Latest news with #UniversityofNebraska
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announces reelection bid amid Herbster speculation
A screenshot from Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen's reelection campaign kickoff video. (Courtesy of Jim Pillen for Governor) LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a day after passage of a bill he supported limiting participation in women's sports to a student athlete's sex at birth, kicked off his second campaign for governor with a red-meat appeal to his Republican base. The first-term governor's campaign video emphasized his role in signing 'the largest income tax cut in Nebraska history' and says he 'reduced property taxes,' done mainly by having the state absorb more of the costs of community colleges from property taxpayers. Pillen touted his rural roots as Nebraska's first active farmer as governor in at least a century. His family runs a massive hog operation based in Columbus, Pillen Family Farms. He is also a veterinarian and former University of Nebraska regent. He also vocally backs law enforcement, including pay raises for the Nebraska State Patrol. He plans to run again with Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly, a former top prosecutor in the Nebraska Attorney General's Office and Lancaster County. The kickoff video jumped back into controversies from his 2022 campaign for governor, including tough talk about illegal immigration and his willingness to keep spending state tax dollars deploying the Nebraska National Guard to the Texas-Mexico border. Some opponents have argued he says one thing and does another by attacking immigrants while running a major agricultural operation, many of which rely heavily on immigrant labor, including some who are not in the country legally. Pillen also highlighted culture war changes he supported, including his push to 'keep men out of girls' sports,' limiting gender-affirming care for minors and federal efforts to ban diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in schools, colleges and universities. 'Here in Nebraska, it's what you do, not how you look, that still determines how far you go,' he said in the announcement. 'If you learn anything growing up on the farm, there's always more work to do.' The message and its timing, as the Legislature closes Pillen's third regular session in charge, appear aimed at asserting himself to a GOP audience of two: President Donald Trump and Trump donor Charles Herbster, Pillen's top GOP primary election opponent from 2022. Herbster, a multi-state businessman with southeast Nebraska ties, has announced no timeline for deciding on a bid. His spokesman, Rod Edwards, said Thursday that Herbster has been 'hearing from a lot of Nebraskans wanting him to run.' Pillen's campaign had no immediate comment beyond a statement issued alongside the announcement. In it, the governor said he 'proudly advanced President Trump's agenda.' Pillen has made more first-term White House trips than recent predecessors. Some of that appears aimed at keeping Trump on the sidelines in a potential GOP primary rematch with Herbster, whom Trump endorsed in 2022 against Pillen. Pillen had the backing of departing Gov. Pete Ricketts, whom Pillen appointed to the U.S. Senate one week after becoming governor and won a special election in November to serve out the final two years of former GOP U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse's term. Several Republican operatives expect Pillen to draw one or more primary challengers, if not more. Among the criticisms he is likely to face are those about increased spending, the effectiveness of state investments in property tax relief and some of his budget decisions, including recent troubles turning in line-item vetoes to the right office at the right time. Nebraska Democrats have also been recruiting a potential challenger for Pillen but have not announced one yet. Some Democratic political observers have speculated that a state senator might run against him or Herbster. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the state deserves a leader who 'prioritizes our economic livelihoods, not Donald Trump's culture wars.' 'Governor Pillen will have to answer for why he is choosing slum lords and bed bugs over Nebraskans,' Kleeb said. 'Or why he has failed to lower property taxes. Or why he chooses to attack vulnerable kids and our public schools.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska Republican interrogated over GOP megabill during tense town hall
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) was interrogated over the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' during a town hall this week, with voters pressing him on provisions of the bill — including changes to Medicaid — in an hour-plus event that turned tense at times. The megabill, which passed the House last week, took center stage from the start of the event. Flood, who represents Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, mentioned the bill in his opening remarks, and the first series of questions from constituents focused on the sprawling piece of legislation. 'I will tell you, a lot of you as I talked to you on the way in had concerns with the bill that we passed in reconciliation on Thursday morning. I voted for that bill,' Flood said, prompting loud boos and screams from the crowd. In one of the viral moments, a voter in the audience asked Flood about a provision in the bill that aims to restrict federal judges' ability to hold government officials in contempt when they violate a court order. When a judge grants a preliminary injunction — as judges have done in dozens of cases to block Trump administration policies — federal procedure normally requires the plaintiff to post a bond. But judges often waive the requirement when the case concerns an unconstitutional policy. The bill would prevent judges from enforcing contempt orders if they issue such a waiver. The language, which is a small paragraph in the 1,000-plus-page bill, was slipped in and went largely unnoticed. Asked why he voted in favor of the bill with that provision, Flood — who graduated from University of Nebraska's law school — said the language was 'unknown' to him when he voted for the bill, noting he is not in favor of it. 