WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/marjorie-taylor-greene">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday she would call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Mike Johnson</a>, forcing her colleagues to choose sides in a difficult showdown after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/speaker-mike-johnson-marjorie-taylor-greene-motion-to-vacate-552169f3e831ab8fb3baacfdf76c2d82">Democratic leaders announced</a>&nbsp;they would provide the votes to save the Republican speaker's job.

Speaking outside the Capitol, Greene ranted against Republican Party leaders at the highest levels and pushed back against their public entreaties, including from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-speaker-johnson-maralago-congress-c6eaace204882df054795cf70a5fe60a">Donald Trump</a>, to avoid another messy political fight so close to the November election. With her was Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the few lawmakers who have joined her effort.

“We need leaders in the House of Representatives that are going to get this done,” said Greene, R-Ga., holding up a red “MAGA” hat from Trump's “Make America Great Again” campaign movement.

“Mike Johnson is not capable of that job,” she said.

In pressing ahead next week, she said that "every member of Congress needs to take that vote."

The standoff with Greene, one of Trump's most enthusiastic supporters, risks throwing Republican control of the House into a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-ukraine-aid-speaker-ouster-c525efc953d532242d6d441c55724992">fresh round of chaos</a>&nbsp;as rank-and-file lawmakers will have to choose between ousting Johnson, R-La., as speaker or joining with Democrats to keep him on the job.

Democrats see in Johnson a potential partner, a hard-line conservative who nevertheless is willing to lead his Republican Party away from the far-right voices obstructing the routine business of governing, including funding the government and, more recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-aid-israel-tiktok-congress-a8910452e623413bf1da1e491d1d94ba">supporting Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and other U.S. allies overseas.

The Democratic leader, New York Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nancy-pelosi-hakeem-jeffries-congress-government-and-politics-f898cc1a7c59c8f42f669b5f0f167385">Hakeem Jeffries</a>, and his team issued a joint statement this week saying it was time to “turn the page” on the GOP chaos, announcing that the Democrats would vote to table Greene’s motion to vacate the speaker’s office, essentially ensuring Johnson is not evicted from office.

“Are you going to embrace Hakeem Jeffries?” said Massie, before a poster-photo of Jeffries handing Johnson the gavel when the Republican first became speaker last fall.

Johnson's opponents are few, at this point, and less than the eight that it took to oust now-former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last fall in the first ever removal of sitting speaker from the powerful office that is second in the line of succession to the president. Just one other Republican, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, has Greene's joined the effort.

Greene and Massie said they were giving their colleagues the weekend to weigh their options before calling for the vote on her motion to vacate next week. Or, they said, Johnson could simply resign.

The turmoil has gripped a House already essentially at a standstill. Johnson has been unable to command his razor-thin majority to work together on party priorities and has been forced him into the arms of Democrats for the votes needed to approve most big bills — and now, to keep his job.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714577209426.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/marjorie-taylor-greene">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday she would call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Mike Johnson</a>, forcing her colleagues to choose sides in a difficult showdown after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/speaker-mike-johnson-marjorie-taylor-greene-motion-to-vacate-552169f3e831ab8fb3baacfdf76c2d82">Democratic leaders announced</a>&nbsp;they would provide the votes to save the Republican speaker's job.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepMTG</a> ): &quot;I think the American people need to see a recorded vote...So next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate. Absolutely calling it.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/P4Xnno13gV">pic.twitter.com/P4Xnno13gV</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1785687879445791060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Speaking outside the Capitol, Greene ranted against Republican Party leaders at the highest levels and pushed back against their public entreaties, including from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-speaker-johnson-maralago-congress-c6eaace204882df054795cf70a5fe60a">Donald Trump</a>, to avoid another messy political fight so close to the November election. With her was Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the few lawmakers who have joined her effort.“We need leaders in the House of Representatives that are going to get this done,” said Greene, R-Ga., holding up a red “MAGA” hat from Trump's “Make America Great Again” campaign movement.“Mike Johnson is not capable of that job,” she said.In pressing ahead next week, she said that "every member of Congress needs to take that vote."The standoff with Greene, one of Trump's most enthusiastic supporters, risks throwing Republican control of the House into a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-ukraine-aid-speaker-ouster-c525efc953d532242d6d441c55724992">fresh round of chaos</a>&nbsp;as rank-and-file lawmakers will have to choose between ousting Johnson, R-La., as speaker or joining with Democrats to keep him on the job.Democrats see in Johnson a potential partner, a hard-line conservative who nevertheless is willing to lead his Republican Party away from the far-right voices obstructing the routine business of governing, including funding the government and, more recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-aid-israel-tiktok-congress-a8910452e623413bf1da1e491d1d94ba">supporting Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and other U.S. allies overseas.The Democratic leader, New York Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nancy-pelosi-hakeem-jeffries-congress-government-and-politics-f898cc1a7c59c8f42f669b5f0f167385">Hakeem Jeffries</a>, and his team issued a joint statement this week saying it was time to “turn the page” on the GOP chaos, announcing that the Democrats would vote to table Greene’s motion to vacate the speaker’s office, essentially ensuring Johnson is not evicted from office.“Are you going to embrace Hakeem Jeffries?” said Massie, before a poster-photo of Jeffries handing Johnson the gavel when the Republican first became speaker last fall.Johnson's opponents are few, at this point, and less than the eight that it took to oust now-former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last fall in the first ever removal of sitting speaker from the powerful office that is second in the line of succession to the president. Just one other Republican, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, has Greene's joined the effort.Greene and Massie said they were giving their colleagues the weekend to weigh their options before calling for the vote on her motion to vacate next week. Or, they said, Johnson could simply resign.The turmoil has gripped a House already essentially at a standstill. Johnson has been unable to command his razor-thin majority to work together on party priorities and has been forced him into the arms of Democrats for the votes needed to approve most big bills — and now, to keep his job.

🎥Battle on over vote to oust another House Speaker

Omaha, NE: The Nebraska Broadcasters Association has made a $25,000 contribution to the United Way of the Midlands Nebraska &amp; Iowa Tornado Relief Fund.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

NBA Chairperson of the Board Shannon Booth, vice president/general manager of the Gray Media Group, Inc., television stations in Lincoln, Hastings and North Platte, said: “Our hearts ache for the families directly in the path of the devastating storms. These funds will stay local and benefit our neighbors and friends in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa as they begin to rebuild their lives.&nbsp;

Local broadcasters care deeply about the communities we serve.”&nbsp;

Nebraska Broadcasters AssociationOmaha, NE: The Nebraska Broadcasters Association has made a $25,000 contribution to the United Way of the Midlands Nebraska &amp; Iowa Tornado Relief Fund.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NBA Chairperson of the Board Shannon Booth, vice president/general manager of the Gray Media Group, Inc., television stations in Lincoln, Hastings and North Platte, said: “Our hearts ache for the families directly in the path of the devastating storms. These funds will stay local and benefit our neighbors and friends in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa as they begin to rebuild their lives.&nbsp;Local broadcasters care deeply about the communities we serve.”&nbsp;

Nebraska Broadcasters Association Donates $25,000 for Tornado Relief 

CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Donald Trump says in a new interview it should be left to the states whether to prosecute women for abortions or whether to monitor women's pregnancies. He declined to comment on access to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone-updates">abortion pill mifepristone</a>, which has been embroiled in an intense legal battle.

In an interview published Tuesday by&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/6972022/donald-trump-transcript-2024-election/">Time</a>&nbsp;magazine, Trump responded to questions about how he would handle various abortion questions if elected by repeatedly saying it should be left up to the states.

“You don’t need a federal ban,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said. “Roe v. Wade ... wasn’t about abortion so much as bringing it back to the states. So the states would negotiate deals. Florida is going to be different from Georgia and Georgia is going to be different from other places.”

When asked if he would veto a bill that would impose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">a federal ban</a>, he reiterated “it’s about states rights” and said “there will never be that chance” because Republicans, even if they take back the Senate in November, would not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and bring the bill to a vote.

Trump repeated his catchall states-rights response when asked if states should monitor women’s pregnancies so the government would know if they had an abortion. Amid debates about criminalizing women for getting abortions, including those who self-manage with medication, experts have raised alarm over how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-states-surveillance-apps-ads-wyden-87b5d36620c85ca9f6da4409755358f0">modern surveillance technologies</a>&nbsp;could help law enforcement agencies track and investigate abortions.

Trump also deferred to the states when asked if a woman should be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-miscarriage-prosecution-brittany-watts-b8090abfb5994b8a23457b80cf3f27ce">punished</a>&nbsp;for getting an abortion after a state has banned or restricted the procedure.

“The states are going to make that decision,” Trump said. “The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.”

Democrats have recently&nbsp;<a href="https://democrats.org/news/in-trumps-own-words-there-has-to-be-some-form-of-punishment-for-women-who-have-an-abortion-and-for-their-doctors-too/">seized on</a>&nbsp;comments Trump made in 2016, saying “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions.

Abortion is a central campaign issue in the 2024 presidential election as Trump seeks a more cautious stance on the issue, which has become a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-republican-desantis-politics-1280a04a2ba1011c3be8300cf7be4908">vulnerability for Republicans</a>&nbsp;and has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ohio-constitutional-amendments-voters-turnout-election-65381bfc596ab5e34c830f67cef05fc2">driven turnout</a>&nbsp;for Democrats. Trump’s deferring to individual states has drawn criticism from Democrats as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-republican-presidential-election-2024-585faf025a1416d13d2fbc23da8d8637">conservatives and anti-abortion groups</a>&nbsp;seeking a federal ban.

