontay Porter photo Toronto Raptors" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Jontay Porter photo Toronto Raptors</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA on Wednesday after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on the Raptors to lose.Porter is the second person to be banned by Commissioner Adam Silver for violating league rules. The other was now-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014, shortly after Silver took office.In making the announcement, Silver called Porter's actions “blatant.”“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” Silver said.The investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter's performance in a game on March 20 against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.Porter took himself out of that game after less than three minutes, claiming illness, none of his stats meeting the totals set in the parlay. The $80,000 bet was frozen and not paid out, the league said, and the NBA started an investigation not long afterward.“You don't want this for the kid, you don't want this for our team and we don't want this for our league, that's for sure," Raptors President Masai Ujiri said Wednesday in Toronto, speaking shortly before the NBA announced Porter's ban. “My first reaction is obviously surprise, because none of us, I don't think anybody, saw this coming.”Later, after the NBA revealed the ban, the Raptors said they are "fully supportive of the league’s decision to ban Jontay Porter from the NBA and are grateful for the swift resolution to this investigation. We will continue to cooperate with all ongoing inquiries.”The league has partnerships and other relationships with more than two dozen gaming companies, many of whom advertise during NBA games in a variety of ways. Silver himself has been a longtime proponent of legal sports wagering, but the league has very strict rules for players and employees regarding betting.And what Porter was found to have done was in violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states: “Any Player who, directly or indirectly, wagers money or anything of value on any game or event in the Association or in the NBA G League shall, on being charged with such wagering, be given an opportunity to answer such charges after due notice, and the decision of the Commissioner shall be final, binding, and conclusive and unappealable.”Silver cautioned last week that this move was possible, saying what Porter was accused of represented “cardinal sin” in the NBA. Porter has not commented since the investigation began, and never played for the Raptors again — he was listed as out for all of Toronto's games for the remainder of the season citing personal reasons.The league also determined that Porter — the brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. — placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using someone else's betting account. The bets ranged from $15 to $22,000; the total wagered was $54,094 and generated a payout of $76,059, or net winnings of $21,965.Those wagers did not involve any game in which Porter played, the NBA said. But three of the wagers were multi-game parlays, including a bet where Porter — who was not playing in the games involved — wagered on the Raptors to lose. All three of those bets lost.“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players,” Silver said. "Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”Porter was on what is called a two-way contract, meaning he could play for both the Raptors and their affiliate in the G League. His salary for this year was around $410,000; had the Raptors signed him to a standard NBA contract next season, as seemed possible, his salary would have exceeded $2 million.The 24-year-old Porter averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 games, including five starts. He also played in 11 games for Memphis in the 2020-21 season.ESPN first reported the investigation, which it said surrounded Porter’s performance in games on Jan. 26 and March 20. In both games, Porter played briefly before leaving citing injury or illness. Porter played 4 minutes, 24 seconds against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first of those games, then 2:43 against Sacramento in the second game.In both of those games, Porter did not come close to hitting the prop-wager lines for points, rebounds and 3-pointers that bettors could play at some sportsbooks. For example, one set of prop wagers for Porter for the Clippers game was set at 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists; he finished with no points, three rebounds and one assist. For the Kings game, they were around 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds; Porter finished that game with no points and two rebounds.The league said its probe “remains open and may result in further findings,” and that those findings are being shared with federal prosecutors.

Banned for life: NBA player bet on his team to lose

&nbsp;WASHINGTON —As of April 15, the Center for Disease Control has received reports of 19 people in 9 states who experienced harmful reactions after receiving counterfeit botulinum toxin injections (commonly known as “botox”) or injections&nbsp;administered by unlicensed or untrained individuals and/or in non-healthcare settings, such as homes or spas, according to a statement from the agency.