'I do not agree with that section that was added to that bill,' Floor said, prompting a cry of 'you voted for all of it' from the audience. 'Why? I will tell you this: I believe in the rule of law,' he continued. 'I've taken an oath as an attorney, I've taken an oath as a state senator, I've taken an oath as a member of Congress, and I support our court system and I do believe that the federal district courts when issuing an injunction, it should have legal effect. In fact, I relied upon that when the Biden administration was in place, the federal courts did a tremendous amount of good work.' 'This provision was unknown to me when I voted for the bill,' he added. When a moderator began moving to the next question, Flood continued to speak to the matter. 'I am not going to hide the truth: This provision was unknown to me when I voted for that bill,' he said, leading the audience to break out in shouts. 'And when I found out that provision was in the bill, I immediately reached out to my Senate counterparts and told them of my concern. And when I return to Washington, I am going to very clearly tell the people in my conference that we cannot support undermining our court system, and we must allow our federal courts to operate and issue injunctions.' The congressman continued, later saying he cannot 'pull the fire alarm' every time he is frustrated with something from the administration. He did, however, take a jab at the White House after deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Trump and his team are 'actively looking at' suspending habeas corpus as the administration looks to crack down on illegal immigration. 'Please know that every time someone in the administration comes up with an idea, I can't pull the fire alarm every day, but if I see a writ of habeas corpus, quote-unquote, suspended, that is not right,' Flood said. 'It can only be done by Congress in terms of an invasion, and that is not the situation we have.' It was a familiar scene for Flood, who faced an onslaught of incisive questions and complaints over Elon Musk, the Russia-Ukraine war and more during a town hall in March. The congressman held the event despite House Republican leaders at the time urging lawmakers to host call-in and livestream town halls instead of in-person gatherings after moments from various GOP town halls went viral for questions about the administration and rowdy protests. Republicans had blamed the protests on Democratic activists. On Tuesday, at the beginning of the town hall, Flood said he believed all in attendance were his constituents. 'We have a good group of people here from all sorts of different places, all Nebraskans. I don't think one of you is here because you're getting paid, I don't think one of you is here because you were trucked in,' Flood said. 'I shook every hand in the front of this assembly, and I recognized a lot of faces, and I recognized a lot of names from my daily call logs.' Flood was asked about the 'big, beautiful bill' throughout the town hall. Later in the event, an attendee asked, 'How do you justify extending the 2017 temporary tax cuts and offsetting that federal loss by cutting Medicaid and SNAP benefits — tax cuts [that are] expected to add $5 trillion to [the] deficit?' One of the most controversial parts of the GOP megabill was changes to Medicaid, including beefed-up work requirements that will take effect in December 2026. Flood defended the bill, arguing that Medicaid should be protected for vulnerable populations. At one point during those comments, the crowd broke out in 'tax the rich' chants. Later in the town hall, Flood said: 'I think when you look at the Medicaid changes that we made, we did a very good job to avoid making Medicaid changes that affect patient care.' Zach Schonfeld contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Nebraska Republican interrogated over GOP megabill during tense town hall
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) was interrogated over the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' during a town hall this week, with voters pressing him on provisions of the bill — including changes to Medicaid — in an hour-plus event that turned tense at times. The megabill, which passed the House last week, took center stage from the start of the event. Flood, who represents Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, mentioned the bill in his opening remarks, and the first series of questions from constituents focused on the sprawling piece of legislation. 'I will tell you, a lot of you as I talked to you on the way in had concerns with the bill that we passed in reconciliation on Thursday morning. I voted for that bill,' Flood said, prompting loud boos and screams from the crowd. In one of the viral moments, a voter in the audience asked Flood about a provision in the bill that aims to restrict federal judges' ability to hold government officials in contempt when they violate a court order. When a judge grants a preliminary injunction — as judges have done in dozens of cases to block Trump administration policies — federal procedure normally requires the plaintiff to post a bond. But judges often waive the requirement when the case concerns an unconstitutional policy. The bill would prevent judges from enforcing contempt orders if they issue such a waiver. The language, which is a small paragraph in the 1,000-plus-page bill, was slipped in and went largely unnoticed. Asked why he voted in favor of the bill with that provision, Flood — who graduated from University of Nebraska's law school — said the language was 'unknown' to him when he voted for the bill, noting that he is not in favor of it. 