EDITORIAL, 1/24: NEBRASKA'S BETTER OFF WITHOUT KEYSTONE XL

LINCOLN- The first time 'Keystone XL' was written in the Journal Star dates back to 2008. That article was about an open house in York where the Canadian company, TC Energy (formerly TransCanada), solicited input about how Nebraskans would feel about something like the pipeline. Now, 12 1/2 yeas later, the pipeline remains unbuilt and is at the whim of whichever president is currently sitting. 

Nebraskans were excited about the possibility of jobs that would be brought by the construction of the pipeline, but the state is better off without Keystone XL. Investments in renewable energy are rising while investments in the oil and gas industry from financial institutions and other entities are dropping.

The area where the pipeline would be built, the Sandhills, is an ecologically fragile region-- an oil spill in this area would devastate the state. Joe Biden's first step to ensuring the country knew his priorities on climate change was to put an end to the pipeline. His predecessor, President Trump and President Obama also held very strong opinions on the pipeline. Obama, of course, stopping production on the pipeline in 2015 and Trump reviving the construction shortly after.

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ARENA EVENT A TRIAL RUN OF MASS VACCINATIONS IN LINCOLN, BUT WHEN THOSE OCCUR

LINCOLN- The process to get the general public vaccinated may take longer than what was originally expected. Phase 1b of the vaccination plan now includes people age 65 and older. That means, 500,000 people in the state now qualify for the vaccine. The second phase of the plan, which includes the general public, could be pushed back to almost June. If President Biden can ramp up production as he promises, the country could get back on track with the plan. 

Lincoln's first mass COVID-19 vaccination event went smoothly last week. This event makes officials hopeful that large-scale events such as this will run just as smooth. Lancaster County currently receives around 3,900 doses per week and it is not looking like that number will be changing in the near future. The state's dashboard says 220,000 doses have arrived in the state but only 127,000 have been administered. 

“Today’s experience tells us that we are ready to conduct these types of clinics as soon as we can get more vaccine,” Pat Lopez said.

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SENATOR SEEKS TO FINE SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS FOR DISABLING OR CENSORING NEBRASKANS' ACCOUNTS

LINCOLN- Sen. Curt Friesen off Henderson is attempting to do what President Trump could not-- make social media platforms pay for disabling, suspending or censoring accounts. LB621, the Social Media Fairness Act would hold the platforms accountable to the same standards as governments. In the bill, each violation would carry a $100,000 fine. 

Friesen says he introduced the bill because of his worry about the power few corporate executives have to decide what people are allowed to say on their app. 

“They arbitrarily decide what’s fit for their platform or not,” he said. “I don’t think they’ve applied it fairly across the board.”

John Bender, a journalism professor at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln says he is doubtful this could actually become law and would be struck down by state and federal courts if it did. He also says that what Friesen is trying to hold privately owned social media companies to the same standard as the government. This would violate the private companies First Amendment rights. 

This conversation really became a hot button issue after President Trump had his Twitter and Facebook accounts disabled on January 7th for inciting the riot that happened on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol. Bender goes on to say that it is hard to determine when speech should no longer be protected by the First Amendment. Speech that incites illegal acts is already not protected. 

LB621 will be heard in front of the Judiciary Committee

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OFTEN HEATED REDISTRICTING PROCESS EXPECTED TO ADD STATE SENATORS IN NEBRASKA'S METRO AREAS

LINCOLN- The predicted population shifts from the U.S. Census are making it likely that metro areas will get two more state senators and the 2nd District will shrink, moving it to Sarpy County and the more rural 1st District. The redistricting job is usually highly contentious. It is likely that lawmakers will need to have a special session to complete the task. 

“This is not the kind of thing that just happens at the drop of your hat,” said Drozd, an authority on Nebraska census data.

