<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARGERY%20A.%20BECK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press</a>

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a state government agency that sought to charge a news organization nearly $45,000 for public records on water pollution, leading to concerns that exorbitant fees could be used to keep information from the public.

The high court found that state law allows special fees to comply with records requests that take more than four hours to compile.

Matthew Hansen, the editor of the nonprofit news provider Flatwater Free Press at the center of the case, panned Friday’s ruling in an editorial, calling it a blow to Nebraska’s public records law.

“This clears the way for the state of Nebraska to charge us an ungodly amount of money to gain access to public records related to the state’s growing nitrate-in-groundwater problem,” Hansen wrote. “This decision is a blow to Nebraska’s public records law, a law written to protect media outlets like ours and Nebraskans like yourselves from the secrecy of those who hold power.”

The ruling came during&nbsp;<a href="https://sunshineweek.org/">Sunshine Week</a>, an observance of the importance of public access to government information. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/open-records-government-transparency-lawsuits-sunshine-week-8623bd3a8069edf41c6a487bbaff6854">nationwide review</a>&nbsp;of procedures by The Associated Press and CNHI News revealed a patchwork of complicated systems for resolving open government disputes that often put the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/open-records-government-transparency-lawsuits-sunshine-week-58becea049a4eb5fac688e8aee1aac0e">burden of enforcing transparency laws on private citizens</a>.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by Flatwater in its effort to obtain public records from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy regarding groundwater pollution. According to court records, an agency manager initially estimated the cost to be $2,000 to carry out a broad request seeking all emails mentioning “nitrate,” “fertilizer” and other keywords over a 12-year period.

Flatwater then narrowed its request to emails containing those words among a handful of natural resource districts over a nearly six-year period. The agency manager then estimated the cost of producing those records at more than $44,000, based on an hourly rate for 102 employees to search, analyze and save emails, as well as the hours it would take to review the emails to see if they should be excluded as confidential.

A district court judge sided with Flatwater, saying state law only allows fees to be charged for physically redacting emails, not reviewing them to see whether they can legally be withheld. The state agency appealed, and the state's high court reversed the lower court ruling.

It relied on long-standing precedent that appeals courts must rely on the plain language of law, not reading anything into or out of that language to infer the intent of the Legislature. Based on that, the high court found that the law explicitly allows a special service charge for “searching, identifying, physically redacting, or copying” the public information requested if it take more than four hours.

Flatwater argued on appeal that the word “reviewing” isn't included in state law allowing special fees and therefore can't be read into the law under the plain language precedent.

“But review is intrinsic to ‘searching, identifying, physically redacting, or copying,’” Justice William Cassel wrote in the opinion for the high court, adding that the court applied “well-known rules of statutory interpretation and construction" to come to that conclusion.

The Nebraska Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court, ordering a judgment that conforms with the high court’s ruling. The problem with that, said Flatwater attorney Daniel Gutman, is that the high court didn't define what types of review of records requested are subject to charges.

State law specifically does not allow a government division to charge fees to have an attorney review the requested records to determine if they're exempt from open record laws. In the Flatwater case, Gutman said, the agency had its employees — not an attorney — review the records to get around that exemption.

“This is a very intensive legal review,” Gutman said. “We continue to believe that it is not lawful for non-attorneys to charge for this review that, under law, only attorneys can perform.”

The news group is reviewing its next options, Gutman said.

The Nebraska Attorney General's Office, which represented the Department of Environment and Energy, declined to comment on Friday's ruling.

Jane Kirtley, director of The Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, cautioned that access to public records is essential for an informed citizenry.

“While Nebraska law does allow state agencies to recoup reasonable expenses, the spirit of these laws is not for public access to be a cash cow, but to promote public oversight and government accountability,” Kirtley said. “Using crippling fees to discourage requests undermines that goal.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARGERY%20A.%20BECK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press</a>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a state government agency that sought to charge a news organization nearly $45,000 for public records on water pollution, leading to concerns that exorbitant fees could be used to keep information from the public.The high court found that state law allows special fees to comply with records requests that take more than four hours to compile.Matthew Hansen, the editor of the nonprofit news provider Flatwater Free Press at the center of the case, panned Friday’s ruling in an editorial, calling it a blow to Nebraska’s public records law.“This clears the way for the state of Nebraska to charge us an ungodly amount of money to gain access to public records related to the state’s growing nitrate-in-groundwater problem,” Hansen wrote. “This decision is a blow to Nebraska’s public records law, a law written to protect media outlets like ours and Nebraskans like yourselves from the secrecy of those who hold power.”The ruling came during&nbsp;<a href="https://sunshineweek.org/">Sunshine Week</a>, an observance of the importance of public access to government information. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/open-records-government-transparency-lawsuits-sunshine-week-8623bd3a8069edf41c6a487bbaff6854">nationwide review</a>&nbsp;of procedures by The Associated Press and CNHI News revealed a patchwork of complicated systems for resolving open government disputes that often put the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/open-records-government-transparency-lawsuits-sunshine-week-58becea049a4eb5fac688e8aee1aac0e">burden of enforcing transparency laws on private citizens</a>.The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by Flatwater in its effort to obtain public records from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy regarding groundwater pollution. According to court records, an agency manager initially estimated the cost to be $2,000 to carry out a broad request seeking all emails mentioning “nitrate,” “fertilizer” and other keywords over a 12-year period.Flatwater then narrowed its request to emails containing those words among a handful of natural resource districts over a nearly six-year period. The agency manager then estimated the cost of producing those records at more than $44,000, based on an hourly rate for 102 employees to search, analyze and save emails, as well as the hours it would take to review the emails to see if they should be excluded as confidential.A district court judge sided with Flatwater, saying state law only allows fees to be charged for physically redacting emails, not reviewing them to see whether they can legally be withheld. The state agency appealed, and the state's high court reversed the lower court ruling.It relied on long-standing precedent that appeals courts must rely on the plain language of law, not reading anything into or out of that language to infer the intent of the Legislature. Based on that, the high court found that the law explicitly allows a special service charge for “searching, identifying, physically redacting, or copying” the public information requested if it take more than four hours.Flatwater argued on appeal that the word “reviewing” isn't included in state law allowing special fees and therefore can't be read into the law under the plain language precedent.“But review is intrinsic to ‘searching, identifying, physically redacting, or copying,’” Justice William Cassel wrote in the opinion for the high court, adding that the court applied “well-known rules of statutory interpretation and construction" to come to that conclusion.The Nebraska Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court, ordering a judgment that conforms with the high court’s ruling. The problem with that, said Flatwater attorney Daniel Gutman, is that the high court didn't define what types of review of records requested are subject to charges.State law specifically does not allow a government division to charge fees to have an attorney review the requested records to determine if they're exempt from open record laws. In the Flatwater case, Gutman said, the agency had its employees — not an attorney — review the records to get around that exemption.“This is a very intensive legal review,” Gutman said. “We continue to believe that it is not lawful for non-attorneys to charge for this review that, under law, only attorneys can perform.”The news group is reviewing its next options, Gutman said.The Nebraska Attorney General's Office, which represented the Department of Environment and Energy, declined to comment on Friday's ruling.Jane Kirtley, director of The Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, cautioned that access to public records is essential for an informed citizenry.“While Nebraska law does allow state agencies to recoup reasonable expenses, the spirit of these laws is not for public access to be a cash cow, but to promote public oversight and government accountability,” Kirtley said. “Using crippling fees to discourage requests undermines that goal.”

Watchdogs worry a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling could lead to high fees for open records

LANGLEY, VIRGINIA — U.S. Army Vessels (USAV SP4 James A. Loux (LSV-6), USAV Monterrey (LCU30), USAV Matamoros (LCU26), and USAV Wilson Warf (LCU11) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis are en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to establish a roll-on, roll-off dock capability that allows ship to shore humanitarian assistance to Gaza, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

SP4 James A. Loux, Monterrey, Matamoros, and Wilson Warf are carrying equipment and supplies needed to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.

The seaborne delivery will complement other means of getting essential supplies to Gazans. The United States is also air-dropping food and supplies to Gaza and the U.S. Agency for International Development is working to get land routes open to those who need the supplies. &nbsp;

A look at what’s known about the operation temporary pier.

In the five months since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israel's military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The result of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;is a devastating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">humanitarian catastrophe</a>.

The U.N. says virtually all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are struggling to find food, and more than a half-million&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-malnutrition-famine-children-dying-israel-palestinians-2f938b1a82d7822c7da67cc162da1a37">currently face starvation.</a>&nbsp;Many people have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive.

Getting in food, medical supplies and other aid has been difficult, if not impossible at times, due to the ongoing hostilities and struggles to coordinate with the Israeli military, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-rafah-aid-us-senators-2bc2a3c5e5f8af8e2d3f0b7242c1a885">blocked routes and slowed deliveries</a>&nbsp;due to inspections.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid have to drive from the Rafah crossing with Egypt or the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, both on the southern edge of Gaza, through the conflict zone to reach the largely cut-off areas in the north.

It's been frustrating for the Biden administration as its efforts to step up aid to Gaza have been impeded by the obstacles posed by Israel, its close ally.

Last week, the U.S. began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/airdrops-israel-gaza-palestinians-biden-9e6cfb3a2c7d909ca2a8a2abd25793ca">airdrops</a>&nbsp;of aid for Gaza. But that can provide only a limited amount of aid and may not reach those who need it.