·Nine people have been hospitalized and four were treated with botulism antitoxin because symptoms were consistent with possible spread of toxin. No deaths have been reported.&nbsp;

Many of the products being investigated are counterfeit or were administered in non-healthcare settings, such as homes and spas, or by an unlicensed or untrained individual. Questions regarding product investigation should be directed to FDA.&nbsp;

The CDC, FDA, and state and local health departments are working together to investigate these reactions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp; Only get injections of FDA-approved botulinum toxin from licensed and trained professionals in healthcare settings.&nbsp;&nbsp;

If you need an injection of botulinum toxin for a medical condition, your doctor will choose the safest dose.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

If you get an injection of botulinum toxin for cosmetic reasons, go to a licensed and trained professional and get the injection in a medical or licensed setting.

&nbsp;Your state might have a license look-up tool you can check to see if a provider or setting has the appropriate license.&nbsp;

Ask if the product is approved by FDA and obtained from a reliable source.&nbsp;&nbsp;If in doubt, don’t get the injection.&nbsp;

&nbsp;If you have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/symptoms.html" target="_blank">symptoms of botulism</a>, such as trouble swallowing or breathing, seek medical attention immediately. See a doctor or go to the emergency room.&nbsp;Do not wait.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;Some localized effects can be expected following botulinum toxin injection. Your provider will explain these to you.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;More concerning botulism symptoms might include double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms are typically followed by muscle weakness that progresses over hours to days.&nbsp;See a doctor or go to the emergency room right away if you experience these symptoms.&nbsp; &nbsp;

&nbsp;Without treatment, botulism can lead to paralysis, respiratory failure, or death.  &nbsp;

If you have questions about cases call the statehealth department.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713382663849.png" alt="Counterfeit package FDA image" />
 <figcaption>Counterfeit package FDA image</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;WASHINGTON —As of April 15, the Center for Disease Control has received reports of 19 people in 9 states who experienced harmful reactions after receiving counterfeit botulinum toxin injections (commonly known as “botox”) or injections&nbsp;administered by unlicensed or untrained individuals and/or in non-healthcare settings, such as homes or spas, according to a statement from the agency.·Nine people have been hospitalized and four were treated with botulism antitoxin because symptoms were consistent with possible spread of toxin. No deaths have been reported.&nbsp;Many of the products being investigated are counterfeit or were administered in non-healthcare settings, such as homes and spas, or by an unlicensed or untrained individual. Questions regarding product investigation should be directed to FDA.&nbsp;The CDC, FDA, and state and local health departments are working together to investigate these reactions.&nbsp;&nbsp;What You Should Do:&nbsp;&nbsp; Only get injections of FDA-approved botulinum toxin from licensed and trained professionals in healthcare settings.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you need an injection of botulinum toxin for a medical condition, your doctor will choose the safest dose.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If you get an injection of botulinum toxin for cosmetic reasons, go to a licensed and trained professional and get the injection in a medical or licensed setting.&nbsp;Your state might have a license look-up tool you can check to see if a provider or setting has the appropriate license.&nbsp;Ask if the product is approved by FDA and obtained from a reliable source.&nbsp;&nbsp;If in doubt, don’t get the injection.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/symptoms.html" target="_blank">symptoms of botulism</a>, such as trouble swallowing or breathing, seek medical attention immediately. See a doctor or go to the emergency room.&nbsp;Do not wait.&nbsp;&nbsp;Symptoms of Botulism:&nbsp;&nbsp;Some localized effects can be expected following botulinum toxin injection. Your provider will explain these to you.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;More concerning botulism symptoms might include double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms are typically followed by muscle weakness that progresses over hours to days.&nbsp;See a doctor or go to the emergency room right away if you experience these symptoms.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Without treatment, botulism can lead to paralysis, respiratory failure, or death.  &nbsp;If you have questions about cases call the statehealth department.&nbsp;

CDC: Counterfeit botox linked to hospitalizations

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are set for the first time to pass a bill that would block the public from voting on a ballot measure initiated by citizens of the state, setting up what could be a long battle over whether to fund private school tuition with public dollars.

