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New food production methods needed(Image: X) Christmas is here! The festive season has officially begun, and the world is gearing up to celebrate December 25. The Christmas holidays bring a festive spirit, and social media is now buzzing with photos and videos as people prepare to celebrate Christmas and New Year holidays. One video, in particular, has taken social media by storm. Shared on Instagram by Sky Elements Drone, it features 5,000 drones lighting up the sky in the shape of a giant Santa Claus . The video showcases the meticulous work of the technicians as they set up the drones outdoors in Dallas, culminating in an incredible display of Santa riding his sleigh, illuminated against the night sky. Sharing the video, the caption read, "Giant Santa made of 500 drones shocked Dallas last night Santa Claus is coming to town alright." Look at the video here! Many were excited and happy as it upped the Christmas spirit, and the comments were all about how over the years Christmas celebrations have evolved. One comment read, "We're going to be a laughing stock to our grandchildren when they perfect hologram technology." One more read, "They used thousands of drones just for this? Damn, life must have sucked back then." With developing technology, many were excited about how the drone company managed to make a beautiful show. One more comment read, "Beautiful, I wonder how long it takes to develop a program for a show like this.". “Love this! If you’re ever gonna do a Jesus birth nativity scene, please post that too! Merry Christmas!” a user wrote. “The programming of these must be super crazy,” another user commented. While Dallas skies lit up with drones, one was very worried that there would be a tech issue. The comment read, "This looks amazing. I hope these drones just light up our skies and don't kill people." “Unbelievable levels of coordination. We need more drone art in our cities. I’ve seen a couple of drone shows and have been impressed every time,” another user said.
White House Says Joe Biden Still Believes Trump Is Existential Threat: 'His Thinking on That Has Not Changed'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. 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. John Hanna, The Associated Press
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A massive shift is underway across Australia’s sizzling property market, with the data throwing up 8 key real estate trends to watch in 2025. The Property Outlook Report 2025 has been released naming eight key areas to watch across 2025 in both residential and commercial property. Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee. Report co-author Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said financial markets think the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut interest rates twice in the second half of the year. But, she said, that prediction could change depending on how inflation and the economy play out. “The most important is inflation. While it’s now back within the RBA’s target range, there are risks it could rise again. One big unknown is what happens in the United States. With Donald Trump winning the presidential election, this will boost government spending and put high taxes on Chinese goods. This could push up prices worldwide, including in Australia, making it harder for the RBA to cut rates.” Ray White Property Outlook Report 2025 says RBA will follow global rate cuts in 2025. $900k in a year: Qld’s price growth boom suburbs Qld cricket power couple’s multimillion dollar bounce back Ms Conisbee said the health of the economy would also be crucial for any rates movement in 2025. “If people start spending less in shops, house prices fall significantly, or unemployment begins to rise, the RBA might need to cut rates sooner than planned. They’ll be watching these signs closely throughout the year.” She said there will be rate cuts in 2025 but their timing and size will depend on how inflation behaves, what happens to the global economy and how the Aussie economy holds up across 2025. Ms Conisbee says there are signs that the Australian housing market is cooling into 2025, but the picture varied across the country with Perth, South-East Queensland and Adelaide still strong and Sydney and Melbourne slowing considerably and almost flat. “This pattern is likely to continue in early 2025, driven by several factors. More homeowners are feeling the strain of high mortgage payments, and we’re seeing an increase in property listings as some decide to sell. This higher supply of homes for sale could put downward pressure on prices in some areas.” But she said strong population growth, high building costs, and high expectation of rate cuts in 2025 should prevent any significant drop in house prices. Property prices were expected to be supported by continued strong population growth. Paved in gold: City’s richest streets revealed Unfixed fixer-upper’s crazy profit in just 4 months Strong population growth created “a natural floor