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Housing inventory in Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro is up. However, nearly 30% of the available housing units are new construction and not existing properties. Of the 289 active listings in October in the SAW region, roughly 27% are new construction, according to Rick Kane, president of Westhills Ltd. Realtors in Fishersville. A closer look reveals that almost all the new construction in the area is townhouses and not the three-bedroom houses more suitable for larger families, the sort of long-term, stable households the region is trying to attract. “I would like to see a lot more three-bedroom houses,” Kane said. Of the more than 200 existing houses available for resale in the area, most of them are more than 25 years old. “The majority were built from the 1950s to the 1990s,” Kane said. New housing is being built in Waynesboro, but it is primarily townhouses and not single-family residences. Still, the 212 properties for purchase represent a stark increase from earlier this year when fewer than 100 were available. The development of single-family detached residences in the area will happen when developers decide it is worth taking the risk. According to Kane, the potential outcomes are simple: If sales are made, the developer makes money; if not, the developer will go under. According to the October 2024 Virginia Home Sales Report released by Virginia Realtors, there was a rise in closed sales activity in October in Virginia’s housing market. Kane has reason for optimism about housing in the area, pointing to the recent approval of a townhouse complex on King Avenue in Waynesboro. The project will provide four units, each costing just more than $200,000. The Virginia Land Trust purchased the land, and the units must each be sold to households with an annual income of just under $72,000. Kane calls the affordable units a step in the right direction. A further cause for optimism is the Waynesboro City Council’s consideration of opening the city to affordable cottage housing. Cottage housing typically means smaller single-family residences clustered together around common areas. The properties are marketed to young professionals, couples with small children and empty nesters. An influx of sales of Virginia residential real estate was driven by a jump in pending sales in September, when mortgage rates were falling into the low 6% range. Statewide, there were 9,408 closed sales in October, 968 more than a year ago, a 12.5% increase. Leslie Tate, Waynesboro’s director of community development, told Council on Nov. 13 that the proposal calls for units with a maximum size of 1,200 square feet. Units that include porches, decks and patios can be up to 1,700 square feet. This type of housing works for the area’s household size. A recent regional housing study found that two-thirds of the area’s households do not exceed two people. Waynesboro City Council is expected to hold a public hearing on a draft cottage housing ordinance in 2025. Inventory of homes is up across Virginia, according to a report released Friday by Virginia Realtors. The report says that there were 20,042 active listings across the commonwealth at the end of October, 16% more than a year ago and the first time that active listings had topped 20,000 in four years. Bob Stuart (540) 932-3562 rstuart@newsvirginian.com @oldyankee53 on Twitter Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. News Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Irish premier praises Dublin woman who won civil case against Conor McGregor
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ethan Gettman kicked what proved to be the game-winning field goal from 31-yards out midway through the fourth quarter and Brendan Bell added an insurance touchdown a minute later as Villanova pulled away from Delaware in the second half to post a 38-28 victory in the season finale on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats now have won 17 of their last 19 meetings with the Blue Hens, who played their final regular season game as an FCS-member. Delaware will join the FBS and join Conference USA for the 2025 season. Villanova (9-3, 6-2 Coastal Athletic Association) took a 21-0 lead five minutes into the second quarter after David Avit scored from a yard out, Brendan Bell returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown and Watkins fired a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kenyon Miles. But Delaware (9-2, 6-2) scored three times in the final eight minutes of the half, with JoJo Bermudez scoring from 14-yards out and Marcus Yarns punching in from the 1, then catching a Nick Minicucci pass for a 65-yard touchdown with :32 left. Connor Watkins ran up the middle on a quarterback draw for a 38-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats in front, but Minicucci answered with a six-yard touchdown to Jo'Nathan Silver to send the game into the fourth quarter tied at 28-28. Gettman put the Wildcats in top for good with 8:41 left and Bell scored on a six-yard run with 7:39 remaining. Watkins was 13 of 30 passing for 203 yards with a touchdown and an interception and carried eight times for 79 yards. Minicucci was 18 of 33 for 195 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Yarns carried 20 times for 100 yards and caught three passes for 74 yards. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballMicroStrategy's Michael Saylor Risks Breaking Down The 'Magic Money Creation Machine' With His Growing Bitcoin Bet, Says Expert - Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) Common units of fractional undivided beneficial interest (ARCA:BTC) - Benzinga
Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Axon Enterprise, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AXON – Free Report ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Axon Enterprise by 1,875.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 79 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 987.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 87 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Axon Enterprise in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in Axon Enterprise by 83.3% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Axon Enterprise during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. 79.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Axon Enterprise Trading Down 0.3 % Shares of Axon Enterprise stock opened at $687.69 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $516.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $392.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.44 billion, a PE ratio of 177.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 1.01. Axon Enterprise, Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.78 and a 52-week high of $698.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.96 and a quick ratio of 2.63. Analyst Ratings Changes View Our Latest Report on Axon Enterprise Insider Activity at Axon Enterprise In related news, President Joshua Isner sold 25,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.84, for a total value of $9,287,830.24. Following the sale, the president now owns 228,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,103,253.44. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, Director Julie A. Cullivan sold 1,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $682.06, for a total value of $860,077.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,487.52. This represents a 34.