LINCOLN— U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts hosted a tele-town hall Monday with about 14,000 participants, answering questions on topics including the conflict involving Iran, women's sports, federal spending, healthcare costs, and election policy. Ricketts defended the tele-town hall format as an efficient way to reach constituents, while Democrats criticized the screening of questions and lack of critical voices.

On foreign policy, Ricketts said the goal is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and expressed bipartisan Senate support for Israel, while acknowledging the situation could take months to resolve. On women's sports, he reiterated his opposition to transgender athletes competing in girls' and women's sports and highlighted Nebraska's proposed "Fairness for Girls" constitutional amendment. Ricketts also discussed agricultural issues and said he plans to hold additional town halls before election-related communication restrictions take effect. He is seeking reelection this November against independent candidate Dan Osborn.

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