A tornado touches down near the edge of northeast Lincoln, near 84th Street and Cornhusker Highway. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) WAVERLY, Nebraska — A wave of at least six tornadoes that local meteorologists called “historic” swept across eastern Nebraska on Friday, flattening a business, flipping a train and destroying dozens of suburban homes near Omaha. But as of late Friday, officials had confirmed no serious injuries or deaths from some of the worst storms to hit the Omaha area since the May 1975 tornadoes that killed three people, injured hundreds and tore through an area near 72n ..read more

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen speaks during a news conference in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) OMAHA — If red-led Nebraska holds a special session this summer and decides to award its five Electoral College votes to the statewide winner of the presidential vote, then blue-led Maine will match it, canceling any advantage for former President Donald Trump. Maine House Majority Leader Maureen Terry issued a statement Friday saying that local voters “value their independence, but they also value fairness and playing by the rules.” She said Maine would not let others game the system. Main ..read more

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWild horses graze on Sept. 23, 2023, at the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. (Amy Dalrymple/North Dakota Monitor) Horses will continue to run wild in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, the National Park Service announced Thursday. The future of the wild horse herd had been in question during an environmental assessment process by the National Park Service that began in 2021. The agency said it has ended that process. “We had a good day for the horses today,” said Chris Kman of the Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates group dedicated to k ..read more

(Courtesy of Arbor Day Foundation) LINCOLN — A $1.5 million state grant to the Arbor Day Foundation is intended to help improve the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. In honor of Arbor Day, observed in Nebraska and across the nation on the last Friday of April, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development outlined how the public funds are to be used. (Courtesy of Arbor Day Farm) Awarded last fall as part of the state’s shovel-ready capital project program, the funds are to help expand parking at the farm so the historic property has room for more visitors. Additionally, the funds are to as ..read more

Colorado Senate Democrats on Sept. 8, 2023, elected Sen. Robert Rodriguez, center, to serve as majority leader. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) Colorado could be one of the first states to broadly regulate generative artificial intelligence, as lawmakers consider the balance between setting guardrails on a potentially-harmful technology and stifling innovation and entrepreneurship. Senate Bill 24-205 seeks to limit discriminatory uses of AI technology by requiring businesses to self-report instances of bias to the state. It passed through its first Senate committee hearing on a 3-2 party-line ..read more

Built in 1918, the Plattsmouth High School at 814 Main St. saw its last full-time bustle in 1976 when students moved to another facility. The school is now in its new life, as the Lofts on Main, a development boosted in part by Nebraska historic tax credits. (Courtesy of Alley Poyner Macchietto) PLATTSMOUTH, Nebraska — A basketball court was resurrected in this town’s old high school, though the hoop today is more for show than sport and is likely to become the backdrop for a trendy coffee bar. A basketball court was restored as a feature in the Lofts on Main historic renovation project. Whi ..read more

AES Indiana’s Petersburg Generating Station in Petersburg, Indiana, has been burning coal since the 1960s but will shutter all of its coal-firing units over the next few years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a sweeping set of rules aimed at cutting air, water and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. (Robert Zullo/States Newsroom) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a sweeping set of rules aimed at cutting air, water and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Environmental and clean energy groups celebrated th ..read more

Loree Woods (center left, in blue) embraces her daughter, Taylor, following the final vote in favor of LB 25, which would have expanded certain lawsuits in cases of child sexual assault and abuse within political subdivisions. April 18, 2024. (Courtesy of Loree Woods) LINCOLN — A Nebraska mother whose daughter was sexually assaulted while in the care of Lincoln Public Schools said Thursday a veto of legislation meant for more accountability came as “a gut punch.” Taylor Woods of Lincoln, center, awaits the final vote on LB 25 in the 2024 legislative session. (Courtesy of Loree Woods) For fi ..read more

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — U.S. House lawmakers will no longer be able to request earmarked funding for some nonprofits under a change in eligibility made by the Republican chairman of the Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The alteration is related to an uproar during last year’s annual government funding process, when House Republicans, who are in the majority, included three LGBTQ projects in one of their spending bills and then stripped that funding during a tense public markup. The change ..read more

Dr. Jeffrey Gold, priority candidate for president of the University of Nebraska, meets with members of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln community. April 15, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — The University of Nebraska Board of Regents is set Friday to vote on confirmation of Dr. Jeffrey Gold as NU’s ninth president, effective July 1. Under an updated agenda item with “key contractual terms,” Gold would enter an initial five-year contract at a base salary of $1,062,573 — a boost of about $31,000 of Gold’s current salary. Gold would also be eligible for up to 15% of his base ..read more