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold a total of 137,921 shares of company stock valued at $63,093,907 over the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders. About Axon Enterprise ( Free Report ) Axon Enterprise, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells conducted energy devices (CEDs) under the TASER brand in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software and Sensors, and TASER. The company also offers hardware and cloud-based software solutions that enable law enforcement to capture, securely store, manage, share, and analyze video and other digital evidence. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Axon Enterprise Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Axon Enterprise and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .DULUTH — The boys hockey team from Mankato West High School arrived at the Essentia Duluth Heritage Center early Saturday morning, but they were missing something important for hockey teams — their stick bag. Coach Nate Olsen thought something strange must have happened. Maybe they never made it on the bus or somehow ended up on another team’s bus. ADVERTISEMENT The Scarlets had already lost two one-goal games, and they arrived at the Heritage Center for an 8 a.m. game against Anoka to conclude their participation at the annual Holiday Classic tournament. “It’s 7 in the morning, you’re getting the bus unloaded, you have everything there and all of a sudden, when you go to look for the stick bag — there’s no sticks,” Olsen said. The team did their “due diligence,” according to Olsen, but the equipment manager was “adamant” he put the bag on the bus the night before. Officials at the Heritage Center were able to pull up security camera footage to confirm he was correct. “We could see him taking the bag from the locker room and out the door and into the bus,” Olsen said. “Unfortunately, sometime from late yesterday afternoon to early this morning, our stick bag disappeared.” Staying at the downtown Holiday Inn, the Scarlets’ coach bus was parked overnight on West First Street. As they began to suspect theft, they reported the incident to the Duluth Police Department and gave an inventory of what was missing. Duluth police public information officer Mattie Hjelseth confirmed the report and said the investigation remains active. Officers were working to follow any leads, and no further information would be released on Saturday, she said. ADVERTISEMENT Officers saw a man walking in the 100 block of East Third Street with a few of the items just before 11 p.m., Hjelseth said in a statement early Sunday morning. The man told officers he found the items behind Chum. He didn’t match the suspect's description but was arrested on an unrelated warrant, Hjelseth said. Police are making arrangements to return the items. Heritage Center Director Jeff Stark put out a call for local help to find the sticks on social media. “We are aware of this theft of property and are assisting the team and law enforcement with trying to locate and recover their stolen sticks,” Stark wrote. “This incident happened while the team bus was parked overnight at their hotel. If you have any information, please contact the Duluth Police Department so we can try and obtain a positive outcome for the Mankato West players and families.” Olsen said he estimated there were 30 to 40 sticks in the bag worth a “rough estimate” of $10,000-$12,000. He said parents are also working with the list to cross-reference what was lost with what is missing, but either way it’s a “big deal,” particularly on the heels of the holiday season. “That’s usually a more expensive month for most families,” Olsen said. “Now try to come up with $6-800 to be ready to practice and play — even if there is a resolution on the back end, that resolution is not going to have cash in people’s pockets by Monday.” The referee scheduled to work the early game Saturday told Olsen he’s been officiating hockey for 37 years and had never seen anything like this, but the veteran coach said they were trying to stay positive. “The dust will settle and we’ll be OK long term,” Olsen said. “It’s just a unique circumstance we’re going to have to fight through and we’ll be better for it, but it’s quite a story — there’s no doubt about it.” ADVERTISEMENT This story was updated at 9:44 a.m. Dec. 19, with information about some of the items being recovered. It was originally posted at 8:23 p.m. Dec. 28.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington after developing a fever. The 78-year-old was admitted in the “afternoon for testing and observation," Angel Urena, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement. “He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving,” Urena said. Clinton, a Democrat who served two terms as president from January 1993 until January 2001, addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer and campaigned ahead of November's election for the unsuccessful White House bid of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris . The Associated PressNone
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there’s one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. That’s because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory. The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn’t been enforced since 2018. Kansas provides a cautionary tale about how pursuing an election concern that in fact is extremely rare risks disenfranchising a far greater number of people who are legally entitled to vote. The state’s top elections official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, championed the idea as a legislator and now says states and the federal government shouldn’t touch it. RELATED COVERAGE Mayo and Dickinson power No. 8 Kansas to an 87-53 win over Brown How mass deportations could work, according to one Trump ally Drake blows 20-point lead, beats K-State on Stirtz 3-pointer in overtime 73-70 “Kansas did that 10 years ago,” said Schwab, a Republican. “It didn’t work out so well.” Steven Fish, a 45-year-old warehouse worker in eastern Kansas, said he understands the motivation behind the law. In his thinking, the state was like a store owner who fears getting robbed and installs locks. But in 2014, after the birth of his now 11-year-old son inspired him to be “a little more responsible” and follow politics, he didn’t have an acceptable copy of his birth certificate to get registered to vote in Kansas. “The locks didn’t work,” said Fish, one of nine Kansas residents who sued the state over the law. “You caught a bunch of people who didn’t do anything wrong.” A small problem, but wide support for a fix Kansas’ experience appeared to receive little if any attention outside the state as Republicans elsewhere pursued proof-of-citizenship requirements this year. Arizona enacted a requirement this year, applying it to voting for state and local elections but not for Congress or president. The Republican-led U.S. House passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement in the summer and plans to bring back similar legislation after the GOP won control of the Senate in November. In Ohio, the Republican secretary of state revised the form that poll workers use for voter eligibility challenges to require those not born in the U.S. to show naturalization papers to cast a regular ballot. A federal judge declined to block the practice days before the election. Also, sizable majorities of voters in Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and the presidential swing states of North Carolina and Wisconsin were inspired to amend their state constitutions’ provisions on voting even though the