State Sen. Dan McKeon tearfully announced his resignation from the Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday ahead of scheduled debate to expel him from the body after accusations that he made a sexually charged comment to a legislative staffer and touched her inappropriately during a session-end party last year.
McKeon, a Republican from rural south-central Nebraska who had served only a year before his resignation, announced his resignation and apologized on the legislative floor just minutes before debate that would certainly have included harsh condemnation of McKeon.
“My words and actions were careless, regardless of the intent,” McKeon said. “I accept my responsibility for the impact of my words and my actions.”
“This past year has humbled me. It requires reflection, listening and learning. Accountability is not only acknowledging my mistake but committing to grow from it. I take that responsibility seriously,” McKeon said, his voice cracking.
His demeanor was a departure from what many of his fellow lawmakers found to be a defiant and flippant attitude toward the accusations leading up to his resignation. McKeon's exit came a day after the 10-member Executive Board, the body's governing board, voted unanimously to forward a motion to expel McKeon to the full Legislature for a vote.
The unprecedented move followed a complaint from the staffer who works for another lawmaker that McKeon approached her and another aide during a May 29 party and engaged in small talk about everyone's vacation plans. The woman said McKeon told her she should “get laid” on her vacation and patted her on her buttocks. McKeon has countered that he “made a bad pun," telling the woman she and her spouse should “go to Hawaii and enjoy a Hawaiian lei,” according to McKeon's attorney.
McKeon also countered that he patted the staffer on the back and may have accidentally brushed her rear end, but insists that if he did, it was unintentional.
McKeon's departure comes as more attention has focused on sexual harassment within state legislatures nationwide — including in Nebraska. The accusations against McKeon came about 15 months after the body was thrown in chaos when another Republican state lawmaker, former Sen. Steve Halloran, read a graphic account of rape from a bestselling memoir on the floor of the Legislature in which he repeatedly invoked the name of a fellow lawmaker, making it appear as if that lawmaker was the subject of the assault.
An outside investigation found that Halloran had violated the body’s workforce sexual harassment policy, and the Legislature's governing Executive Board issued him a letter of reprimand. But that action was met with strong criticism from several lawmakers who said Halloran should have faced a censure vote by the full body. Halloran left office in January 2025 due to term limits.
This time around, the Executive Board took a harder stance after a several lawmakers and another outside investigation found that McKeon had a history of making inappropriate comments and jokes during his time in the Legislature. The investigator also found that McKeon ignored a directive by the Executive Board's chairman not to attend events where staffers would be, showing up that same day at another party attended by the woman who filed the complaint against him.
The investigator also found that a text McKeon sent to another staffer who shares an office with the woman, in which he said she “seems to be difficult to work with,” could constitute retaliation against her.
The report determined that McKeon’s conduct did not rise to a level of sexual harassment or retaliation actionable under state or federal discrimination law, but that it did violate the Nebraska Legislature’s workplace harassment policy.
McKeon becomes at least the 57th state lawmaker in the nation to leave office via expulsion or resignation since 2017 following sexual misconduct allegations.
He also faces a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace after a Nebraska State Patrol investigation into his interaction with the staffer last May. McKeon has pleaded not guilty to that charge and is set to appear in court on Jan. 26.
State sen. Daniel McKeon sits during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)
State Sen. Daniel McKeon takes notes during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)
MIAMI (AP) — Venezuelan players danced in the dugout before the first pitch, then pranced past Italy and into their nation's first World Baseball Classic final.
Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez hit run-scoring, two-out singles in a rapid seventh-inning rally that sparked a 4-2 victory Monday night and vaulted Venezuela into a title matchup against the United States.
Players celebrated in the clubhouse before quickly turning focus to the final.
“A lot of dancing,” Garcia said. “We have to show the world who Venezuela is.”
Before each WBC game, Venezuelan players gather around a drum in the dugout for the tambor, coastal Afro-Venezuelan music and dance. They circle and shake, chant and enchant as they prepare to take the field in their nation's yellow, red and blue.
“That’s us. That’s our country,” manager Omar López said. “That’s winter ball. That’s how we enjoy our baseball.”
And who is tops at the tambor?
“Honestly, I think my cousin is the best dancer,” Garcia said in the postgame interview room, turning to Acuña, who was seated next to him and laughed at his relative's remark.
Eduardo Rodríguez is slated to start Tuesday night against the Americans’ Nolan McLean. Because both teams are 5-1, a coin toss was held earlier Monday to determine the home team, and the U.S. won.
Players avoided discussing the political turmoil between the U.S. and Venezuela.
“We’re here to speak baseball,” Acuña said. “Our country deserves the game tomorrow.”
Venezuela overcame a 2-0, fourth-inning deficit after climbing out of a three-run hole to beat defending champion Japan in a quarterfinal. The Venezuelans reached the championship round for the first time after losing to South Korea in their only previous semifinal appearance in 2009.
In 2023, Venezuela wasted a two-run, eighth-inning lead in a 9-7 quarterfinal loss to the U.S. in Miami as Trea Turner hit an eighth-inning grand slam.
“Baseball gives you these kind of opportunities,” Acuña said. “Life is so ironic.”
Italy, the first European nation to reach a WBC semifinal, had been 5-0 in the tournament and sparked attention with an espresso-sipping ritual after home runs and victory celebrations featuring Italian wine.
But a team with three Italy-born players, a handful of major leaguers and many from the minors couldn't hold a late-inning lead against a batting order that got three straight RBIs from All-Stars as a pro-Venezuelan sellout crowd of 35,382 at loanDepot park roared.
“In three years they are going to take us seriously,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said. “I just told the guys that they are the champions of this tournament. ... They revolutionized Italy. They put another sport on the map.”
Italy went ahead in the second when Keider Montero forced in a run with three straight walks, the last to J.J. D’Orazio. Dante Nori hit into a run-scoring forceout against Ricardo Sánchez, the first of six relievers who combined to finish a five-hitter.
Eugenio Suárez's fourth-inning homer off Aaron Nola started the comeback, and winner Ángel Zerpa escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when he threw a sinker on the outside corner past Sam Antonacci.
Gleyber Torres walked leading off the seventh against loser Michael Lorenzen, and Jackson Chourio's two-out single put runners at the corners.
Acuña grounded to the shortstop hole and beat Antonacci's throw from the outfield grass as pinch-runner Andrés Giménez scored. Garcia lined a 2-0 fastball to left, driving in Chourio with the go-ahead run, and Arraez chased Lorenzen when he singled on a full-count fastball.
Daniel Palencia got three straight outs for the save, striking out Antonacci to end the game.
As Venezuelans jumped and screamed, Italy players spent 10 minutes in front of their dugout hugging each other and saluting fans. Team captain Vinnie Pasquantino talked about the millions thought to have watched on television in Italy, where the first pitch was thrown at 1:08 a.m. Tuesday.
“We weren’t successful on the field tonight, but we were successful in Italy,” he said. “And that’s what this is all about.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Venezuela catcher William Contreras cheers as Luis Arraez hits a single during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Venezuela Ronald Acuña Jr. (21) celebrates after scoring during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Venezuela Jackson Chourio (1) celebrates after scoring during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Venezuela Jackson Chourio (1) scores during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Venezuela Maikel Garcia reacts to first base coach Gerardo Parra (8) after getting on the base during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