In his address Thursday, Biden directed the military to construct a temporary pier on Gaza's coast "that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.”

Biden said the pier will “enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.”

According to defense officials, the 7th Transportation Brigade based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia is already starting to pull together what's called the Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) equipment and watercraft.

It's like a huge LEGO system — an array of 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) pieces of steel that can be locked together to form a pier and causeway. The causeway would be up to 1,800 feet (nearly 550 meters) long and two lanes wide.

And in the coming days, U.S. troops will begin loading the equipment onto a large Military Sealift Command vessel. The equipment will include the steel pieces and smaller tug vessels that can help move things into place.

That loading isn't likely to start until sometime next week, and once done the ship will set off across the Atlantic Ocean with members of the 7th Transportation Brigade aboard. A number of other military units from the U.S. and abroad will also be participating in the mission.

Ryder said the troops will build an offshore pier where large ships can offload food and supplies. Then smaller military vessels will transport that aid from the floating pier to the temporary causeway that will be driven into the ground at the shoreline.

Biden said Thursday that there will be no U.S. forces on the ground in Gaza for the mission, which will likely involve other allies, contractors and aid agencies.

A key question will be what Israel is prepared to do to support the aid delivery effort.

The U.S. airdrops have been an unusual workaround by the Biden administration, which for months has appealed to Israel to increase the delivery of aid to Gaza and provide access and protection for trucks carrying the goods.

According to Biden, the Israeli government will maintain security at the pier and protect it from any attacks by Hamas. And there may also be a need for crowd control, in case residents try to storm the pier to get the desperately needed food.

While officials said they don't likely need security on the sea route to Israel there will be a requirement for allies and private ships to deliver the aid along the maritime corridor.

It is also unclear who will be unloading the aid at the dock and moving it to shore.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides offered the use of his country’s port in Larnaca months ago for a possible sea route for aid deliveries to Gaza, a 230-mile (370-kilometer) journey. Cyprus invited authorities from Israel, the U.S. and other European countries to join Cypriot agents in vetting all shipments so nothing could be used by Hamas against Israel. The offer received strong interest from the Americans, Europeans and others, and extended planning followed.

The European Commission said Friday that a ship bearing humanitarian aid was preparing to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza.

The vessel belonging to Spain’s Open Arms aid group will make a pilot voyage to test the maritime corridor in the coming days. The ship has been waiting at Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S. charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.

The UAE ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba, told the AP the exact timing of the pilot shipment by sea depended on conditions, but said Sunday looked favorable. The UAE funded the operation and worked directly with the Israelis in getting the shipment ready without issues, he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710291193776.png" alt="Photos U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photos U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>LANGLEY, VIRGINIA — U.S. Army Vessels (USAV SP4 James A. Loux (LSV-6), USAV Monterrey (LCU30), USAV Matamoros (LCU26), and USAV Wilson Warf (LCU11) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis are en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to establish a roll-on, roll-off dock capability that allows ship to shore humanitarian assistance to Gaza, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.SP4 James A. Loux, Monterrey, Matamoros, and Wilson Warf are carrying equipment and supplies needed to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.The seaborne delivery will complement other means of getting essential supplies to Gazans. The United States is also air-dropping food and supplies to Gaza and the U.S. Agency for International Development is working to get land routes open to those who need the supplies. &nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710291319858.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>A look at what’s known about the operation temporary pier.WHY BUILD A FLOATING PIER?In the five months since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israel's military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The result of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel-Hamas war</a>&nbsp;is a devastating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">humanitarian catastrophe</a>.The U.N. says virtually all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are struggling to find food, and more than a half-million&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-malnutrition-famine-children-dying-israel-palestinians-2f938b1a82d7822c7da67cc162da1a37">currently face starvation.</a>&nbsp;Many people have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive.Getting in food, medical supplies and other aid has been difficult, if not impossible at times, due to the ongoing hostilities and struggles to coordinate with the Israeli military, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-rafah-aid-us-senators-2bc2a3c5e5f8af8e2d3f0b7242c1a885">blocked routes and slowed deliveries</a>&nbsp;due to inspections.Trucks carrying humanitarian aid have to drive from the Rafah crossing with Egypt or the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, both on the southern edge of Gaza, through the conflict zone to reach the largely cut-off areas in the north.It's been frustrating for the Biden administration as its efforts to step up aid to Gaza have been impeded by the obstacles posed by Israel, its close ally.Last week, the U.S. began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/airdrops-israel-gaza-palestinians-biden-9e6cfb3a2c7d909ca2a8a2abd25793ca">airdrops</a>&nbsp;of aid for Gaza. But that can provide only a limited amount of aid and may not reach those who need it.In his address Thursday, Biden directed the military to construct a temporary pier on Gaza's coast "that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.”Biden said the pier will “enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.”ASSEMBLED LIKE LEGOSAccording to defense officials, the 7th Transportation Brigade based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia is already starting to pull together what's called the Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) equipment and watercraft.It's like a huge LEGO system — an array of 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) pieces of steel that can be locked together to form a pier and causeway. The causeway would be up to 1,800 feet (nearly 550 meters) long and two lanes wide.And in the coming days, U.S. troops will begin loading the equipment onto a large Military Sealift Command vessel. The equipment will include the steel pieces and smaller tug vessels that can help move things into place.That loading isn't likely to start until sometime next week, and once done the ship will set off across the Atlantic Ocean with members of the 7th Transportation Brigade aboard. A number of other military units from the U.S. and abroad will also be participating in the mission.Ryder said the troops will build an offshore pier where large ships can offload food and supplies. Then smaller military vessels will transport that aid from the floating pier to the temporary causeway that will be driven into the ground at the shoreline.Biden said Thursday that there will be no U.S. forces on the ground in Gaza for the mission, which will likely involve other allies, contractors and aid agencies.WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?A key question will be what Israel is prepared to do to support the aid delivery effort.The U.S. airdrops have been an unusual workaround by the Biden administration, which for months has appealed to Israel to increase the delivery of aid to Gaza and provide access and protection for trucks carrying the goods.According to Biden, the Israeli government will maintain security at the pier and protect it from any attacks by Hamas. And there may also be a need for crowd control, in case residents try to storm the pier to get the desperately needed food.While officials said they don't likely need security on the sea route to Israel there will be a requirement for allies and private ships to deliver the aid along the maritime corridor.It is also unclear who will be unloading the aid at the dock and moving it to shore.WHAT ARE OTHER NATIONS AID GROUPS DOING?Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides offered the use of his country’s port in Larnaca months ago for a possible sea route for aid deliveries to Gaza, a 230-mile (370-kilometer) journey. Cyprus invited authorities from Israel, the U.S. and other European countries to join Cypriot agents in vetting all shipments so nothing could be used by Hamas against Israel. The offer received strong interest from the Americans, Europeans and others, and extended planning followed.The European Commission said Friday that a ship bearing humanitarian aid was preparing to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza.The vessel belonging to Spain’s Open Arms aid group will make a pilot voyage to test the maritime corridor in the coming days. The ship has been waiting at Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S. charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.The UAE ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba, told the AP the exact timing of the pilot shipment by sea depended on conditions, but said Sunday looked favorable. The UAE funded the operation and worked directly with the Israelis in getting the shipment ready without issues, he said.

Assembled like legos: U.S. to build a temporary port in Gaza 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — If you're feeling some St. Patrick's Day magic, you might want to buy a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/largest-lottery-jackpots-mega-millions-powerball-cb473805c48cd3b74a84d7ee4127450d">lottery ticket</a>. Mega Millions and Powerball have racked up some massive jackpots after weeks of rollovers.

The Mega Millions jackpot is already estimated at a whopping $875 million for Tuesday night's drawing after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Friday night. Saturday night's Powerball jackpot is $600 million.

Just keep in mind that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-mega-millions-winning-odds-numbers-a3e5a8e8e7ed15d7500c1d6acdab6785">odds of winning any lottery jackpot are very slim</a>. Mega Millions players have a 1 in 302.6 million chance of taking home the top prize. And it's not much easier to win a Powerball jackpot with the odds near 1 in 292.2 million.

This is just the sixth time in the nearly 22-year history of the Mega Millions game that the jackpot has been this large, and five of those six jackpots exceeded $1 billion, according to a Mega Millions statement. The winning tickets were sold in South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-4e71682820c68ec218a93311769fca2b">Maine</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mega-millions-jackpot-lottery-8397543de852fc4c716cc2ce940d9eac">Florida</a>.

There was one big winner in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing. A ticket in New York matched all five white balls drawn, and will win $1 million.

The Mega Millions jackpot has rolled over 28 times since Dec. 8, when two winning tickets were drawn in California, lottery officials said. Mega Millions drawings occur every Tuesday and Friday night.

Mega Millions isn't the only current multi-million dollar jackpot. Saturday night's Powerball jackpot is estimated to be $600 million after no one matched all six numbers on Wednesday, officials said.

It was the 32nd rollover for Powerball since Jan. 1, when a ticket in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-winner-michigan-new-years-day-247f720c4248e9b0fa3bc73caaf9af9f">Michigan</a>&nbsp;won a prize worth $842.4 million. Powerball is drawn three times weekly, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

If you are lucky enough to win either of the large jackpots, Robert Pagliarini, the president and chief financial adviser for Pacifica Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Irvine, California, offered some advice.

