LINCOLN — Nebraska teens, under a 2019 state law, must clear a civics requirement to graduate. Immigrants must pass a test on civics and U.S. history to gain U.S. citizenship.

Now a bipartisan group of Nebraska state senators wants to write into law that new members of the officially nonpartisan Legislature take a 20-question civics test — and publicly post the scores.

LINCOLN — With a projected $471 million budget deficit on the horizon, Gov. Jim Pillen looked to the state Department of Health and Human Services for the largest chunk of his proposed budget cuts.

Pillen previewed his preferred mid-cycle adjustments to the state’s biennial budget Thursday during his annual State of the State Address. Overall, the governor’s changes would reduce state spending by 0.4% in the current fiscal year and by 1.8% in fiscal year 2027.

Foreign policy is usually discussed as a matter of national interests – oil flows, borders, treaties, fleets. But there is a problem: “national interest” is an inherently ambiguous phrase. Although it is often presented as an expression of sheer force, its effectiveness ultimately rests on something softer – the manner in which a government performs moral authority and projects credibility to the world.

The style of that performance is part of the substance, not just its packaging. On Jan. 4, 2026, on ABC’s This Week, that style shifted abruptly for the U.S.