for how far prices might fall”. “This is particularly true in Perth and Brisbane where growth remains very strong, but is also the case in Melbourne and Sydney where international migration will remain strong, although potentially at lower levels compared to 2024.” She said the cost of building new homes has not come down so there are fewer dwellings being built which pushes more buyers to existing homes that in turn supports high prices. “The outlook suggests a period of modest price growth or stability rather than significant falls. Markets that have already slowed, like Sydney and Melbourne, might stay flat until rate cuts begin. Meanwhile, cities with stronger economic conditions like Perth could continue to see some growth, though likely at a slower pace than in 2024. The key timing to watch will be when interest rates start to fall, as this could mark a turning point for price growth in the larger markets.” Ray White senior data analyst Atom Go Tian. Ray White senior data analyst Atom Go Tian expects shifts across Australia’s premium property markets that is the top 5 per cent of the market in each region. “The pecking order of Australia’s premium property markets is experiencing its most dramatic realignment in years,” he said. “with traditional hierarchies being challenged and new players climbing to the fore.” Luxury refers to houses in the top 5 per cent of the market. Sydney still has a major lead on other markets sitting above $4m across its top 5 per cent, despite having the slowest growth rate in years, but other areas like regional Queensland’s coastal markets have also surged. “The Gold Coast, with an impressive 50 per cent growth over five years, has finally achieved what many predicted: overtaking Melbourne as the second most expensive luxury market,” he said with its top 5 per cent of houses priced at $2.54m compared to Melbourne’s $2.51m. He said the Sunshine Coast looks to be following suit in by the end of 2025, having seen a 48.73 per cent five-year growth rate, with its top 5 per cent price now at $2.37m. Brisbane, Perth – both with the top 5pc over the $2m mark after 5-year growth of 55 and 53pc respectively were rising fast, as well as Adelaide which has its top 5 per cent above $1.8m off 5-year growth of 56pc. “Looking ahead, the market appears to be trending toward a new baseline, with all major cities except Darwin expected to reach or exceed the $2m mark for luxury properties.” Mr Tian said the property restructuring is seeing the creation of a “Golden Arc”, stretching from the Gold Coast to Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast which will emerge stronger in 2025 – all three having overtaken Melbourne in the last two years. “The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast have established themselves as Australia’s second and third most expensive housing markets, with remarkably similar geometric mean house prices of $1.18m and $1.14m respectively. Both regions have also witnessed an identical 76 per cent increase in prices over the past five years.” “Brisbane, while still more affordable at a geometric mean house price of $996,000, is also showing signs of joining its coastal counterparts to complete the Golden Arc. The city has the second-highest five-year growth rate of 83.5 per cent, trailing only Adelaide.” Sydney’s average house price rose to $1.59m in 2024, staying ahead of the pack, but other cities are chasing strongly. A mid market was now developing across Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide within a 17 per cent price range of each other, he said. “Five years ago, these markets were spread across an 80 per cent price range. This compression suggests that Perth and Adelaide may soon overtake Melbourne in terms of house prices, further contributing to the formation of a distinct mid-market cluster between $850,000 and $1m.” “In summary, we can expect several key developments. Perth and Adelaide may surpass Melbourne in price, reinforcing the shift in the mid-market cluster. The Golden Arc is likely to emerge with Brisbane joining the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast as premium markets. Finally, Sydney’s isolation at the top is expected to widen, further emphasising the “two-speed” nature of the market.” Mr Tian said the million-dollar club was set to rise significantly across regional Australia, having already gone from just two areas five years ago to 20 locations in 2024 – with four more on track to hit it in 2025 and a further seven serious contenders for seven-figure medians through the year. “The Sunshine Coast Hinterland, currently at $972,787, is projected to reach $1.05m, supported by an impressive 8 per cent average annual growth over the past decade,” he said. “Both Ormeau-Oxenford in the Gold Coast and Newcastle in regional New South Wales, currently hovering around $960,000, are expected to reach $1.03m, driven by consistent 7 per cent annual growth rates. Lake Macquarie-East completes this emerging group, with current house prices of $955,128 expected to rise to $1.02m in the coming year.” Four more areas in regional Australia will have $1m medians in 2025, with seven more on the verge of joining the club. The seven other areas that are serious contenders for strong price growth into the one million mark have current medians around the $850,000 to $910,000 level with decade-long growth rates around 5 to 8pc – including Augusta-Margaret River-Busselton in Western Australia’s Bunbury region which will be regional WA’s first in the elite club, and several other contenders across the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast as well regional NSW. Key features of these growth prospects are waterfront and oceanside locations, satellite cities or areas within commuting distance of major metropolitan centres, and lifestyle appeal. Ray White Group head of research Vanessa Rader. When it comes to commercial property, the retail sector is set to shine brightest in 2025, according to Ray White Group head of research Vanessa Rader, “a significant shift from recent years where industrial assets dominated”. She said retail assets had already led total returns for two consecutive quarters with a 2.8 per cent total gain in the latest results, making up 41.1 per cent of all commercial transaction numbers in late 2024 – a massive gain considering its long term average is 28 per cent. ”Despite ongoing discussion about the threat of online retail, physical stores have shown remarkable resilience. Online spending accounts for just 11.4 per cent of total retail transactions and has remained relatively stable over recent years.” The retail sector remains strong especially across metropolitan areas and despite the online threat. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sharon Smith Its strength was in metro markets, she said, with neighbourhood and subregional centres also showing resilience in the right retail mix, with food, supermarkets and services driving consumer spending. “Limited new supply against strong population growth has driven improved occupancy and rental performance in select markets. The retail landscape is also evolving, with entertainment offerings likely to emerge as a key component of successful centres, creating lifestyle destinations rather than pure shopping venues.” She said “investor attention is clearly pivoting towards retail assets. The sector’s ability to adapt and evolve, combining traditional brick-and-mortar retail with emerging entertainment offerings and online integration, positions it as the commercial property sector to watch in 2025.” Ms Rader sees a structural shift underway in the office market, “driven by evolving tenant demands and intensifying environmental, social and governance (ESG) pressures”. She said B-grade and lower quality assets would struggle without significant capital investment. “If future take up of space echoes results seen in the post pandemic era, vacancies for secondary assets across all Australian markets will reach 22 per cent (from current 15.9 per cent) in the next five years, even considering consistent withdrawal of stock.” “Prime markets however will continue to thrive, vacancies will move downward from the current 13.7 per cent to 5.4 per cent by late 2029, opening up potential for new development.” End-of-trip facilities are now par for the course to attract top tier tenants. She said significant capex was needed to bring older assets up to scratch, given tenant demands for end-of-trip facilities, sophisticated airconditioning systems and smart building technology. Lenders were also seeing this with a looming credit squeeze for the secondary sector set to force some owners to look at alternative uses, including conversion to residential or mixed use “where planning regulations permit”. “The secondary office sector faces a turning point. Buildings unable to meet rising environmental standards and tenant expectations risk becoming stranded assets. The market is likely to see an increase in opportunistic investors targeting these assets for conversion or redevelopment, particularly in locations where alternative uses can unlock greater value.” Ms Rader also expects a dynamic shift via private investors across commercial property in 2025, with “anticipated interest rate reductions expected to reignite transaction activity across all sectors”. “Private investors, armed with improved debt serviceability and renewed confidence, are likely to lead this resurgence. The expected easing of monetary policy should create a more favourable environment for leveraged buyers, potentially driving increased competition for quality assets as debt costs moderate.” Targets include metro retail assets underpinned by strong trade area demographics and essential service offerings. Service stations and retail centres will attract strong private investor interest in 2025. “Neighbourhood centres anchored by supermarkets, combined with healthcare services and daily needs retail, will likely remain highly sought after.” Across industrial assets, private investors were increasingly focusing on the smaller end of town such as industrial units and last-mile logistics facilities, particularly those with value-add potential, she said. “2025 could mark a turning point for the office sector as the market finally adjusts to hybrid working patterns.” “Childcare centres and service stations, delivering annual rental increases with long lease terms, remain highly sought after by yield-focused investors.” The ability to move quickly on opportunities would become increasingly valuable in 2025, she said, “as the market transitions to a more favourable lending environment”. FOLLOW SOPHIE FOSTERHead to Head Survey: Unrivaled Brands (OTCMKTS:UNRV) vs. Webuy Global (NASDAQ:WBUY)
