Free Republic

LINCOLN, Neb. (Legal Newsline)-Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning's failure to pursue cases on behalf illegal immigrants has cost the Cornhusker State federal funding aimed at fighting discrimination, an official said Monday. Ann Hobbs, executive director of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, told Legal Newsline the commission has essentially lost $240,000 in annual funding it received for investigating discrimination complaints-all because of the attorney general's stance against illegal immigration. "Whenever people's personal opinions begin to trump state and federal law you can almost guarantee you're going to have a big mess," she said in a telephone interview.

High-profile Democrats stump in state By Mike Wereschagin and Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW To hear Sen. Dick Durbin tell it, Nebraska -- a state that gave nearly 66 percent of its vote to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in 2004 -- will become a swing state in November if Illinois Sen. Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination.

Got Bo? Nebraska does. It says so right here, across the chest of all these bright-red T-shirts in the Nebraska bookstore. For just $14.99, one can be yours. Bo Pelini -- they're crazy about him here, just nutso for the new Nebraska coach, the king of the whole state. Because that's what he is, really. King. And at this very nanosecond, the king is sitting on his throne, a big chair in this big office on the second floor of big Memorial Stadium. Yes, here sits the man who will make Nebraska a college football power again -- or so...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A 10-year-old girl has died, just a day after her wish to see her father was granted. Jayci Yaeger's imprisoned father, Jason, went to her bedside Wednesday -- a visit federal authorities allowed only after being deluged with letters and phone calls from across the nation.

Child tells Omaha police how she used marijuana BY TODD COOPER WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER The girl sat down, told investigators she smokes pot and, using a pen, demonstrated how she does it — just like her mom. The girl is 4. Now, her mother, Lisa Schuchard, 25, is facing a felony child abuse charge — and a hearing on her parental rights — on allegations that she taught, and encouraged, her daughter to smoke marijuana. Schuchard has pleaded not guilty and is in the Douglas County Jail. Her attorney, Douglas County Assistant Public Defender Doug Johnson, said he couldn't comment...

>Nebraska State Senator DiAnna Schimek's 20-year legislative career is nearly over. She feels victimized, no doubt, by the voter-enacted term limits that make this her final year in power. Still, Senator Schimek hopes to go out with her boots on, firing one final shotgun blast to maim or kill the initiative process she has long abhorred. You see, it was only through the voter initiative that Nebraskans passed term limits . . . three times. Yup. It took three petition drives and three votes of the people. Of course, term limits passed overwhelmingly each time. But a charmed third initiative...

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will be endorsed by Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, CNN has learned. "In his campaign for the presidency, Mitt Romney has outlined the clearest vision to move our country forward,” Heineman says in a statement provided to CNN by the Romney campaign....

Omaha (KPTM) - Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren says that today's shooting was "done by one shooter, and one shooter only". In a Wednesday night press conference, Chief Warren said that the first shooting victim was found shot to death on the second floor of Von Maur. Several victims were found shot to death in the customer service area of Von Maur on the third floor. The shooter, 19 year-old Robert Hawkins, was found in the store with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Warren says Hawkins was found with a SKS Assault rifle. Among the dead are 5 unidentified females, 3...

Calculating the Risks in Pakistan A small group of U.S. military experts and intelligence officials convened in Washington for a classified war game last year, exploring strategies for securing Pakistan's nuclear arsenal if the country's political institutions and military safeguards began to fall apart. The secret exercise — conducted without official sponsorship from any government agency, apparently due to the sensitivity of its subject — was one of several such games the U.S. government has conducted in recent years examining various options and scenarios for Pakistan's nuclear weapons: How many troops might be required for a military intervention in...

An elderly man was found near an escalator in the store, and police said a young black man was being sought as the suspected shooter. Early indications were that as many as five people may be injured. Colby Barak told KETV NewsWatch 7 that she was on lockdown inside Westroads Mall. She said she was doing Christmas shopping at Younkers, and an announcement was made that no one would be allowed to leave. Just before 2 p.m., Barrett said, another announcement was made that shoppers could leave but would not be allowed back in. Dozens of police and sheriff's cars...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Bo Pelini is the new coach at Nebraska, leaving the defensive coordinator post at LSU for a job many Cornhusker fans thought he should have been given four years ago. Interim athletic director and former coach Tom Osborne announced Pelini's hiring Sunday, after introducing him to the players. "We need a head coach with strong defensive credentials and great leadership," Osborne said. "We were also looking for someone who can inspire confidence and get players to play with great effort. "And, of course, we also wanted our new head coach to understand our traditions, including the importance...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3135858