The national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America said in a statement that it was "disappointed in President Trump’s position of relegating a human rights issue to the states.” The organization also claimed Democrats would scrap the filibuster in order to “impose their agenda of abortion without limit on the entire country.”

SBA advocates for a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother, but the organization has voiced support for states with stricter bans.

As president, Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped form the majority that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned</a>&nbsp;the constitutional right to abortion, and he has taken credit for that during his campaign. Earlier this month, he said he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">“proudly the person responsible for the ending”</a>&nbsp;of the 50-year-old ruling, Roe v. Wade.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has blamed Trump for a deluge of state abortion restrictions put into effect since the ruling two years ago. His campaign also has warned that a second Trump term could lead to nationwide abortion restrictions. Most recently, Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-florida-donald-trump-abortion-6b069fd8c14c4c65236d708b347697f0">blamed Trump</a>&nbsp;for Florida’s six-week abortion ban during campaign events in the state last week.

“Donald Trump’s latest comments leave little doubt: If elected he’ll sign a national abortion ban, allow women who have an abortion to be prosecuted and punished, allow the government to invade women’s privacy to monitor their pregnancies, and put IVF and contraception in jeopardy nationwide,” Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said in a statement responding to the Time interview.

Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, also expressed doubts about Trump’s emphasis on moderation by leaving the issue up to the states.

“There is zero doubt in my mind that Trump will choose anti-abortion extremists and their horrifying agenda over American families every single chance he gets," she said.

Trump declined to speak with Time about mifepristone as access to the abortion pill has been thrown into uncertainty amid a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-pill-arguments-highlights-7fe897ec4f5b3121dc73d5b74b5a0d6d">legal battle</a>&nbsp;that’s made its way to the Supreme Court.

Advocates on both sides of the abortion debate also have long pressed Trump to make clear his views on the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/comstock-act-abortion-pills-dbf61e25f6f23cd3772c597dd6d4e337">Comstock Act</a>, a 19th Century law that has been revived by anti-abortion groups seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone. Trump declined to comment on the act, saying only that he has “pretty strong views” on the matter and would make a statement on it over the next 14 days.

“In Trump’s America, people will be punished for having abortions, the government will monitor women’s pregnancies, and he’ll weaponize and misuse the 19th-Century Comstock laws to try and criminalize doctors and outlaw abortion nationwide,” Jenny Lawson, executive director, Planned Parenthood Votes, said in a statement.

Trump's comments were consistent with his recent strategy to show more moderation on abortion rights as he seeks to appeal to a general electorate. Trump has previously voiced disagreement with abortion restrictions in individual states, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-abortion-ban-women-19th-century-1864-cf6598d4384fa35a4e073dfae3a844f2">Arizona's Civil War-era ban</a>&nbsp;and Florida's six-week ban. In the Time interview, Trump repeated that he “thought six weeks is too severe.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714517455009.png" alt="Former President Donald Trump outside the courtroom Tuesday afternoon-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Former President Donald Trump outside the courtroom Tuesday afternoon-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Donald Trump says in a new interview it should be left to the states whether to prosecute women for abortions or whether to monitor women's pregnancies. He declined to comment on access to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone-updates">abortion pill mifepristone</a>, which has been embroiled in an intense legal battle.In an interview published Tuesday by&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/6972022/donald-trump-transcript-2024-election/">Time</a>&nbsp;magazine, Trump responded to questions about how he would handle various abortion questions if elected by repeatedly saying it should be left up to the states.“You don’t need a federal ban,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said. “Roe v. Wade ... wasn’t about abortion so much as bringing it back to the states. So the states would negotiate deals. Florida is going to be different from Georgia and Georgia is going to be different from other places.”When asked if he would veto a bill that would impose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">a federal ban</a>, he reiterated “it’s about states rights” and said “there will never be that chance” because Republicans, even if they take back the Senate in November, would not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and bring the bill to a vote.Trump repeated his catchall states-rights response when asked if states should monitor women’s pregnancies so the government would know if they had an abortion. Amid debates about criminalizing women for getting abortions, including those who self-manage with medication, experts have raised alarm over how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-states-surveillance-apps-ads-wyden-87b5d36620c85ca9f6da4409755358f0">modern surveillance technologies</a>&nbsp;could help law enforcement agencies track and investigate abortions.Trump also deferred to the states when asked if a woman should be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-miscarriage-prosecution-brittany-watts-b8090abfb5994b8a23457b80cf3f27ce">punished</a>&nbsp;for getting an abortion after a state has banned or restricted the procedure.“The states are going to make that decision,” Trump said. “The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.”Democrats have recently&nbsp;<a href="https://democrats.org/news/in-trumps-own-words-there-has-to-be-some-form-of-punishment-for-women-who-have-an-abortion-and-for-their-doctors-too/">seized on</a>&nbsp;comments Trump made in 2016, saying “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions.Abortion is a central campaign issue in the 2024 presidential election as Trump seeks a more cautious stance on the issue, which has become a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-republican-desantis-politics-1280a04a2ba1011c3be8300cf7be4908">vulnerability for Republicans</a>&nbsp;and has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ohio-constitutional-amendments-voters-turnout-election-65381bfc596ab5e34c830f67cef05fc2">driven turnout</a>&nbsp;for Democrats. Trump’s deferring to individual states has drawn criticism from Democrats as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-republican-presidential-election-2024-585faf025a1416d13d2fbc23da8d8637">conservatives and anti-abortion groups</a>&nbsp;seeking a federal ban.The national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America said in a statement that it was "disappointed in President Trump’s position of relegating a human rights issue to the states.” The organization also claimed Democrats would scrap the filibuster in order to “impose their agenda of abortion without limit on the entire country.”SBA advocates for a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother, but the organization has voiced support for states with stricter bans.As president, Trump appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped form the majority that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned</a>&nbsp;the constitutional right to abortion, and he has taken credit for that during his campaign. Earlier this month, he said he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-2024-ban-7bf06e0856b88a710c79a6eb85cffa6a">“proudly the person responsible for the ending”</a>&nbsp;of the 50-year-old ruling, Roe v. Wade.Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has blamed Trump for a deluge of state abortion restrictions put into effect since the ruling two years ago. His campaign also has warned that a second Trump term could lead to nationwide abortion restrictions. Most recently, Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-florida-donald-trump-abortion-6b069fd8c14c4c65236d708b347697f0">blamed Trump</a>&nbsp;for Florida’s six-week abortion ban during campaign events in the state last week.“Donald Trump’s latest comments leave little doubt: If elected he’ll sign a national abortion ban, allow women who have an abortion to be prosecuted and punished, allow the government to invade women’s privacy to monitor their pregnancies, and put IVF and contraception in jeopardy nationwide,” Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said in a statement responding to the Time interview.Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, also expressed doubts about Trump’s emphasis on moderation by leaving the issue up to the states.“There is zero doubt in my mind that Trump will choose anti-abortion extremists and their horrifying agenda over American families every single chance he gets," she said.Trump declined to speak with Time about mifepristone as access to the abortion pill has been thrown into uncertainty amid a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-pill-arguments-highlights-7fe897ec4f5b3121dc73d5b74b5a0d6d">legal battle</a>&nbsp;that’s made its way to the Supreme Court.Advocates on both sides of the abortion debate also have long pressed Trump to make clear his views on the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/comstock-act-abortion-pills-dbf61e25f6f23cd3772c597dd6d4e337">Comstock Act</a>, a 19th Century law that has been revived by anti-abortion groups seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone. Trump declined to comment on the act, saying only that he has “pretty strong views” on the matter and would make a statement on it over the next 14 days.“In Trump’s America, people will be punished for having abortions, the government will monitor women’s pregnancies, and he’ll weaponize and misuse the 19th-Century Comstock laws to try and criminalize doctors and outlaw abortion nationwide,” Jenny Lawson, executive director, Planned Parenthood Votes, said in a statement.Trump's comments were consistent with his recent strategy to show more moderation on abortion rights as he seeks to appeal to a general electorate. Trump has previously voiced disagreement with abortion restrictions in individual states, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-abortion-ban-women-19th-century-1864-cf6598d4384fa35a4e073dfae3a844f2">Arizona's Civil War-era ban</a>&nbsp;and Florida's six-week ban. In the Time interview, Trump repeated that he “thought six weeks is too severe.”

Trump: States should decide whether to monitor pregnancies

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates began making historic changes in their policies on sexuality on Tuesday — voting without debate to reverse a series of anti-LGBTQ policies.

The delegates voted to delete mandatory penalties for conducting same-sex marriages and to remove their denomination's bans on considering LGBTQ candidates for ministry and on funding for gay-friendly ministries.

The 667-54 vote, coming during their legislative&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodists-schism-lgbtq-samesex-marriage-8b428597c86901b2d5886afeca5069c8">General Conference</a>, removes some of the scaffolding around the United Methodist Church's longstanding bans on LGBTQ-affirming policies regarding ordination, marriage and funding.

Still to come later this week are votes on the core of the bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage in church law and policy, which may draw more debate. However, the large majority achieved by Tuesday's votes indicate the tenor of the General Conference. The consensus was so overwhelming that these items were rolled into the legislative “consent calendar," normally reserved for non-controversial measures.