changes were only symbolic. Provisions that previously declared that all U.S. citizens could vote now say that only U.S. citizens can vote — a meaningless distinction with no practical effect on who is eligible. To be clear, voters already must attest to being U.S. citizens when they register to vote and noncitizens can face fines, prison and deportation if they lie and are caught. “There is nothing unconstitutional about ensuring that only American citizens can vote in American elections,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, the leading sponsor of the congressional proposal, said in an email statement to The Associated Press. Why the courts rejected the Kansas citizenship rule After Kansas residents challenged their state’s law, both a federal judge and federal appeals court concluded that it violated a law limiting states to collecting only the minimum information needed to determine whether someone is eligible to vote. That’s an issue Congress could resolve. The courts ruled that with “scant” evidence of an actual problem, Kansas couldn’t justify a law that kept hundreds of eligible citizens from registering for every noncitizen who was improperly registered. A federal judge concluded that the state’s evidence showed that only 39 noncitizens had registered to vote from 1999 through 2012 — an average of just three a year. In 2013, then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican who had built a national reputation advocating tough immigration laws, described the possibility of voting by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as a serious threat. He was elected attorney general in 2022 and still strongly backs the idea, arguing that federal court rulings in the Kansas case “almost certainly got it wrong.” Kobach also said a key issue in the legal challenge — people being unable to fix problems with their registrations within a 90-day window — has probably been solved. “The technological challenge of how quickly can you verify someone’s citizenship is getting easier,” Kobach said. “As time goes on, it will get even easier.” Would the Kansas law stand today? The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Kansas case in 2020. But in August, it split 5-4 in allowing Arizona to continue enforcing its law for voting in state and local elections while a legal challenge goes forward. Seeing the possibility of a different Supreme Court decision in the future, U.S. Rep.-elect Derek Schmidt says states and Congress should pursue proof-of-citizenship requirements. Schmidt was the Kansas attorney general when his state’s law was challenged. “If the same matter arose now and was litigated, the facts would be different,” he said in an interview. But voting rights advocates dismiss the idea that a legal challenge would turn out differently. Mark Johnson, one of the attorneys who fought the Kansas law, said opponents now have a template for a successful court fight. “We know the people we can call,” Johnson said. “We know that we’ve got the expert witnesses. We know how to try things like this.” He predicted “a flurry — a landslide — of litigation against this.” Born in Illinois but unable to register in Kansas Initially, the Kansas requirement’s impacts seemed to fall most heavily on politically unaffiliated and young voters. As of fall 2013, 57% of the voters blocked from registering were unaffiliated and 40% were under 30. But Fish was in his mid-30s, and six of the nine residents who sued over the Kansas law were 35 or older. Three even produced citizenship documents and still didn’t get registered, according to court documents. “There wasn’t a single one of us that was actually an illegal or had misinterpreted or misrepresented any information or had done anything wrong,” Fish said. He was supposed to produce his birth certificate when he sought to register in 2014 while renewing his Kansas driver’s license at an office in a strip mall in Lawrence. A clerk wouldn’t accept the copy Fish had of his birth certificate. He still doesn’t know where to find the original, having been born on an Air Force base in Illinois that closed in the 1990s. Several of the people joining Fish in the lawsuit were veterans, all born in the U.S., and Fish said he was stunned that they could be prevented from registering. Liz Azore, a senior adviser to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, said millions of Americans haven’t traveled outside the U.S. and don’t have passports that might act as proof of citizenship, or don’t have ready access to their birth certificates. She and other voting rights advocates are skeptical that there are administrative fixes that will make a proof-of-citizenship law run more smoothly today than it did in Kansas a decade ago. “It’s going to cover a lot of people from all walks of life,” Avore said. “It’s going to be disenfranchising large swaths of the country.” ___ Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.Barclays PLC Has $1.36 Million Stake in International Money Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMXI)
O’Malley called to testify in Congress about Social Security remote work policyThe left-wing media and their political allies have developed a new strategy in their eternal quest to oppose Donald Trump, this time seeking to drive a wedge between him and Elon Musk. Musk’s instrumental efforts in getting Trump elected have both endeared him to the right and put a target on his back from the left. Most recently, leftist luminaries like MSNBC’s Joy Reid have taken to mockingly referring to the Space X founder as “President Musk” in an attempt to get under Trump’s skin. Reid’s lead prompted a number of Democratic lawmakers to steal the line. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro are all amongst a group of politicians who parroted Reid. The accusations stemmed from Musk’s vocal opposition to an early version of the House’s continuing resolution to fund the government. The version Musk initially opposed was over 1,500 pages long and included what many GOP politicians referred to as “ pork barrel ” spending inclusions such as a “ Feral Swine Eradication ” program and an earmarked fund to provide juvenile delinquents with driver’s licenses. Musk was hardly the only person to speak out against the bill. Scores of Republican lawmakers voiced their opposition, ultimately leading to the quadruple-digit page bill being scrapped in favor of a much shorter resolution. DeLauro, and others, however, credited Musk with influencing the GOPers who did not want a 1,500 page bill to pass before anyone could read it. “They got scared because President Musk told them, President Musk said ‘don’t do it! shut the government down!'” DeLauro told House members while the body debated the bill Dec. 19. JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Elon Musk slams Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. “The crazy lady with the purple hair is the top House Dem in charge of spending taxpayer money” pic.twitter.com/sPtg9tw1yU — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) December 20, 2024 The narrative seeped into each and every far reach of the leftwing echo chamber. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes described Trump and Musk as engaged in a “co-presidency,” a term New York Rep. Dan Goldman took issue with, claiming Musk is the sole President. “Elon Musk has Donald Trump in a vise.” Rep. Dan Goldman says “we need to face the reality: right now we have President Elon Musk”. (Video: MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/32b1is1A0n — Mike Sington (@MikeSington) December 20, 2024 The efforts to thrust Musk into a leading role and divide him from Trump, while perhaps not entirely successful as of yet, did manage to catch Trump’s eye. He addressed them in a Sunday speech at Turning Point USA’s AmFest in Phoenix, Arizona. (RELATED: Media’s Elon Musk Propaganda Hides The Real Truth Behind His Sacrifice) “He’s not gonna be President, that I can tell you,” Trump told the crowd after complimenting Musk’s Starlink satellites. “I’m safe, you know why? He can’t be, he wasn’t born in this country,” Trump said, laughing. Trump: [Elon Musk] is not going to be president. That I can tell you. I’m safe. You know why? He can’t be. He wasn’t born in this country pic.twitter.com/YpgcGZ0jF4 — Acyn (@Acyn) December 22, 2024 While Trump appeared to maintain a jovial attitude in the face of the divide and conquer strategy, there are signs of cracks appearing between his MAGA base and the Musk-friendly Silicon Valley newcomers to the Trump Train. Chief among the concerns splitting the two sides is a raging online debate about H1B visas. The H1B visa, the largest visa category in the U.S., allows employers to hire skilled foreign workers and “authorizes the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the U.S.,” according to the Department of Labor. Musk appeared to take the pro-H1B side, replying “correct” to a user’s assessment that a slowdown in skilled immigration could lead to a decrease in American innovation. Correct — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2024 Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-head Vivek Ramaswamy co-signed the viewpoint Thursday, defending the implementation of H1B’s and claiming they’re necessary because native-born Americans participate in a culture of mediocrity. “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” Ramaswamy tweeted. The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if... — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024 The tweet echoed sentiments Musk eloquated on Christmas day, when he wrote “The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.” Musk appeared to call for “ double ” the number of foreign-born engineers. MAGA loyalists like radio host Jesse Kelly pushed back. (RELATED: Democrats’ New Attack On Trump And Musk All But Doomed To Backfire) “White kids with great college degrees cannot find jobs and most cannot even get a return phone call. That is happening. It’s all around me. And when that’s happening, you’re never gonna sell legal immigration to people. Ever. Period,” he wrote Thursday. White kids with great college degrees cannot find jobs and most cannot even get a return phone call. That is happening. It’s all around me. And when that’s happening, you’re never gonna sell legal immigration to people. Ever. Period. — Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) December 26, 2024 With 337 H1B petition approvals for the fiscal year 2022, Musk’s Tesla ranked 27th in U.S. companies for H1B visa sponsorships. Despite his role in the ongoing back-and-forth, Musk and Trump still appear to enjoy a good relationship for the time being. BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 19: Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. SpaceX’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, a Trump confidante, has been tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Trump reposted a tweet from Musk on his Truth Social platform, co-signing Musk’s statement about the legacy media’s impending downfall on Christmas Day.The premeditated killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was very tragic and cannot be condoned. Many of the social media comments that followed were unusual in that they were angry, unsympathetic and vitriolic, recalling horror stories about insurance denials. Such responses bring into focus the failure of our health care system as it exists now. As a retired physician, I have been exposed to the system as both a physician and a patient. When I began my surgical career in the early 1970s, I was a “doctor,” not a “provider.” Almost all hospitals were nonprofit and run by altruistic-minded individuals and charities. Health care as a for-profit business was foreign. Not anymore. Here are some notable changes that have occurred in both the diseases and their management that must be recognized to understand its complexity. First, there has been a dramatic decrease in mortality from infectious diseases. As a result, we are living longer. This should be credited to the advent of vaccines and the effectiveness of antibiotics. Unfortunately, however, this success appears to have been taken for granted. A few very vocal and perhaps misinformed people are more focused on the side effects while disregarding the enormous benefits. If this significantly changes our acceptance of these advances, it likely will turn back the clock. Do we really want that? Second, our longer lifespans have led to to more chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. It is important to recognize that these diseases are not really curable. While some may be preventable, most require lifelong management and expenditure. This new health care requirement has to be taken into account. Third and most important is the advent of “for-profit” heath care and its transformation into a “business.” Therein lies the conflict. Patients demand and deserve a service, while the business exists to make a profit. It is a source of great frustration and disenchantment for both patients and physicians. The middleman in this endeavor is the insurance industry. In order to remain profitable, insurance companies control costs by denying payments whenever possible. This is capitalism. And patient suffering is a cost of doing business. The brunt of this change is borne mostly by the middle class and the poor. Unlike other businesses, health care is neither discretionary nor elastic. You can't go shopping for a better price when you have chest pain. Of note, three of the stalwarts in American business — Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon and Jeff Bezos — with thousands of employees set out to create an efficient health care system but failed miserably and quit. My plea to our leaders is to recognize these changes and treat health care as a human right and take appropriate action. One way would be to treat it as an essential service like the utilities — water and electricity are allowed to make a reasonable profit — and not unregulated businesses whose profit motives drive their actions. Otherwise, things will only get worse. Dr. P.R. Rajagopalan of Charleston is an emeritus professor of surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina.In the past few years, state and local governments across the U.S. have begun spending billions in opioid settlements paid by companies accused of fueling the overdose crisis. But where is that money going, who is getting it, and is it doing any good? KFF Health News, partnering with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shatterproof , a national nonprofit focused on addiction, undertook a yearlong investigation to find out. Dozens of interviews, thousands of pages of documents, an array of public records requests, and outreach to all 50 states resulted in a first-of-its kind database that catalogs more than 7,000 ways opioid settlement cash was used in 2022 and 2023. It’s the most comprehensive resource to date tracking some of the largest public health settlements in American history. Among the findings: --States and localities received more than $6 billion in opioid settlement funds in 2022 and 2023. According to public records, they spent or