By Erin Bamer | Reporter
“This is not the establishment of a legitimate political party. It is political sabotage — a calculated effort to maliciously confuse voters by hijacking a nationally recognized brand inextricably linked to President Donald J. Trump and the conservative movement he leads.” - a lawsuit filed by the Nebraska Republican Party, referring to the new ‘America First Party’ in Nebraska.
The Nebraska Republican party headquarters in Lincoln on Oct. 28, 2025. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Republican Party is suing to keep the America First Party off the November ballot.
The GOP lawsuit asks Lancaster District Court Judge Darla Ideus to overrule Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s decision not to intervene with the party’s creation, declare that the party’s language is meant to confuse voters and therefore breaks state law, and stop the party from being officially recognized.
Signs in the bowels of the Nebraska State Capitol advocate for legalization of marijuana. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — Legal Marijuana NOW U.S. Senate candidate Mike Marvin told the Examiner that he never planned to leave the race.
Marvin said that, as of “right now,” he doesn’t plan to hold any campaign events before the November election. Marvin is currently running alongside nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn and incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts.
Liz Arnold interacts with two children (names withheld for privacy) at Just Like Mine Daycare in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 22, 2026. She’s certified to care for up to 10 children in her home, but this summer she is taking care of six. (Daniel Wheaton / The Midwest Newsroom)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Daniel Wheaton, Midwest Newsroom
One July morning, Liz Arnold’s workday started with a knock at the door from someone less than 3 feet tall.
She was the first of two toddlers, both clad in strawberry-patterned T-shirts. The younger sibling was still in his mother’s arms as the pair were entrusted to Arnold for the day.
Construction work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
COMMENTARY
By George Ayoub
When historians finish chronicling the politics and cultural issues of this age, librarians and booksellers may have to file those annals among other works of fiction. That’s because the conundrum of our time has become our tenuous relationship with the truth.
A view of mining operations at Eagle Summit Resources in Charleston, West Virginia, as seen on March 12, 2026. (Photo by James Pinsky/USDA)
D.C. BUREAU
By Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday the federal government will fund $180 million in grants for mining schools across the county as part of his administration’s goal of rebuilding the U.S. coal industry.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
D.C. BUREAU
By Shauneen Miranda
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate adjourned for its summer recess early Saturday after approving a stopgap spending bill but declining to advance legislation that would require photo ID for voting.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Two new Nebraska political parties meet signature threshold | Juan Salinas II
COMMENTARY
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Judge declines to force Nebraska Dems to replace Cindy Burbank | Juan Salinas II
Omaha, Carlentini youth ‘crossed an ocean’ with art project | Cindy Gonzalez
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