The actions follow a historic schism in what was long the third-largest denomination in the United States. About&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congregations-leaving-united-methodist-church-lgbtq-bans-70b8c89ea49174597f4548c249bab24f">one-quarter of U.S. congregations</a>&nbsp;left between 2019 and 2023, mostly conservative churches dismayed that the denomination wasn't enforcing its longstanding LGBTQ bans. With the absence of many conservative delegates, who had been in the solid majority in previous general conferences and had steadily reinforced such bans over the decades, progressive delegates are moving quickly to reverse such policies.

Such actions could also prompt departures of some international churches, particularly in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/methodists-lgbtq-samesex-marriage-conservatives-africa-1319aea6e1d2ad8755a905a8c4b1bf79">Africa</a>, where more conservative sexual values prevail and where same-sex activity is criminalized in some countries.

United Methodist Church law still bans the ordination of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” into ministry — a decades-old rule that will come up for a vote later this week.

However, on Tuesday, the General Conference voted to remove a related ban — on church officials considering someone for ordination who fits that category. It removed bans on bishops ordaining LGBTQ people as clergy or consecrating them as bishops.

It also removed mandatory penalties — imposed by a 2019 General Conference — on clergy who conduct ceremonies celebrating same-sex weddings or unions.

And it imposed a moratorium on any church judicial processes seeking to discipline any clergy for violating LGBTQ-related rules.

In addition, the General Conference took actions toward being openly LGBTQ-affirming.

It repealed a longstanding ban on any United Methodist entity using funds “to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.” That previous ban also forbade the funding of any effort to "reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends" and expressly supported the funding of responses to the anti-HIV epidemic. However, the mixed wording of the old rule has been replaced with a ban on funding any effort to “reject any LGBTQIA+ person or openly discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people.”

“It’s a very liberating day for United Methodists who are actively involved with LGBTQ people,” said the Rev. David Meredith, board chair for the Reconciling Ministries Network, a group that has long advocated for LGBTQ inclusion in the church.

Compared with past, contentious general conferences, this one is "much more upbeat," added Jan Lawrence, executive director of the network. “Yes, we’re going to have things we disagree on. But the vitriol that we saw in 2019, that is not evident at all.”

Other rule changes called for considering of LGBTQ people along with other demographic categories for appointments in an effort to have diversity on various church boards and entities.

The General Conference is the UMC’s first legislative gathering since 2019, one that features its most progressive slate of delegates in recent memory following the departure of more than 7,600 mostly conservative congregations in the United States because it essentially stopped enforcing its bans on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordination.

Those departures came during a window between 2019 and 2023 allowing U.S. congregations to leave with their properties, held in trust for the denomination, under friendlier than normal terms. Conservatives are advocating that such terms be extended for international and U.S. churches that don't agree with the General Conference's actions.

“We get it, the United Methodist Church wants to be done with disaffiliation," said the Rev. Rob Renfroe, president of the conservative advocacy group Good News. “They want to step into this new day. We do not want to keep them from that. But how can disaffiliation be over when it never began for the majority of United Methodists?”

Still to come this week are final votes on whether to remove the bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage, and whether to whether to replace a longstanding document that had called the “practice of homosexuality … incompatible with Christian teaching.”

All of those proposals had overwhelming support in committee votes last week.

The changes would be historic in a denomination that has debated LGBTQ issues for more than half a century at its General Conferences, which typically meet every four years.

Last week, the conference endorsed a regionalization plan that essentially would allow the churches of the United States the same autonomy as other regions of the global church. That change – which still requires local ratification -- could create a scenario where LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage are allowed in the United States but not in other regions. Delegates on Tuesday approved a related measure related to regionalization.

The conference last week also approved the departure of a small group of conservative churches in the former Soviet Union.

The denomination had until recently been the third largest in the United States, present in almost every county. But its 5.4 million U.S. membership in 2022 is expected to drop once the 2023 departures are factored in.

The denomination also counts 4.6 million members in other countries, mainly in Africa, though earlier estimates have been higher.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/ap-twir">collaboration</a>&nbsp;with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714509026540.png" alt="View from the livestream of the General Conference on Tuesday" />
 <figcaption>View from the livestream of the General Conference on Tuesday</figcaption>
 </figure>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates began making historic changes in their policies on sexuality on Tuesday — voting without debate to reverse a series of anti-LGBTQ policies.The delegates voted to delete mandatory penalties for conducting same-sex marriages and to remove their denomination's bans on considering LGBTQ candidates for ministry and on funding for gay-friendly ministries.The 667-54 vote, coming during their legislative&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodists-schism-lgbtq-samesex-marriage-8b428597c86901b2d5886afeca5069c8">General Conference</a>, removes some of the scaffolding around the United Methodist Church's longstanding bans on LGBTQ-affirming policies regarding ordination, marriage and funding.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714509299729.png" alt="Delegate from the New England region Effie McLain of spoke during the Tuesday session as shown on the livestream" />
 <figcaption>Delegate from the New England region Effie McLain of spoke during the Tuesday session as shown on the livestream</figcaption>
 </figure>Still to come later this week are votes on the core of the bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage in church law and policy, which may draw more debate. However, the large majority achieved by Tuesday's votes indicate the tenor of the General Conference. The consensus was so overwhelming that these items were rolled into the legislative “consent calendar," normally reserved for non-controversial measures.The actions follow a historic schism in what was long the third-largest denomination in the United States. About&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congregations-leaving-united-methodist-church-lgbtq-bans-70b8c89ea49174597f4548c249bab24f">one-quarter of U.S. congregations</a>&nbsp;left between 2019 and 2023, mostly conservative churches dismayed that the denomination wasn't enforcing its longstanding LGBTQ bans. With the absence of many conservative delegates, who had been in the solid majority in previous general conferences and had steadily reinforced such bans over the decades, progressive delegates are moving quickly to reverse such policies.Such actions could also prompt departures of some international churches, particularly in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/methodists-lgbtq-samesex-marriage-conservatives-africa-1319aea6e1d2ad8755a905a8c4b1bf79">Africa</a>, where more conservative sexual values prevail and where same-sex activity is criminalized in some countries.United Methodist Church law still bans the ordination of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” into ministry — a decades-old rule that will come up for a vote later this week.However, on Tuesday, the General Conference voted to remove a related ban — on church officials considering someone for ordination who fits that category. It removed bans on bishops ordaining LGBTQ people as clergy or consecrating them as bishops.It also removed mandatory penalties — imposed by a 2019 General Conference — on clergy who conduct ceremonies celebrating same-sex weddings or unions.And it imposed a moratorium on any church judicial processes seeking to discipline any clergy for violating LGBTQ-related rules.In addition, the General Conference took actions toward being openly LGBTQ-affirming.It repealed a longstanding ban on any United Methodist entity using funds “to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.” That previous ban also forbade the funding of any effort to "reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends" and expressly supported the funding of responses to the anti-HIV epidemic. However, the mixed wording of the old rule has been replaced with a ban on funding any effort to “reject any LGBTQIA+ person or openly discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people.”“It’s a very liberating day for United Methodists who are actively involved with LGBTQ people,” said the Rev. David Meredith, board chair for the Reconciling Ministries Network, a group that has long advocated for LGBTQ inclusion in the church.Compared with past, contentious general conferences, this one is "much more upbeat," added Jan Lawrence, executive director of the network. “Yes, we’re going to have things we disagree on. But the vitriol that we saw in 2019, that is not evident at all.”Other rule changes called for considering of LGBTQ people along with other demographic categories for appointments in an effort to have diversity on various church boards and entities.The General Conference is the UMC’s first legislative gathering since 2019, one that features its most progressive slate of delegates in recent memory following the departure of more than 7,600 mostly conservative congregations in the United States because it essentially stopped enforcing its bans on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordination.Those departures came during a window between 2019 and 2023 allowing U.S. congregations to leave with their properties, held in trust for the denomination, under friendlier than normal terms. Conservatives are advocating that such terms be extended for international and U.S. churches that don't agree with the General Conference's actions.“We get it, the United Methodist Church wants to be done with disaffiliation," said the Rev. Rob Renfroe, president of the conservative advocacy group Good News. “They want to step into this new day. We do not want to keep them from that. But how can disaffiliation be over when it never began for the majority of United Methodists?”Still to come this week are final votes on whether to remove the bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage, and whether to whether to replace a longstanding document that had called the “practice of homosexuality … incompatible with Christian teaching.”All of those proposals had overwhelming support in committee votes last week.The changes would be historic in a denomination that has debated LGBTQ issues for more than half a century at its General Conferences, which typically meet every four years.Last week, the conference endorsed a regionalization plan that essentially would allow the churches of the United States the same autonomy as other regions of the global church. That change – which still requires local ratification -- could create a scenario where LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage are allowed in the United States but not in other regions. Delegates on Tuesday approved a related measure related to regionalization.The conference last week also approved the departure of a small group of conservative churches in the former Soviet Union.The denomination had until recently been the third largest in the United States, present in almost every county. But its 5.4 million U.S. membership in 2022 is expected to drop once the 2023 departures are factored in.The denomination also counts 4.6 million members in other countries, mainly in Africa, though earlier estimates have been higher.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/ap-twir">collaboration</a>&nbsp;with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

United Methodists begin to reverse longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-management-methylene-chloride">methylene chloride</a>, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems.

