BILL TO TRIPLE FINES AGAINST OFFICIALS WHO ENACT, THEN VIOLATE, HEALTH MEASURES DRAWS NO SUPPORT

LINCOLN — No one testified Thursday in support of a legislative bill that would triple fines against public officials who enact mask mandates and other public health measures and then violate them.

The state senator who introduced the proposal, Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, didn’t cite any examples of that happening in Nebraska, instead calling his Legislative Bill 645 a “proactive” measure against what he called “egregious oversteps” by local officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Hansen didn’t cite any examples Thursday of missteps by Nebraska officials, the issue of public officials violating restrictions they signed has come up nationally. A recall effort against California Gov. Gavin Newson gained steam in November after he was seen dining at a pricey Napa Valley restaurant, without masks or socially distanced, in violation of restrictions he helped set.

Hansen said that directed health measures have hurt businesses and caused political turmoil.

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NEBRASKA CENSUS EXPERT GIVES EXAMPLES OF HOW CONGRESSIONAL, LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS COULD SHIFT

LINCOLN- Census expert, David Drozd, although not on the redistricting committee, makes some observations about how the process should go. The 2nd District will have around 43,700 more residents than what is expected to be the new apportionment for each district and the 3rd District will be short 51,400. 

He says that if the process goes like it did in 2011, it will mean moving more territory from Sarpy County out of the 2nd District and into the 1st. Drozd suggests that two districts in southern Lancaster could be condensed in order to allow for two more legislative districts in the metro. 

In the Elkhorn/Bennington area, things will get more complicated as the area continues to grow. Relocations usually target legislative districts where the senator will be term limited. 

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KYLE ARGANBRIGHT: NEBRASKA SHOULD BE TO BEEF WHAT NAPA IS TO WINE, WHAT WISCONSIN IS TO CHEESE

OMAHA- How did the Beef State run out of beef during the pandemic? The beef supply chain somehow broke, and had been for a long time before the pandemic brought the issue to light. Infrastructure has grown to match natural resources which should allow the Sand Hills to produce a lot world-class cattle. 

Packing plants once had to be hyperlocal as refrigerated transport was not around. Now, plants have moved away from those areas and have come to places like South Omaha and Chicago. 80% of the market is made up of only four packers. Nebraskans deserve to continue to earn premium prices for their product. Everyone in the state should support new packing plants/lockers in order to insure that supply chain remain intact and also creates more jobs. 

Creating a state inspection program could help packers go through less work to sell their product and could allow families to buy directly from ranches. This is the state's largest industry and it need support. 

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FROM COVID TO IMMIGRATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE, BIDEN COULD AFFECT NEBRASKA IN MANY WAYS

OMAHA- America has found itself to be in a dark hole with 400,000 Americans dead from a pandemic, an economic crisis and a nation so divided an angry mob overran the U.S. Capitol after being stirred up by former President Trump. Omaha Federation of Labor President Terry Moore though, is hopeful that Biden can lift the country up and move it ahead. He believes the President will deliver on his promise to improve national infrastructure that will bring thousands of jobs to blue-collar workers in Nebraska. 

Obviously, getting COVID-19 under control is a huge hurdle President Biden is facing and will continue to face for quite some time. The president of the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce, Bryan Slone says getting the pandemic under control will not only help the health of people but the health of the economy. 

Biden has already impacted Nebraskans as he pulled the plug on the Keystone XL pipeline, which was first rejected by the Obama Administration then revived by Trump. State Senator John Cavanaugh also believes Biden will take another look at the placement for the U.S. Space Command which Trump hurriedly named Alabama as the home. 

Ben Nelson, who served with President Biden when he was in the Senate, says he is hopeful the president will mend the highly polarized Senate and House population. 

Climate

Biden, as mentioned before, already stopped production of the pipeline, his first task with global climate change in mind. He also plans for the country to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. John Hansen, the president of the Nebraska Farmers Union says this decision will produce economic opportunity in Nebraska. He predicts wind power generation will continue to grow in the state. 

Immigration

Immigrants play an integral role in the economy as they fill many jobs that would otherwise go unfilled, especially in the agriculture, hospitality and construction sectors. Immigrants also spend billions of dollars every year. 

“We can’t do our jobs without immigrant labor in agriculture,” said Mark McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau. “We need to find a way so those who want to come and work hard can do so under legal status.” 

Trade and international relations

After the Trump Administration placed regulatory tariffs on American agriculture products, the Farm Bureau has lost $1 billion in sales. Trump then gave direct payments to these farmers. However, the Trump Administration then landed a good deal with China and they are now buying like crazy. 

Infrastructure 

The need to fix aging highways throughout the country is imperative. The president has pledged to do something about the issue by promising a $2 trillion package to accelerate rebuilding roads, bridges and modern mass transit. 

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NEBRASKA'S NEXT GOVERNOR: WHO’S IN, WHO’S THINKING, WHO’S OUT OF CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR

OMAHA- Nebraska will get a new top executive in 2023, when term limits evict Gov. Pete Ricketts from the Governor's Mansion.

It's not yet clear whether Ricketts will seek another elected office or reclaim his private life. It's even harder to tell who might be governor after he leaves office. The field of potential 2022 contenders is growing. The World-Herald built a list of who might run by talking to political consultants, party leaders and others.

Those likely running include businessman Charles Herbster, and Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha. Some names of those considering a run for the state’s top seat include sitting United State Senator Deb Fischer, Regent Jim Pillen, Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, and State Chamber President Bryan Slone. Some other names being rumored include Rep. Don Bacon, Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk, Former Undersecretyary of Agriculture Greg Ibach, Speaker Mike Hilgers, Lt. Governor Mike Foley, and Dave Nabity. On the Democratic side, former Sen. Bob Krist is rumored to be interested in a second run for the seat. 

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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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