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Thousands of protesters marched through Barcelona on Saturday demanding lower rents in Spain's second city. Barcelona, which has already taken action to stop the spread of holiday rental apartments, is the latest Spanish city to see protests for cheaper housing. Backed by left-wing parties and unions, the demonstrators gathered in central Barcelona behind a giant banner declaring "Lower the rents". "Today a new political cycle starts concerning housing," Carme Arcarazo, spokesperson for the Catalan Tenants Union, the main organiser, told reporters. "Investors must not be allowed to come to our cities and play with the apartments like a game of Monopoly," she added. The union would target "profiteers" who are taking "half of our salaries", Arcarazo said. The demonstrators demanded a 50 percent cut in rents, leases with an unlimited term and a ban on "speculative" sales of buildings. They threatened to start a rent strike. An estimated 22,000 people took part in a similar demonstration in Madrid on October 13. Campaigns have been launched in other cities. According to the Idealista specialised website, rental prices per square metre have risen 82 percent across Spain over the past decade. The average salary has gone up by 17 percent in that time, according to the national statistics institute. Facing pressure over a housing crisis, the government in 2023 passed legislation calling for more social housing, greater restrictions on rents in high demand areas and penalties for owners who do not occupy properties. But rents have continued to rise while the government has battled city and regional authorities to get some parts of the law applied. vid-vab/tw/jm

SMU owns second half in win over LongwoodFacebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — The Stockton University esports team will compete for Garden State Esports Collegiate Circuit titles after beating other local schools last week at an in-person competition on campus. The Ospreys’ "Rocket League" team defeated Camden County College and Rowan University, and the "Super Smash Bros." team beat Camden County College and Atlantic Cape Community College, Stockton said Wednesday in a news release. With the victories, both teams won the GSE South Conference and advanced to the Garden State Esports Collegiate Cup finals Feb. 22 at ACX1 Studios in Atlantic City. In "Rocket League," Stockton will face Brookdale Community College, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Kean University, and in "Super Smash Bros." the Ospreys will compete against Rutgers-New Brunswick, Brookdale and NJIT. Sophomore "Rocket League" player Michael Parker loved the in-person experience of playing other schools in the esports lab and at Stockton’s Lodge at Lakeside, the university said. When is Mike Trout's Vineland golf course scheduled to open Somers Point man killed in two-vehicle crash in Egg Harbor Township Egg Harbor Township installing 4-way stop signs at troubled intersections Van Drew says drones seen hovering near the Salem County nuclear plants LIVE UPDATES: Murphy says new systems to track drone activity in NJ 3 local wrestlers win titles at Southern Regional’s Robin Leff Tournament Na'cho Taco celebrates grand opening in Margate with giant burrito Bridgeton nursing home barred from Medicaid after NJ comptroller finds fraud and abuse Latest on New Jersey mystery drones: White House officials say there is no threat Atlantic City now has more weed shops than casinos with dozens more on the way 14 arrested following drug operations in Atlantic City Pleasantville votes to file complaints against police chief, officer over council spat UPDATED What we know, what we don't know about New Jersey's mysterious drone sightings What to know about the mystery drones flying over New Jersey Murphy pardons 33 and commutes 3 women's sentences in first use of clemency “It’s nice being able to see other people and play against them when they are like 10 feet away from you,” said the biology major from Hammonton. “That’s probably my favorite part about it all.” Parker said he’s followed Stockton’s esports team since he was a sophomore at Hammonton High School, when the university hosted a "Rocket League" event. Egg Harbor Township High School held ribbon-cutting ceremonies Wednesday for its new Esports Gaming & Design Center and Career and Technical Education Innovation Lab, as well as a "Day in the Trades" event. “I still have an original Stockton esports jersey,” he said. “I joined the team as soon as I got to Stockton as a freshman. It’s one of the best things I’ve done here.” This year’s "Rocket League" team also includes Nicholas Edwards, Anthony Roselli, Kevin Smith and Howard Haughton. Hayden Seiberlich, Andres Arteaga, Jackson Busza, Daniel Digioia, Justin Ritter, Trevor Smith and Jacob Hughes comprise the "Super Smash Bros." team. Hughes didn’t really know much about the esports team before trying out for it in his first semester at Stockton last year. “It’s made me have a lot of fun at college,” said the sophomore business administration major from Forked River. “There are so many cool things that come with it. The trips. The community. I’ve met so many people. We hang out all the time, and it’s just an amazing community to be a part of.” Hosting the Garden State Esports Collegiate Circuit competition last week also allowed Stockton’s esports team to reach out to high school gamers through a virtual interactive watch party on Twitch. “It was exciting to see college students from four universities compete on our campus, while our Stockton Esports leadership team interacted with high school students in such a unique and engaging way,” said Demetrios Roubos, the manager of Stockton’s esports program. “The addition of remote commentary from high school students was a first-of-its-kind experience that highlighted the bright future of esports. This event not only celebrated our competitive spirit but also reinforced Stockton’s role as an innovator in the esports community.” Contact Dan Grote: 609-272-7234 dgrote@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPress_Grote Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Print Director Author facebook Author twitter Author email {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Partway through