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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will not play Sunday and head coach Kyle Shanahan said the lingering discomfort is a concern. Purdy sat out Friday after he participated in the start of Thursday's practice with the 49ers, then retreated indoors for what Shanahan said was a treatment session. Brandon Allen, 32, will start in Purdy's place, and the 49ers are also without defensive end Nick Bosa (oblique). Shanahan said players believe in Allen, even if he's an unknown. "Outside of here people haven't seen a lot of Brandon. But it's his second year (with the 49ers)," Shanahan said. "Obviously guys want Brock up, but guys are excited to see Brandon play." Shanahan said they are "a little surprised" Purdy experienced tightness and discomfort in his shoulder after an MRI exam on Monday that showed no long-term cause for concern. "The way it responded this week, it's really up in the air for next week," Shanahan said of Purdy. Allen is familiar to Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who was an assistant coach with the Rams during Allen's two-year run in Los Angeles. Allen broke into the NFL in 2016 with the Jaguars and is 2-7 in nine career starts. He went 1-2 with the Broncos in 2019 and 1-5 in six starts over two years with the Bengals in 2020 and ‘21. Shanahan said Allen's confidence grew throughout the week and he doesn't anticipate a major change in how he calls the offense. Left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) also missed practice for the third consecutive day. Without disclosing the nature of the ailment to Purdy's throwing shoulder, general manager John Lynch confirmed Friday an MRI exam took place to determine the severity of any injury. Allen worked with the first team most of Thursday and Friday with Joshua Dobbs also taking snaps. Lynch described Purdy's status for the 49ers (5-5) this week as "tenuous." "Hopefully, he makes progress, and we can have a shot at this weekend, but we'll see," Lynch said in an interview with KNBR in San Francisco. "I think it's tenuous." When Purdy was on the field this week, he primarily worked on the side in position-specific drills with QB coach Brian Griese. Williams played through an ankle injury last week after being listed as questionable but exited the stadium with an exaggerated limp on Sunday. Run game coordinator Chris Foerster said the 49ers aren't where they want to be at 5-5 because they haven't won close games, not because of injuries. "Seven games left is like an eternity," Foerster said. "So much can happen. Do the math. What was our record last year? It was 12-5. I was on a 13-win team that was nowhere near as good as the team last year." With or without Purdy, Foerster said the challenge for the 49ers is not to give up the ball to a defense that has 19 takeaways. The 49ers have 13 giveaways this season. --Field Level Media
In the absence of any major triggers in the stock market , the participants will keenly have their eyes on the macroeconomic indicators like IIP and CPI inflation , starting Monday, as per market analysts. According to the analysts, the investors and traders will also be watchful of the trend of Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) inflows, following their recent buying spree. "With no major events on the horizon, market attention is expected to turn towards macroeconomic indicators like IIP and CPI inflation. The RBI governor highlighted the critical need to manage inflation in his recent speech, suggesting that a potential easing of inflation, coupled with continued sluggishness in GDP growth, could create room for a rate cut in the next policy meeting," said Ajit Mishra--SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd. He added that the trend of FII inflows, following their recent buying spree, will remain a key focal point for market participants. Anticipating the market's sentiment for the upcoming week, Manish Goel, Founder and MD, Equentis Wealth Advisory Services Ltd, also pointed out the CPI data, which could impact the move of market participants. Goel added," India's November CPI data is set to release on December 12; attention is focused on October's inflation rate of 6.21 percent, the highest in over a year. The surge was primarily driven by rising food and vegetable prices, adding pressure on the economy. This