The Legislature filed nominations for the nine-member special committee. The rule is that there can be no more than five members can come from the same political party and there must be three members from each Congressional District. There is then a chair and vice chair elected. The committee includes Sens. Blood, Briese, Brewer, Geist, Lathrop, Linehan, Lowe, Morfeld and Wayne. The chair and vice chair have not yet been elected. 

In the past, Gov. Ricketts blocked a bill that would have allowed an independent commission to handle redistricting. A similar initiative was  planned last year but was then called off due to the pandemic. 

Another bill by Sen. McCollister, LB107, would require a two-thirds vote of the committee, instead of a simple majority, to elect the chair and vice chair. A similar bill failed last session. Senator Hughes, Chairman of the Executive Board says he does not know when states will receive their census numbers. Redistricting, Hughes said, “is not nonpartisan. This is politics to the core.”

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HUSKERS HOOPS REMAINS ON PAUSE AS HOIBERG ANNOUNCES HE AND SEVEN PLAYERS TESTED POSITIVE FOR VIRUS

LINCOLN- After Head Coach Fred Hoiberg and seven players tested positive for the virus, 12 total individuals are in isolation. 30% of the team's Tier 1 personnel have now tested positive. This puts the team into the red category in the Big Ten's virus protocols. They will have to stay paused until at least Sunday. Hoiberg and the players symptoms are all mild and are improving daily. Thus far, five games have been postponed and one has been canceled. 

"I cannot emphasize enough the importance of social responsibility by wearing your mask and keeping proper social distance," Hoiberg said.

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JOE RICKETTS IS LAUNCHING A NATIONAL NEWS OUTLET BASED IN OMAHA

LINCOLN- Joe Ricketts, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist is preparing to venture into the news business and wants to use Omaha as his launching pad. He is currently hiring staff to launch an online national news outlet called Straight Arrow News which will provide news without a political slant. 

“I think there’s a gap in the market — there’s no source for unbiased, fact-based news. And I believe there’s a business opportunity there,” he said.

The company was incorporated in July and a filing in New York State lists the address as Hugo Enterprises, which is a holding company of for-profit and non-profit endeavors of Ricketts. 

Joe Ricketts says the news outlet does not involve any members of his family, including his son, Governor Pete Ricketts. This won't be his first dive into journalism as he launched DNAinfo in 2009 and the Gothamist in 2017 which were later merged. The operation was said to have 9 million readers a month until employees wanted to unionize and Ricketts shut down the platform. He plans to begin with only covering national news.

Many are questioning whether the news site will actually be completely unbiased or if Ricketts' strong political views will end up showing through. 

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NEBRASKA STATE SEN. BRETT LINDSTROM EYES 2022 GUBERNATORIAL BID

LINCOLN- State Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha is gearing up to run as a Republican for the 2022 gubernatorial bid. He has not made an official announcement, but he said “it’s tracking that way; it’s more likely than not.” 

Governor Ricketts says he plans to endorse a candidate, which could reduce the field greatly. Lindstrom is 39 and is a financial adviser. He will have served in the Legislature for two terms by the end of next year and played a role on the Revenue Committee and the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee. He said he will offer Nebraskans "a new generation of leadership" and will be engaged in economic development and tax reform. 

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WORLD HERALD EDITORIAL: NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE HAS IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

OMAHA- Law enforcement agencies are tasked with protecting the public but also demonstrate responsible sensitivity on matters of race. This session, the Legislature will be having important deliberations ahead. The proposals include continuing education requirements, excessive forces laws, psychological evaluations and more. Sen. Lathrop has demonstrated the ability to oversee productive discussions on sensitive issues. Senators need to take his example in these matters especially. 

Hearings will be the most important discussions as everyone, including the public, will be involved. Senators will need to cultivate these negotiations so that policy promotes responsible accountability for law enforcement. 

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HOW THE CAPITOL RIOT THRUST BIG AMERICAN COMPANIES DEEPER INTO POLITICS

OMAHA- Shortly after the invasion of the Capitol, President Trump was banned from Twitter. Trump had 88 million followers and had tweeted 36,000 times in four years. Twitter noted their decision was warranted because of the president's irresponsible use of the platform by lying about the outcome of the election and said he used Twitter to invite the deadly riot. Shortly after this, Trump was also banned from Facebook. 