committed about a third of that amount and set aside about another third for future use. The final third was untrackable, as many jurisdictions did not produce public reports on the funds. --Reports of spending tracked the minuscule to the monumental, from $11.74 to buy postage in Yavapai County, Arizona, to more than $51 million to increase the addiction treatment workforce in California. --States allotted, on average, about 18% of their funds for addiction and mental health treatment; 14% for recovery services such as housing, transportation, and legal aid; 11% for harm reduction efforts such as overdose reversal medications; and 9% for prevention programs that aim to stop people from developing substance use disorders. States committed, on average, about 2% for syringe service programs, through which people can get sterile needles. (A variety of entities received this money, from law enforcement to nonprofit organizations to government agencies.) --Governments reported spending more than $240 million on purposes that did not qualify as opioid remediation. (Most settlements allow states to spend up to 15% of their funds this way.) Most of this tranche went to legal fees, but several jurisdictions funneled money to their general fund. One county even sent funds to its road and bridge department. --Several cities and counties reported expenditures they said addressed the overdose crisis but that would leave an average person scratching their head — such as $33.07 to an anti-abortion pregnancy center in Sandborn, Indiana, and $30,362 to screen first responders for heart disease in Oregon City, Oregon. “When people know that people aren’t watching and there’s no accountability, then they can kind of do what they want,” said Tonja Myles , a community activist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who is in recovery. “That’s why we have to have some kind of database and accountability.” Despite the recent decline in overall overdose deaths in the U.S., more than 90,000 people still died in the 12 months ending July 2024 and rates are rising in many Black and Native American communities . “We can’t mess up or miss this moment,” Myles said. Opioid settlement payouts are expected to total about $50 billion over nearly two decades, paid by more than a dozen companies that made or distributed prescription painkillers, including Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens, and Walmart. Although it’s a large sum, it’s dwarfed by the size of the crisis, making each dollar that’s spent critical. KFF Health News and its partners reviewed hundreds of settlement spending reports, extracting expenditures line by line, and developed a methodology to sort the expenditures into categories like treatment or prevention. States were given an opportunity to review the data and comment on their spending . To be sure, the database does not capture the full picture of opioid settlement spending nationwide. Some places do not publish spending reports, while others declined to engage with this project. The data presented here is a snapshot as of the end of 2023 and does not account for further spending in 2024. The differences in how states control , process , and report on the money make apples-to-apples comparisons nearly impossible. Still, the database helps fill a gap left by a lack of national reporting requirements and federal government inaction . It is “a tool for those who want to objectively measure whether everything that can be done is being done,” said Matthew Myers, a former president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which compiles similar annual reports on tobacco settlement money. Treatment a Clear Winner The top priority to emerge from early opioid settlement spending was treatment, with more than $416 million spent or committed to residential rehabs, outpatient counseling, medications for opioid use disorder, and more. The state of New York — which spent the most on treatment — allocated about $22 million of that for programs that make the gold standard for care as easy as possible for patients: providing same-day prescriptions for buprenorphine, a medication that decreases cravings for opioids. The result was a program that John Greene said changed his life. Greene, 57, used to live in the woods down the street from Family & Children’s Counseling Services in Cortland, New York. He cycled through jails and hospitals, overdosing half a dozen times and trying rehab just as many. But now he has four months of recovery under his belt — the longest stint since he started regularly using drugs at 14. He said it’s because the counseling center’s new program — funded by a mix of state and local opioid settlement dollars — has a different approach. Counselors aren’t didactic and judgmental. They don’t force him to stop smoking marijuana. Several staff members have experienced addiction themselves. They drive Greene, who doesn’t have a car, to doctor appointments and the pharmacy for his buprenorphine prescription. Now Greene lives and works with his brother, looks forward to weekly counseling sessions, and is notching small victories — such as buying his nephew toy cars as a stocking stuffer. “It made me feel good to do something for somebody and not expect nothing back,” Greene said. Emily Georgia , one of Greene’s counselors, said the center has worked with nearly 200 people like him in the past year. Without the settlements, “the program probably wouldn’t exist,” she said. Across the country, the money supports other innovative treatment approaches: --$21 million for a new program in Kentucky that diverts people with mental illness or addiction who face low-level charges away from incarceration and into treatment, education, and workforce training --More than $3 million for, in part, three new mobile methadone programs in Massachusetts, to bring the medication to rural and underserved areas --Tens of thousands of dollars each in Iowa and Pennsylvania to cover out-of-pocket treatment costs for people without insurance or those with high deductibles Philip Rutherford , an expert on substance use disorder at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, said these efforts “are really positive” and many have been “historically difficult or impossible to achieve with federal or state funding.” But some funds are also flowing to treatment approaches that defy best practices, such as denying people medications for opioid use disorder. Some in the recovery community consider methadone and buprenorphine a crutch. But study after study show that the medications help people stay in treatment and reduce the risk of overdose and death . Research even suggests that treatment without these medications can be more harmful than no treatment at all. Although not everyone will want medication, settlement funds shouldn’t “prop up a system that doesn’t allow people to have that choice,” said Regina LaBelle , a professor of addiction policy at Georgetown University. Babies, Forgotten Victims of the Epidemic While treatment received a windfall in early opioid settlement spending, another aspect of the crisis was neglected: neonatal abstinence syndrome , a condition in which babies exposed to drugs in the womb experience withdrawal. Nationwide, more than 59 newborns a day are diagnosed with it. Yet only about $8.4 million in settlement money was committed to the issue — less than 0.5% of all funds publicly reported as spent or committed in 2022 and 2023. Experts in public health and addiction, as well as affected families, say it’s due to stigma. “A mom using drugs and being a parent is a very uncomfortable reality to