On Thursday, lawmakers will take a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-choice-nebraska-bill-ballot-1975555bf4ce97a602d77a2a910f7f6a">final vote</a>&nbsp;on a bill that would repeal a law passed last year to divert millions in income tax receipts to pay for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/private-school-scholarships-nebraska-taxpayers-c7be118aa5a43b3ebc2da82aacaa4e29">private school scholarships</a>. The bill would replace it with a measure that would directly fund private school tuition from state coffers. If it passes, it will effectively block voters from repealing the private school funding law that is set to appear on the November ballot following a successful&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tax-diversion-private-schools-nebraska-ballot-a4c033b5e004d1ef8f3f06214c519c21">petition drive</a>.

Retired Lincoln high school teacher Rita Bennett described lawmakers' plan to circumvent a vote of the people with one word.

The use of ballot initiatives has long been a source of pride not just for residents, but Nebraska's unique one-chamber, nonpartisan legislature. Lawmakers often refer to the state's residents as “the Nebraska Legislature's second house.”

It's why the move to “usurp the will of voters” is so audacious, said Bennett, a volunteer who collected petition signatures last summer to get the repeal question on the ballot.

For Gretna resident Angie Lauritsen — who collected signatures last summer at county fairs, on sidewalks and by knocking on doors — the issue is personal. Her son was rejected from a private preschool because he was born with a condition that left him nonverbal until he was nearly 4, but through public school, he was given a specialist at the age of 2 and is now a talkative and thriving teen, she said.

“It’s about taking away the right of the people to vote,” Lauritsen said, noting that many people who signed mentioned being related to a public school teacher. “This is personal for a lot of people, not just me.”

The new bill is an “end-run” around the ballot initiative, said State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, the author of last year’s law, during a public hearing. But it also gives a choice to families whose public school is not serving them well. A large portion of the private school scholarships would go to students who are being bullied, foster kids and students with a parent serving active military duty or had a parent killed in the line of duty, she said.

“This isn't an anti-public schools bill,” she said recently during debate. “This is to give parents a choice. Why would we be against that?”

Anthony Schutz, a law professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law, testified against Linehan's new bill to directly fund private school tuition, saying he believes it violates the Nebraska Constitution's prohibition against appropriating public funds to nonpublic schools.

Opponents could try to launch another petition effort to ask voters to repeal the new bill this November, although they would have only weeks to gather enough signatures to meet a July deadline. Or they could sue, Schutz said.

“One line of argument is that it's an appropriation to students and their parents, not a direct appropriation to private schools,” Schutz said.

But because the money can only be used for private school tuition, it might be difficult to convince a court, he said.

Linehan floated another argument earlier this year to try to convince Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen to pull the repeal measure from the November ballot. Linehan held that the ballot initiative was unconstitutional because the state constitution places the power of taxation solely in the hands of the legislature.

Evnen ultimately found the ballot initiative to be legal, but acknowledged the issue was likely to be decided in court.

Asked whether the ballot initiative to repeal last year's private school tuition scholarship law would remain on the November ballot or be pulled from it if Linehan's new bill passes, Evnen's office said it is consulting with the Nebraska Attorney General to make that decision.

Were the measure to remain on the ballot, it could prove a humbling rebuke if voters decide against public money going to private schools. Lauritsen said a good portion of the signatures she collected came from those who said they supported Linehan's bill, but wanted to give “everybody a chance to vote on it.”

“At the end of the day, it’s an unprecedented use of legislation to cut off a referendum,” Schutz said. “It’s a politically difficult action to defend.”

Opponents of the bill say they're ready for another fight.

