Free Republic

A Nebraska pro-life group has revoked its endorsement of a Republican senator who was responsible for killing the heartbeat law that would have saved thousands of babies from abortions. As LifeNews reported, Nebraska State Senator Merv Riepe has no apologies for killing the pro-life bill even after he co-sponsored it and appeared at a pro-life rally to supoort it. “I don’t answer to them,” Riepe said of the pro-life Republicans throughout the Cornhusker state who are upset he co-sponsored the ban and then sold out women and unborn children by abstaining from voting for it. But pro-life voters care about...

LINCOLN, Nebraska (LifeSiteNews) — Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen on Monday signed a law that restricts surgical and chemical mutilation of gender-confused kids and protects preborn babies from elective abortions at 12 weeks’ gestation. “All children deserve a chance to grow and live happy, fruitful lives,” Pillen said. “This includes pre-born boys and girls, and it includes children struggling with their gender identity.” Legislative Bill 574 prohibits “gender-altering surgery” for minors, such as mastectomies and genital surgeries, while requiring the state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Timothy Tesmer, an appointee of Pillen, to issue regulations on the use of transgender drugs....

During a debate on a bill to ban sex change procedures for minors in Nebraska, Democrat Senator Machaela Cavanaugh took to the stage and began shouting her support for transgender people. The Senator repeatedly shouted: "Transgender people belong here, we need trans people, we love trans people." "You matter. You matter and I am fighting for you. I will not stop," Cavanaugh added, "I will not stop today, I will not stop tomorrow. You are loved. You matter. You belong here." The bill, which was eventually approved, was presented by Republican Gov. Jim Pillen. The bill bans sex change procedures...

Deputy U.S. Marshal Matt Westover two years ago submitted a DNA profile to a public registry, the same one that many people use in their family genealogical research. But the Omaha law enforcement officer wasn’t looking for some long-lost relative — at least not his own. The DNA profile he submitted in 2020 came from the brother of William Leslie Arnold, the fugitive who killed his parents in Omaha in 1958, buried them in the backyard, nine years later escaped from the Nebraska Penitentiary and vanished without a trace.

A Nebraska Republican lawmaker is defending killing an abortion ban that would protect babies with beating hearts. Nebraska could have been the next state to protect babies from abortions if not for a recalcitrant Republicans who sold out unborn children. Republican Sen. Merv Riepe had cosponsored the measure to protect babies from abortion when their heartbeat can be detected, but yesterday he abstained from voting on the measure. That allowed a Democrat filibuster of the bill to prevail – making it so thousands of babies will continue to be killed in abortions until the legislature can try again next year....

When asked about his origin story, John Damon always told his family he was an orphan from Chicago. Which was true, in a way. In 1958, the 16-year-old Omaha boy indeed became an orphan — when he shot his parents to death. And nine years later, after he sawed through prison bars and escaped the Nebraska State Penitentiary, the fugitive did flee to Chicago to launch his new life. But back in those days, Damon was known by a different name: William Leslie Arnold.

ANebraska state senator who has a transgender child is being investigated for a potential conflict of interest after she voted against a bill that would ban gender-affirming health care for minors. The complaint, filed Wednesday by Omaha lawyer David Begley, alleges Nebraska Democratic Sen. Megan Hunt could benefit financially from the failure of Legislative Bill 574, a measure that would bar health care providers from administering gender-affirming medical care to transgender patients younger than 19. Begley, in the complaint filed with the state’s Accountability and Disclosure Commission, wrote that Hunt and her child, who is a minor, “have a slightly...

Nebraska could have been the next state to protect babies from abortions if not for a recalcitrant Republicans who sold out unborn children. Republican Sen. Merv Riepe has cosponsored the measure to protect babies from abortion when their heartbeat can be detected, but today he abstained from voting on the measure. That allowed a Democrat filibuster of the bill to prevail – making it so thousands of babies will continue to be killed in abortions until the legislature can try again next year. Riepe filed an amendment to the bill to allow killing babies in abortions up to 12 weeks,...

On Wednesday, lawmakers in Nebraska passed a bill allowing residents to carry concealed guns in the state without a permit. Opponents of the bill filibustered for 14 hours over three rounds of debate. The bill was opposed primarily by lawmakers in the areas of Omaha and Lincoln, where the majority of gun violence in the state occurs. The bill ended up passing 33-14 (via the Associated Press): Republican Gov. Jim Pillen is expected to sign the bill into law. It will go into effect 90 days after he signs. Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed permitless concealed carry...