face,” said Ashley Grant, a 38-year-old mother of three in Mesa, Arizona. “It’s easier to just push it under the rug or let them fall through the cracks, as sad as that is.” It almost happened to her. Grant learned she was pregnant with her third child last year. At the time, her partner was in jail and she was using drugs after an eight-year period of recovery, was estranged from her family, and didn’t know how she’d survive the next nine months. During a visit to a methadone clinic, she saw a booth about Jacob’s Hope , a specialty nursery that cares for substance-exposed newborns and their moms. Nursery staff connected her with a therapist, helped her enroll in parenting classes, and dropped off diapers and a playpen at her home. After delivering at the hospital, Grant and her baby boy stayed at Jacob’s Hope for about a week. Nurses showed her how skin-to-skin contact calmed his withdrawal symptoms and more frequent feedings and burpings decreased gastrointestinal discomfort, which is common among substance-exposed newborns. Today, Grant has roughly five months of recovery. She got certified as a peer recovery specialist and hopes to join Jacob’s Hope one day to help moms like her. But the nursery’s future is uncertain. After opening in 2019, Jacob’s Hope nearly shut down this summer due to low reimbursements and delayed payments from insurers, said Lyndsey Steele , its associate director. Community donations kept the nursery afloat, but “it’s still hanging on by a thread,” she said. She’s hoping opioid settlement money can help. In 2022, Jacob’s Hope received about $250,000 from Arizona’s opioid settlements. But this year, the legislature captured the state’s share of remaining funds and, in a controversial move , gave it to the Department of Corrections. Jacob’s Hope has now turned to local governments, which control their own settlement dollars. Its home city of Mesa said a first round of grant applications should open in the spring. Steele prays it won’t be too late for babies in need — the epidemic’s “forgotten victims,” she called them. Heart Disease Screening, Robot Ambulances, and More Some opioid settlement expenditures have sparked fierce disagreement. They generally fall into three buckets: money for law enforcement , funding for youth prevention programs , and purchases unrelated to the opioid crisis. Settlement dollars nationwide have bought body scanners , K-9 units , bulletproof vests , patrol trucks , and laptops and printers for police and sheriffs. Some spending strayed even further from the spirit of the settlement. In Oregon City, Oregon, more than $30,000 was spent on screening first responders for heart disease. Police Chief Shaun Davis said his staff respond to opioid-related emergencies and experience trauma that increases their risk of heart attack. But some people question if settlement funds should be footing the bill. “This looks to me like you’re trying to defray other costs” from the police budget, said Stephen Loyd , chair of Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Council. “I don’t think that there’s any way that this opioid money was earmarked for stuff like that.” A second area of contention is youth prevention. Although most people agree that stopping children from developing addictions is important, the execution is tricky. Nearly half a million settlement dollars have gone to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, commonly known as D.A.R.E. Decades of research suggest its original curriculum is ineffective . Robeson County, North Carolina, spent about $10,000 in settlement money to buy “ Andy the Ambulance ,” a robot ambulance with big eyes and an audio system through which a human operator can discuss the dangers of drugs. EMS Director Patrick Cummings said his team has taken the robot to churches and elementary schools. We “don’t have any studies that show it’s working,” he said, but educating kids seems like a good investment because “if they never try it, they don’t get addicted.” Then there’s the chunk of money — up to 15% of each state’s funds — that’s a free-for-all. Flint, Michigan, spent nearly $10,000 on a sign for a community service center. The city reported that the expense did not qualify as “opioid remediation.” In other words, it’s unrelated to addressing the crisis. But Caitie O’Neill, a city spokesperson, said that “the building sign makes it possible for residents to find” the center, which houses city services, “including Narcan kits, fentanyl testing strips, and substance abuse referrals.” Jurisdictions across 29 states reported non-remediation spending in 2022 and 2023. Most opioid settlements require such reports but operate on an honor system. No one is checking if the other 21 states and Washington, D.C., were truthful. Jackie Lewis, an Ohio mother whose 34-year-old son, Shaun, died of an overdose in October 2022, finds that hard to stomach. “This is blood money,” she said. Some people have “lost sight of that.” Lewis is raising Shaun’s daughter, ensuring the 9-year-old receives counseling at school and can attend the hip-hop music classes she enjoys — all on Lewis’ Social Security payments. This year they moved to a smaller town with lower costs. As settlement funds continue flowing, she wants officials in charge of the money to help families like hers. “We still exist and we’re still struggling,” she said. KFF Health News’ Henry Larweh and Megan Kalata, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Sara Whaley and Vivian Flanagan, and Shatterproof’s Kristen Pendergrass and Sahvanah Prescott contributed to this article. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has taken a leading role in providing guidance to state and local governments on the use of opioid settlement funds. Faculty from the school collaborated with other experts in the field to create principles for using the money , which have been endorsed by over 60 organizations. Shatterproof is a national nonprofit that addresses substance use disorder through distinct initiatives, including advocating for state and federal policies, ending addiction stigma, and educating communities about the treatment system. Shatterproof is partnering with some states on projects funded by opioid settlements. KFF Health News, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Shatterproof team who worked on this report are not involved in those efforts. ( KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.) ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Thursday, its first loss after three straight gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Gains by retailers and health care stocks helped temper the losses. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday. The Labor Department reported that U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. Treasury yields fell in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
PM looks to ‘brighter future’ at Christmas and ‘wishes for peace in Middle East’