“I stand ready to do whatever is necessary,” Bennett said. “If it means I'm out collecting signatures all summer, that's where I'll be.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713364638261.jpeg" alt="John Heineman delivers a box of petition signatures from Support Our Schools Nebraska to the Nebraska Secretary of State, Aug. 30, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska lawmakers are set for the first time to pass a bill that would block the public from voting on a ballot measure initiated by citizens of the state, setting up what could be a long battle over whether to fund private school tuition with public dollars. (Justin Wan/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File)" />
 <figcaption>John Heineman delivers a box of petition signatures from Support Our Schools Nebraska to the Nebraska Secretary of State, Aug. 30, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska lawmakers are set for the first time to pass a bill that would block the public from voting on a ballot measure initiated by citizens of the state, setting up what could be a long battle over whether to fund private school tuition with public dollars. (Justin Wan/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are set for the first time to pass a bill that would block the public from voting on a ballot measure initiated by citizens of the state, setting up what could be a long battle over whether to fund private school tuition with public dollars.On Thursday, lawmakers will take a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-choice-nebraska-bill-ballot-1975555bf4ce97a602d77a2a910f7f6a">final vote</a>&nbsp;on a bill that would repeal a law passed last year to divert millions in income tax receipts to pay for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/private-school-scholarships-nebraska-taxpayers-c7be118aa5a43b3ebc2da82aacaa4e29">private school scholarships</a>. The bill would replace it with a measure that would directly fund private school tuition from state coffers. If it passes, it will effectively block voters from repealing the private school funding law that is set to appear on the November ballot following a successful&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tax-diversion-private-schools-nebraska-ballot-a4c033b5e004d1ef8f3f06214c519c21">petition drive</a>.Retired Lincoln high school teacher Rita Bennett described lawmakers' plan to circumvent a vote of the people with one word.“Outrage,” Bennett said.The use of ballot initiatives has long been a source of pride not just for residents, but Nebraska's unique one-chamber, nonpartisan legislature. Lawmakers often refer to the state's residents as “the Nebraska Legislature's second house.”It's why the move to “usurp the will of voters” is so audacious, said Bennett, a volunteer who collected petition signatures last summer to get the repeal question on the ballot.“It's quite chilling," she said.For Gretna resident Angie Lauritsen — who collected signatures last summer at county fairs, on sidewalks and by knocking on doors — the issue is personal. Her son was rejected from a private preschool because he was born with a condition that left him nonverbal until he was nearly 4, but through public school, he was given a specialist at the age of 2 and is now a talkative and thriving teen, she said.“It’s about taking away the right of the people to vote,” Lauritsen said, noting that many people who signed mentioned being related to a public school teacher. “This is personal for a lot of people, not just me.”The new bill is an “end-run” around the ballot initiative, said State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, the author of last year’s law, during a public hearing. But it also gives a choice to families whose public school is not serving them well. A large portion of the private school scholarships would go to students who are being bullied, foster kids and students with a parent serving active military duty or had a parent killed in the line of duty, she said.“This isn't an anti-public schools bill,” she said recently during debate. “This is to give parents a choice. Why would we be against that?”Anthony Schutz, a law professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law, testified against Linehan's new bill to directly fund private school tuition, saying he believes it violates the Nebraska Constitution's prohibition against appropriating public funds to nonpublic schools.Opponents could try to launch another petition effort to ask voters to repeal the new bill this November, although they would have only weeks to gather enough signatures to meet a July deadline. Or they could sue, Schutz said.“One line of argument is that it's an appropriation to students and their parents, not a direct appropriation to private schools,” Schutz said.But because the money can only be used for private school tuition, it might be difficult to convince a court, he said.Linehan floated another argument earlier this year to try to convince Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen to pull the repeal measure from the November ballot. Linehan held that the ballot initiative was unconstitutional because the state constitution places the power of taxation solely in the hands of the legislature.Evnen ultimately found the ballot initiative to be legal, but acknowledged the issue was likely to be decided in court.Asked whether the ballot initiative to repeal last year's private school tuition scholarship law would remain on the November ballot or be pulled from it if Linehan's new bill passes, Evnen's office said it is consulting with the Nebraska Attorney General to make that decision.Were the measure to remain on the ballot, it could prove a humbling rebuke if voters decide against public money going to private schools. Lauritsen said a good portion of the signatures she collected came from those who said they supported Linehan's bill, but wanted to give “everybody a chance to vote on it.”“At the end of the day, it’s an unprecedented use of legislation to cut off a referendum,” Schutz said. “It’s a politically difficult action to defend.”Opponents of the bill say they're ready for another fight.“I stand ready to do whatever is necessary,” Bennett said. “If it means I'm out collecting signatures all summer, that's where I'll be.”