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The Lincoln Journal Star reports that LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini interviewed for the Nebraska coaching job today. And a University of Buffalo official says that school's coach, Turner Gill, is going to talk with interim athletic director Tom Osborne soon. Pelini was defensive coordinator at Nebraska in 2003. The Journal Star, citing an unidentified source, reported that Osborne spoke with Pelini in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this afternoon. Buffalo spokesman Paul Vecchio (VEK-ee-OH) tells The Associated Press that Osborne has been given permission to speak with Gill. Vecchio says he didn't know when the two would...

A source close to Nebraska coach Bill Callahan has confirmed that Callahan was fired Saturday morning at a meeting with interim athletic director Tom Osborne. A news conference will be held in Lincoln at 10:30 ET. Joe Schad is a college football reporter for ESPN.

Republican Jon Bruning ended his U.S. Senate campaign on Tuesday night, deferring to and endorsing the candidate many consider a prohibitive front-runner, former governor and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. Nebraska’s attorney general ended his five-month campaign after raising more than $1 million for his bid to succeed outgoing Republican Chuck Hagel, money Bruning said he will sit on to possibly use in a future run. “If I do my job, political opportunities will come,’’ said Bruning, who is serving his second term as attorney general. “The timing wasn’t with me this time, but I’m confident the time will come...

LINCOLN, Neb. — A Christian student group's latest attempt to show middle school students how fun the group could be was too much for school administrators to swallow. snip

On August 10, 2007, two bus loads of National Guard soldiers arrived back in Kearney, Nebraska, after being in Iraq for a little over a year. The town of Kearney went all out (for a small town) to welcome them back. There was a parade (including all the town's fire trucks), the town was decorated, and, in general, they showed these soldiers a heartfelt welcome home, and a big thanks for doing their job. You won't see this on TV as most of the media wants us to believe there is no support. They, as usual, are dead wrong. Click...

Senate Republicans dodged a bullet Wednesday, as popular former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey has decided not to run for the seat of retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) In a statement, Kerrey said he’ll remain as president of The New School in New York. “I have decided I will not leave The New School to become a candidate for the United States Senate in Nebraska,” Kerrey said. “The reason is simple enough: For my family and me, now is not the time for me to re-enter politics as a candidate.”

Lincoln (KPTM) - University of Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson has been asked to resign his post. The University of Nebraska Chancellor's office tells KPTM FOX 42 News that Chancellor Harvey Perlman has asked Pederson to step down. A source close to the program tells KPTM FOX 42 News that Tom Osborne may be named interim Athletic Director. Sources also tell us that Dave Remington, a former NU offensive lineman, will be named to the football coaching staff. In Monday afternoon's press conference, Perlman said that no interim Athletic Director has been named at this point. Perlman says that former...

LINCOLN, Neb. - On a day players from Nebraska's greatest era returned to Memorial Stadium to be honored, the Cornhuskers suffered their worst home loss in almost 50 years. ADVERTISEMENT With Tom Osborne and the rest of the undefeated 1997 team that won a share of the national championship watching, Oklahoma State handed Nebraska a 45-14 loss Saturday, the largest rout of the Huskers at home since Missouri's 31-0 shutout in 1958. This embarrassment came after a 41-6 loss at Missouri last week. The Cowboys (4-3, 2-1 Big 12), who had lost 20 straight games in Lincoln since 1960, scored...

Monday afternoon former Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, told KETV NewsWatch 7 he has plans to hit the campaign trail again. The former Nebraska governor landed at Eppley Airfield on Monday, five days after he resigned from the head of the USDA. Johanns announced his resignation in Washington on Thursday. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2004 and tood office the following month. Johanns said he's happy to be back home. "It's always good to be back in Nebraska, and we've got a long list of things to do in the next week two weeks, but...

(09-20) 17:30 PDT Lincoln, Neb. (AP) -- A legislator who filed a lawsuit against God has gotten something he might not have expected: a response. One of two court filings from "God" came Wednesday under otherworldly circumstances, according to John Friend, clerk of the Douglas County District Court in Omaha. "This one miraculously appeared on the counter. It just all of a sudden was here — poof!" Friend said. State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha sued God last week, seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty for making terroristic threats, inspiring fear and causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of...

