Legal News

Pillen Appoints First Justice Of Color To Nebraska Supreme Court

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 11/14/2025 - 12:00am

Douglas County District Judge Derek Vaughn (center) is named the next associate justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court. His wife, Jacqueline (left) and many other members of his family joined the announcement, Nov. 10, 2025.
(Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appointed Douglas County District Court Judge Derek R. Vaughn on Monday as the next associate justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

The appointment for the Supreme Court’s Second Judicial District replaces the first woman on Nebraska’s high court with the high court’s first person of color, according to state records and national data since 1960.

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Under Ron Desantis’ Leadership, Florida Leads The Nation In Executions In 2025

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 11/14/2025 - 12:00am

After years of steady decline in the number of people executed in the United States, there has been a sharp reversal in 2025.

So far this year, 41 people have been killed in 11 states, with five more executions scheduled before the end of the year.

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Grijalva Will Be Sworn In As The House's Newest Member, Paving The Way For An Epstein Files Vote

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 11/14/2025 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the House returns Wednesday for the first time in months, Democrat Adelita Grijalva will be sworn in as its newest member, more than seven weeks after winning a special election in Arizona to fill the seat last held by her late father.

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Law In Limbo: Nebraska Veterans Justice Diversion Program Defunded, Delayed Until At Least 2027

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 11/14/2025 - 12:00am

LINCOLN — Nebraska was set to lead the way July 1 with a new statewide criminal justice diversion program for eligible veterans through evidence-based treatment and case plans. But lawmakers delayed the rollout for two years in the face of growing budget woes.

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A New Law Was Supposed To Reveal Who's Detasseling Nebraska's Corn. It Didn't Really

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 11/07/2025 - 12:00am

An employee of Ailes Detasseling walks through a seed corn field near Utica, Nebraska, in 2024. Detasseling is seen as a rite of passage for Midwest teenagers, but in recent years, more of the detasseling is performed by workers with H-2A visas.
(Ailes Detasseling / Courtesy Photo)

Scott Wilcox wasn’t surprised when Bayer, one of the largest seed corn producers in the world, did not renew its contract with the detasseling company he owned and operated out of Seward, Neb., after the 2020 season.

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DHS Wants States To Hand Over Driver’s License Data For Citizenship Checks

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 11/07/2025 - 12:00am

DHS Wants States to Hand Over Driver’s License Data for Citizenship Checks

The Department of Homeland Security says it intends to add state driver’s license information to a swiftly expanding federal system envisioned as a one-stop shop for checking citizenship.

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Trial Starts For Assault Case Against DC Man Who Tossed Sandwich At Federal Agent On Viral Video

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 11/07/2025 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (AP) — Throwing a sandwich at a federal agent turned Sean Charles Dunn into a symbol of resistance against President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital. This week, federal prosecutors are trying to persuade a jury of fellow Washington, D.C., residents that Dunn simply broke the law.

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Make The Republican Party Republican Again

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 10/31/2025 - 12:00am

Last Friday I joined reporters from other news outlets where we got online for the latest news conference by Congressman Don Bacon. In an era where virtually every other high-ranking Nebraska Republican official does their best to avoid the media, Don Bacon has consistently been available to answer questions. He’s an old school Republican.

Regardless of what you think of his politics, you have to respect that.

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OPPD Delays Vote On North Omaha Power Plant Transition From Coal To Natural Gas

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 10/31/2025 - 12:00am

Omaha Public Power District Director Mary Spurgeon of Bellevue.
(Courtesy of OPPD)

OMAHA — The Omaha Public Power District delayed a vote this month to move forward on a decade-old plan to transfer two coal units at a North Omaha power plant to natural gas.

The delay came a week after Nebraska’s attorney general sued the public utility.

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Texas Attorney General Sues Tylenol Company Over Autism Claims

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 10/31/2025 - 12:00am

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, Feb. 23, 2024.
(Jose Luis Magana / AP Photo)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Johnson and Johnson, accusing the pharmaceutical company of failing to warn consumers about the risk of taking Tylenol while pregnant.