has sparked keen interest in upcoming data to determine whether inflationary trends are easing or persisting, influencing expectations for key sectors and market sentiment." According to Goyal, the government formation in Maharashtra is expected to drive economic growth, particularly in infrastructure, real estate, finance, and renewable energy, with policy stability under the Mahayuti alliance fostering a positive market outlook. As per Goyal, the RBI's move of maintaining the repo rate at 6.50 percent and reducing the CRR by 50 basis points to 4 percent will impact the investor's sentiment, as the move is expected to inject liquidity into the system. "The revision of GDP and inflation forecasts signals a more guarded outlook, while higher returns on foreign currency non-resident (bank) deposits and increased agricultural loan limits are set to attract foreign investments and bolster domestic stability," he added. Markets in the last trading week extended their recovery for the third consecutive week, gaining over 2 percent amid mixed cues. The sentiment turned positive early on, as weaker-than-expected GDP data raised hopes for RBI intervention, which materialised with a 50-basis-point CRR cut during the policy meet, while the repo rate remained unchanged. Additionally, renewed buying by FIIs, following a prolonged period of selling, further bolstered market confidence, as per the experts. FII outflows reduced to ₹182 billion ($2.2 billion) in November, a sharp drop from ₹919 billion ($10.9 billion) in October. Interestingly, the month showcased a tale of two halves. While FIIs remained net sellers in the first half of November, with outflows of ₹195 billion (₹2.3 billion), they turned net buyers in the second half, bringing in ₹13 billion ($159 million). All major sectors contributed to the rally, with realty, metal, IT, and banking emerging as top gainers, while FMCG underperformed. The broader indices also impressed, as both midcap and smallcap indices surged over 4 percent, surprising market participants. CommentsVirginia Beach health care software provider grows with merger, leveraging AI to transform care
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.” 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. 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.” 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.” 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.End of the Eras Tour, with Taylor Swift to take final bow in Vancouver
OVP Undersecretary and Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff, Atty. Zuleika Lopez —Inquirer/Grig Montegrande MANILA, Philippines — What is the extent of Congress’ power to detain its resource persons outside their facilities? These questions, for legal experts, could eventually be challenged before the courts in light of the heated standoff between Vice President Sara Duterte and the House of Representatives, which sought to move her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to the Mandaluyong Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) to serve her contempt citation early Saturday morning. Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno pointed out that while the power of contempt is a “broad power, [whether] and how that power can be exercised could be subject to judicial review.” “The place of detention—that issue may eventually reach the courts,” he said. READ: House panel moves to cite OVP exec Lopez for contempt The power of contempt is an inherent power by Congress to compel witnesses to testify or produce documents during legislative inquiries. It has been popularized recently by the House quad committee investigating criminal activities linked to the Duterte administration. It has cited dozens of resource persons in contempt for lying, refusing to attend, or refusing to answer lawmakers’ questions. Persons cited for contempt are usually held in the House’s 16-person detention facility. However, some resource persons are held in city jails when the facility is full, or in the case of alleged offshore gaming shareholder Cassandra Ong, transferred to the CIW when facing multiple contempt citations. Constitutionalist and policy consultant Michael Henry Yusingco said that while a 2023 Supreme Court ruling clarified the extent of Congress’ contempt powers, the Constitution does not allow it to render a penal punishment. The CIW is a facility for convicted felons, as Lopez pointed out when she resisted being transferred. But the House said they merely wanted to move her to a facility with enough security to handle Duterte, who had insisted on staying with her throughout her detention. Yusingco said Congress does not even have the power to detain persons outside their headquarters “just by the very definition of who they are.” “They are lawmakers, they are not judges. So the proceedings that they do, they are legislative in character and purpose, it’s not a criminal proceeding. And therefore lawmakers cannot render any penal punishment—so they cannot send anyone, detain anyone in a