'I do not agree with that section that was added to that bill,' Floor said, prompting a cry of 'you voted for all of it' from the audience. 'Why? I will tell you this: I believe in the rule of law,' he continued. 'I've taken an oath as an attorney, I've taken an oath as a state senator, I've taken an oath as a member of Congress, and I support our court system and I do believe that the federal district courts when issuing an injunction, it should have legal effect. In fact, I relied upon that when the Biden administration was in place, the federal courts did a tremendous amount of good work.' 'This provision was unknown to me when I voted for the bill,' he added. When a moderator began moving to the next question, Flood continued to speak to the matter. 'I am not gonna hide the truth: This provision was unknown to me when I voted for that bill,' he said, leading the audience to break out in shouts. 'And when I found out that provision was in the bill, I immediately reached out to my Senate counterparts and told them of my concern. And when I return to Washington I am going to very clearly tell the people in my conference that we cannot support undermining our court system and we must allow our federal courts to operate and issue injunctions.' The congressman continued, later saying that he cannot 'pull the fire alarm' every time he is frustrated with something from the administration. He did, however, take a jab at the White House after deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Trump and his team are 'actively looking at' suspending habeas corpus as the administration looks to crack down on illegal immigration. 'Please know that every time someone in the administration comes up with an idea I can't pull the fire alarm every day, but if I see a writ of habeas corpus, quote, unquote, suspended, that is not right,' Flood said. 'It can only be done by Congress in terms of an invasion and that is not the situation we have.' It was a familiar scene for Flood, who faced an onslaught of incisive questions and complaints over Elon Musk, the Russia-Ukraine war and during a town hall in March. The congressman held the event despite House Republican leaders at the time urging lawmakers to host call-in and livestream town halls instead of in-person gatherings after moments from various GOP town halls went viral for questions about the administration and rowdy protests. Republicans had blamed the protests on Democratic activists. On Tuesday, at the beginning of the town hall, Flood said he believed all in attendance were his constituents. 'We have a good group of people here from all sorts of different places, all Nebraskans. I don't think one of you is here because you're getting paid, I don't think one of you is here because you were trucked in,' Flood said. 'I shook every hand in the front of this assembly and I recognized a lot of faces and I recognized a lot of names from my daily call logs.' Flood was asked about the 'big, beautiful bill' throughout the town hall. Later in the event, a attendee asked, 'how do you justify extending the 2017 temporary tax cuts and offsetting that federal loss by cutting Medicaid and SNAP benefits — tax cuts [that are] expected to add $5 trillion to [the] deficit?' One of the most controversial parts of the GOP megabill was changes to Medicaid, including beefed-up work requirements that will take effect in December 2026. Flood defended the bill, arguing that Medicaid should be protected for vulnerable populations. At one point during those comments, the crowd broke out in 'tax the rich' chants. Later in the town hall, Flood said: 'I think when you look at the Medicaid changes that we made, we did a very good job to avoid making Medicaid changes that affect patient care.' Zach Schonfeld contributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former state senator believes Ukraine can still end the war, if given right weapons
Former State Sen. Tom Brewer and Don Hutchens, a former head of the Nebraska Corn Board, survey a combine, provided by the Howard Buffett Foundation, that was destroyed by a Russian missile in Rivne, Ukraine. (Courtesy of John Grinvalds) LINCOLN — After his fifth goodwill and fact-finding trip to war-torn Ukraine, a former Nebraska state legislator and decorated veteran still feels that Ukraine can prevail in its war with Russia if given the right weapons. And former State Sen. Tom Brewer, who represented north-central Nebraska, said he sees a possible reckoning ahead for President Donald Trump in his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin, he said, has never been truthful in his negotiations over the war, and his latest flirtations with peace talks may turn out to just be a delaying tactic to allow Russian forces to get organized for a summer offensive. 'There's a huge game of chess that's being played right now,' Brewer said in a recent interview. 'I think the next month will bring to light that Putin is not serious about negotiations, he's just buying time.' 'If you look at history, the Russians have never been honest about any of the negotiating they've done,' he added. 