Profiles
It’s an open book – as well it should be. We’re talking about the design concept behind Omaha’s new Central Library – and at the heart of its very mission.
To provide a welcoming space for all people...
A fresh morning drizzle on Saturday either lended to or came from the heavy fog, priced by downtown Omaha’s few skyscrapers. The view from Cummings Street was thankfully unobstructed as I drove to...
It was a hard sell.
I was loitering around in that dark Omaha alleyway, one of those ones that still have those red bricks that bring more character than the unfilled potholes on old concrete. Next...
Omaha has many religious places of worship, but only one Temple of Beauty. Windowless walls of pink Georgia-marble reach high into the air as if to both catch as much sunlight as possible while also...
Walking into a New York City pharmacy, Scott LeRette had no idea how life was about to change for him and his family.
LeRette, author of "The Unbreakable Boy," mentioned to the pharmacist he was an...
Today’s News
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announces two federal lawsuits against a California regulatory board and the Environmental Protection Agency, May 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s efforts to fight California on new electric-truck mandates and related regulations largely ended Monday with California officials moving to repeal the proposed rules.
In a Monday...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — REAL ID requirements for those flying within the United States begin Wednesday after nearly 20 years of delays.
Many airports reported wait times of a few minutes at security...
LINCOLN — It’s crunch time for state lawmakers to rightsize Nebraska’s budget, by no later than May 15. Senators since November are considering a nearly $850 million combined in new revenue streams,...
The family of a U.S. airman who was shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy inside his own home sued the deputy, the sheriff and the owner of the airman’s apartment complex on Tuesday, saying they want to...
The Nebraska State Capitol. (Paul Hammel / Nebraska Examiner)
While the country’s chattering class buzzed about 100 days in office, lawmakers in the Nebraska Legislature passed that apparently important milestone several weeks ago without a blip of notoriety....
This Week's News
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announces two federal lawsuits against a California regulatory board and the Environmental Protection Agency, May 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)
05/09/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s efforts to fight California on new electric-truck mandates and related regulations largely ended Monday with California officials moving to repeal the proposed rules.
In a Monday court filing, California Attorney General Rob...
05/09/2025 - 12:00am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — REAL ID requirements for those flying within the United States begin Wednesday after nearly 20 years of delays.
Many airports reported wait times of a few minutes at security checkpoints on their websites on Wednesday morning,...
05/09/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — It’s crunch time for state lawmakers to rightsize Nebraska’s budget, by no later than May 15. Senators since November are considering a nearly $850 million combined in new revenue streams, cuts to state spending and scrounging for loose...
05/09/2025 - 12:00am
The family of a U.S. airman who was shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy inside his own home sued the deputy, the sheriff and the owner of the airman’s apartment complex on Tuesday, saying they want to ensure people are held accountable for his 2024...
The Nebraska State Capitol. (Paul Hammel / Nebraska Examiner)
05/09/2025 - 12:00am
While the country’s chattering class buzzed about 100 days in office, lawmakers in the Nebraska Legislature passed that apparently important milestone several weeks ago without a blip of notoriety. Nose to the grindstone … as it were.
Its work...
05/09/2025 - 12:00am
“Investiture," is it… a heart-warming event? Or like the owner of the Daily Record, Jason Huff, said to me, "It’s open to the public, but most people don’t know what it is. Sounds like a 401k meeting or something.”
His definition is better than the...
05/08/2025 - 1:28pm
Eleven inmate deaths in less than two months. More than 4,000 staff vacancies. A $3 billion repair backlog.
And now, a stunning directive from President Donald Trump for the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons to “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ...
Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, a sidewalk gets shaped in front of new construction in Omaha, Neb. (Nati Harnik / AP Photo)
05/08/2025 - 1:25pm
Construction costs have surged in recent years, pushing homeownership further out of reach for many Americans. But this isn’t a new concern: In 1978, the U.S. Government Accountability Office warned that rising costs were threatening the American...
05/08/2025 - 1:22pm
LINCOLN — State government is paying about 37% more to lease commercial office space for employees today than five years ago — a hike from $16 million to $22 million that the Nebraska state auditor described Monday as “far more than necessary.”