“Take a deep breath,” Pagliarini told The Associated Press. “You will be faced with numerous tax, legal, and financial decisions so I want you to stay grounded, because when you are calm you can make much better decisions.”

Pagliarini suggested building a team to help with decisions, including an attorney, tax expert and financial adviser experienced in handling windfalls.

“Lastly, even though you have professionals guiding you, do not forget that this is your money and you are in charge — they work for you. Ask questions and make them explain things so you understand them. The goal is to turn your sudden wealth into lasting wealth,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690365684963.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — If you're feeling some St. Patrick's Day magic, you might want to buy a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/largest-lottery-jackpots-mega-millions-powerball-cb473805c48cd3b74a84d7ee4127450d">lottery ticket</a>. Mega Millions and Powerball have racked up some massive jackpots after weeks of rollovers.The Mega Millions jackpot is already estimated at a whopping $875 million for Tuesday night's drawing after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Friday night. Saturday night's Powerball jackpot is $600 million.Just keep in mind that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-mega-millions-winning-odds-numbers-a3e5a8e8e7ed15d7500c1d6acdab6785">odds of winning any lottery jackpot are very slim</a>. Mega Millions players have a 1 in 302.6 million chance of taking home the top prize. And it's not much easier to win a Powerball jackpot with the odds near 1 in 292.2 million.But the excitement remains.This is just the sixth time in the nearly 22-year history of the Mega Millions game that the jackpot has been this large, and five of those six jackpots exceeded $1 billion, according to a Mega Millions statement. The winning tickets were sold in South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-4e71682820c68ec218a93311769fca2b">Maine</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mega-millions-jackpot-lottery-8397543de852fc4c716cc2ce940d9eac">Florida</a>.There was one big winner in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing. A ticket in New York matched all five white balls drawn, and will win $1 million.The Mega Millions jackpot has rolled over 28 times since Dec. 8, when two winning tickets were drawn in California, lottery officials said. Mega Millions drawings occur every Tuesday and Friday night.Mega Millions isn't the only current multi-million dollar jackpot. Saturday night's Powerball jackpot is estimated to be $600 million after no one matched all six numbers on Wednesday, officials said.It was the 32nd rollover for Powerball since Jan. 1, when a ticket in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-winner-michigan-new-years-day-247f720c4248e9b0fa3bc73caaf9af9f">Michigan</a>&nbsp;won a prize worth $842.4 million. Powerball is drawn three times weekly, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.If you are lucky enough to win either of the large jackpots, Robert Pagliarini, the president and chief financial adviser for Pacifica Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Irvine, California, offered some advice.“Take a deep breath,” Pagliarini told The Associated Press. “You will be faced with numerous tax, legal, and financial decisions so I want you to stay grounded, because when you are calm you can make much better decisions.”Pagliarini suggested building a team to help with decisions, including an attorney, tax expert and financial adviser experienced in handling windfalls.“Lastly, even though you have professionals guiding you, do not forget that this is your money and you are in charge — they work for you. Ask questions and make them explain things so you understand them. The goal is to turn your sudden wealth into lasting wealth,” he said.

Mega Millions jackpot soars to $875 million; Powerball $600 million

ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can prosecute&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-election-investigation-grand-jury-willis-d39562cedfc60d64948708de1b011ed3">Donald Trump on charges that he interfered with Georgia's 2020 election</a>&nbsp;now that a special prosecutor with whom she had a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-willis-wade-georgia-election-5d76abb5578308317306e7b2e610ac91">romantic relationship</a>&nbsp;has withdrawn from the case.

But the long-term impacts of allegations of impropriety that have roiled the case for weeks remain to be seen, with Trump and his allies certain to continue to attack the legitimacy of the prosecution against the former president and 18 others.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday that Willis could stay if special prosecutor Nathan Wade left. That was a partial victory for Willis, whom defense attorneys had pushed to have removed from the case over her relationship Wade.

But the judge also rebuked Willis for her “tremendous” lapse in judgment and questioned the truthfulness of Wade's and her testimony about the timing of their relationship.

It's an extraordinary decision in a case that in recent weeks has taken on a soap opera atmosphere as the prosecutors who pledged to hold Trump accountable had their own personal lives thrust into the spotlight.

Here are some major takeaways from the judge's ruling:

<a href="https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/JudgeRuling_0.pdf">Click here to read</a>&nbsp;the full ruling

The judge's ruling threw it to Willis to decide whether she — and her entire office — would step aside or whether Wade would withdraw from the case. The judge said the prosecution couldn't move forward until one of those two actions was taken.

Several hours after the ruling came down, Wade offered his resignation and Willis accepted it.

If Willis had instead opted to step aside, the case would have been referred to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council — a nonpartisan association of Georgia district attorneys — to be assigned to a different prosecutor.

That could have upended the entire prosecution. Another prosecutor could have continued on the track that Willis has taken, could have chosen to pursue only some charges or could have dropped the case altogether.

The defense attorney who first revealed the romantic relationship, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged that Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited from the prosecution of the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations for the two of them.

Willis and Wade argued that the district attorney received no financial benefit from the relationship and that she either paid for things herself or used cash to reimburse Wade for travel expenses.

Judge McAfee called it “concerning” that there were no documents to corroborate Willis' claim that she paid Wade back. But he said Willis' testimony “withstood direct contradiction” and was corroborated by other evidence, including her purchase of a flight for two in 2022. That led the judge to conclude that the claim “was not so incredible as to be inherently unbelievable.”

The judge said there was no way no know for sure that Willis and Wade's expenses were split evenly — and Willis “may well have received a net benefit of several hundred dollars.” But, McAfee said the defendants didn't provide sufficient evidence to prove that Willis financially benefited from hiring Wade.

Furthermore, McAfee concluded that enriching herself through her relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor in Willis' decision to bring the case.

The judge noted that Willis was not “financially destitute throughout this time or in any great need,” but was making more than $200,000 per year. He also said there was no indication she was trying to prolong the case to rake in more money, noting that prosecutors had initially wanted the case to go to trial less than six months after they brought the indictment.

Attorneys for Trump and others said Willis’ public statements about the case veered into the realm of misconduct, saying she expressed her belief in the guilt of the defendants.

McAfee noted that he had to consider whether the remarks were “part of a calculated plan” to prejudice the defendants in the minds of future jurors. He said the comments must be “egregiously” improper to justify disqualification.

The judge found that statements Willis made describing the charges in the indictment, her office’s conviction rates and personal anecdotes were not disqualifying. That extended to her “unorthodox decision” to speak on the record to authors of a book about the special grand jury investigation that preceded the indictment, he wrote.

A speech she gave at a historic Black church in Atlanta less than a week after the allegations of her relationship with Wade surfaced was a different matter, the judge wrote. Willis complained in those remarks that people had questioned her decision to hire Wade and questioned his qualifications, seeming to suggest the criticism arose from the fact that she and Wade are Black.

McAfee noted that the speech did not mention any defendant by name and did not address the merits of the charges in the case or disclose any sensitive or confidential evidence. He said he didn’t find that it crossed the line to the point that the defendants couldn’t have a fair trial.

“But it was still legally improper,” he wrote. “Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into.”

He noted that it may well be time for an order preventing prosecutors from mentioning a case in public to prevent prejudicial pretrial publicity, but he said that was not the issue currently before him.

McAfee has recently made his own public statements about the case.

He said in an interview on WSB Radio last week that he’d had a rough draft of his ruling ready before he knew that anyone planned to challenge him in a May election and that “the result is not going to change because of politics.” When a WSB-TV reporter snagged him on the sidelines of a Rotary Club lunch Thursday, McAfee said the ruling would be out Friday and that “no ruling of mine is ever going to be based on politics.”

McAfee was appointed to his seat by Georgia's Republican governor and faces two challengers in a May election. The race is nonpartisan, but Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold.

Wade was questioned on the stand about statements he had made in his divorce case that he hadn’t been romantically involved with anyone other than his wife during their marriage. His “patently unpersuasive explanation” for those inaccuracies “indicates a willingness on his part to wrongly conceal his relationship with the District Attorney,” McAfee wrote.

McAfee also found himself unable to determine the answer to a central question in the evidentiary hearing: whether Willis and Wade began their romantic relationship before she hired him. Neither side provided sufficient evidence to make a conclusive determination, he wrote.