'Why would they start now?' Brewer, now 66, is at an age when most veterans are working on their golf game or heading out on a fishing trip. He's had more than 70 surgeries to repair war wounds and a bad back. The trip by plane, train, bus and eventually Toyota 4Runners in the dark of night is long and grueling, over roads pock-marked by missile strikes. But he keeps going back to Ukraine in part because he admires their freedom-loving spirit and in part because he feels his military experience — six tours of duty in Afghanistan and experience with artillery and helicopters — could help their war effort. Eventually, he believes he could also help the reconstruction of a country known as the 'bread basket of Europe.' On this latest trip he was accompanied by Don Hutchens, a retired head of the Nebraska Corn Board and a veteran of foreign trade missions. They set up a video meeting with University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold and Ukraine's ministers of agriculture and intelligence to lay the groundwork for possible collaboration in rebuilding Ukraine's crop production. Ukraine has lost more than 20% of its farmland since the Russians invaded, according to Alliance Magazine, and an estimated 139,000 square kilometers of land — almost twice the size of Nebraska — are suspected to hold land mines. Brewer said that in areas where the Russians had occupied, anything of value was taken and farm machinery not taken was disabled. Farmers are left using old equipment in hopes of growing a crop, he said. During his trip, Brewer visited associates of Howard Buffett, the son of Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett, who is on track to pass a total of $1 billion in private aid this year given to Ukraine to remove mines and provide new combines, planters and tractors. '(Buffett) has a really good team over there that is well-organized,' he said. 'He's probably more highly thought of than anyone else in the country. If he wanted to run for president he could beat out (Ukraine President Volodymyr) Zelinskyy.' Brewer also visited an orphanage under construction near Kyiv that has been supported by Ukrainian-Americans as well as a hospital where wounded soldiers are fitted for prosthetic limbs. An estimated 52,000 Ukrainians have lost parts of arms and legs in the war, he said, which has left possibly 18,000 children orphaned. Some U.S. military aid is still reaching troops in Ukraine, he said, but the elimination of the USAID agency has meant an end of food shipments to those living in a 'no-man's land' near the front. Despite the pull back of some American aid, the Ukrainians provided a warm welcome back, Brewer said. As after past trips, the former legislator will provide a trip report to the Nebraska delegation in Congress in hopes that makes a difference. On this trip, Brewer watched young Ukrainian soldiers, fueled by Red Bull and vape pens, guiding attack drones and was impressed by the capability of an artillery team unit that got only three week's training on guns the U.S. Army provides months of training to operate. He said that if he was 'king for a day,' the U.S. would provide more long-range missiles so that Russian forces could be moved farther away from the Ukrainian border to deter drone attacks and dropping of unguided 'glide bombs.' Tougher sanctions, Brewer added, could help squeeze the Russian economy to the point that they would give up. The former senator said he is sometimes 'astounded' about how long it took the U.S. to provide the weaponry that is needed. The sounds of drones buzzing overhead is a constant near the front, Brewer said, and the glide bombs, which cannot be detected by anti-missile batteries, have exacted a horrible toll. He said that this war could completely reshape Europe and the future of democracy, and it's important to stop Putin now, or else he will be emboldened to invade more countries. Brewer said he 'hates' the idea that Ukraine would have to give up valuable territory to end the war. 'The only way to defeat (the Russians) is to defeat them on the battlefield,' he said, 'and the only way to do that is give (Ukraine) the right weapons to do it.' 'Even though they've been through three years of war, and even though they've lost an estimated 100,000 civilian and military lives, their spirit is still passionate about staying free,' Brewer said. 'You're not going to see the Ukrainian people say, 'We've had enough.' I think they'll fight until they have nothing left to fight with.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Where Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and 13 Other CEOs Went To College
One common thread among the world's most successful and inspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders is that many went to college — even if only for a short while. For some of the world's top business leaders, college shaped their lives and paid off in building their wealth. Be Aware: Discover More: Here's where the biggest names in business went to college. College: Princeton University Jeff Bezos, executive chairman at Amazon, is the second-richest person in the world with a net worth of $195.4 billion, according to Forbes. The son of a single mother, Bezos earned early admission to Princeton, originally intending to practice theoretical physics. After graduation, however, he realized the power of the internet and began selling books online, a small business venture that grew into the world's most powerful online retailer. Explore More: View Next: College: University of Pennsylvania, University of Nebraska and Columbia University Warren Buffett followed his father's advice and went to the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School of Business — but only reluctantly. The man who has gone on to become the 'Oracle of Omaha,' arguably the most successful investor of all time, completed his undergraduate education at the University of Nebraska before attending graduate school at Columbia University. Despite many years of schooling, Buffett doesn't think college is for everyone and doesn't base his hiring decisions on degrees, according to CNBC. For You: College: Queen's University and the University of Pennsylvania Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX, is the richest man in the world. According to Forbes' Real Time Billionaires list, Musk has a net worth of $367 billion. Musk's educational background includes studying at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and later transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a degree in physics and economics in 1995. College: Auburn University and Duke University Tim Cook earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar. Today, he's the CEO of Apple. Before reaching the executive level at Apple, Cook worked for Compaq and IBM. College: University of Southern California Marc Benioff was a pioneer of cloud computing and now serves as the CEO of Salesforce. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1986. He enjoyed college so much that he never severed ties — he currently serves on the school's board of trustees. Trending Now: College: Ithaca College Before he saved Disney, Iger graduated from Ithaca College in 1973, where he cut his teeth in one of the toughest gigs in show business. Intent on landing a television career, Iger spent five hard winter months working as a local weatherman in notoriously frigid Ithaca, New York. College: Tufts University and Harvard University Harvard graduate Jamie Dimon runs America's largest bank as the CEO of JPMorgan Chase. He's famous — or infamous — for protecting that bank by dumping $12 billion in subprime mortgages in 2006, which helped the bank survive the Great Recession. Dimon graduated from Tufts University in 1978 and later enrolled in Harvard Business School. He parlayed the MBA he earned there in 1982 into a billion-dollar career. College: Kettering University and Stanford University Mary T. Barra — listed by Forbes as one of the world's most powerful women — became the first woman to lead a major automaker when she was named CEO of General Motors in 2014. She graduated from Kettering University in 1985 — it was called General Motors Institute then — and earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1990. Find Out: College: Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania Sundar Pichai interviewed with Google on the day the company launched Gmail in 2004. Now he's the company's CEO and the CEO of its parent company, Alphabet, after Google's co-founder Larry Page stepped down in December 2019. The metallurgical engineering student did so well at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur that he won a scholarship to Stanford. After earning his Master of Science, he earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. College: University of Wisconsin and University of Chicago Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is credited with moving the software giant away from a failed mobile strategy and toward winning endeavors such as augmented reality, cloud computing and the purchase of LinkedIn. Nadella has two master's degrees. He earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. College: Oregon State University and Stanford University Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang is the leader of a company that pioneered computer gaming in the 1990s and invented the GPU card. He earned a BSEE degree from Oregon State University and, like so many others on this list, a master's degree from Stanford. See More: College: Dartmouth College and Stanford Graduate School of Business John Donahoe took over as the CEO of Nike on Jan. 13, 2020, to October 2024, and although he didn't have experience in the apparel industry, he's a whiz in the tech world. He was the president and CEO of ServiceNow, an enterprise cloud computing company, and was the president and CEO of eBay from 2008 to 2015. Currently, Donahoe is the chairman of the board of directors of PayPal. Donahoe earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University. College: University of Massachusetts-Amherst, MIT, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Harvard University The former CEO of T-Mobile, John Legere, has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry — and he built his career on an impressive academic resume. According to his UMass alumni page, he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from UMass Amherst, a master's degree as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He then completed Harvard Business School's Management Development Program. College: New York University and Missouri University of Science and Technology After a brief stint at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Jack Dorsey transferred to NYU, where he dropped out. At the age of 29, he was out of work, living in a tiny apartment and unable to find a job — even at a local shoe store. He dabbled in fashion, and then the self-taught coder went on to found Twitter. That final act made him one of the richest CEOs in Silicon Valley. Currently, Dorsey is the CEO of Square. View Next: College: Harvard University Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has weathered a scandalous — yet financially successful — past few years. But in 2004, he was a computer programmer and a recent Harvard dropout focused on spreading his emerging online platform from Harvard to campuses across the country and, eventually, the world. Dropping out of college hasn't prevented Zuckerberg from becoming one of the richest people in the world. Heather Taylor contributed to the reporting for this piece. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? 6 Popular SUVs That Aren't Worth the Cost -- and 6 Affordable Alternatives This article originally appeared on Where Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and 13 Other CEOs Went To College
