
Manchester United is currently facing a significant decision regarding the future of their star midfielder, Paul Pogba. Recent reports from The Telegraph suggest that the club is willing to sell Pogba due to disciplinary reasons, with his departure seen as a move that could benefit the acquisition of Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.LENSAR Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)Five takeaways from Cowboys-Commanders: It wasn’t pretty, but Dallas snaps losing streak
For Lincoln mother Sierra Shouse, there was no other option but to send her oldest son Sammy to Christ Lincoln Schools for kindergarten, even if it was a financial burden. Shouse went to school there herself, and Sammy was enrolled in the school's day care program at age 4, helping him build friendships and familiarity with the school staff. "It's the only school he's ever known," Shouse said. Shouse was aided in paying for the private school through an opportunity scholarship provided by LB1402, which passed the Legislature earlier this year, appropriating $10 million per year for scholarships to private schools. Shouse said she intends to keep Sammy enrolled at Christ Lincoln no matter what, but after LB1402's program was repealed through a voter referendum, the future of her two younger children is still up in the air. People are also reading... Rest assured, Nebraska volleyball fans: The missing fan behind the servers will be back Saturday Matt Rhule reacts to no-call at end of Nebraska-USC game: "I don’t know what else to say" Arrest made in 55-year-old cold case of Nebraska teen stabbed to death 'Bocephus' is back: Hank Williams Jr. to play Lincoln arena Friday Nebraska's home game against Wisconsin gets time, TV designation Kidnapping in Nebraska prompted police chase that ended with 3 dead in Missouri Signing Day: Meet Nebraska volleyball's five-player 2025 class Wind-aided fire destroys vacant Village Inn in Lincoln As Nebraska's Democratic Party shrinks, some former party officials call for change Mountain lion spotted on trail camera east of Bennet, Sheriff's Office says Amie Just: Ahead of milestone birthday, local sports figures give advice on turning 30 UNO freezes funds for LGBTQ+, multicultural, other student groups after audit Sound waves: What others are saying about Nebraska's win against Wisconsin Amie Just: Bring out the tissues — and the brooms — for Nebraska volleyball's emotional win Blunt as ever, Dana Holgorsen unpacks Nebraska role, struggling run game There are plenty of unanswered questions left in the wake of the referendum's success, which passed comfortably in Nebraska's general election by just more than 14 percentage points. Supporters of LB1402 in the Nebraska Legislature are working out the best way to approach "school choice" policies, while families who benefited from the scholarships are left in a state of limbo, unsure if they will continue seeing the same support. Meanwhile, a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling from September could affect future moves to provide public money for private school students. How did Nebraska get here? For the past eight years, state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area has championed "school choice" legislation. Most of her proposals came up short, until LB753 passed in 2023, allocating $25 million annually in tax credits for private donations to the private school scholarship funds. That bill also faced a repeal through a voter referendum, led by Support Our Schools Nebraska. Opponents to LB753 and LB1402 argued the bills would deplete state funding available for public schools, which could lead to budget cuts and property tax increases. The first Support Our Schools referendum qualified for the ballot, but to get around the referendum, Linehan introduced LB1402 in 2024, which repealed LB753 upon its passage. Linehan acknowledged LB1402 was an " end run " bill intended to circumvent the referendum. In response, Support Our Schools launched a new ballot initiative campaign to partially repeal LB1402, getting rid of the underlying program, but retaining the LB753 repeal. Once again, supporters gathered enough signatures in their petition drive to qualify for the ballot. The second referendum faced attempts to remove it from the ballot, several of which came directly from Linehan. It also survived a challenge in the Nebraska Supreme Court in September, and Support Our Schools leader Tim Royers said he expected more opposition in the months leading up to November. Linehan, who did host one news conference days before the election to combat a Support Our Schools ad, said the reason she didn't try harder to oppose the referendum was simply because she felt it didn't make sense to sink a ton of funds to protect a program that only appropriated $10 million each year. "We're not going to spend $10 million to save $10 million," Linehan said. Royers noted, however, that in 2023, Keep Kids First, a group with which Linehan was affiliated, raised more than $1.4 million to oppose the first Support Our Schools referendum. Support Our Schools raised about $1.7 million that year, and raised an additional $4.6 million so far this year. What's next for Nebraska 'school choice'? The landscape for "school choice" policy is sure to look different in the 2025 session, if only because Linehan is term-limited and will not be returning. Royers said he can't imagine another lawmaker emerging with the same level of commitment Linehan brought. But Linehan says she's not worried. She said there's "more than a handful" of current senators willing to take up the mantle, and she was also optimistic about several incoming lawmakers who will be starting their first terms next year. She mentioned Omaha Sens. Brad Von Gillern and Christy Armendariz, both of whom told the Omaha World-Herald they were interested in school choice policy, though neither confirmed that they were planning any bills for next session. Possibly the biggest hurdle for "school choice" advocates next year comes from the Nebraska Supreme Court ruling that allowed this year's referendum to stay on the ballot. Plaintiffs argued the measure didn't qualify for the ballot because it violated a provision of the Nebraska Constitution that prohibits voter referendums from affecting direct appropriations. But the high court ruled that since the ballot initiative only sought to repeal a section of LB1402 that didn't include an appropriation, it could be subject to a referendum. The ruling noted that LB1402 had a separate appropriation bill that accompanied it. Linehan said the ruling threatened any and all legislation that came with appropriations, and it could lead to the "death of the A bill," using the legislative shorthand for an appropriations bill. Neither Von Gillern nor Armendariz gave specifics on how lawmakers could approach school choice legislation that would be shielded from a referendum in the wake of the ruling. Linehan argued that appropriation bills aren't even necessary for legislation that allocates funds, describing them as more of a "counting mechanism" than anything else. But Fiscal Analyst Scott Danigole said appropriation bills are necessary for most measures that appropriate state funds, with the only exception he could think of being a bill that shifted funding that had already been appropriated. While it is theoretically possible for lawmakers to do away with appropriation bills, it would require them to get creative, and would likely bring a lot of ripple effects. Although Royers said he would be shocked if no "school choice" policies are introduced in 2025, he believes the overall appetite to debate the issue has lessened in the aftermath of the referendum. Like Linehan, Royers also found encouragement in the the outcome of several legislative races. He said the Legislature will become more "public school friendly" than it was in 2024. "I think everybody is trying to take a break from the 'school choice' fight," he said. Royers said the primary concern for lawmakers should be addressing the educator shortage in Nebraska, which leads to issues like larger class sizes that can affect academic performance. Royers said special education teacher vacancies were 10 times higher last school year than they were in 2013, citing data from the state Department of Education, and Nebraska's colleges aren't producing enough new teachers to fill the gap. What will happen with schools, students who benefited from the program? Meanwhile, the people directly involved in LB1402's program are also trying to figure out their next steps. Jeremy Ekeler, the executive director of Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska, said the organization is currently tying up loose ends, and trying to see if it can continue on as an organization that operates based on private donations. OSN worked with Odyssey, a national technology vendor that works with five other states to implement similar programs. OSN provided Odyssey with local information, while Odyssey ran the technology that processed the applications and distributed the scholarships directly to eligible schools based on LB1402's guidelines. According to Ekeler, between LB753 and LB1402, roughly 5,500 scholarships were issued, averaging about $2,300 per student. For LB1402's program, about $9.2 million overall was distributed in scholarships. Those scholarships are still good through the end of this academic year, but they will not continue into the 2025-26 school year. That will make the budget tighter for Omaha Street School, where Principal Anthony Williams said 12 of the school's 35 students received scholarships this year through LB1402. The average cost to educate each student is roughly $23,000 per year, Williams said. All of their families use some form of financial aid, and Williams said the school tailors its tuition to the financial needs of each family, ranging from $30 to $550 per month. Without outside support, he said the school has to eat the remaining costs. "Sometimes, we got to pinch pennies," Williams said. Williams said LB1402's program expiring will not mean any of the current students will not be able to continue learning at the school. In fact, he said the school may be able to stretch the scholarship funds through the following school year. Shouse said she intends to keep Sammy enrolled at Christ Lincoln, but she is not sure about her younger two children, which she said is a "heartbreaking" dilemma. Her younger children, 3 and 1, respectively, are already enrolled in Christ Lincoln's daycare and pre-school programs. Shouse is a single mother, and provides the sole income for her family. During Sammy's first year of kindergarten, he did not have a scholarship, which Shouse said placed a heavy financial burden on her. That took the form of multiple small sacrifices, from having breakfast for dinner because it was cheaper, to telling Sammy he couldn't attend a friend's birthday party because she couldn't afford to buy a present. "There was a lot of tears," Shouse said. "There's always been a lot of tears." There are several