prison,” Yusingco said. This is why, he added, the 2023 ruling was clear about the limitations of the contempt powers of Congress. The ruling said that while Congress is not precluded from compelling its resource persons or witnesses to appear in its proceedings, its powers of legislative investigation are subject to three limitations: 1) it must be in “aid of legislation”; 2) conducted in accordance with its duly published rules of procedures; and 3) the rights of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected. Detention must also only last until the termination of the legislative inquiry, the Supreme Court said. Sought for comment, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco maintained that Lopez was treated well and not subjected to any ill-treatment. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . “Claims of a delayed response are unfounded ... After receiving a clean bill of health at VMMC (Veterans Memorial Medical Center), Atty. Lopez was later transported to St. Luke’s Medical Center by OVP (Office of the Vice President) staff for further evaluation. She was declared stable and subsequently returned to VMMC, accompanied by House representatives to ensure her safety,” Velasco said.Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 24 (ANI): Domestic stock markets are expected react, when it opens on Monday, to the recent election outcomes in Jharkhand and Maharashtra as well as domestic macroeconomic data and foreign Institutional fund flows, according to the market analysts. The market analysts say that the bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which will take place in the first week of December will also have an impact of the activities of the investors, as analysts anticipate a 25-bps rate cut amid concerns of slowing economic growth and moderating inflation. The last trading session in the market ended with decent gains, offering relief after weeks of correction. Despite a negative bias for most of the week due to persistent FII selling, Friday’s sharp recovery, led by bargain hunting in index heavyweights, helped indices close near their highs. The Nifty and Sensex gained nearly 2 per cent, ending at 23,907.20 and 79,117.10, respectively. “Markets will first react to the outcomes of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections. Additionally, macroeconomic indicators, including GDP and infrastructure output, will garner significant attention. Participants remain focused on FII fund flows, given their ongoing selling spree,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd. “Looking ahead, the RBI’s meeting from December 4th-6th is generating significant interest, with analysts anticipating a 25-bps rate cut amid concerns of slowing economic growth and moderating inflation,” said Manish Goel, Founder and MD, Equentis observing the markets. Goel further added that the upcoming week is likely to bring heightened volatility and cautious trading as investors navigate political uncertainties, economic data releases, and corporate developments. Observing the mood of the market, Joseph Thomas, Head of Research, Emkay Wealth Management stated that despite the up seen in the market during the trading sessions, it remains to be seen to what extent the current momentum is going to be sustained next week. “The Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Middle East situation which is still awaiting resolution, local election results in crucial states etc. are all factors that may have some impact on the markets in the coming wee,” he added. Market experts are hopeful despite the high volatility in the markets, as Krishna Appala, Sr. Research Analyst, Capitalmind Research said, ” Despite global challenges, India’s long-term growth story remains compelling.” Most sectors, except energy, contributed to the rebound, with realty, auto, and FMCG leading the pack. IT and banking played a pivotal role in capping losses and driving the recovery in the benchmark. Broader indices also edged higher, with gains ranging between 0.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent. On the other hand, the foreign investors extended their selling spree in Indian equity markets for the third consecutive week in November, according to data released by the National Stock Exchange. This week alone, foreign investors sold equities worth Rs 11,412 crore, adding to the ongoing selling pressure. With this, the net selling by foreign investors in November has reached Rs 41,872 crores, indicating persistent bearish sentiment from overseas players. The consistent outflow has weighed on market sentiments, creating volatility in the indices. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have continued to provide much-needed support to the Indian markets. This week, DIIs purchased equities worth Rs 11,035 crore, cushioning the impact of foreign outflows. Their total net buying in November now stands at Rs 37,559 crore. (ANI) This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. 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