“It...
05/08/2025 - 1:16pm
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Campgrounds, boat ramps and other facilities in at least 30 locations at federal lakes and reservoirs in six states will be closed or have their hours curtailed as of mid-May as the Trump administration tries to rapidly shrink...
Recruits for the Nebraska State Patrol in a 2022 class photo. (Courtesy of the Nebraska State Patrol)
05/07/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — One state lawmaker’s continued efforts to boost benefits for Nebraska State Patrol troopers, a largely consensus issue, ignited a rare fight among legislative allies.
The fight flared up last week in the Nebraska Legislature after State...
05/07/2025 - 12:00am
Pope Francis’ pontificate marked a distinct shift in the Catholic Church’s engagement with the Muslim world. While his predecessors fostered dialogue and tolerance, Francis sought more active engagement with Muslims, particularly in the Middle East...
05/07/2025 - 12:00am
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A contrast:
At the National Speech and Debate Tournament, two high school students take the stage. The first articulates the position he has been assigned to defend — people should have a right to secede from their...
The Nebraska State Capitol on Jan. 18, 2022, in Lincoln. (Rebecca S. Gratz / Nebraska Examiner)
05/07/2025 - 12:00am
For 35 years, the Women’s Fund of Omaha has worked on issues foundational to achieving gender equity. We advocate for public policies that ensure all women and girls can reach their full potential. Our expertise in policy advocacy includes helping...
05/07/2025 - 12:00am
Sabrina Stratman left a spring 2024 Planned Parenthood fundraiser feeling inspired — so inspired that the registered nurse and occasional volunteer applied for a job at the nonprofit’s Omaha clinic.
A lifelong advocate for abortion access, she...
A Visa logo is displayed on a credit card in New Orleans, Aug. 11, 2019. (Jenny Kane / AP Photo)
05/06/2025 - 12:00am
Artificial intelligence “agents” are supposed to be more than chatbots. The tech industry has spent months pitching AI personal assistants that know what you want and can do real work on your behalf.
So far, they're not doing much.
Visa hopes to...
05/06/2025 - 12:00am
NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Friede has been bitten by snakes hundreds of times — often on purpose. Now scientists are studying his blood in hopes of creating a better treatment for snake bites.
Friede has long had a fascination with reptiles and other...
05/06/2025 - 12:00am
Garrett Shadbolt grew up watching his dad chase dreams of saddle bronc stardom. Dad never caught that rodeo dream, and young Garrett never had much interest in chasing it — an interesting admission from the Nebraska native and current No. 7 bareback...
Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Homeland Security, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (Ben Curtis / AP Photo)
05/05/2025 - 12:00am
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans defended President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs Wednesday, blocking a largely symbolic measure to terminate the president’s import taxes that have shocked the economy.
The resolution failed in a tied 49-49 vote...
President Donald Trump listens as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (Pool via AP)
05/05/2025 - 12:00am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted on social media Tuesday that he had dismantled a program supporting women on security teams, an initiative that he called “woke” but actually was signed into law by his boss, President Donald...
05/05/2025 - 12:00am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Ukraine on Wednesday signed an agreement granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, finalizing a deal months in the making that could enable continued military aid to Kyiv amid concerns that...
Former Vice President Kamala Harris delivers the keynote speech at the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala in San Francisco, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP Photo)
05/05/2025 - 12:00am
This story was originally reported by Jennifer Gerson of The 19th. Meet Jennifer and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy.
In her first major speech since failing to win the White House in November, former Vice President Kamala...
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks during a television interview at the White House, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon / AP Photo)
05/05/2025 - 12:00am
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House national security adviser Mike Waltz is set to depart the administration just weeks after it was revealed he added a journalist to a Signal chat being used to discuss military plans, according to two people familiar...
05/05/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — Denise Powell, known for her role boosting new candidates with Women Who Run, is running for Congress in 2026 in Nebraska’s 2nd District.
Powell told the Nebraska Examiner on Wednesday that she is running because many people in the Omaha...