Nebraska Democratic State Senator Ernie Chambers has decided to go straight to the top in an effort to stop natural disasters from befalling the world. Chambers filed a lawsuit against God in Douglas County Court Friday afternoon, KPTM Fox 42 reported. Click here for more from KPTM Fox 42 in Omaha. The suit asks for a "permanent injunction ordering Defendant to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats." The lawsuit identifies the plaintiff as, "the duly elected and serving State Senator from the 11th Legislative District in Omaha, Nebraska." Chambers also cites that the, "defendant directly and...

Major US Catholic University Caught Deceiving Diocese: Diocese Losing Patience Vice-chancellor of archdiocese states, "there's a Catholic ethos in this town that rightly smells a rat" By Meg Jalsevac OMAHA, September 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Just a few weeks ago, LifeSiteNews and several online blogs reported on Creighton University's shameful invitation, and then hasty 'disinvitation' of ardently pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia speaker, Ann Lamott.  According to several recent news reports, the hasty 'statement' published on the University website to announce the cancellation has not appeased the powers that be at the Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha. The official Creighton statement announcing the...

Matthew O'Brien grew up in Oshkosh, Neb., population 762, and the self-proclaimed, "Goose Hunting Capital of Nebraska." The local hospital has exactly 10 beds. The newspaper publishes once a week. The nearest major airport is 220 miles away in Denver. "The middle of nowhere," says O'Brien, 22. Maybe that's why O'Brien enlisted in the Army in 2004 and became a paratrooper -- 82nd Airborne, 2nd Battalion of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Delta Company. He did a tour of duty in Iraq three years ago and was deployed to Afghanistan in February. Afghanistan is where he lost the vision in...

It is the kind of embarrassment that any school would want to avoid: an esteemed board member who has given generously of his time and money gets caught in a headline-grabbing scandal. And in the case of the New School in Greenwich Village, it turned out to have some national resonance: Norman Hsu, a major Democratic donor active in Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign and a New School trustee, was found to be a fugitive who had skipped out after a felony theft conviction in California 15 years ago. Compounding matters, he failed to show up for a court...

WASHINGTON - Chuck Hagel will announce Monday that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate and will not run for president next year, people close to the Nebraska Republican said Friday. Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to leave the Senate after two terms as a Republican Party maverick, people close to him say.Hagel plans to announce that "he will not run for re-election and that he does not intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008," said one person, who asked not to be named. Hagel has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Monday at the Omaha...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 27, 2007 Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) -- Now that Creighton University has rescinded the offer to pro-abortion author Anne Lamott to speak at the Catholic college, a group of churches in Omaha are banding together to organize an event. The university had said Lamott's views on assisted suicide and abortion were out of step with the church.Creighton canceled the planned speech after the Catholic school received significant outcry from pro-life advocates. Lamott's appearance was slated for September 19 at the Jesuit university but now she will speak at the Holland Performing Arts Center that day instead.The Fremont...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 28, 2007Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) -- Creighton University in Nebraska has announced that it will cancel a planned speech by abortion advocate Anne Lamott after the Catholic school received significant outcry from pro-life advocates. School officials announced it has "mutually agreed" to shelve the talk with Lamott.News of the cancellation came yesterday and Lamott's appearance was slated for September 19 at the Jesuit university.In an announcement on the college's web site, officials said "Creighton University and author Anne Lamott have mutually agreed upon cancellation of her public lecture."Creighton officials said Lamott's public disagreement with Catholic teaching against...

Former senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) seems to be creeping ever closer to a Senate race in 2008, telling the board of trustees at the New School -- where he serves as president -- that a candidacy is a possibility.... Kerrey seems convinced that Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) has decided against running for a third term in 2008, creating an open seat and a golden opportunity for the Democrat's return to Washington. Kerrey has spoken with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) about the possibility and would probably have the right of first refusal among Democrats; "I was flattered that...

Rabbi Michael Weisser will begin a one-year term as “rabbi-in-residence” at First-Plymouth Congregational Church. His full title will be “Rabbi-in-Residence: Teacher of Hebrew Scriptures and Interfaith Respect,” reported Tammy Alvis, associate for new program development at the church. Weisser taught classes on the Hebrew scriptures and led a Passover Seder dinner at First-Plymouth last spring. He will teach classes on three different topics from September through May: * “A Journey Through the Literature of the First (Old) Testament” — two identical classes, 9:30-11 a.m. and 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 4. * “Comparative Religion” — noon-12:50 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning Sept....