But he said, “an odor of mendacity remains.” He wrote that “reasonable questions” about whether Willis and Wade testified truthfully about that timing “further underpin the finding of an appearance of impropriety and the need to make proportional efforts to cure it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708029546187.png" alt="-Fulton County DA Fani Willis during the hearing in February-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>-Fulton County DA Fani Willis during the hearing in February-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can prosecute&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-election-investigation-grand-jury-willis-d39562cedfc60d64948708de1b011ed3">Donald Trump on charges that he interfered with Georgia's 2020 election</a>&nbsp;now that a special prosecutor with whom she had a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-willis-wade-georgia-election-5d76abb5578308317306e7b2e610ac91">romantic relationship</a>&nbsp;has withdrawn from the case.But the long-term impacts of allegations of impropriety that have roiled the case for weeks remain to be seen, with Trump and his allies certain to continue to attack the legitimacy of the prosecution against the former president and 18 others.Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday that Willis could stay if special prosecutor Nathan Wade left. That was a partial victory for Willis, whom defense attorneys had pushed to have removed from the case over her relationship Wade.But the judge also rebuked Willis for her “tremendous” lapse in judgment and questioned the truthfulness of Wade's and her testimony about the timing of their relationship.It's an extraordinary decision in a case that in recent weeks has taken on a soap opera atmosphere as the prosecutors who pledged to hold Trump accountable had their own personal lives thrust into the spotlight.Here are some major takeaways from the judge's ruling:<a href="https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/JudgeRuling_0.pdf">Click here to read</a>&nbsp;the full ruling<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710529782555.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>THE JUDGE PUT THE BALL IN WILLIS' COURTThe judge's ruling threw it to Willis to decide whether she — and her entire office — would step aside or whether Wade would withdraw from the case. The judge said the prosecution couldn't move forward until one of those two actions was taken.Several hours after the ruling came down, Wade offered his resignation and Willis accepted it.If Willis had instead opted to step aside, the case would have been referred to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council — a nonpartisan association of Georgia district attorneys — to be assigned to a different prosecutor.That could have upended the entire prosecution. Another prosecutor could have continued on the track that Willis has taken, could have chosen to pursue only some charges or could have dropped the case altogether.FINANCIAL CONCERNSThe defense attorney who first revealed the romantic relationship, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged that Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited from the prosecution of the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations for the two of them.Willis and Wade argued that the district attorney received no financial benefit from the relationship and that she either paid for things herself or used cash to reimburse Wade for travel expenses.Judge McAfee called it “concerning” that there were no documents to corroborate Willis' claim that she paid Wade back. But he said Willis' testimony “withstood direct contradiction” and was corroborated by other evidence, including her purchase of a flight for two in 2022. That led the judge to conclude that the claim “was not so incredible as to be inherently unbelievable.”The judge said there was no way no know for sure that Willis and Wade's expenses were split evenly — and Willis “may well have received a net benefit of several hundred dollars.” But, McAfee said the defendants didn't provide sufficient evidence to prove that Willis financially benefited from hiring Wade.Furthermore, McAfee concluded that enriching herself through her relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor in Willis' decision to bring the case.The judge noted that Willis was not “financially destitute throughout this time or in any great need,” but was making more than $200,000 per year. He also said there was no indication she was trying to prolong the case to rake in more money, noting that prosecutors had initially wanted the case to go to trial less than six months after they brought the indictment.WILLIS’ PUBLIC STATEMENTSAttorneys for Trump and others said Willis’ public statements about the case veered into the realm of misconduct, saying she expressed her belief in the guilt of the defendants.McAfee noted that he had to consider whether the remarks were “part of a calculated plan” to prejudice the defendants in the minds of future jurors. He said the comments must be “egregiously” improper to justify disqualification.The judge found that statements Willis made describing the charges in the indictment, her office’s conviction rates and personal anecdotes were not disqualifying. That extended to her “unorthodox decision” to speak on the record to authors of a book about the special grand jury investigation that preceded the indictment, he wrote.A speech she gave at a historic Black church in Atlanta less than a week after the allegations of her relationship with Wade surfaced was a different matter, the judge wrote. Willis complained in those remarks that people had questioned her decision to hire Wade and questioned his qualifications, seeming to suggest the criticism arose from the fact that she and Wade are Black.McAfee noted that the speech did not mention any defendant by name and did not address the merits of the charges in the case or disclose any sensitive or confidential evidence. He said he didn’t find that it crossed the line to the point that the defendants couldn’t have a fair trial.“But it was still legally improper,” he wrote. “Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into.”He noted that it may well be time for an order preventing prosecutors from mentioning a case in public to prevent prejudicial pretrial publicity, but he said that was not the issue currently before him.McAfee has recently made his own public statements about the case.He said in an interview on WSB Radio last week that he’d had a rough draft of his ruling ready before he knew that anyone planned to challenge him in a May election and that “the result is not going to change because of politics.” When a WSB-TV reporter snagged him on the sidelines of a Rotary Club lunch Thursday, McAfee said the ruling would be out Friday and that “no ruling of mine is ever going to be based on politics.”McAfee was appointed to his seat by Georgia's Republican governor and faces two challengers in a May election. The race is nonpartisan, but Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold.LACK OF CANDORWade was questioned on the stand about statements he had made in his divorce case that he hadn’t been romantically involved with anyone other than his wife during their marriage. His “patently unpersuasive explanation” for those inaccuracies “indicates a willingness on his part to wrongly conceal his relationship with the District Attorney,” McAfee wrote.McAfee also found himself unable to determine the answer to a central question in the evidentiary hearing: whether Willis and Wade began their romantic relationship before she hired him. Neither side provided sufficient evidence to make a conclusive determination, he wrote.But he said, “an odor of mendacity remains.” He wrote that “reasonable questions” about whether Willis and Wade testified truthfully about that timing “further underpin the finding of an appearance of impropriety and the need to make proportional efforts to cure it.”

Read Judge's explosive ruling on DA in Trump's election fraud case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and allies warned Iran on Friday that major Western economies will pile new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-iran-missiles-biden-sanctions-7dfb927a055de1734108df8b8148ab9f">sanctions on Tehran</a>&nbsp;if it moves forward with an advancing plan to provide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-iran-ballistic-missiles-f14501f6f9a6401af7f8835b2ddd01cf">ballistic missiles to Russia</a>&nbsp;for its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">war with Ukraine</a>.

The Biden administration has raised alarms for months that Russia is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-iran-ballistic-missiles-f14501f6f9a6401af7f8835b2ddd01cf">Iran</a>&nbsp;as Moscow struggles to replenish its dwindling supplies.

The U.S. has yet to confirm that missiles have moved from Iran to Russia. But U.S. officials are alarmed by comments by Iranian officials that suggest that a deal is imminent.

One action that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/group-of-7">Group of Seven</a>&nbsp;countries are mulling is to prohibit Iran Air, the country's national air carrier, from flying to Europe, according to a senior Biden administration official. The official, who was not authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity, declined to preview other sanctions that the U.S. is mulling beyond describing the potential action as “significant measures.”

“Were Iran to proceed with providing ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, we are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” the G-7 leaders said in a statement.

Iran's U.N. Mission said last month that there are no legal restrictions to prevent it from making ballistic missile sales but that is “morally obligated to refrain from weapon transactions during the Russia-Ukraine conflict to prevent fueling the war.”

The U.S. and Europe already impose extensive sanctions against Iran targeting individuals as well as limiting the country's access to trade, financial services, energy, technology and other sectors. The sanctions on Iran are arguably the most extensive and comprehensive set of sanctions that the United States maintains on any country, with thousands of individuals and entities targeted.

The Democratic administration in January said that U.S. intelligence officials had determined a Russian-Iran deal had not been completed but that they were concerned that Russia’s negotiations to acquire missiles from Iran were actively advancing.

In September, according to the White House, Iran hosted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to show off a range of ballistic missile systems — a moment that sparked U.S. concern that a deal could come together.

The U.S. and other countries have taken steps aimed at thwarting the supply, sale or transfer involving Iran and ballistic missile-related items, including issuing guidance to private companies about Iranian missile procurement practices to make sure they aren’t inadvertently supporting Iran’s development efforts.

"We’ve sent very clear messages to Iran not to do it, this is a subject of considerable conversation among a number of countries,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a news conference on Friday in Vienna.

The Biden administration has repeatedly sought to make the case that the Kremlin has become reliant on Iran and North Korea for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine and has disclosed intelligence findings that it says show as much.

Russia has acquired and used North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine. Ukrainian officials, however, say that North Korean missiles when deployed by Russian forces have frequently missed targets.

Russia has received&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-iran-military-cooperation-d982dd3faf78fbb17dfc8b9c1cb9dae7">hundreds of one-way attack drones</a>, as well as drone production-related equipment, from Iran, according to the White House. The Biden administration also has accused Tehran of providing Russia with materials to build a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow.

