Political News

Nebraska Student Debt Relief Could Reach $268 Million Under New Plan

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/24/2023 - 5:00am

The debt relief will come through fixes to mismanagement of the agency’s income-driven repayment plans. (Shutterstock)

LINCOLN — Nearly 6,000 Nebraskans qualify for more than $268 million in student debt relief offered under a new Biden administration policy, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Department of Education and the White House announced last week that more than 800,000 federal student loan borrowers will have their remaining debt eliminated. State-by-state numbers were released Tuesday.

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Petition Drive Kicks Off To Put Paid Sick Leave On Nebraska Ballot

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/24/2023 - 4:00am

OMAHA — The 250,000 Nebraskans working full-time without paid sick days might soon have other choices than ignoring illness or sending sick kids to school to avoid missing a day’s pay.

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This Year’s Debate Over Defense Spending Threatens To Disrupt A Tradition Of Bipartisan Consensus-Building Over Funding The Military

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/24/2023 - 3:00am

Each year for the past six decades, congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle have come together to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. Because the bill involves the military – a traditionally popular institution – it has historically received bipartisan support.

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Holy Voter Suppression, Batgirl! What Comics Reveal About Gender And Democracy

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/24/2023 - 2:00am

Each July, comics fans, professionals and scholars descend on San Diego, California, for Comic-Con International – a celebration of the art and business of the comics industry. Comic books used to be a niche genre of interest to a narrow subset of popular culture enthusiasts. Since the 1970s, however, they increasingly have supplied the characters and stories on which film, television and streaming media empires are founded.

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Few US Adults Support Full Abortion Bans, Even In States That Have Them, An AP-NORC Poll Finds

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/17/2023 - 3:00am

The majority of U.S. adults, including those living in states with the strictest limits on abortion, want it to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds.

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Why The DeSantis Campaign Is Betting On The Political Power Of ‘Mamas’

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/17/2023 - 2:00am

JOHNSTON, Iowa — Casey DeSantis looked out onto the audience of mostly women inside the small barn on the suburban outskirts of Des Moines.

On this early July solo trip, she talked about her three young children, sharing stories about raising them while her husband, Ron DeSantis serves as Florida governor and now makes a bid for the White House. She also mapped out a vision for the presidential campaign:

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Conservatives Go To Red States And Liberals Go To Blue As The Country Grows More Polarized

Published by jason@omahadail... on Mon, 07/10/2023 - 5:00am

Leah Dean, a native of the Texas Panhandle, poses outside her home Monday, July 3, 2023, in Denver. In Texas, Dean had been scared to fly an abortion rights banner outside her house. Now in Denver, an LGBTQ+ pride flag flies above the banner in front of her house that proclaims, “Abortion access is a community responsibility.”
(David Zalubowski / AP Photo)

STAR, Idaho (AP) — Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself.

Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin Blue Line banner representing law enforcement outside his house.

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‘You Need To Know Us’: Trans Youths Describe Life In Nebraska

Published by jason@omahadail... on Mon, 07/10/2023 - 4:00am

LINCOLN — When 17-year-old Nola Rhea begins her senior year in the fall at Lincoln High School, it could be her last year of education in Nebraska.

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It’s Almost Time To Resume Student Loan Payments. Not Doing So Could Cost You

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/03/2023 - 5:00am

NEW YORK (AP) — After three years, the pandemic-era freeze on federal student loan payments will end this fall.

It might seem tempting to just keep not making payments, but the consequences can be severe, including a hit to your credit score and exclusion from future aid and benefits.

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What Is The Difference Between Nationalism And Patriotism?

Published by Nikki Palmer on Mon, 07/03/2023 - 4:00am

During his presidency, Donald Trump said, “We’re putting America first … we’re taking care of ourselves for a change,” and then declared, “I’m a nationalist.” In another speech, he stated that under his watch, the U.S. had “embrace[d] the doctrine of patriotism.”