The EPA said its action will protect Americans from health risks while allowing certain commercial uses to continue with robust worker protections.

The rule banning methylene chloride is the second risk management rule to be finalized by President Joe Biden's administration under landmark&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-united-states-congress-united-states-government-f6eb1fbdbaab4560aff3609cfcd457f4">2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act</a>. The first was an action last month to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epa-asbestos-cancer-brakes-biden-72b0fa8b36adedaff6000034d35c2acd">ban asbestos</a>, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products.

“Exposure to methylene chloride has devastated families across this country for too long, including some who saw loved ones go to work and never come home,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-s-regan">EPA Administrator Michael Regan</a>&nbsp;said in a statement. The new rule , he said, “brings an end to unsafe methylene chloride practices and implements the strongest worker protections possible for the few remaining industrial uses, ensuring no one in this country is put in harm’s way by this dangerous chemical."

Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is a colorless liquid that emits a toxic vapor that has killed at least 88 workers since 1980, the EPA said. Long-term health effects include a variety of cancers, including liver cancer and lung cancer, and damage to the nervous, immune and reproductive systems.

The EPA rule would ban all consumer uses but allow certain “critical” uses in the military and industrial processing, with worker protections in place, said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

Methylene chloride will continue to be allowed to make refrigerants as an alternative to other chemicals that produce greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change, Freedhoff said. It also will be allowed for use in electric vehicle batteries and for critical military functions.

“The uses we think can safely continue (all) happen in sophisticated industrial settings, and in some cases there are no real substitutes available,'' Freedhoff said.

The chemical industry has argued that the EPA is overstating the risks of methylene chloride and that adequate protections have mitigated health risks.

The American Chemistry Council, the industry's top lobbying group, called methylene chloride “an essential compound" used to make many products and goods Americans rely on every day, including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing and metal cleaning and degreasing.

An EPA proposal last year could introduce “regulatory uncertainty and confusion" with existing exposure limits set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the group said.

The chemical council also said it was concerned that the EPA had not fully evaluated the rule's impacts on the domestic supply chain and could end up prohibiting up to half of all end uses subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

While the EPA banned one consumer use of methylene chloride in 2019, use of the chemical has remained widespread and continues to pose significant and sometimes fatal danger to workers, the agency said. The EPA’s final risk management rule requires companies to rapidly phase down manufacturing, processing and distribution of methylene chloride for all consumer uses and most industrial and commercial uses, including in home renovations.

Consumer use will be phased out within a year, and most industrial and commercial uses will be prohibited within two years.

Liz Hitchcock, director of a safer chemicals program for the advocacy group Toxic-Free Future, praised the new rule but added: “As glad as we are to see today’s rule banning all consumer and most commercial uses, we are concerned that limits to its scope will allow continued exposure for too many workers to methylene chloride’s dangerous and deadly effects.”

Wendy Hartley, whose son Kevin died from methylene chloride poisoning after refinishing a bathtub at work, called the new rule "a huge step that will protect vulnerable workers.”

Kevin Hartley, 21, of Tennessee, died in 2017. He was an organ donor, Wendy Hartley said, adding that because of the EPA's actions, “Kevin’s death will continue to save lives."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714487791856.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-management-methylene-chloride">methylene chloride</a>, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems.The EPA said its action will protect Americans from health risks while allowing certain commercial uses to continue with robust worker protections.The rule banning methylene chloride is the second risk management rule to be finalized by President Joe Biden's administration under landmark&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-united-states-congress-united-states-government-f6eb1fbdbaab4560aff3609cfcd457f4">2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act</a>. The first was an action last month to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epa-asbestos-cancer-brakes-biden-72b0fa8b36adedaff6000034d35c2acd">ban asbestos</a>, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products.“Exposure to methylene chloride has devastated families across this country for too long, including some who saw loved ones go to work and never come home,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-s-regan">EPA Administrator Michael Regan</a>&nbsp;said in a statement. The new rule , he said, “brings an end to unsafe methylene chloride practices and implements the strongest worker protections possible for the few remaining industrial uses, ensuring no one in this country is put in harm’s way by this dangerous chemical."Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is a colorless liquid that emits a toxic vapor that has killed at least 88 workers since 1980, the EPA said. Long-term health effects include a variety of cancers, including liver cancer and lung cancer, and damage to the nervous, immune and reproductive systems.The EPA rule would ban all consumer uses but allow certain “critical” uses in the military and industrial processing, with worker protections in place, said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.Methylene chloride will continue to be allowed to make refrigerants as an alternative to other chemicals that produce greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change, Freedhoff said. It also will be allowed for use in electric vehicle batteries and for critical military functions.“The uses we think can safely continue (all) happen in sophisticated industrial settings, and in some cases there are no real substitutes available,'' Freedhoff said.The chemical industry has argued that the EPA is overstating the risks of methylene chloride and that adequate protections have mitigated health risks.The American Chemistry Council, the industry's top lobbying group, called methylene chloride “an essential compound" used to make many products and goods Americans rely on every day, including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing and metal cleaning and degreasing.An EPA proposal last year could introduce “regulatory uncertainty and confusion" with existing exposure limits set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the group said.The chemical council also said it was concerned that the EPA had not fully evaluated the rule's impacts on the domestic supply chain and could end up prohibiting up to half of all end uses subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act.While the EPA banned one consumer use of methylene chloride in 2019, use of the chemical has remained widespread and continues to pose significant and sometimes fatal danger to workers, the agency said. The EPA’s final risk management rule requires companies to rapidly phase down manufacturing, processing and distribution of methylene chloride for all consumer uses and most industrial and commercial uses, including in home renovations.Consumer use will be phased out within a year, and most industrial and commercial uses will be prohibited within two years.Liz Hitchcock, director of a safer chemicals program for the advocacy group Toxic-Free Future, praised the new rule but added: “As glad as we are to see today’s rule banning all consumer and most commercial uses, we are concerned that limits to its scope will allow continued exposure for too many workers to methylene chloride’s dangerous and deadly effects.”Wendy Hartley, whose son Kevin died from methylene chloride poisoning after refinishing a bathtub at work, called the new rule "a huge step that will protect vulnerable workers.”Kevin Hartley, 21, of Tennessee, died in 2017. He was an organ donor, Wendy Hartley said, adding that because of the EPA's actions, “Kevin’s death will continue to save lives."

EPA bans consumer use of a toxic chemical widely used as a paint stripper

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a man on multiple allegations after a Bison at Yellowstone National Park injured him.

According to the National Park Service, on April 21, a 40-year-old man identified as Clarence Yoder of Idaho Falls, Idaho, approached a bison too closely (within 25 yards) and was injured by the bison.

The incident occurred on the West Entrance Road near the Seven Mile Bridge, located 7 miles east of the park’s West Entrance.

Park Rangers responded to the area after receiving a report of an individual who harassed a herd of bison and kicked a bison in the leg. They located the suspect's vehicle near the West Entrance and stopped it in the town of West Yellowstone, Montana.

Rangers arrested Yoder on requested charges of being under the influence of alcohol to a degree that may endanger oneself, disorderly conduct as to create or maintain a hazardous condition and approaching wildlife and disturbing wildlife.

The driver of the vehicle Yoder traveled in, 37-year-old McKenna Bass, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was also arrested and on requested charges of driving under the influence, interference for failure to yield to emergency light activation and disturbing wildlife.

Rangers transported Yoder to a nearby medical facility where he was medically evaluated, treated for minor injuries and released from medical care. He then was transported to the Gallatin County Detention Center.

Yoder and Bass appeared in court on April 22 and pleaded not guilty to the charges.&nbsp; Each violation can result in fines up to $5,000 and six months in jail. This incident, the first reported incident of a visitor being injured by a bison in 2024, remains under investigation.

The park reminded visitors: It’s your responsibility to respect safety regulations and view wildlife from a safe distance.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714504661549.png" alt="Photo National Park Service Jacob W. Frank" />
 <figcaption>Photo National Park Service Jacob W. Frank</figcaption>
 </figure>WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a man on multiple allegations after a Bison at Yellowstone National Park injured him.According to the National Park Service, on April 21, a 40-year-old man identified as Clarence Yoder of Idaho Falls, Idaho, approached a bison too closely (within 25 yards) and was injured by the bison.The incident occurred on the West Entrance Road near the Seven Mile Bridge, located 7 miles east of the park’s West Entrance.Park Rangers responded to the area after receiving a report of an individual who harassed a herd of bison and kicked a bison in the leg. They located the suspect's vehicle near the West Entrance and stopped it in the town of West Yellowstone, Montana.Rangers arrested Yoder on requested charges of being under the influence of alcohol to a degree that may endanger oneself, disorderly conduct as to create or maintain a hazardous condition and approaching wildlife and disturbing wildlife.The driver of the vehicle Yoder traveled in, 37-year-old McKenna Bass, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was also arrested and on requested charges of driving under the influence, interference for failure to yield to emergency light activation and disturbing wildlife.Rangers transported Yoder to a nearby medical facility where he was medically evaluated, treated for minor injuries and released from medical care. He then was transported to the Gallatin County Detention Center.Yoder and Bass appeared in court on April 22 and pleaded not guilty to the charges.&nbsp; Each violation can result in fines up to $5,000 and six months in jail. This incident, the first reported incident of a visitor being injured by a bison in 2024, remains under investigation.The park reminded visitors: It’s your responsibility to respect safety regulations and view wildlife from a safe distance.