Taoiseach Simon Harris said he also wanted to tell Nikita Hand, a hair colourist from Drimnagh, that her case had prompted an increase in women coming forward to ask for support. Ms Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Ms Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euro (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor said in a post on social media on Friday that he intends to appeal against the decision. That post has since been deleted. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Mr Harris said he told Ms Hand of the support she has from people across Ireland. “I spoke with Nikita today and I wanted to thank her for her incredible bravery and her courage,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that she knew how much solidarity and support there was across this country for her bravery. “I also wanted to make sure she knew of what the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had said yesterday – that so many other women have now come forward in relation to their own experiences of sexual abuse as a result of Nikita’s bravery.” The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said the case has had a “profound effect” on the people the charity supports, and that over the first 10 days of the High Court case, calls to its national helpline increased by almost 20%. It said that first-time callers increased by 50% compared to the same period last year, and were largely from people who had experienced sexual violence who were distressed and anxious from the details of case and the views people had to it. Mr Harris said: “I wanted to speak with her and I wanted to wish her and her daughter, Freya, all the very best night, and I was very grateful to talk with Nikita today. “Her bravery, her courage, her voice has made a real difference in a country in which we must continue to work to get to zero tolerance when it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. “I don’t want to say too much more, because conscious there could be further legal processes, but I absolutely want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her courage, for using her voice.” Justice Minister Helen McEntee praised Ms Hand’s bravery and said she had shown “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. She said: “I just want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her determination and the leadership that she has shown in what has been – I’ve no doubt – a very, very difficult time for her and indeed, for her family. She added: “Because of wonderful people like Nikita, I hope that it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there are supports available to people, and that there is justice at the end of the day.” Ms Hand said in a statement outside court on Friday that she hoped her case would remind victims of assault to keep “pushing forward for justice”. Describing the past six years as “a nightmare”, she said: “I want to show (my daughter) Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” During the case, Ms Hand said she was “disappointed and upset” when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the case after she made a complaint to the Irish police. In a letter to her in August 2020, the DPP said there was “insufficient evidence” and there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction. Ms Hand asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was being treated differently because one of the suspects was famous. Asked about the DPP’s decision not to prosecute, Mr Harris and Ms McEntee stressed the importance of the DPP’s independence on whether to prosecute. “There are obviously structures in place where the DPP can meet a victim and can outline to them their reasons for not taking the case,” Mr Harris said. “But there’s also always an opportunity for the DPP in any situation – and I speak broadly in relation to this – to review a decision, to consider any new information that may come to light, and I don’t want to say anything that may ever cut across the ongoing work of the DPP.” Ms McEntee stressed that there should “never be any political interference” in the independence of the DPP’s decisions. “I have, since becoming minister, given priority to and enabled a new office within the DPP to open specifically focused on sexual offences, so that this issue can be given the focus and the priority that it needs,” she said.Every year on Christmas Eve, nine reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh through the sky so he can deliver presents to children throughout the world. Their names are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph. In the popular song and film about Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer is male, and the film implies the other reindeer are also male. But viral posts claim all of Santa’s reindeer are actually female because male reindeer lose their antlers in the winter. Some people online also claim real reindeer can have red noses like Rudolph, too. So is there more fact than fiction behind the legend of Santa’s sleigh team? Here are 3 VERIFIED facts about the real animals that inspired our favorite fictional reindeer. THE SOURCES WHAT WE FOUND 1. Are all of Santa’s reindeer female? THE ANSWER Sign up for the VERIFY Fast Facts newsletter here . There isn’t a clear-cut answer to this question. Santa’s reindeer could be female or castrated males. Unlike most other deer species, both male and female reindeer grow antlers every year, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and San Diego Zoo . Reindeer also shed their antlers every year, but the timing differs between males and females, our sources say. Male reindeer usually drop their antlers in the late fall and don’t regrow them until the following spring. Pregnant female reindeer, on the other hand, keep their antlers through winter until their calves are born in the spring, the FDA and San Diego Zoo say. Non-pregnant female reindeer lose their antlers in the winter, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service . But castration can impact when male reindeer lose their antlers. Craig Roberts, an agricultural zoologist and professor of social psychology at the University of Stirling in Scotland, says castrated males “ have antler cycles similar to those of females .” All of this means Santa’s reindeer could be female or castrated males, since they usually keep their antlers during Christmastime. 2. Can real reindeer have red noses? THE ANSWER There’s truth behind the legend of Rudolph’s red nose. Some real reindeer noses can turn a reddish color due to an adaptation that helps them survive in cold climates. A 2012 study examined the noses of two reindeer and five humans. It concluded the reindeer had a 25% higher density of blood vessels in their noses compared to humans. This helps reindeer keep their noses warm, allowing them to heat up incoming cold air before they breathe it in, according to the Orlando Science Center . The extra blood vessels also mean their noses can turn a reddish color. “Exposure to extreme cold or exercise increases blood flow, and with so many extra blood vessels in their noses, they can turn a light rosy color,” the Orlando Science Center says. 3. Do reindeer make clicking sounds? THE ANSWER A popular Christmas song called “Up on the Housetop” says Santa’s reindeer go “click, click, click.” Real reindeer that aren’t out delivering presents actually make clicking sounds, too. But that clicking doesn’t come from their hooves hitting the ground. The clicking sound happens when a reindeer’s tendons snap over bones in their feet when they walk, according to an article published by Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences . Both OSU and the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens say biologists think the clicking sounds helps members of a reindeer herd stay together, especially in snowstorms where they cannot see each other. The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter , text alerts and our YouTube channel . You can also follow us on Snapchat , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok . Learn More » Follow Us Want something VERIFIED? Text: 202-410-8808