Trump supporters, obviously enraged by these decisions, claimed this is in violation of the First Amendment. The simple answer to that, is this does not violate free speech laws. The First Amendment guarantees this freedom to private individuals, organizations or businesses, not government officials. Simon & Schuster publishing company also canceled a book that challenged the results of the Electoral College written by Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.). Companies from Marriott to Walmart have also paused donations to Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying the Electoral College results. 

However, this creates a puzzle. If the government could not constitutionally ban Trump from Twitter, why is Twitter allowed to do so? Twitter, although a private enterprise, has a huge voice in public discourse. Should they be trusted with the authority to determine the bounds of public discourse? There are private companies and then there are private companies like Twitter and Facebook. Legal expert Richard Epstein says the decision is questionable. 

“The safest control against a monopoly—in every market that you’d care to invent—is new entry,” Mr. Epstein says. In any case, who would the enforcers be for a potential nondiscrimination rule against social-media monopolies? The answer underscores the unlikelihood of such action: “It’s going to be essentially the Biden administration telling the Twitter company that they can’t discriminate against Trump.”

Companies are also starting to comment on all aspects of the political arena, including gay rights, the climate change conversation and more. The question has not yet been answered and will need to be addressed as situations like this will become more common.

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NEBRASKA SENATOR WANTS RULES ON INITIATIVE PETITIONS CLARIFIED AFTER COURT RULING TORPEDOED MEDICAL MARIJUANA

LINCOLN- The people of Nebraska have the right to the initiative process which allows for laws and constitutional amendments to be enacted independently of the unicameral. Since just 2014, those initiatives have raised the state's minimum wage, reinstated the death penalty, expanded Medicaid and most recently legalized casino gambling at horse tracks. 

Proposed initiatives, such as legalizing medical marijuana, have been thrown out by the court. The initiative did not make the ballot because it violated the state's single-subject rule. The initiative language was approved by the Secretary of State Bob Evnen but was challenged by Lancaster County Sherriff Terry Wagner. The Supreme Court decision was 5-2 and sided with Wagner. 

Senator Anna Wishart was an organizer of the initiative, and she says, "My goal is for people to be able to introduce petitions that have one general subject, but also include provisions that connect to that general subject so you can have a well-thought out and well-developed petition." 

The constitutional amendment she is proposing will help eliminate the 'gray area' which she feels stopped the initiative. LB475 is being introduced and would require the AG to issue a legal opinion on whether the petition's language would meet the single-subject rule. LB477 would require the Secretary of State to provide an advisory opinion.

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TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TO GO TO SENATE ON MONDAY, LAUNCHING TRIAL

WASHINGTON (AP)- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be sending the article of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate on Monday which will begin the investigation of insurrection over the Capitol riot. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says it will be a full, fair trial.

Donald Trump is the first president to be impeached twice and is the only president to be impeached after leaving office. The Senate will soon be tasked with the impeachment trial and also approving of Biden's cabinet members. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says Republicans want a full and fair trial as well, many saying a trial is needed before the country and lawmakers can move on. 

McConnell proposed an extended timeline in which the president't team will have two weeks to file briefs with arguments beginning mid-February. Trump has begun to hire his defense team with Butch Bowers representing him. Bowers has served as counsel to Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford. 

Pelosi noted that Trump's second impeachment is for a very public insurrection that everyone watched on national television. Democrats will need the support of 17 Republicans to convict Trump. A handful of these senators have already said they are open to conviction. 

“I guess the public record is your television screen,” Graham said. “So, I don’t see why this would take a long time.”