OMAHA — Meatpacking plant officials accused of discriminating against dozens of Somali Muslim workers have offered to tweak break times to help accommodate the workers’ prayer demands. If the dozens of Muslim workers and Swift & Co. can agree on details, a solution could defuse the dispute that started earlier this year when 120 workers at the Grand Island plant abruptly quit because they weren’t allowed to pray at sunset. Many say they were fired, quit or were verbally and physically harassed over the issue, and some have complained to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the way they...

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2007/08/20/huskerextra/football/doc46ca22c18dbdc919929216.txt Only two more weeks !!!

HICKMAN -- Immigration, not Iraq. Questioning Rep. Jeff Fortenberry over coffee Thursday, a small gathering of his constituents swiftly changed the subject from the congressman’s opening remarks on Iraq and farm policy. Virginia Leacock of Lincoln, director of operations at Haven Manor in Hickman, triggered five straight questions on illegal immigration by raising her concerns about border security. Other topics raised during the hour-long meeting at Urban’s Creamery and Grill on Hickman Road included Medicare, Medicaid and agriculture. But no one asked, or expressed an opinion, about the war in Iraq. Fortenberry told the group the first focus of immigration...

Robert Novak writes that Attorney General Jon Bruning raised twice as much money as Senator Chuck Hagel in the second quarter and now has a significant cash advantage. Novak says that most observers think Hagel is in his last term in the Senate, one way or another.

OMAHA, Neb. (The Catholic Voice) - Luis Palau's Heartland Festival taking place in Omaha this summer will be unlike any other - even for the internationally-known evangelical preacher. For the first time in the history of Palau's festivals, the local Catholic Church has endorsed the event and plans to send representatives to participate in the festival July 14-15 on the Qwest Center grounds. Since Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss showed his support for the festival, at least 11 Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Omaha have signed up to participate. "We're very, very excited that every sector of the city is...

For six months now, Nebraskans have been able to legally carry concealed weapons. It's a lengthy process to get a permit. But now that it's an option, how many people actually want a gun at their side? Gene Tyson of Norfolk not only fought to get the Concealed-Carry law passed during his eight years in the Nebraska Legislature, he's now one of the many with a permit to carry a concealed gun. Gene Tyson, Norfolk, NE says, "It's my belief that people are going to have to be ultimately responsible for their own safety." Although Tyson says the odds you'll...

 OMAHA, Nebraska, June 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Archdiocese of Omaha severed ties with the Center for Marriage and Family (CMF), a ministry center at Creighton University (CU), for its proposal in support of premarital cohabitation. In the June issue of U.S. Catholic magazine, CMF director Michael Lawler and CU researcher Gail Risch wrote a proposal for the cohabitation of unmarried Catholic couples. The article says that there are two types of cohabiting couples—those that are committed to marriage, so-called “nuptial cohabitors,” and those that are not committed to marriage, or “non-nuptial cohabitors.” Quoting Pope John Paul II’s 1981 encyclical,...

The attorney general of Nebraska, Jon Bruning, let us know that tomorrow he will announce he will challenge Senator Hagel in the Republican primary which is in May of 2008. A poll conducted for Mr. Bruning shows him leading Mr. Hagel among likely primary voters by 9 percentage points. Mr. Bruning assails Mr. Hagel for being, "The Republican that talks like a Democrat," pointing to a timeline for withdraw from Iraq... "He's become arrogant and out of touch," Mr. Bruning said. "His constituent services are very poor."

Troopers Pull Over Man Who Speaks Only Russian GREENWOOD, Neb. -- The Nebraska State Patrol stopped a truck driver who only speaks Russian, and told him he can go no further until he learns the language, Omaha TV station KETV reported. "Sir, I need your papers. I need your papers. All of your papers. Log book, registration, yes," a trooper said during a truck safety stop operation near Greenwood. The trucker had all his documents in order and a valid commercial driver's license, but he couldn't communicate with state troopers. Under the law, troopers were forced to make the driver...

The attorney general of Nebraska, Jon Bruning, stopped by our office yesterday to let us know that tomorrow he will announce he will challenge Senator Hagel in the Republican primary, which is in May of 2008. A poll conducted for Mr. Bruning shows him leading Mr. Hagel among likely Republican primary voters by 9 percentage points. Mr. Bruning assails Mr, Hagel for being, "The Republican that talks like a Democrat," pointing to Mr. Hagel's support for a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, as well as his discussion of impeaching President Bush. "He's become arrogant and out of touch," Mr. Bruning...