Iran initially denied supplying drones to Russia. Tehran later only acknowledged providing a small number before Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708444671000.png" alt="The Biden administration has repeatedly sought to make the case that the Kremlin has become reliant on Iran and North Korea for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine and has disclosed intelligence findings that it says show as much.-White House File photo&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The Biden administration has repeatedly sought to make the case that the Kremlin has become reliant on Iran and North Korea for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine and has disclosed intelligence findings that it says show as much.-White House File photo&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and allies warned Iran on Friday that major Western economies will pile new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-iran-missiles-biden-sanctions-7dfb927a055de1734108df8b8148ab9f">sanctions on Tehran</a>&nbsp;if it moves forward with an advancing plan to provide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-iran-ballistic-missiles-f14501f6f9a6401af7f8835b2ddd01cf">ballistic missiles to Russia</a>&nbsp;for its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">war with Ukraine</a>.The Biden administration has raised alarms for months that Russia is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-iran-ballistic-missiles-f14501f6f9a6401af7f8835b2ddd01cf">Iran</a>&nbsp;as Moscow struggles to replenish its dwindling supplies.The U.S. has yet to confirm that missiles have moved from Iran to Russia. But U.S. officials are alarmed by comments by Iranian officials that suggest that a deal is imminent.One action that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/group-of-7">Group of Seven</a>&nbsp;countries are mulling is to prohibit Iran Air, the country's national air carrier, from flying to Europe, according to a senior Biden administration official. The official, who was not authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity, declined to preview other sanctions that the U.S. is mulling beyond describing the potential action as “significant measures.”“Were Iran to proceed with providing ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, we are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” the G-7 leaders said in a statement.Iran's U.N. Mission said last month that there are no legal restrictions to prevent it from making ballistic missile sales but that is “morally obligated to refrain from weapon transactions during the Russia-Ukraine conflict to prevent fueling the war.”The U.S. and Europe already impose extensive sanctions against Iran targeting individuals as well as limiting the country's access to trade, financial services, energy, technology and other sectors. The sanctions on Iran are arguably the most extensive and comprehensive set of sanctions that the United States maintains on any country, with thousands of individuals and entities targeted.The Democratic administration in January said that U.S. intelligence officials had determined a Russian-Iran deal had not been completed but that they were concerned that Russia’s negotiations to acquire missiles from Iran were actively advancing.In September, according to the White House, Iran hosted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to show off a range of ballistic missile systems — a moment that sparked U.S. concern that a deal could come together.The U.S. and other countries have taken steps aimed at thwarting the supply, sale or transfer involving Iran and ballistic missile-related items, including issuing guidance to private companies about Iranian missile procurement practices to make sure they aren’t inadvertently supporting Iran’s development efforts."We’ve sent very clear messages to Iran not to do it, this is a subject of considerable conversation among a number of countries,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a news conference on Friday in Vienna.The Biden administration has repeatedly sought to make the case that the Kremlin has become reliant on Iran and North Korea for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine and has disclosed intelligence findings that it says show as much.Russia has acquired and used North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine. Ukrainian officials, however, say that North Korean missiles when deployed by Russian forces have frequently missed targets.Russia has received&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-iran-military-cooperation-d982dd3faf78fbb17dfc8b9c1cb9dae7">hundreds of one-way attack drones</a>, as well as drone production-related equipment, from Iran, according to the White House. The Biden administration also has accused Tehran of providing Russia with materials to build a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow.Iran initially denied supplying drones to Russia. Tehran later only acknowledged providing a small number before Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine—

US warns Iran to back off deal to provide Russia ballistic missiles

On Thursday, March 14th, 2024, at approximately 12:30pm, Kearney Police Department Uniform Patrol Officers responded to a disturbance in Countryside Mobile Home Park. A 34-year-old Kearney man, Rusty Richard, had been driving through yards, destroying property inside a residence and had cut himself with knives. 

KPD Officers arrived and attempted to contact Mr. Richard however he barricaded himself with multiple knives inside a residence with an adult female family member inside. KPD/BCSO Emergency Service Unit and Police Drone Teams responded to the location while KPD and BCSO Negotiators established communication with Mr. Richard in an attempt to peacefully resolve the situation and keep the female inside the residence safe. 

Despite repeated efforts to de-escalate the situation, Mr. Richard continued to pose a threat to himself and others as he refused to cooperate with officers. After a nearly four-hour standoff and exhausting all efforts to resolve the situation, officers successfully deployed less lethal options to subdue Mr. Richard and prevent serious injury to anyone involved. 

Richard was arrested for three counts of attempted assault on an Officer, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, use of a weapon to commit a felony, terroristic threats, resisting arrest, obstructing a Peace Officer and willful reckless driving. Multiple knives were located on Richard when he was contacted and arrested by Officers.

“This incident once again highlights the complex, dangerous, and unpredictable behavior police officers may encounter on any given day. I am extremely confident and proud of the capabilities, training, equipment, and tactics deployed by members of KPD and BCSO during this incident. The efforts to de-escalate, communicate, and resolve this incident with a safe outcome and no serious injuries sustained by the subject or police officers is a direct result of the professionalism, expectations, and leadership displayed during this incident and each day by members of KPD and our allied law enforcement partners.” – Chief Bryan D. Waugh.

 The safety of and well-being of our community and our officers are our top priorities in these situations. The area around the residence was temporarily closed to protect the officers responding as well as ensuring the safety of the public. Due to the length and timing of the situation, Kearney Public Schools were contacted to arrange for students transported by KPS school bus and lived in the area to be dropped off at a nearby location and to be escorted home by law enforcement officers.

  We are grateful for the quick and coordinated response of our law enforcement officers whose professional and dedicated response were instrumental in resolving this challenging situation. The Kearney Police Department was assisted during this incident by the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office and Good Sarmatian Hospital EMS.&nbsp; &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710500673881.jpeg" alt="Rusty Richard&nbsp; (Photo courtesy of Buffalo County Jail" />
 <figcaption>Rusty Richard&nbsp; (Photo courtesy of Buffalo County Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>Kearney Police DepartmentOn Thursday, March 14th, 2024, at approximately 12:30pm, Kearney Police Department Uniform Patrol Officers responded to a disturbance in Countryside Mobile Home Park. A 34-year-old Kearney man, Rusty Richard, had been driving through yards, destroying property inside a residence and had cut himself with knives. KPD Officers arrived and attempted to contact Mr. Richard however he barricaded himself with multiple knives inside a residence with an adult female family member inside. KPD/BCSO Emergency Service Unit and Police Drone Teams responded to the location while KPD and BCSO Negotiators established communication with Mr. Richard in an attempt to peacefully resolve the situation and keep the female inside the residence safe. Despite repeated efforts to de-escalate the situation, Mr. Richard continued to pose a threat to himself and others as he refused to cooperate with officers. After a nearly four-hour standoff and exhausting all efforts to resolve the situation, officers successfully deployed less lethal options to subdue Mr. Richard and prevent serious injury to anyone involved. Richard was arrested for three counts of attempted assault on an Officer, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, use of a weapon to commit a felony, terroristic threats, resisting arrest, obstructing a Peace Officer and willful reckless driving. Multiple knives were located on Richard when he was contacted and arrested by Officers.“This incident once again highlights the complex, dangerous, and unpredictable behavior police officers may encounter on any given day. I am extremely confident and proud of the capabilities, training, equipment, and tactics deployed by members of KPD and BCSO during this incident. The efforts to de-escalate, communicate, and resolve this incident with a safe outcome and no serious injuries sustained by the subject or police officers is a direct result of the professionalism, expectations, and leadership displayed during this incident and each day by members of KPD and our allied law enforcement partners.” – Chief Bryan D. Waugh. The safety of and well-being of our community and our officers are our top priorities in these situations. The area around the residence was temporarily closed to protect the officers responding as well as ensuring the safety of the public. Due to the length and timing of the situation, Kearney Public Schools were contacted to arrange for students transported by KPS school bus and lived in the area to be dropped off at a nearby location and to be escorted home by law enforcement officers. We are grateful for the quick and coordinated response of our law enforcement officers whose professional and dedicated response were instrumental in resolving this challenging situation. The Kearney Police Department was assisted during this incident by the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office and Good Sarmatian Hospital EMS.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Kearney police says Thursday afternoon standoff ends with arrest of a Kearney man

LINCOLN, NEB. – Emphasizing the importance of protecting and even growing federal risk management programs with the next Farm Bill, Nebraska Farm Bureau’s (NEFB) agricultural leaders met with Nebraska’s congressional delegation and other elected officials during a national affairs fly-in to Washington, D.C. March 11-13.

“Updating the farm safety net to help farmers manage risk is necessary and one of Nebraska Farm Bureau’s top priorities for the Farm Bill. We need Congress to pass an updated farm bill as much has changed since passage of the 2018 Farm Bill: a pandemic, record-high inflation, rising supply costs, and global unrest. It is critical that the U.S. make it a top priority to protect our food supply for the well-being and security of our nation,” said Mark McHargue, NEFB president.

Members of the NEFB Board shared NEFB’s farm bill priorities with the congressional delegation, which includes protecting the federal crop insurance program, opposing any tie of climate focused practices to federal crop insurance programs, and reforming USDA disaster programs to provided better flexibility in the event of a natural disasters, among other priorities.

NEFB also urged the delegation to incorporate a legislative solution for California’s Proposition 12 into the Farm Bill. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court up-held California Proposition 12, granting California voters the power to dictate food production methods to farmers and ranchers located outside of their state’s borders, including Nebraska.

“The Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 12 means that only Congress can fix a gap in the law that allows one state to dictate business practices for the entire nation. We’re currently at risk of states tangling up our whole system of interstate commerce by passing laws limiting or prohibiting the sale of any type of goods from other states. Without a congressional fix, consumers will face increased costs for goods and services. On state should not be allowed to dictate the business practices for an entire nation,” said McHargue.

Farm Bureau leaders also pushed for&nbsp;Congress to pass meaningful farm labor legislation. Due to continued declines in availability of a domestic workforce, the H-2A program has become a critical avenue to secure a reliable labor force across the country. Certified H-2A positions reached 378,513 in 2023 and just under 4,000 in Nebraska alone. Nevertheless, the Board informed the delegation that despite this growth, the program has become excessively complicated and costly due to unsustainable and unpredictable wage increases.

“Farmers and ranchers rely on their employees and are committed to paying a fair wage, but the mandated wage calculations make it hard for farmers to remain competitive. Changes in the rule have made it so complicated that it’s riskier for farmers to use the H-2A program because they are worried about unintentional missteps. We urge Congress to pass meaningful farm labor legislation to deliver the certainty farmers and ranchers need to continue producing affordable food for our nation’s families,” said McHargue.

The National Affairs Fly-In featured a session with House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, a discussion with the Environmental Protection Agency’s senior advisor for agriculture, Rod Snyder, and meetings with the National Pork Producers Council and Renewable Fuels Association.