Man injured, charged with harassing bison in Yellowstone

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/04/29/gov-pillen-outlines-nebraskas-local-federal-next-steps-following-war-zone-tornadoes/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;Days after a wave of tornadoes hit Nebraska, Gov. Jim Pillen on Monday thanked neighbors for stepping up for one another alongside various local, state and federal supporters.

Pillen said that as of Monday morning, power had been restored to nearly every home in the most heavily affected parts of eastern Nebraska, including the Elkhorn, Bennington and Washington County areas. This excludes about 450 homes, the governor said, which do not have power because they’re totally destroyed.

“I don’t know that anybody can find the right words to use it, but it’s a war zone,” Pillen said of what he saw in Douglas and Washington Counties. “The longer it (the tornado) went, the bigger it got and the wider it was.”

The governor said he has been on ground zero in both places —&nbsp;touring with local State Sens. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and Ben Hansen of Blair, among other leaders. He said it was “extraordinarily sobering” to see areas that had been “totally obliterated.”

Pillen said he saw what was probably too many volunteers in Elkhorn but that it demonstrates Nebraskans’ willingness to help.

He said it will be a “long, long marathon” and “years before the scars are healed.”

“My assessment would be that it’s going to take every single weekend and every opportunity between now and the snow flying to be able to have a chance to get those communities cleaned up and be able to start rebuilding,” Pillen said.

Nebraskans who suffered damage should report such to their county emergency management agencies so the agency can keep track and document the issues, Pillen said. This will help Nebraska tap into state and federal resources as President Joe Biden and FEMA have offered federal support.

“This is not normal for Nebraskans to ask for help,” Pillen said. “If you don’t ask for help, we actually harm our neighbor because we need everybody to get to the level so that we can get the federal assistance.”

Those wishing to volunteer for recovery efforts should also contact local emergency management agencies to coordinate such help, Pillen said, also pointing to nonprofits and other local organizations that have stepped up their support.

“By the grace of God,” Pillen added, no Nebraskans were killed in the storm. However, officials confirmed Sunday the death of a western Iowa&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2024/04/28/authorities-injured-minden-iowa-man-dies-after-april-26-tornado/73493079007/">man injured in Friday’s storm</a>&nbsp;when it hit Minden, Iowa.

Capt. Greg Miller of the Nebraska State Patrol said troopers are providing “around the clock” security in affected areas to ensure Nebraskans’ lives are not devastated further by property theft.

“We want to make sure that if you don’t have business in the area to please stay away,” Miller said.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced two looting-related arrests Sunday as it has also stepped up security in affected areas.

Pillen said that he spent much of Sunday afternoon with Nebraska National Guard Adj. Gen. Craig Strong and that they have had conversations about whether to mobilize the Guard to assist with recovery of public property. As of Monday, Strong and Pillen were still assessing damages and had not reached a decision.

As far as preliminary assessments of those damages, Pillen said it’s still premature to say though it will be millions, at least. Four public hangars were destroyed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, which Pillen said each cost about $1.5 million.&nbsp;

Pillen said the damages will likely exceed&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/gov-pillen-issues-post-storm-declaration-that-allows-use-of-state-emergency-fund/">available state resources</a>, which he noted underscores a need for accurate assessments as Nebraska partners with FEMA.

The governor said he was busy both Saturday and Sunday and missed a phone call from President Joe Biden, who left a message that the federal government was “keeping a very close eye” on Nebraska and would do everything to help the state.

“Same way with the FEMA director, that I told her we were very grateful for their outreach,” Pillen said. “We Nebraskans are learning that we need to ask for help.”

The National Weather Service Omaha in a Monday statement issued preliminary findings of the Friday, April 26, tornado outbreak that injured six people and killed one Iowa man. The outbreak included nine confirmed tornadoes in the NWS Omaha coverage area:

“Historically speaking, these are the strongest tornadoes in eastern Nebraska or western Iowa (the NWS Omaha/Valley coverage area) in nearly 10 years,” the statement reads.

The previous strongest was an Ef-3 tornado in Coleridge, Nebraska, on June 17, 2014, which was one day after four EF-4 tornadoes hit northeast Nebraska, including Pilger.

The Arbor Day tornadoes stretched from central Nebraska into central Iowa, across 162.5 miles (one was on the ground for 40.9 miles straight in Iowa). Two tornadoes were 1 mile wide each with one of the nine twisters reaching at least 165 mph. The twisters were on the ground for 4 hours and 51 minutes combined.

NWS Omaha reported that one of the more notable damage paths was just northeast of Lincoln, from Waterloo to Elkhorn to near Soldier, Iowa.

Soure:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?issuedby=OAX&amp;product=PNS&amp;site=oax">National Weather Service Omaha</a>;&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.weather.gov/oax/april262024">National Weather Service</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714500385272.jpeg" alt=" Gov. Jim Pillen provides an update on a tornado outbreak that swept through Nebraska and Iowa in the past week. April 29, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> Gov. Jim Pillen provides an update on a tornado outbreak that swept through Nebraska and Iowa in the past week. April 29, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/04/29/gov-pillen-outlines-nebraskas-local-federal-next-steps-following-war-zone-tornadoes/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;Days after a wave of tornadoes hit Nebraska, Gov. Jim Pillen on Monday thanked neighbors for stepping up for one another alongside various local, state and federal supporters.Pillen said that as of Monday morning, power had been restored to nearly every home in the most heavily affected parts of eastern Nebraska, including the Elkhorn, Bennington and Washington County areas. This excludes about 450 homes, the governor said, which do not have power because they’re totally destroyed.“I don’t know that anybody can find the right words to use it, but it’s a war zone,” Pillen said of what he saw in Douglas and Washington Counties. “The longer it (the tornado) went, the bigger it got and the wider it was.”<h2>Months of cleanup ahead</h2>The governor said he has been on ground zero in both places —&nbsp;touring with local State Sens. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and Ben Hansen of Blair, among other leaders. He said it was “extraordinarily sobering” to see areas that had been “totally obliterated.”Pillen said he saw what was probably too many volunteers in Elkhorn but that it demonstrates Nebraskans’ willingness to help.He said it will be a “long, long marathon” and “years before the scars are healed.”“My assessment would be that it’s going to take every single weekend and every opportunity between now and the snow flying to be able to have a chance to get those communities cleaned up and be able to start rebuilding,” Pillen said.Nebraskans who suffered damage should report such to their county emergency management agencies so the agency can keep track and document the issues, Pillen said. This will help Nebraska tap into state and federal resources as President Joe Biden and FEMA have offered federal support.“This is not normal for Nebraskans to ask for help,” Pillen said. “If you don’t ask for help, we actually harm our neighbor because we need everybody to get to the level so that we can get the federal assistance.”<h2>Security in affected areas</h2>Those wishing to volunteer for recovery efforts should also contact local emergency management agencies to coordinate such help, Pillen said, also pointing to nonprofits and other local organizations that have stepped up their support.“By the grace of God,” Pillen added, no Nebraskans were killed in the storm. However, officials confirmed Sunday the death of a western Iowa&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2024/04/28/authorities-injured-minden-iowa-man-dies-after-april-26-tornado/73493079007/">man injured in Friday’s storm</a>&nbsp;when it hit Minden, Iowa.Capt. Greg Miller of the Nebraska State Patrol said troopers are providing “around the clock” security in affected areas to ensure Nebraskans’ lives are not devastated further by property theft.“We want to make sure that if you don’t have business in the area to please stay away,” Miller said.The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced two looting-related arrests Sunday as it has also stepped up security in affected areas.<h2>Damage assessments ongoing</h2>Pillen said that he spent much of Sunday afternoon with Nebraska National Guard Adj. Gen. Craig Strong and that they have had conversations about whether to mobilize the Guard to assist with recovery of public property. As of Monday, Strong and Pillen were still assessing damages and had not reached a decision.As far as preliminary assessments of those damages, Pillen said it’s still premature to say though it will be millions, at least. Four public hangars were destroyed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, which Pillen said each cost about $1.5 million.&nbsp;Pillen said the damages will likely exceed&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/gov-pillen-issues-post-storm-declaration-that-allows-use-of-state-emergency-fund/">available state resources</a>, which he noted underscores a need for accurate assessments as Nebraska partners with FEMA.The governor said he was busy both Saturday and Sunday and missed a phone call from President Joe Biden, who left a message that the federal government was “keeping a very close eye” on Nebraska and would do everything to help the state.“Same way with the FEMA director, that I told her we were very grateful for their outreach,” Pillen said. “We Nebraskans are learning that we need to ask for help.”<h2>Overview of Friday’s storm</h2>The National Weather Service Omaha in a Monday statement issued preliminary findings of the Friday, April 26, tornado outbreak that injured six people and killed one Iowa man. The outbreak included nine confirmed tornadoes in the NWS Omaha coverage area:<ul>
 <li>Five EF-3 tornadoes (strong, 136 to 165 mph).</li><li>Two EF-2 tornadoes (strong, 111 to 135 mph).</li><li>Two EF-1 tornadoes (weak, 86 to 110 mph).</li>
 </ul>“Historically speaking, these are the strongest tornadoes in eastern Nebraska or western Iowa (the NWS Omaha/Valley coverage area) in nearly 10 years,” the statement reads.The previous strongest was an Ef-3 tornado in Coleridge, Nebraska, on June 17, 2014, which was one day after four EF-4 tornadoes hit northeast Nebraska, including Pilger.The Arbor Day tornadoes stretched from central Nebraska into central Iowa, across 162.5 miles (one was on the ground for 40.9 miles straight in Iowa). Two tornadoes were 1 mile wide each with one of the nine twisters reaching at least 165 mph. The twisters were on the ground for 4 hours and 51 minutes combined.NWS Omaha reported that one of the more notable damage paths was just northeast of Lincoln, from Waterloo to Elkhorn to near Soldier, Iowa.Soure:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?issuedby=OAX&amp;product=PNS&amp;site=oax">National Weather Service Omaha</a>;&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.weather.gov/oax/april262024">National Weather Service</a>

Gov. Pillen outlines Nebraska’s local, federal next steps following ‘war zone’ tornadoes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A shootout that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-north-carolina-shooting-police-42d3e25ec6ec990634c9ac209e0f779a">killed four law enforcement officers</a>&nbsp;and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers approached a home to serve a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm, police said.