OMAHA, Neb. -- A University of Nebraska-Omaha student took a job recently as a stripper for class credit. Jenny Heineman, a sociology student, said she wanted to bring sex workers out of the dark, so she felt she had to enter their world. Her thesis, "Gender and Work: An Ethnography of a Midwest Strip Club," got her a B and she graduated this spring with high honors. By day, she works at Blue Line Coffee Shop, selling cappuccino and scones. As a sociology student studying in Europe, the 22-year-old said she became interested in another line of work. "I was...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Dozens of Muslim meatpackers in Omaha, Nebraska, are back on the job, after walking-out last week to protest not having enough time for sundown prayers. Swift and Company officials had said sunset prayers could take too many workers off production lines at once, forcing them to shut down. More than half of the Muslim workers -- from Somalia -- decided to return to the production lines, after meeting with management and union officials. As summer draws near, later sunsets could run past slotted break times, which could mean more friction between management and workers. But a...

About 70 Somali meatpacking workers returned to work Wednesday at a Swift & Co. plant in Grand Island after Omaha community representatives intervened to help narrow a culture gap. A delegation led by Mohamed Rage, chairman of the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization, met with company and union officials Tuesday to explain how union contracts and company policy conflict with Islamic prayer requirements. "Management was cordial and understanding," Rage said. Somali workers left their jobs at the Swift plant last week because they were unable to complete an evening prayer - one of the five prayers required each day of the...

WASHINGTON - The last time anyone from Alabama saw the flag of the 1st Alabama Infantry was when its own Confederate troops woke up for morning muster on a Mississippi River island off the Missouri shore on April 8, 1862. In that day's surrender, Brig. Gen. Elazer Arthur Paine confiscated the 7-foot, red, white and blue banner as a trophy, and decades later, a Civil War historian would speculate only that the flag was still somewhere up North. On Wednesday, Alabama got it back. In an outdoor deaccession ceremony with the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, two Nebraska congressmen and...

Calf born with 6 legs on Nebraska farm Fri May 4, 5:42 PM ET LITCHFIELD, Neb. - A days-old black Angus calf romps about a central Nebraska farm just like any other — only this one romps with six legs. "He's a real freak," said Brian Slocum, who said the calf was born Sunday to one of his cows. "I've never seen anything like this before." The two extra appendages — one a front leg, the other a back — extend from the calf's pelvic area. The longer of the two extra legs doesn't quite reach the ground, and they...

Hagel, Bruning angling for right BY ROBYNN TYSVER WORLD-HERALD BUREAU LINCOLN - If Jon Bruning and Chuck Hagel tangle in a GOP primary fight next spring, both may have trouble with the right flank of the Nebraska Republican Party. Party loyalty - a virtue prized by staunch Republicans - poses trouble for both. Hagel has angered many Republicans in Nebraska for his unabashed criticism of President Bush and the Iraq war. That anger rose substantially with Hagel's recent comments that impeachment of the president was an "option," even though he quickly clarified that it isn't an option he supports. "I...

MADISON — An era is ending in Madison Sunday. First Presbyterian Church is having its final service after 137 years of Sunday morning worship. “We lost people,” said Darlene Barrett, who has been a First Presbyterian member for 62 years. “Our members have passed away and (there’s) no young people.” Actually, the town is growing — from 2,135 in 1990 to 2,367 in 2000 — but that hasn’t meant new members for the church. “This is a Hispanic community now, they have their own church,” Barrett said. Madison is one of several Nebraska towns that have seen dramatic changes in...

From the Bishop Dear Friends in Christ, By the time you read this I will be in attendance at the annual spring retreat of the bishops of the Episcopal Church, meeting at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas, March 15-22. As I prepare to travel to meet with my brothers and sisters in this House, I must be honest and share with you a few concerns about the challenges before us as a Church right at this moment in our common life. First and foremost, it grieves me to know that we bishops of this Episcopal Church will once again be...

I hate writing about Senator Hagel of Nebraska. This man is one-half of the State's voice in the U.S. Senate, and he cannot decide if he is a Republican or a Democrat on critical national issues. Does this mean that he is independent and thus, his is a voice for which we should be grateful? The distinction is, in fact, very important. By electing our Senators and Representatives, citizens are given a voice in the Federal government. That citizen voice belongs in Congress, not in the office of the President, except for the opportunity every four years, when we can...