Gov. Ron DeSantis this week signed legislation into law that makes Florida the 26th state to allow Americans to carry firearms on their person for self-defense without a permit as one of the fastest moving affirmations of the Second Amendment continues to sweep the country. All eyes are now turning to Nebraska and South Carolina, two states expected to take up such legislation in coming months. Gun rights activists say the summer 2020 riots and the subsequent rise in violent crime in many blue cities gave a jolt to a constitutional carry movement they long wanted to see gain steam....

While a number of Donald Trump’s Capitol Hill allies have been quick to defend the former president and criticize the indictment, one moderate Republican told CNN he trusted the legal system. “I believe in the rule of law," said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska. "I think we have checks and balances and I trust the system.” Bacon said it was important to let the process play out. “We have a judge. We have jurors. There is appeals. So I think in the end, justice will be done. If he’s guilty it will show up. But if not, I think that...

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., joined forces with 18 GOP governors to reject President Joe Biden's environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) "agenda," claiming the push is a "direct threat" to the economic freedom of American retirees. Governors in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming formed the alliance Thursday in what they described as an effort to ensure American retirement funds are not used for "woke" investments. "Yet again, President Biden put his political agenda above the wellbeing and individual freedoms of hardworking Americans,"...

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — After years of trying to pass a bill to allow people to carry concealed guns in Nebraska without a permit, conservative lawmakers are on the cusp of doing so, thanks in part to the defection of two Democratic Omaha senators — the only Black lawmakers in the body — who cited racial disparity in enforcing gun laws in their districts. After three days of debate, lawmakers voted 36-12 Friday to advance the bill. It must survive two more rounds of debate to pass. While the bill would not usurp the federal requirement for a background check...

Federal authorities have not yet brought criminal charges against two Honduran nationals who allegedly shot and killed a bald eagle in Nebraska to eat it for dinner.

Two men are facing criminal charges, accused of shooting and killing a bald eagle near Stanton, Nebraska, on Tuesday, that authorities said they had planned to cook and eat. The two suspects, identified as Honduran nationals Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, both age 20, were charged with unlawful possession of an eagle, the Stanton County Sheriff's Office reported in a news release Tuesday. Hernandez-Tziquin was also cited for not having a driver's license. At about 4 p.m. local time Tuesday, deputies responded to a report of a vehicle in a field northwest of the Wood Duck Recreation Area, about three...

Nebraska state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D) on Thursday pledged to filibuster every bill on the state’s legislative agenda this session if two Republican-backed bills seeking to ban both abortion and gender-affirming health care for transgender youth are not immediately withdrawn. “If this legislature collectively decides that legislating hate against children is our priority, then I am going to make it painful; painful for everyone,” Cavanaugh, one of just 17 Democrats in Nebraska’s unicameral legislature, said Thursday at the state capitol in Lincoln. “Because if you want to inflict pain upon our children, I am going to inflict pain upon this...

When Morrill High School (Nebraska) coach April Ott broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, she promised her that even if she couldn’t compete at the state tournament, they could still enjoy the whole experience. They’d get fun coffee drinks, watch the more than 2,700 girls and 225 teams compete in the three-day cheer and dance competition in Grand Island and just have a good time. But Kohel, the lone senior on what had been a squad of four, had other ideas. After talking it over with her mom, Della,...

Briahna Joy Gray and Robby Soave react to news that a train that was carrying hazardous materials was derailed near Detroit.

Union Pacific freight train derailed in Nebraska early on Tuesday, sparking an emergency response. Around 30 cars carrying coal jumped tracks three miles southeast of the town of Gothenburg at about 1.45am, officials said. Emergency hazmat teams rushed to the site of the crash. There were no reported injuries. Images posted to KNOP showed dozens of rail cars strewn along the tracks, alongside mounds of black coal. It was the fourth derailment involving a Union Pacific train in the area since May last year, KNOP reported. In a statement to Fox News, Union Pacific said a clean up operation was...

Nebraska on Thursday joined 24 other states in a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s new rule defining so-called Waters of the United States, or WOTUS. The multi-state coalition said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers rushed to publish the new rule, even though the Supreme Court is expected to issue a key decision on the scope of WOTUS in a few weeks. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, in a statement announcing Nebraska’s role in the lawsuit, said the new rule would detrimentally affect farmers who may need to get permission from the EPA and Corps of...