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there's one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there's one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there’s one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. That’s because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory. The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn’t been enforced since 2018. Kansas provides a cautionary tale about how pursuing an election concern that in fact is extremely rare risks disenfranchising a far greater number of people who are legally entitled to vote. The state’s top elections official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, championed the idea as a legislator and now says states and the federal government shouldn’t touch it. “Kansas did that 10 years ago,” said Schwab, a Republican. “It didn’t work out so well.” Steven Fish, a 45-year-old warehouse worker in eastern Kansas, said he understands the motivation behind the law. In his thinking, the state was like a store owner who fears getting robbed and installs locks. But in 2014, after the birth of his now 11-year-old son inspired him to be “a little more responsible” and follow politics, he didn’t have an acceptable copy of his birth certificate to get registered to vote in Kansas. “The locks didn’t work,” said Fish, one of nine Kansas residents who sued the state over the law. “You caught a bunch of people who didn’t do anything wrong.” A small problem, but wide support for a fix Kansas’ experience appeared to receive little if any attention outside the state as Republicans elsewhere pursued proof-of-citizenship requirements this year. Arizona enacted a requirement this year, applying it to voting for state and local elections but not for Congress or president. The Republican-led U.S. House passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement in the summer and plans to bring back similar legislation after the GOP won control of the Senate in November. In Ohio, the Republican secretary of state revised the form that poll workers use for voter eligibility challenges to require those not born in the U.S. to show naturalization papers to cast a regular ballot. A federal judge declined to block the practice days before the election. Also, sizable majorities of voters in Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and the presidential swing states of North Carolina and Wisconsin were inspired to amend their state constitutions’ provisions on voting even though the changes were only symbolic. Provisions that previously declared that all U.S. citizens could vote now say that only U.S. citizens can vote — a meaningless distinction with no practical effect on who is eligible. To be clear, voters already must attest to being U.S. citizens when they register to vote and noncitizens can face fines, prison and deportation if they lie and are caught. “There is nothing unconstitutional about ensuring that only American citizens can vote in American elections,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, the leading sponsor of the congressional proposal, said in an email statement to The Associated Press. Why the courts rejected the Kansas citizenship rule After Kansas residents challenged their state’s law, both a federal judge and federal appeals court concluded that it violated a law limiting states to collecting only the minimum information needed to determine whether someone is eligible to vote. That’s an issue Congress could resolve. The courts ruled that with “scant” evidence of an actual problem, Kansas couldn’t justify a law that kept hundreds of eligible citizens from registering for every noncitizen who was improperly registered. A federal judge concluded that the state’s evidence showed that only 39 noncitizens had registered to vote from 1999 through 2012 — an average of just three a year. In 2013, then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican who had built a national reputation advocating tough immigration laws, described the possibility of voting by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as a serious threat. He was elected attorney general in 2022 and still strongly backs the idea, arguing that federal court rulings in the Kansas case “almost certainly got it wrong.” Kobach also said a key issue in the legal challenge — people being unable to fix problems with their registrations within a 90-day window — has probably been solved. “The technological challenge of how quickly can you verify someone’s citizenship is getting easier,” Kobach said. “As time goes on, it will get even easier.” Would the Kansas law stand today? The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Kansas case in 2020. But in August, it split 5-4 in allowing Arizona to continue enforcing its law for voting in state and local elections while a legal challenge goes forward. Seeing the possibility of a different Supreme Court decision in the future, U.S. Rep.-elect Derek Schmidt says states and Congress should pursue proof-of-citizenship requirements. Schmidt was the Kansas attorney general when his state’s law was challenged. “If the same matter arose now and was litigated, the facts would be different,” he said in an interview. But voting rights advocates dismiss the idea that a legal challenge would turn out differently. Mark Johnson, one of the attorneys who fought the Kansas law, said opponents now have a template for a successful court fight. “We know the people we can call,” Johnson said. “We know that we’ve got the expert witnesses. We know how to try things like this.” He predicted “a flurry — a landslide — of litigation against this.” Born in Illinois but unable to register in Kansas Initially, the Kansas requirement’s impacts seemed to fall most heavily on politically unaffiliated and young voters. As of fall 2013, 57% of the voters blocked from registering were unaffiliated and 40% were under 30. But Fish was in his mid-30s, and six of the nine residents who sued over the Kansas law were 35 or older. Three even produced citizenship documents and still didn’t get registered, according to court documents. “There wasn’t a single one of us that was actually an illegal or had misinterpreted or misrepresented any information or had done anything wrong,” Fish said. He was supposed to produce his birth certificate when he sought to register in 2014 while renewing his Kansas driver’s license at an office in a strip mall in Lawrence. A clerk wouldn’t accept the copy Fish had of his birth certificate. He still doesn’t know where to find the original, having been born on an Air Force base in Illinois that closed in the 1990s. Several of the people joining Fish in the lawsuit were veterans, all born in the U.S., and Fish said he was stunned that they could be prevented from registering. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Liz Azore, a senior adviser to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, said millions of Americans haven’t traveled outside the U.S. and don’t have passports that might act as proof of citizenship, or don’t have ready access to their birth certificates. She and other voting rights advocates are skeptical that there are administrative fixes that will make a proof-of-citizenship law run more smoothly today than it did in Kansas a decade ago. “It’s going to cover a lot of people from all walks of life,” Avore said. “It’s going to be disenfranchising large swaths of the country.” ___ Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. Advertisement AdvertisementBiden Was Right to Commute Death Row Sentences. The Death Penalty is Inhumane.
Opponents on minor gender dysphoria care feel medicine is on their side
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