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'WE RETRACT AND DISAVOW OUR STATEMENTS': SETH RICH'S BROTHER WINS APOLOGY FROM CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

WASHINGTON- In a crime that remains unsolved, Seth Rich, who worked for the Democratic National Committee, was murdered in 2016. His family then watched as a politically motived, baseless, theory was being passed around online saying that Seth, not Russia, had given DNC emails to WikiLeaks. This theory has been widely discredited by cybersecurity experts as 12 Russian intelligence agents have been indicted for the leak. The most notable person being Julian Assange of course. 

As the family tried to clear Seth's name, more rumors began to swirl that the Rich family all had something to do with the leaks-- without a shred of evidence. Two of the loudest proponents of this baseless theory was Ed Butowsky, a former Fox News guest, and conservative blogger Matt Couch. Both were sued by the Rich family. 

Now, Butowsky and Couch retract all claims they had made about the 2016 DNC hack. The Rich Family recently settled on the lawsuit, with reports showing a seven-figure payment. 

Rich, a former Kissel, Kohout, ES Associates intern is greatly missed, and our thoughts continue to be with his family and friends.

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MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS AS NEBRASKA GEARS UP FOR BIGGEST VACCINATION CAMPAIGN IN HISTORY

OMAHA- Nebraska is in the midst of the most complicated vaccination campaign in history. The governor all the way down to local health departments are doing all they can to assure the anxious public. On Wednesday, the vaccination pool grew to 400,000 people with the addition of seniors and people with certain medical conditions. Right now it is looking like the general public will not get the opportunity to get the vaccine until May or June. 

Officials say every time a new group is added to the mix, things only get more complicated. AARP Nebraska says they have received no information about how members should go about getting the vaccine. The state's vaccine administered per capita is still in the top 10 in the country. Nebraska currently has close to 83,000 doses not administered in the pipeline. 

Different health systems around the state are approaching the vaccine rollout differently as there is little communication coming from government officials. 

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LEGISLATURE WILL SHIFT TO ALL-DAY COMMITTEE HEARINGS STARTING JANUARY 25TH

LINCOLN- The Legislature will adjust its normal procedures to meet pandemic concerns by moving to all-day committee hearings on Jan. 25 while postponing a return to usual morning floor proceedings involving all senators until later in the session.

Speaker Mike Hilgers of Lincoln said he is making the change in advance of what is likely to be "the two worst months for spread of the virus" not only in the interest of safety but also to make it more likely the Legislature can continue to meet and complete its work this year. All-day committee hearings will begin on Jan. 25.Hilgers said he will have an announcement next week detailing how Nebraskans can communicate their views on bills without coming to committee hearings if they don't feel safe testifying in person because of the coronavirus.

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NEBRASKA'S HOUSE MEMBERS REJECT IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

OMAHA- The state's all-Republican House delegation, Jeff Fortenberry, Don Bacon and Adrian Smith, unanimously opposed the impeachment of President Trump on Wednesday. The impeachment alleges that the president incited the storming of the Capitol while Congress was certifying election results. 10 House Republicans voted to impeach, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. 

Nebraska's House members say the impeachment was rushed and should not have received a vote before proper hearings. Representative Fortenberry said if impeachment can be done this quickly, it will deepen the trauma of the country. Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party said the Republican delegates are too weak to stand up to the president. 

Similar discussions are happening in our neighboring state of Iowa.

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LINCOLN'S CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS EXTENDED TWO WEEKS AS LANCASTER COUNTY RISK DIAL REMAINS IN RED

LINCOLN- Current pandemic restrictions in the county will remain in place for at least the next two weeks as the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department remains worried about COVID-19 numbers. Right before the holidays, the county relaxed restrictions on bars and will remain in place. However, the relaxation of these restrictions have allowed for cases to be heading in a concerning direction yet again. 

"Because we know that COVID blips can turn into COVID surges, like we are seeing in other parts of the country, I want to remind everyone how important it is to stay strong, stay smart and to stay safe," Gaylor Baird said.

Coronavirus patients in Lancaster County are now taking up 23% of hospital beds.