reasons why Shouse hasn't considered public school an option for any of her children. Primarily, she said Christ Lincoln best aligns with her family values. She's also concerned that the larger class sizes would mean her children wouldn't get the individualized care they need. Two of her children, including Sammy, have IEPs. When it was first recommended to Shouse that Sammy repeat kindergarten based on his speech therapy needs and emerging academic concerns, she said she sought out summer school options for him through Lincoln Public Schools, but was denied because his needs weren't severe enough. She said LPS officials told her there was no reason to delay his advancement to first grade, which she said exemplified that they were not properly attuned to her son's needs. "It's not a school board's decision what's best for my child," Shouse said.LANDOVER, Md. — The losing streak is done. Feel better? A Dallas team that went into Northwest Field as a 10.5-point underdog to Washington left with a 34-26 victory. The win stopped a five-game losing streak, the franchise’s longest since it lost seven straight in 2015. The Cowboys swept Washington last season, outscoring the Commanders by 63 points in the two games. What Dallas did this gorgeous afternoon wasn’t nearly as dominant, but it got the job done in a wild finish that saw 38 points scored in the final five minutes and 16 seconds. This team now turns around and faces the New York Giants in four days on Thanksgiving. But remember, the Cowboys haven’t won a game at AT&T Stadium this season. So that losing streak is also five games this season. Here are our five takeaways from Cowboys-Commanders: Defense rises to the occasion Dan Quinn molded the Cowboys into one of the league’s best defensive units before leaving to coach the Commanders. The transition to Mike Zimmer has been anything but smooth. But as the Cowboys start to get some players healthy on that side of the ball, this group is making strides. The Cowboys’ defense played one of its best games in a long time in the win over Washington. Defensive end Chauncey Golston intercepted a screen pass. The Cowboys came away with a fumble recovery in the second half and tormented rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels throughout the afternoon. Dallas came away with four sacks and allowed the Commanders to convert only 4 of 12 third-down attempts. Nothing special, until the end Brandon Aubrey has stood above his teammates with his performance in this disappointing season. Even he stumbled in this one. Aubrey had a field goal blocked and had a 41-yard attempt hit the right upright before the first quarter was done. Uncharacteristic? Yes. Everywhere but here. Aubrey has missed two field goals in a game only one other time in his brief career in Dallas. That came on this field last season, when he also had a field goal blocked and missed a 32-yarder. But the special teams issues didn’t stop with Aubrey. Bryan Anger had a punt deflected at the line and it traveled only 22 yards. This comes after the Cowboys faked a punt twice in recent weeks and failed to pick up the first down both times. And then? When the Commanders pulled within three points late, KaVontae Turpin fumbled the kickoff, picked it up on the 1-yard line then went 99 yards for a touchdown. The Cowboys then allowed the Commanders to score one play later, an 86-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin that closed the gap to one after Washington missed the extra-point attempt. The miss forced the Commanders to try an onside kick, which Juanyeh Thomas scooped up and returned 43 yards for a touchdown to ice the game. Money pit Money isn’t everything. A team can win without its highest-paid player on the field. But its top five? That’s the position the Cowboys found themselves in entering Sunday’s game. None of the top five players on their payroll took the field, leaving the team $105.8 million light in terms of talent. The list: Dak Prescott ($44.6 million), DeMarcus Lawrence ($20.4 million), Zack Martin ($15.5 million), Trevon Diggs ($15.3 million) and Brandin Cooks ($10 million). Line dance The Cowboys traveled to our nation’s capital knowing Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin wouldn’t play. Before they kicked off Sunday they were without left guard Tyler Smith as well. Smith was a limited participant in Friday’s practice and was listed as questionable. The club hoped he was trending toward being able to go in this game. He didn’t. That means T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman were the starting guards. And it didn’t stop there. Rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton and Asim Richards were part of a rotation system, with Guyton getting the first two possessions of each half. It appeared to work fairly well. But Guyton, as he has for much of the season, struggled with penalties. He was called for holding in the third quarter, an illegal formation penalty on the next possession and had another illegal formation penalty declined. And then he was hit with a false start, resulting in Richards taking his place. Another corner Injuries have had an undeniable impact on the Cowboys’ fortunes. Corner has been hit particularly bad. When DaRon Bland made his regular season debut on Sunday, he became the sixth different corner to start this season. The list: Diggs, Bland, Caelen Carson, Josh Butler, Andrew Booth and Amani Oruwariye. ©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com . 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