Some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighborhood Monday afternoon to rescue the first wave of downed officers were wounded as a second shooter began firing on them after they killed the wanted man, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said.

“Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe,” Jennings said at a news conference.

After a three-hour standoff, the suburban Charlotte home was torn open. Armored vehicles smashed into it, ripping off windows and entire doorways that were left broken. Several armored vehicles were parked across yards, some with tree branches dangling off them.

The U.S. Marshals Task Force was fired on by the wanted suspect as they approached the house and the man was killed in the front yard, Jennings said. Police identified him as Terry Clark Hughes Jr, 39. He was wanted for possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of felony flee to elude in Lincoln County, North Carolina. A second person then fired on officers from inside the home where a high-powered rifle was found, Jennings added.

After the police department's Special Weapons and Tactics Team negotiated with other people in the house, two females came out and were taken to a police station to be interviewed by detectives, police said in a news release. Previously, police had said a woman and 17-year-old male were being questioned.

The Marshal’s Service confirmed one of its agents was killed. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction identified two of the task force officers killed as Sam Poloche and Alden Elliot. Both had been with the department for 14 years. They served as probation/parole officers before joining the department’s Special Operations and Intelligence Unit, the department said. Poloche joined in 2013 and Elliot in 2016.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Joshua Eyer died a few hours later at the hospital, Jennings said. Eyer was named the officer of the month for the force for April a few weeks ago, the chief said.

“He certainly gave his life and dedicated his life to protecting our citizens,” Jennings said.

One other member of the task force, which is made up of federal agents and other officers from across the region, was injured.

Three other Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers who responded to the scene were shot while trying to rescue the wounded officers.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was in Charlotte and was speaking to the families of the officers killed and hurt.

Neighbors said gunfire lasted for several minutes.

WSOC-TV said their helicopter captured an armored vehicle driving through yards and knocking over recycling bins before officers removed a person with blood on their shirt who was then loaded into an ambulance.

After the home was cleared, the helicopter pilot said he couldn't show the front lawn of the home because the scene was too graphic and disturbing.

“A lot of the questions that need to be answered, we don’t even know what those questions are now," Jennings said, somberly briefing reporters less than four hours after the shooting. “We have to get a full understanding of why this occurred and also uphold the integrity of the investigation.”

Many roads in the area including Interstate 77 were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals faster. TV footage showed ambulances speeding to hospitals escorted by vehicles both in front and behind with their sirens wailing.

Rissa Reign was cleaning her house when she heard the first shots ring out. There was a pause, then a second set of shots and then a third. She stepped outside.

“When we came outside, there were no cops at all, then cops started rushing, rushing, rushing, rushing in,” she said, adding armored SWAT trucks quickly followed and they "were going over the grass, everything, and they started shooting again.”

The neighborhood, of one– and two-story, brick homes and small trimmed lawns, is very safe, said Alex Rivera, who lives on a street nearby.

“I see, like, 50 police cars zooming in, and then I hear gunshots,” he said on the front porch of the house he shares with his cousin. “I was scared, because there was so much going on.“

Another neighbor, William Cunningham, was moved to tears as he sat on his porch. He said he is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm but never expected such violence in his own neighborhood.

“Bless those officers and bless their families,” he said. “Nobody should get killed over a warrant.”

Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were placed on lockdown around afternoon dismissal, but that was lifted in the late afternoon, the district said.

Police urged people to stay away from the neighborhood and asked residents to remain inside their homes until the all clear was given.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and spoke with Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles to express his condolences and support for the community.

“They are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, rushing into harm’s way to protect us," Biden said in a statement late Monday. "We mourn for them and their loved ones. And we pray for the recoveries of the courageous officers who were wounded.”

The last marshal shot and killed in the line of duty was in November 2018. Chase White was shot in Tucson, Arizona, by a man wanted for stalking local law enforcement officers, the agency said.

The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte and comprised of 70 federal, state and local agencies. Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to find and arrest suspects in crimes.

In six years, the regional task force has apprehended more than 8,900 fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service said on its website.

In March 2007, two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers were killed while responding to a domestic dispute by someone not directly involved in the fight. Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery is serving a life sentence in the killings of officers Jeffrey Shelton and Sean Clark.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714487763008.jpeg" alt="Multiple law enforcement vehicles respond in the neighborhood where several officers on a task force trying to serve a warrant were shot in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, April 29, 2024. (Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez/The Charlotte Observer via AP)" />
 <figcaption>Multiple law enforcement vehicles respond in the neighborhood where several officers on a task force trying to serve a warrant were shot in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, April 29, 2024. (Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez/The Charlotte Observer via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A shootout that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-north-carolina-shooting-police-42d3e25ec6ec990634c9ac209e0f779a">killed four law enforcement officers</a>&nbsp;and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers approached a home to serve a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm, police said.Some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighborhood Monday afternoon to rescue the first wave of downed officers were wounded as a second shooter began firing on them after they killed the wanted man, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said.“Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe,” Jennings said at a news conference.After a three-hour standoff, the suburban Charlotte home was torn open. Armored vehicles smashed into it, ripping off windows and entire doorways that were left broken. Several armored vehicles were parked across yards, some with tree branches dangling off them.The U.S. Marshals Task Force was fired on by the wanted suspect as they approached the house and the man was killed in the front yard, Jennings said. Police identified him as Terry Clark Hughes Jr, 39. He was wanted for possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of felony flee to elude in Lincoln County, North Carolina. A second person then fired on officers from inside the home where a high-powered rifle was found, Jennings added.After the police department's Special Weapons and Tactics Team negotiated with other people in the house, two females came out and were taken to a police station to be interviewed by detectives, police said in a news release. Previously, police had said a woman and 17-year-old male were being questioned.The Marshal’s Service confirmed one of its agents was killed. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction identified two of the task force officers killed as Sam Poloche and Alden Elliot. Both had been with the department for 14 years. They served as probation/parole officers before joining the department’s Special Operations and Intelligence Unit, the department said. Poloche joined in 2013 and Elliot in 2016.Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Joshua Eyer died a few hours later at the hospital, Jennings said. Eyer was named the officer of the month for the force for April a few weeks ago, the chief said.“He certainly gave his life and dedicated his life to protecting our citizens,” Jennings said.One other member of the task force, which is made up of federal agents and other officers from across the region, was injured.Three other Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers who responded to the scene were shot while trying to rescue the wounded officers.North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was in Charlotte and was speaking to the families of the officers killed and hurt.Neighbors said gunfire lasted for several minutes.WSOC-TV said their helicopter captured an armored vehicle driving through yards and knocking over recycling bins before officers removed a person with blood on their shirt who was then loaded into an ambulance.After the home was cleared, the helicopter pilot said he couldn't show the front lawn of the home because the scene was too graphic and disturbing.“A lot of the questions that need to be answered, we don’t even know what those questions are now," Jennings said, somberly briefing reporters less than four hours after the shooting. “We have to get a full understanding of why this occurred and also uphold the integrity of the investigation.”Many roads in the area including Interstate 77 were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals faster. TV footage showed ambulances speeding to hospitals escorted by vehicles both in front and behind with their sirens wailing.Rissa Reign was cleaning her house when she heard the first shots ring out. There was a pause, then a second set of shots and then a third. She stepped outside.“When we came outside, there were no cops at all, then cops started rushing, rushing, rushing, rushing in,” she said, adding armored SWAT trucks quickly followed and they "were going over the grass, everything, and they started shooting again.”The neighborhood, of one– and two-story, brick homes and small trimmed lawns, is very safe, said Alex Rivera, who lives on a street nearby.“I see, like, 50 police cars zooming in, and then I hear gunshots,” he said on the front porch of the house he shares with his cousin. “I was scared, because there was so much going on.“Another neighbor, William Cunningham, was moved to tears as he sat on his porch. He said he is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm but never expected such violence in his own neighborhood.“Bless those officers and bless their families,” he said. “Nobody should get killed over a warrant.”Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were placed on lockdown around afternoon dismissal, but that was lifted in the late afternoon, the district said.Police urged people to stay away from the neighborhood and asked residents to remain inside their homes until the all clear was given.President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and spoke with Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles to express his condolences and support for the community.“They are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, rushing into harm’s way to protect us," Biden said in a statement late Monday. "We mourn for them and their loved ones. And we pray for the recoveries of the courageous officers who were wounded.”The last marshal shot and killed in the line of duty was in November 2018. Chase White was shot in Tucson, Arizona, by a man wanted for stalking local law enforcement officers, the agency said.The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte and comprised of 70 federal, state and local agencies. Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to find and arrest suspects in crimes.In six years, the regional task force has apprehended more than 8,900 fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service said on its website.In March 2007, two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers were killed while responding to a domestic dispute by someone not directly involved in the fight. Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery is serving a life sentence in the killings of officers Jeffrey Shelton and Sean Clark.

Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police say

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-drug-enforcement-administration">The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration</a>&nbsp;will move to reclassify&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/marijuana">marijuana</a>&nbsp;as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.

The DEA’s proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-health-schumer-becerra-dea-c00db5dabbeb9efd94cf17baff241e85">the medical uses of cannabis</a>&nbsp;and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect.

Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-federal-regulation-reclassifying-health-b0b5fc3d34a83d2c95db1665f8149d42">following a recommendation</a>&nbsp;from the federal Health and Human Services Department. After the public-comment period the agency would publish the final rule.

It comes after President Joe Biden called for a review of federal marijuana law in October 2022 and moved to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-government-and-politics-2d5e3d9e2cfbbbe3ee114536738894a8">pardon thousands of Americans</a>&nbsp;convicted federally of simple possession of the drug. He has also called on governors and local leaders to take similar steps to erase marijuana convictions.

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” Biden said in December. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

The election year announcement could help Biden, a Democrat, boost flagging support, particularly among&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-2024-campaign-oldest-president-young-voters-152d11d3090518a2e5eee63b9a596673">younger voters</a>.

Schedule III drugs are still controlled substances and subject to rules and regulations, and people who traffic in them without permission could still face federal criminal prosecution.

Some critics argue the DEA shouldn’t change course on marijuana, saying rescheduling isn’t necessary and could lead to harmful side effects.

Jack Riley, a former deputy administrator of the DEA, said he had concerns about the proposed change because he thinks marijuana remains a possible “gateway drug," one that may lead to the use of other drugs.

“But in terms of us getting clear to use our resources to combat other major drugs, that’s a positive,” Riley said, noting that fentanyl alone accounts for more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. a year.

On the other end of the spectrum, others argue marijuana should be treated the way alcohol is.

Last week, 21 Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and Attorney General Merrick Garland arguing marijuana should be dropped from the controlled-substances list and instead regulated like alcohol.

“It is time for the DEA to act,” the lawmakers wrote. “Right now, the Administration has the opportunity to resolve more than 50 years of failed, racially discriminatory marijuana policy.”

Federal drug policy has lagged behind many states in recent years, with 38 having already legalized medical marijuana and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-marijuana-legalization-election-2023-6d15efb27fdcd41e7364f2b7cd3177f4">24 legalizing its recreational use</a>.

That’s helped fuel fast growth in the marijuana industry, with an estimated worth of nearly $30 billion. Easing federal regulations could reduce the tax burden that can be 70% or more for businesses, according to industry groups. It could also make it easier to research marijuana, since it’s very difficult to conduct authorized clinical studies on Schedule I substances.

The immediate effect of rescheduling on the nation’s criminal justice system would likely be more muted, since federal prosecutions for simple possession have been fairly rare in recent years.

But loosening restrictions could carry a host of unintended consequences in the drug war and beyond.

Critics point out that as a Schedule III drug, marijuana would remain regulated by the DEA. That means the roughly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the U.S. would have to register with the DEA like regular pharmacies and fulfill strict reporting requirements, something that they are loath to do and that the DEA is ill equipped to handle

Then there’s the United States' international treaty obligations, chief among them the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which requires the criminalization of cannabis. In 2016, during the Obama administration, the DEA cited the U.S.’ international obligations and the findings of a federal court of appeals in Washington in denying a similar request to reschedule marijuana.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1698531124512.png" alt="Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. file photo by Rebecca Rivas" />
 <figcaption>Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. file photo by Rebecca Rivas</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-drug-enforcement-administration">The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration</a>&nbsp;will move to reclassify&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/marijuana">marijuana</a>&nbsp;as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.The DEA’s proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-health-schumer-becerra-dea-c00db5dabbeb9efd94cf17baff241e85">the medical uses of cannabis</a>&nbsp;and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect.Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-federal-regulation-reclassifying-health-b0b5fc3d34a83d2c95db1665f8149d42">following a recommendation</a>&nbsp;from the federal Health and Human Services Department. After the public-comment period the agency would publish the final rule.It comes after President Joe Biden called for a review of federal marijuana law in October 2022 and moved to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-government-and-politics-2d5e3d9e2cfbbbe3ee114536738894a8">pardon thousands of Americans</a>&nbsp;convicted federally of simple possession of the drug. He has also called on governors and local leaders to take similar steps to erase marijuana convictions.“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” Biden said in December. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”The election year announcement could help Biden, a Democrat, boost flagging support, particularly among&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-2024-campaign-oldest-president-young-voters-152d11d3090518a2e5eee63b9a596673">younger voters</a>.Schedule III drugs are still controlled substances and subject to rules and regulations, and people who traffic in them without permission could still face federal criminal prosecution.Some critics argue the DEA shouldn’t change course on marijuana, saying rescheduling isn’t necessary and could lead to harmful side effects.Jack Riley, a former deputy administrator of the DEA, said he had concerns about the proposed change because he thinks marijuana remains a possible “gateway drug," one that may lead to the use of other drugs.“But in terms of us getting clear to use our resources to combat other major drugs, that’s a positive,” Riley said, noting that fentanyl alone accounts for more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. a year.On the other end of the spectrum, others argue marijuana should be treated the way alcohol is.Last week, 21 Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and Attorney General Merrick Garland arguing marijuana should be dropped from the controlled-substances list and instead regulated like alcohol.“It is time for the DEA to act,” the lawmakers wrote. “Right now, the Administration has the opportunity to resolve more than 50 years of failed, racially discriminatory marijuana policy.”Federal drug policy has lagged behind many states in recent years, with 38 having already legalized medical marijuana and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-marijuana-legalization-election-2023-6d15efb27fdcd41e7364f2b7cd3177f4">24 legalizing its recreational use</a>.That’s helped fuel fast growth in the marijuana industry, with an estimated worth of nearly $30 billion. Easing federal regulations could reduce the tax burden that can be 70% or more for businesses, according to industry groups. It could also make it easier to research marijuana, since it’s very difficult to conduct authorized clinical studies on Schedule I substances.The immediate effect of rescheduling on the nation’s criminal justice system would likely be more muted, since federal prosecutions for simple possession have been fairly rare in recent years.But loosening restrictions could carry a host of unintended consequences in the drug war and beyond.Critics point out that as a Schedule III drug, marijuana would remain regulated by the DEA. That means the roughly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the U.S. would have to register with the DEA like regular pharmacies and fulfill strict reporting requirements, something that they are loath to do and that the DEA is ill equipped to handleThen there’s the United States' international treaty obligations, chief among them the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which requires the criminalization of cannabis. In 2016, during the Obama administration, the DEA cited the U.S.’ international obligations and the findings of a federal court of appeals in Washington in denying a similar request to reschedule marijuana.___

Biden administration plans to reclassify marijuana, easing restrictions nationwide

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/leaders-celebrate-nebraskas-ongoing-interstate-80-expansion-as-economic-boon/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and other state leaders Monday celebrated the ongoing Interstate 80 expansion between Lincoln and Pleasant Dale as an economic boon.

Vicki Kramer, director of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, said the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/tjdm1the/4-i80-mpd-grant.pdf">three-year I-80 project</a>, which began earlier this month, includes expanding from two lanes in each direction to three. The project has been in the works for decades and is designed to increase mobility. It is the largest planned transportation project for the 2024 construction season.

“If anybody’s coming in from Grand Island, they know how difficult it gets the closer you get to Lincoln — the congestion, the truck traffic —&nbsp;it gets dangerous,” Kramer said. “Safety is of the utmost importance to us, and it will be the main component of this project.”

In addition to lane expansion, the project will include other Interstate and rest area improvements at the US-6 and 192nd Street interchange and the West Dodge Road interchange in Omaha as well as a new roundabout at Highway 77 near Wahoo.

Kramer said work on the first 17 or so miles of the project is already underway.

Pillen said Nebraskans all agree on former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/interstate-highway-system">vision of interstate commerce</a>, which “was extraordinary and transformed our country of economic vitality.”

In 1974, after 17 years of construction, Nebraska became the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/bwgkpuzh/interstate-history-bk.pdf">first state to complete its portion of I-80</a>&nbsp;from east to west, Pillen noted: a 455-mile stretch of road at a cost of $435 million.

State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, whose district includes NW 56th Street where the project kicks off in west Lincoln, said one of the top issues he hears from constituents is infrastructure. He said the expansion will grow Nebraska, propel its future and enhance market capabilities.

“This project is going to be a game changer for my community,” Ballard told the Nebraska Examiner. “This will not only benefit safety and convenience but also be beneficial for quality of life.”

Chris Hawkins, CEO and president of Hawkins Construction, said that after years of programming and design, the state can celebrate as his crews get to work.

“For Hawkins, we’re just starting,” Hawkins said. “I’ll save the celebration until this project is successfully completed, which it will be.”

Traffic is not expected to be significantly impacted, though Kramer noted it is a heavily congested area, so night work and other approaches will be used to prioritize safety.

Pillen encouraged Nebraskans to “really slow down, tap the brakes” and use common sense as construction season progresses.