Those attending the Washington, D.C. Fly-In were:

Mark McHargue, president, NEFB –&nbsp;Merrick County&nbsp;&nbsp;

Dennis Beethe, Southeast Region representative, NEFB Board –&nbsp;Johnson County

David Grimes, South Central Region representative, NEFB Board –&nbsp;Kearney/Franklin County

Brady Revels, Farm Bureau Member –&nbsp;Douglas County

The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service, and advocacy efforts. More than 55,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska’s economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nefb.org/" target="_blank">www.nefb.org</a>.

Nebraska Farm BureauLINCOLN, NEB. – Emphasizing the importance of protecting and even growing federal risk management programs with the next Farm Bill, Nebraska Farm Bureau’s (NEFB) agricultural leaders met with Nebraska’s congressional delegation and other elected officials during a national affairs fly-in to Washington, D.C. March 11-13.“Updating the farm safety net to help farmers manage risk is necessary and one of Nebraska Farm Bureau’s top priorities for the Farm Bill. We need Congress to pass an updated farm bill as much has changed since passage of the 2018 Farm Bill: a pandemic, record-high inflation, rising supply costs, and global unrest. It is critical that the U.S. make it a top priority to protect our food supply for the well-being and security of our nation,” said Mark McHargue, NEFB president.Members of the NEFB Board shared NEFB’s farm bill priorities with the congressional delegation, which includes protecting the federal crop insurance program, opposing any tie of climate focused practices to federal crop insurance programs, and reforming USDA disaster programs to provided better flexibility in the event of a natural disasters, among other priorities.NEFB also urged the delegation to incorporate a legislative solution for California’s Proposition 12 into the Farm Bill. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court up-held California Proposition 12, granting California voters the power to dictate food production methods to farmers and ranchers located outside of their state’s borders, including Nebraska.“The Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 12 means that only Congress can fix a gap in the law that allows one state to dictate business practices for the entire nation. We’re currently at risk of states tangling up our whole system of interstate commerce by passing laws limiting or prohibiting the sale of any type of goods from other states. Without a congressional fix, consumers will face increased costs for goods and services. On state should not be allowed to dictate the business practices for an entire nation,” said McHargue.Farm Bureau leaders also pushed for&nbsp;Congress to pass meaningful farm labor legislation. Due to continued declines in availability of a domestic workforce, the H-2A program has become a critical avenue to secure a reliable labor force across the country. Certified H-2A positions reached 378,513 in 2023 and just under 4,000 in Nebraska alone. Nevertheless, the Board informed the delegation that despite this growth, the program has become excessively complicated and costly due to unsustainable and unpredictable wage increases.“Farmers and ranchers rely on their employees and are committed to paying a fair wage, but the mandated wage calculations make it hard for farmers to remain competitive. Changes in the rule have made it so complicated that it’s riskier for farmers to use the H-2A program because they are worried about unintentional missteps. We urge Congress to pass meaningful farm labor legislation to deliver the certainty farmers and ranchers need to continue producing affordable food for our nation’s families,” said McHargue.The National Affairs Fly-In featured a session with House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, a discussion with the Environmental Protection Agency’s senior advisor for agriculture, Rod Snyder, and meetings with the National Pork Producers Council and Renewable Fuels Association.Those attending the Washington, D.C. Fly-In were:Mark McHargue, president, NEFB –&nbsp;Merrick County&nbsp;&nbsp;Dennis Beethe, Southeast Region representative, NEFB Board –&nbsp;Johnson CountyDavid Grimes, South Central Region representative, NEFB Board –&nbsp;Kearney/Franklin CountyBrady Revels, Farm Bureau Member –&nbsp;Douglas CountyThe Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service, and advocacy efforts. More than 55,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska’s economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nefb.org/" target="_blank">www.nefb.org</a>.

Farm Bill, Interstate Commerce, and Labor Top Issues for Nebraska Farm Bureau Visit with Congressional Delegation

KANSAS CITY (AP)—A powerful real estate trade group has agreed to do away with policies that for decades helped set agent commissions, moving to resolve lawsuits that claim the rules have forced people to pay artificially inflated costs to sell their homes.

Under the terms of the agreement announced Friday, the National Association of Realtors also agreed to pay $418 million to help compensate home sellers across the U.S.

Home sellers behind multiple lawsuits against the NAR and several major brokerages argued that the trade group's rules governing homes listed for sale on its affiliated Multiple Listing Services unfairly propped up agent commissions. The rules also incentivized agents representing buyers to avoid showing their clients listings where the seller’s broker was offering a lower commission to the buyer’s agent, they argued.

As part of the settlement, the NAR agreed to no longer require a broker advertising a home for sale on MLS to offer any upfront compensation to a buyer’s agent. The rule change leaves it open for individual home sellers to negotiate such offers with a buyer’s agent outside of the MLS platforms, though the home seller’s broker has to disclose any such compensation arrangements.

The trade group also agreed to require agents or others working with a homebuyer to enter into a written agreement with them. That is meant to ensure homebuyers know going in what their agent will charge them for their services.

The rule changes, which are set to go into effect in mid-July, represent a major change to the way real estate agents have operated going back to the 1990s, and could lead to homebuyers and sellers negotiating lower agent commissions.

Currently, agents working with a buyer and seller typically split a commission of around 5% to 6% that's paid by the seller. This practice essentially became customary as home listings included built-in offers of “cooperative compensation” between agents on both sides of the transaction.

But the rule changes the NAR agreed to as part of the settlement could give home sellers and buyers more impetus to negotiate lower agent commissions.

“It may take some time for the changes to impact the marketplace, but our hope and expectation is that this will put a downward pressure on the cost of hiring a real estate broker,” said Robby Braun, an attorney in a federal lawsuit brought in 2019 in Chicago on behalf of millions of home sellers.

Analysts with Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods also anticipate that the NAR rule changes will lead to lower agent commissions and could persuade some homebuyers to skip using an agent altogether.

“In our view, the combination of mandated buyer representation agreements and the prohibition of blanket compensation offers made by listing agents and sellers should result in significant price competition for buyer agent commissions,” the analysts wrote in a research note Friday.

The NAR faced multiple lawsuits over the way agent commissions are set. In late October, a federal jury in Missouri found that the NAR and several large real estate brokerages conspired to require that home sellers pay homebuyers’ agent commissions in violation of federal antitrust law.

The jury&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nar-real-estate-commission-real-estate-agent-6dadde0d51cc63b9fd568a58f95610d8">ordered the defendants</a>&nbsp;to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages — and potentially more than $5 billion if the court ended up awarding the plaintiffs treble damages.

The settlement, if approved by the court, resolves that and similar suits faced by the NAR. It covers over one million of the NAR's members, its affiliated Multiple Listing Services and all brokerages with a NAR member as a principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of $2 billion or less.

“Ultimately, continuing to litigate would have hurt members and their small businesses,” Nykia Wright, NAR’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/national-association-of-realtors-housing-market-dc0c40eaea800de3acfcd3b3b3997208">interim CEO</a>, said in a statement. “While there could be no perfect outcome, this agreement is the best outcome we could achieve in the circumstances.”

The settlement does not include real estate agents affiliated with HomeServices of America and its related companies.

Last month, Keller Williams Realty, one of the nation’s largest real estate brokerages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/keller-williams-real-estate-agent-commissions-lawsuits-657a285857a77a6618d65499c69985b5">agreed to pay $70 million</a>&nbsp;and change some of of its agent guidelines to settle agent commission lawsuits.

Two other large real estate brokerages agreed to similar settlement terms last year. In their respective pacts, Anywhere Real Estate Inc. agreed to pay $83.5 million, while Re/Max agreed to pay $55 million.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659001075252.jpeg" alt="Photo AP" />
 <figcaption>Photo AP</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP)—A powerful real estate trade group has agreed to do away with policies that for decades helped set agent commissions, moving to resolve lawsuits that claim the rules have forced people to pay artificially inflated costs to sell their homes.Under the terms of the agreement announced Friday, the National Association of Realtors also agreed to pay $418 million to help compensate home sellers across the U.S.Home sellers behind multiple lawsuits against the NAR and several major brokerages argued that the trade group's rules governing homes listed for sale on its affiliated Multiple Listing Services unfairly propped up agent commissions. The rules also incentivized agents representing buyers to avoid showing their clients listings where the seller’s broker was offering a lower commission to the buyer’s agent, they argued.As part of the settlement, the NAR agreed to no longer require a broker advertising a home for sale on MLS to offer any upfront compensation to a buyer’s agent. The rule change leaves it open for individual home sellers to negotiate such offers with a buyer’s agent outside of the MLS platforms, though the home seller’s broker has to disclose any such compensation arrangements.The trade group also agreed to require agents or others working with a homebuyer to enter into a written agreement with them. That is meant to ensure homebuyers know going in what their agent will charge them for their services.The rule changes, which are set to go into effect in mid-July, represent a major change to the way real estate agents have operated going back to the 1990s, and could lead to homebuyers and sellers negotiating lower agent commissions.Currently, agents working with a buyer and seller typically split a commission of around 5% to 6% that's paid by the seller. This practice essentially became customary as home listings included built-in offers of “cooperative compensation” between agents on both sides of the transaction.But the rule changes the NAR agreed to as part of the settlement could give home sellers and buyers more impetus to negotiate lower agent commissions.“It may take some time for the changes to impact the marketplace, but our hope and expectation is that this will put a downward pressure on the cost of hiring a real estate broker,” said Robby Braun, an attorney in a federal lawsuit brought in 2019 in Chicago on behalf of millions of home sellers.Analysts with Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods also anticipate that the NAR rule changes will lead to lower agent commissions and could persuade some homebuyers to skip using an agent altogether.“In our view, the combination of mandated buyer representation agreements and the prohibition of blanket compensation offers made by listing agents and sellers should result in significant price competition for buyer agent commissions,” the analysts wrote in a research note Friday.The NAR faced multiple lawsuits over the way agent commissions are set. In late October, a federal jury in Missouri found that the NAR and several large real estate brokerages conspired to require that home sellers pay homebuyers’ agent commissions in violation of federal antitrust law.The jury&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nar-real-estate-commission-real-estate-agent-6dadde0d51cc63b9fd568a58f95610d8">ordered the defendants</a>&nbsp;to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages — and potentially more than $5 billion if the court ended up awarding the plaintiffs treble damages.The settlement, if approved by the court, resolves that and similar suits faced by the NAR. It covers over one million of the NAR's members, its affiliated Multiple Listing Services and all brokerages with a NAR member as a principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of $2 billion or less.“Ultimately, continuing to litigate would have hurt members and their small businesses,” Nykia Wright, NAR’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/national-association-of-realtors-housing-market-dc0c40eaea800de3acfcd3b3b3997208">interim CEO</a>, said in a statement. “While there could be no perfect outcome, this agreement is the best outcome we could achieve in the circumstances.”The settlement does not include real estate agents affiliated with HomeServices of America and its related companies.Last month, Keller Williams Realty, one of the nation’s largest real estate brokerages,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/keller-williams-real-estate-agent-commissions-lawsuits-657a285857a77a6618d65499c69985b5">agreed to pay $70 million</a>&nbsp;and change some of of its agent guidelines to settle agent commission lawsuits.Two other large real estate brokerages agreed to similar settlement terms last year. In their respective pacts, Anywhere Real Estate Inc. agreed to pay $83.5 million, while Re/Max agreed to pay $55 million.\