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DOUGLAS COUNTY BOARD ALLOCATES $2 MILLION OF COVID RELIEF MONEY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

OMAHA- The board approved measures to allocate an additional $2 million in utility bill assistance, plus $2 million to aid for-profit businesses hurt by the pandemic. The money is coming from county budget reserves generated by COVID-19 relief funding. 

It is not clear which businesses will quality for the $2 million. The money will be distributed "to locally owned small businesses in Douglas County in the food, beverage, entertainment and hospitality industries, that have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," says Board Member Jim Cavanaugh. The funds will be given to the Omaha Community Foundation to distribute it. 

By the end of 2020, Douglas County had only distributed $7.7 million out of its $10 million in CARES Act money allocated for rent assistance for people affected by the pandemic. The people who did not receive their grants could not meet the federal requirements for documenting their inability to pay rent because of the pandemic. The unspent money is now in the county's general fund meaning it can now be distributed without federal requirements. 

Nebraska is expected to receive $200 million for rent/utility help from the recently approved legislation with $20 million going to Douglas County.

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STATE WOULD TAKE OVER 'CLASSROOM EXPENSES' IN LOCAL SCHOOLS UNDER PROPOSED MEASURE

LINCOLN- Legislative Resolution 21CA, proposed on Wednesday, could allow voters to take a dramatic step toward reducing local property taxes. Sen. Briese of Albion is proposing that the state take over all 'classroom expenses' of K-12 schools. This will relieve property taxes from funding teacher salaries, books and other costs. This would address what the senator thinks is one of the main drivers of the state's high property taxes. The crisis comes from the lack of support for local schools as Nebraska ranks near the bottom nationally. 

“For far too long the State of Nebraska has shirked its obligation to provide for the ‘free education’ of its students. Instead, the state has continually chosen to pass on the bulk of the cost of public education to its property tax payers,” Briese said.

This comes after the state failed to boost state aid to local schools. He realizes the state may have to look at new/higher taxes to pick up these classroom expenses. The state provides around $1 billion to public education now.

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NEBRASKA OPENS VACCINES TO PEOPLE 65-PLUS, WILL CONSIDER THOSE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS

OMAHA- As part of the next vaccination plan phase, Nebraska will start opening doses of the vaccine to anyone over 65 and will consider people with serious medical conditions with emphasis. One UNMC expert warns this expanded rollout could only cause more confusion to a already frustrating situation for many. This move comes after the vaccine guidance shifted from Operation Warp Speed-- the federal effort to roll out vaccines-- with the Trump administration urged states to open up vaccines for people over 65 rather than 75 and older in this phase. 

The second part of this change deals with people with medical conditions. The state is working with health care officials to determine which conditions will qualify in this group. Dr. Mark Rupp from UNMC says he isn't sure how much this will help anything and goes on to say that more vaccines are being sent out than what are actually being put into people's arms. 

“I would just plead with folks to continue to have patience,” Rupp said. “We’re working through this as quickly as possible. And overall, the public health services are doing a really good job with this.”

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REPORT: SPACE COMMAND DECISION WAS POLITICAL; COLORADO LAWMAKER URGES BIDEN TO REVERSE IT

OMAHA- A complaint from Colorado Springs is being made loudly after President Trump hurried the decision to make Huntsville, Alabama the permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command. Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska were both frontrunners for the new base. 

Rumors out of Colorado are saying the president overturned the Air Force Secretary's recommendation to name Peterson Air Force Base as the site for a political favor to deep-red voters in Alabama. Huntsville has been the center of the Army's missile program, as well as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Backers of the Peterson and Offutt bids claim that this is located in Rep. Mo Brooks district, one of Trump's biggest supporters to date. Colorado Springs representative Doug Lamborn, a Republican who was once a Trump loyalist, called the decision "horrendous."

Nebraska's congressional delegation declined to comment on the situation but are intending to ask Biden to take another look. Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who represented Nebraska in the Senate, said he would not be surprised if political trumped military necessity in this decision. 

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