“Take a breath. Slow down when you see construction. And abide by all the signs,” Pillen said. “We’ll get there, just slow it down and be extra, extra safe.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714488553667.jpeg" alt="Gov. Jim Pillen, at right, leads a news conference celebrating Nebraska’s Interstate 80 expansion project and other Interstate and rest area improvements Monday, April 29, 2024, in Lincoln. He is joined, from left, by Director Vicki Kramer of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln and Chris Hawkins of Hawkins Construction. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Jim Pillen, at right, leads a news conference celebrating Nebraska’s Interstate 80 expansion project and other Interstate and rest area improvements Monday, April 29, 2024, in Lincoln. He is joined, from left, by Director Vicki Kramer of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln and Chris Hawkins of Hawkins Construction. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/leaders-celebrate-nebraskas-ongoing-interstate-80-expansion-as-economic-boon/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and other state leaders Monday celebrated the ongoing Interstate 80 expansion between Lincoln and Pleasant Dale as an economic boon.Vicki Kramer, director of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, said the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/tjdm1the/4-i80-mpd-grant.pdf">three-year I-80 project</a>, which began earlier this month, includes expanding from two lanes in each direction to three. The project has been in the works for decades and is designed to increase mobility. It is the largest planned transportation project for the 2024 construction season.“If anybody’s coming in from Grand Island, they know how difficult it gets the closer you get to Lincoln — the congestion, the truck traffic —&nbsp;it gets dangerous,” Kramer said. “Safety is of the utmost importance to us, and it will be the main component of this project.”In addition to lane expansion, the project will include other Interstate and rest area improvements at the US-6 and 192nd Street interchange and the West Dodge Road interchange in Omaha as well as a new roundabout at Highway 77 near Wahoo.Kramer said work on the first 17 or so miles of the project is already underway.Pillen said Nebraskans all agree on former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/interstate-highway-system">vision of interstate commerce</a>, which “was extraordinary and transformed our country of economic vitality.”In 1974, after 17 years of construction, Nebraska became the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/bwgkpuzh/interstate-history-bk.pdf">first state to complete its portion of I-80</a>&nbsp;from east to west, Pillen noted: a 455-mile stretch of road at a cost of $435 million.State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, whose district includes NW 56th Street where the project kicks off in west Lincoln, said one of the top issues he hears from constituents is infrastructure. He said the expansion will grow Nebraska, propel its future and enhance market capabilities.“This project is going to be a game changer for my community,” Ballard told the Nebraska Examiner. “This will not only benefit safety and convenience but also be beneficial for quality of life.”Chris Hawkins, CEO and president of Hawkins Construction, said that after years of programming and design, the state can celebrate as his crews get to work.“For Hawkins, we’re just starting,” Hawkins said. “I’ll save the celebration until this project is successfully completed, which it will be.”Traffic is not expected to be significantly impacted, though Kramer noted it is a heavily congested area, so night work and other approaches will be used to prioritize safety.Pillen encouraged Nebraskans to “really slow down, tap the brakes” and use common sense as construction season progresses.“Take a breath. Slow down when you see construction. And abide by all the signs,” Pillen said. “We’ll get there, just slow it down and be extra, extra safe.”

Leaders celebrate Nebraska’s ongoing Interstate 80 expansion as economic boon

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.

Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. The ruling was a stinging rebuke for the presumptive Republican nominee, who had insisted he was exercising his free speech rights. Trump stared down at the table in front of him as the judge read the ruling, frowning slightly.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713921168558.png" alt="File-Trump was ordered to pay the fine by the close of business Friday-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File-Trump was ordered to pay the fine by the close of business Friday-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. The ruling was a stinging rebuke for the presumptive Republican nominee, who had insisted he was exercising his free speech rights. Trump stared down at the table in front of him as the judge read the ruling, frowning slightly.Merchan wrote that he is “keenly aware of, and protective of,” Trump’s First Amendment rights, “particularly given his candidacy for the office of President of the United States.”“It is critically important that defendant’s legitimate free speech rights not be curtailed, that he be able to fully campaign for the office which he seeks and that he be able to respond and defend himself against political attacks,” Merchan wrote.Still, he warned, that the court would not tolerate "willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.”The ruling came at the start of the second week of testimony in the historic case. Manhattan prosecutors say Trump and his associates took part in an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by burying negative stories. He has pleaded not guilty.Trump was ordered to pay the fine by the close of business Friday, Merchan ruled, and he must remove seven offending posts from his Truth Social account and two from his campaign website by 2:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Merchan said. The judge is also weighing other alleged gag order violations by Trump and will hear arguments Thursday.Of the 10 posts, the one Merchan ruled was not a violation came on April 10, a post referring to witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels as “sleaze bags." Merchan said Trump’s contention that he was responding to previous posts by Cohen “is sufficient to give” him pause on whether the post was a violation.Among those he found to be violations, Merchan ruled that a Trump post quoting Fox News host Jesse Watters’ claim that liberal activists were lying to infiltrate the jury “constitutes a clear violation” of the gag order. Merchan noted that the words contained within the quotation marks in Trump’s April 17 post misstated what Watters actually said.“Thus, in this court’s view, this post constitutes the words of defendant himself,” Merchan wrote.Merchan cautioned that the gag order “not be used as a sword instead of a shield by potential witnesses” and that if people who are protected by the order, like Cohen, continue to attack Trump “it becomes apparent” they don’t need the gag order’s protection. Cohen has said he will refrain from commenting about Trump until after he testifies at the trial.Meanwhile, testimony resumed Tuesday with Gary Farro, a banker who helped Cohen, Trump's former attorney, open accounts, including one that Cohen used to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.Jurors so far have heard from two other witnesses. Trump’s former longtime executive assistant, Rhona Graff, recounted that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-david-pecker-868e6b9d30a039d5009ec6a9d7e96ff7">she recalled once seeing Daniels at Trump's office suite</a>&nbsp;in Trump Tower and figured she was a potential contestant for one of Trump’s “Apprentice”-brand shows.Former&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-national-enquirer-d44d4a7ce66cc08edb5981b3afb882ba">National Enquirer publisher David Pecker</a>&nbsp;laid out how he agreed to serve as the Trump campaign's “eyes and ears” by helping to squelch unflattering rumors and claims about Trump and women.Through detailed testimony on email exchanges, business transactions and bank accounts, prosecutors are forming the foundation of their argument that Trump is guilty of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">34 felony counts of falsifying business records</a>&nbsp;in connection with the hush money payments. The prosecution is leading up to crucial testimony from Cohen himself, who went to federal prison after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-us-news-ap-top-news-michael-cohen-74aaf72511d64fceb1d64529207bde64">pleading guilty to campaign finance violations</a>&nbsp;and other crimes. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.It's unclear when Cohen will take the stand; the trial is expected to go on another month or more. And with every moment Trump is in court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">as the first of his four criminal trials plays out</a>, he's growing increasingly frustrated while the November election moves ever closer.For his part, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee has been campaigning in his off-hours, but is required to be in court when it is in session, four days a week. Outside the courtroom Tuesday, Trump criticized prosecutors again.“This is a case that should have never been brought,” he said.Prosecutors used Pecker, Trump's longtime friend, to detail a “catch-and-kill” arrangement in which he collected seamy stories about the candidate so the National Enquirer or Trump's associates could buy and bury the claims.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-trial-national-enquirer-1dd3c3111febf219bdf1d8627504a3c5">Pecker described how he paid $180,000</a>&nbsp;to scoop up and sit on stories from a doorman and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. He didn't involve himself in the Daniels payout, he said. He testified for parts of four days.Trump says all the stories were false. His attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-david-pecker-868e6b9d30a039d5009ec6a9d7e96ff7">used cross-examination to suggest Trump</a>&nbsp;was really engaged in an effort to protect his name and his family — not to influence the outcome of the presidential election.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-david-pecker-868e6b9d30a039d5009ec6a9d7e96ff7">Farro first took the stand Friday</a>. While a senior managing director at First Republic Bank, he was assigned to work with Trump's lawyer for about three years, in part because of his “ability to handle individuals who may be a little challenging," Farro said, adding that he didn't find Cohen difficult.Farro detailed to jurors the process of helping Cohen create accounts for two limited-liability companies — corporate-speak for a business account that protects the person behind the account from liability, debt and other issues. Farro testified that Cohen indicated the companies, Resolution Consultants LLC and Essential Consultants LLC, would be involved in real estate consulting.Prosecutors showed jurors emails in which Cohen describes the opening of the Resolution Consultants account as an “important matter.”Cohen acknowledged when he pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 that it had been formed to send money to American Media Inc., the Enquirer publisher. It was meant as a payback for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-criminal-trial-hush-money-stormy-daniels-5fdc819697a76536ed83cbf28d4a523c">their purchase of McDougal's story.</a>&nbsp;But the deal never went through.Farro said that since the account was never funded, it was never technically opened. Instead, Cohen pivoted to starting up the Essential Consultants account, which he later used to pay Daniels $130,000.When asked whether Cohen seemed anxious to get the bank accounts set up, Farro testified: “Every time Michael Cohen spoke to me, he gave a sense of urgency.”Farro told the 12-person panel that the bank’s policy prohibited doing business with entities tied to “adult entertainment,” including pornography and strip clubs. Trump’s lawyers have not yet had a chance to cross-examine Farro.