National realtor group agrees to slash commissions to settle lawsuits

ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-election-investigation-grand-jury-willis-d39562cedfc60d64948708de1b011ed3">the Georgia election interference case</a>&nbsp;against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee did not find that Willis' relationship with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-willis-wade-georgia-election-5d76abb5578308317306e7b2e610ac91">special prosecutor Nathan Wade</a>&nbsp;amounted to a conflict of interest that should disqualify her from one of&nbsp;<a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/index.html">four criminal cases</a>&nbsp;against the Republican former president.

However, the judge said, it created “appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team, and he questioned the truthfulness of Willis and Wade's testimony about the timing of their relationship.

“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed," the judge wrote.

"Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”

A spokesperson for Willis did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment Friday.

An attorney for Trump said they respect the court's decision but believe the judge “did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade."

“We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place,” defense attorney Steve Sadow said.

Willis hired Wade to lead the team to investigate and ultimately prosecute Trump and 18 others accused of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia in 2020. Willis and Wade&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-hearing-trump-case-potential-conflict-c37fcf993ac33c150f3cb3e4a7a888db">testified at a hearing</a>&nbsp;last month that they had engaged in a romantic relationship, but they rejected the idea that Willis improperly benefited from it, as lawyers for Trump and some of his co-defendants alleged.

McAfee wrote that there was insufficient evidence that Willis had a personal stake in the prosecution. But he condemned what he described as a “tremendous” lapse in judgment and the “unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony."

The judge said he was unable to “conclusively establish by a preponderance of the evidence” whether Willis and Wade began dating before or after he was hired as special prosecutor.

“However, an odor of mendacity remains," the judge wrote. He said “reasonable questions” about whether Willis and Wade testified truthfully about the timing of their relationship “further underpin the finding of an appearance of impropriety and the need to make proportional efforts to cure it.”

Even so, he said, dismissal of the case was not the appropriate remedy to "adequately dissipate the financial cloud of impropriety and potential untruthfulness found here.”

McAfee found no showing that the due process rights of Trump and the other defendants had been violated or that the issues involved prejudiced them in any way. He also said the disqualification of a constitutional officer, like a district attorney, is not necessary when a less drastic option is sufficient.

The judge said he believes that “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices -- even repeatedly -- and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it.”

An attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman asked McAfee to dismiss the indictment and prevent Willis and Wade and their offices from continuing to prosecute the case. The attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged that Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited from the prosecution of the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations for the two of them.

Willis had insisted that the relationship created no financial or personal conflict of interest that justified removing her office from the case. She and Wade testified that their relationship began in the spring of 2022 and ended in the summer of 2023. They both said that Willis either paid for things herself or used cash to reimburse Wade for travel expenses.

The sprawling indictment charges Trump and more than a dozen other defendants with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The case uses a statute normally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-trump-election-investigation-indictment-rico-willis-2b18a1c1ed6a4ce22b1a2ca88ea861e3">associated with mobsters</a>&nbsp;to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump, Republicans’ presumptive presidential nominee for 2024, has denied doing anything wrong and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-waives-arraignment-georgia-election-investigation-25a0d9cffd038eb88b805525c85ed0c5">pleaded not guilty</a>.

Earlier this week, the judge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-election-interference-2020-trump-46e0b68c25719c404130f7e6eab69dcd">dismissed some of the charges</a>&nbsp;against Trump.

The six challenged counts charged the defendants with soliciting public officers to violate their oaths. One count stemmed from a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-georgia-elections-a7b4aa4d8ce3bf52301ddbe620c6bff6">phone call Trump made</a>&nbsp;to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, on Jan. 2, 2021, in which Trump urged Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” for him to win the election in the state.

Another of the dismissed counts accused Trump of soliciting then-Georgia House Speaker David Ralston to violate his oath of office by calling a special session of the legislature to unlawfully appoint presidential electors.

McAfee said the counts did not allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of the violations.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708029546187.png" alt="Fulton County DA Fani Willis during the hearing in February-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Fulton County DA Fani Willis during the hearing in February-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-election-investigation-grand-jury-willis-d39562cedfc60d64948708de1b011ed3">the Georgia election interference case</a>&nbsp;against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday.Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee did not find that Willis' relationship with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-willis-wade-georgia-election-5d76abb5578308317306e7b2e610ac91">special prosecutor Nathan Wade</a>&nbsp;amounted to a conflict of interest that should disqualify her from one of&nbsp;<a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/index.html">four criminal cases</a>&nbsp;against the Republican former president.However, the judge said, it created “appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team, and he questioned the truthfulness of Willis and Wade's testimony about the timing of their relationship.“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed," the judge wrote."Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”A spokesperson for Willis did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment Friday.An attorney for Trump said they respect the court's decision but believe the judge “did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade."“We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place,” defense attorney Steve Sadow said.Willis hired Wade to lead the team to investigate and ultimately prosecute Trump and 18 others accused of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia in 2020. Willis and Wade&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-hearing-trump-case-potential-conflict-c37fcf993ac33c150f3cb3e4a7a888db">testified at a hearing</a>&nbsp;last month that they had engaged in a romantic relationship, but they rejected the idea that Willis improperly benefited from it, as lawyers for Trump and some of his co-defendants alleged.McAfee wrote that there was insufficient evidence that Willis had a personal stake in the prosecution. But he condemned what he described as a “tremendous” lapse in judgment and the “unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony."The judge said he was unable to “conclusively establish by a preponderance of the evidence” whether Willis and Wade began dating before or after he was hired as special prosecutor.“However, an odor of mendacity remains," the judge wrote. He said “reasonable questions” about whether Willis and Wade testified truthfully about the timing of their relationship “further underpin the finding of an appearance of impropriety and the need to make proportional efforts to cure it.”Even so, he said, dismissal of the case was not the appropriate remedy to "adequately dissipate the financial cloud of impropriety and potential untruthfulness found here.”McAfee found no showing that the due process rights of Trump and the other defendants had been violated or that the issues involved prejudiced them in any way. He also said the disqualification of a constitutional officer, like a district attorney, is not necessary when a less drastic option is sufficient.The judge said he believes that “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices -- even repeatedly -- and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it.”An attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman asked McAfee to dismiss the indictment and prevent Willis and Wade and their offices from continuing to prosecute the case. The attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged that Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited from the prosecution of the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations for the two of them.Willis had insisted that the relationship created no financial or personal conflict of interest that justified removing her office from the case. She and Wade testified that their relationship began in the spring of 2022 and ended in the summer of 2023. They both said that Willis either paid for things herself or used cash to reimburse Wade for travel expenses.The sprawling indictment charges Trump and more than a dozen other defendants with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The case uses a statute normally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-trump-election-investigation-indictment-rico-willis-2b18a1c1ed6a4ce22b1a2ca88ea861e3">associated with mobsters</a>&nbsp;to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.Trump, Republicans’ presumptive presidential nominee for 2024, has denied doing anything wrong and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-waives-arraignment-georgia-election-investigation-25a0d9cffd038eb88b805525c85ed0c5">pleaded not guilty</a>.Earlier this week, the judge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-election-interference-2020-trump-46e0b68c25719c404130f7e6eab69dcd">dismissed some of the charges</a>&nbsp;against Trump.The six challenged counts charged the defendants with soliciting public officers to violate their oaths. One count stemmed from a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-georgia-elections-a7b4aa4d8ce3bf52301ddbe620c6bff6">phone call Trump made</a>&nbsp;to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, on Jan. 2, 2021, in which Trump urged Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” for him to win the election in the state.Another of the dismissed counts accused Trump of soliciting then-Georgia House Speaker David Ralston to violate his oath of office by calling a special session of the legislature to unlawfully appoint presidential electors.McAfee said the counts did not allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of the violations.

Judge: DA can stay on Trump case if romantic partner steps down

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia's state media reported Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/isral-hamas-war">Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip</a>.

The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified official but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">grinding war on Ukraine</a>.

However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about “surprises” they plan for the battles at sea to counter the United States and its allies, which have so far been able to down any missile or bomb-carrying drone that comes near their warships in Mideast waters.

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a ship in the Red Sea early Friday, causing damage to the vessel, authorities said.

The attack off the port city of Hodeida comes as part of the rebels' campaign against shipping over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/isral-hamas-war">Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip</a>.

On Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthis’ secretive supreme leader, said the rebels will start hitting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope in Africa's southern tip. Until now, the rebels have largely struck ships heading into the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal, and such an escalation would target the longer, alternative route used by some vessels. It remains unclear how they would carry any possible assault out.

Meanwhile, Iran and the U.S. reportedly held indirect talks in Oman, the first in months amid their long-simmering tensions over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and attacks by its proxies.

Iran, the Houthis' main benefactor, claims to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hypersonic-missile-us-tensions-0a8e09f7e053f5fbce2d4e1d9c46a96e">have a hypersonic missile</a>&nbsp;and has widely armed the rebels with the missiles they now use. Adding a hypersonic missile to their arsenal could pose a more formidable challenge to the air defense systems employed by America and its allies, including Israel.

“The group’s missile forces have successfully tested a missile that is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8 and runs on solid fuel," a military official close to the Houthis said, according to the RIA report. The Houthis “intend to begin manufacturing it for use during attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel.”

Mach 8 is eight times the speed of sound.

Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds higher than Mach 5, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability.

Ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory in which anti-missile systems like the U.S.-made Patriot can anticipate their path and intercept them. The more irregular the missile’s flight path, such as a hypersonic missile with the ability to change directions, the more difficult it becomes to intercept.

China is believed to be pursuing the weapons, as is America. Russia claims it has already used them.

In Yemen, Abdul Malik al-Houthi boasted that his fighters “continue to expand the effectiveness and scope of our operations to areas and locations the enemy never expects.” He said they would prevent ships “connected to the Israeli enemy even crossing the Indian Ocean ... heading toward the Cape of Good Hope.”

The Houthis have attacked ships since November, saying they want to force Israel to end its offensive in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, have increasingly had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war. The rebels have also fired missiles toward Israel, though they have largely fallen short or been intercepted.

The Houthis don't have a navy, nor weapons reaching into the far distances of the Indian Ocean, making their Cape of Good Hope threat difficult. However,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-ship-drone-attack-symi-39929cae42a191b2f242896a053123a7">Iran is suspected of targeting Israeli-linked vessels previously</a>&nbsp;in the Indian Ocean. The Houthis have claimed attacks assessed to have been carried out by Iran in the past, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/003f91f9709b48f1847c6206178dd335">the 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia that temporarily halved its oil production</a>.

After seizing Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014, the Houthis ransacked government arsenals, which held Soviet-era Scud missiles and other arms.

As the Saudi-led coalition entered Yemen's conflict on behalf of its exiled government in 2015, the Houthis' arsenal was increasingly targeted. Soon — and despite Yemen having no indigenous missile manufacturing infrastructure — newer missiles made their way into rebel hands.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1699124273212.png" alt="File photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia's state media reported Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/isral-hamas-war">Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip</a>.The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified official but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">grinding war on Ukraine</a>.However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about “surprises” they plan for the battles at sea to counter the United States and its allies, which have so far been able to down any missile or bomb-carrying drone that comes near their warships in Mideast waters.A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a ship in the Red Sea early Friday, causing damage to the vessel, authorities said.The attack off the port city of Hodeida comes as part of the rebels' campaign against shipping over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/isral-hamas-war">Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip</a>.On Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthis’ secretive supreme leader, said the rebels will start hitting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope in Africa's southern tip. Until now, the rebels have largely struck ships heading into the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal, and such an escalation would target the longer, alternative route used by some vessels. It remains unclear how they would carry any possible assault out.Meanwhile, Iran and the U.S. reportedly held indirect talks in Oman, the first in months amid their long-simmering tensions over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and attacks by its proxies.Iran, the Houthis' main benefactor, claims to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hypersonic-missile-us-tensions-0a8e09f7e053f5fbce2d4e1d9c46a96e">have a hypersonic missile</a>&nbsp;and has widely armed the rebels with the missiles they now use. Adding a hypersonic missile to their arsenal could pose a more formidable challenge to the air defense systems employed by America and its allies, including Israel.“The group’s missile forces have successfully tested a missile that is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8 and runs on solid fuel," a military official close to the Houthis said, according to the RIA report. The Houthis “intend to begin manufacturing it for use during attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel.”Mach 8 is eight times the speed of sound.Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds higher than Mach 5, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability.Ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory in which anti-missile systems like the U.S.-made Patriot can anticipate their path and intercept them. The more irregular the missile’s flight path, such as a hypersonic missile with the ability to change directions, the more difficult it becomes to intercept.China is believed to be pursuing the weapons, as is America. Russia claims it has already used them.In Yemen, Abdul Malik al-Houthi boasted that his fighters “continue to expand the effectiveness and scope of our operations to areas and locations the enemy never expects.” He said they would prevent ships “connected to the Israeli enemy even crossing the Indian Ocean ... heading toward the Cape of Good Hope.”The Houthis have attacked ships since November, saying they want to force Israel to end its offensive in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, have increasingly had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war. The rebels have also fired missiles toward Israel, though they have largely fallen short or been intercepted.The Houthis don't have a navy, nor weapons reaching into the far distances of the Indian Ocean, making their Cape of Good Hope threat difficult. However,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-ship-drone-attack-symi-39929cae42a191b2f242896a053123a7">Iran is suspected of targeting Israeli-linked vessels previously</a>&nbsp;in the Indian Ocean. The Houthis have claimed attacks assessed to have been carried out by Iran in the past, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/003f91f9709b48f1847c6206178dd335">the 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia that temporarily halved its oil production</a>.After seizing Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014, the Houthis ransacked government arsenals, which held Soviet-era Scud missiles and other arms.As the Saudi-led coalition entered Yemen's conflict on behalf of its exiled government in 2015, the Houthis' arsenal was increasingly targeted. Soon — and despite Yemen having no indigenous missile manufacturing infrastructure — newer missiles made their way into rebel hands.Iran long has denied arming the Houthis, likely because of a yearslong United Nations arms embargo on the rebels. However, the U.S. and its allies have seized&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-missiles-iran-seizure-us-8112fbadd3b0689c71a92890895a9368">multiple arms shipments bound for the rebels in Mideast waters</a>. Weapons experts as well have tied Houthi arms seized on the battlefield back to Iran.Iran also now claims to have a hypersonic weapon. In June,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hypersonic-missile-us-tensions-0a8e09f7e053f5fbce2d4e1d9c46a96e">Iran unveiled its Fattah, or “Conqueror” in Farsi, missile</a>, which it described as being a hypersonic. It described another as being in development.Iran's mission to the U.N. did not respond to a request for comment Thursday, nor did the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which patrols Mideast waterways.Israel's military declined to comment.Also Thursday, The Financial Times reported that the U.S. and Iran held indirect talks in Oman in January that America hoped would curtail the Red Sea attacks. The last known round of such talks had come last May.Iran's state-run IRNA news agency indirectly acknowledged the talks but insisted they were “merely limited to negotiations on lifting anti-Iran sanctions.”The U.S. State Department did not deny the January talks took place in a statement to The Associated Press, saying: “We have many channels for passing messages to Iran.”“Since Oct. 7, all of (the communications) have been focused on raising the full range of threats emanating from Iran and the need for Iran to cease its across-the-board escalation,” it added.The assaults on shipping have raised the profile of the Houthis, whose Zaydi people ruled a 1,000-year kingdom in Yemen up until 1962. Adding a new weapon increases that cachet and puts more pressure on Israel after a cease-fire deal failed to take hold in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Earlier in March, a Houthi missile&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-attacks-us-israel-palestinians-gaza-89c5440d9943216a787b39912bd969e0">struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden</a>, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon the vessel. It marked the first fatal attack by the Houthis on shipping.Other recent Houthi actions include an attack last month on a cargo ship carrying fertilizer, the Rubymar,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-rubymar-sinks-red-sea-fb64a490ce935756337ee3606e15d093">which later sank after drifting</a>&nbsp;for several days.A new suspected Houthi attack targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, but missed the vessel and caused no damage, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. A later attack similarly missed a vessel in the Red Sea off Yemen's port city of Hodeida, the center said early Friday.Fabian Hinz, a missile expert and research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said he wouldn’t be surprised if Iran transferred a new, hypersonic weapon to the Houthis. However, the question is how maneuverable such a weapon would be at hypersonic speeds and whether it could hit moving targets, like ships in the Red Sea.“I wouldn’t exclude the possibility that the Houthis have some system that has some maneuvering capability to some extent,” Hinz said. “It is also possible for the Iranians to transfer new stuff for the Houthis to test it.”