Donald Trump’s first presidency, Richard Grenell , the newly minted U.S. ambassador to Germany, made the extraordinary announcement that the Trump administration was hoping to boost the forces of the hard right throughout Europe. This was in keeping with Trump’s oft-stated dislike of the supranational principles of the European Union (EU), his support for Brexit, and his very public efforts to get leaders such as Germany’s Angela Merkel to clamp down on immigration from outside of Europe. Indeed, shortly after Grenell’s comments, media reports circulated that Trump was keen to see Merkel ousted as the German Chancellor. This fall, nearly seven years after his comment about the European hard right, Grenell, an avatar of an Internationale-styled alliance for the hard right globally, was, apparently, on the shortlist to become Trump’s new Secretary of State. While he wasn’t ultimately selected, losing out to Florida Senator Marco Rubio and his more “establishment” credentials, Trump’s victory is nevertheless emboldening far right political groups and leaders throughout Europe and beyond. Indeed, immediately after the election, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — long feted by Trump, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and other MAGA denizens for his championing of what he calls “illiberal democracy,” and his belief that liberals are pushing a “great replacement” of white, Christian Europeans and Americans — announced that he had downed vodka in celebration of Trump’s win . The admiration is mutual: Orbán’s willingness to clamp down on the free press, his populism (which is defined by racism, sexism and homophobia), and his manipulation of the electoral system to ensure the success of his hard-right Fidesz Party have largely made him an outlier in the EU, even as he has become a hero of the U.S. right. In 2022, he addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the premier gathering of the U.S. right wing. Three years on, in a Trumpified Washington, the Hungarian leader will almost certainly be toasted as a great defender of “European values” — even as Trump is set to pull back from U.S. commitments to European defense and, in a move demonstrating a distinct lack of solidarity, to impose tariffs on imports from Europe. In the days after November 5, global far right political figures from across the word — including Argentina, where the new president, Javier Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist , has been busily breaking apart his country’s democratic institutions — have been rallying to Trump’s cause. Around Europe, other far right figures similarly reveled in Trump’s victory, including Alice Elisabeth Weidel and Björn Höcke, the leaders of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has its roots in Nazi ideology; Geert Wilders, the politically powerful far right leader in the Netherlands; and many other fascist and nationalist figures. Writing in all capital letters, Wilders posted on X , “CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT TRUMP! CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA! NEVER STOP, ALWAYS KEEP FIGHTING AND WIN ELECTIONS!” Wilders’ post is indicative of the far right’s shared sense that Trump’s win pushes them, too, that much closer to assuming power within Europe. Earlier this year, the AfD won state elections in the old Eastern Germany, in a seismic shock to the mainstream political parties. Trump’s win further emboldens these far right forces in Europe, which are cynically deploying rhetoric about protecting working people in order to push an anti-immigrant, sexist, white nationalist and anti-environmental agenda. The European far right’s joy at Trump’s win also dovetails with their sympathies for Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia and their antipathy to the Ukrainians. In recent months, members of the European Parliament who caucus with the hard right Europe of Sovereign Nations group have boycotted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to the European Parliament, as have far right and far left figures in Germany and in Austria , in a similar move to GOP figures on Capitol Hill freezing out Zelenskyy. In the U.K., the fiercely anti-immigrant politician Nigel Farage — on whose behalf Trump once lobbied as Farage sought to become the U.K. ambassador to the U.S . and whose Reform Party is currently making a serious run at replacing the Conservative Party as the main party of the right — lost no time in offering his services to the Labour government as something of a Donald Trump whisperer. Because of his friendship with Trump, Farage argued, he was in a prime position to mediate trans-Atlantic deals with the incoming Trump administration and blunt the edge of Trump’s pro-tariffs sword. To its credit, the Labour government quickly sent Farage packing. I’d bet, however, that this isn’t the last of the issue; it ought to surprise no one if over the coming months Trump pressures Keir Starmer’s U.K. government to appoint Farage either as ambassador or as liaison with the new administration in D.C. I’d also wager that far right agitators such as Tommy Robinson — the founder of the racist English Defense League, and a man who, during Trump’s first presidential tenure, approached the Americans to ask for political asylum in order to avoid a prison sentence in the U.K. — may increasingly be feted by Trump administration stalwarts such as Elon Musk (whose X site gave Robinson back his platform after he had previously been banned for making racially inflammatory comments). Trump has shown that he views everything, including bedrock alliances, as being transactional. Thus, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise if the U.S.’s 47 th president conditioned security agreements and reduced tariffs on European countries. If and when he does so, Brexit-era Britain, self-exiled from the EU, desperate to retain its relationship with the U.S. and, in its isolation, peculiarly vulnerable to the threat of tariffs, will likely be particularly pressured to embrace hard right stances on immigration and culture war issues similar to those pushed by the Trump administration. How Europe responds to this stress test emanating from its erstwhile ally and security guarantor across the Atlantic will determine the viability both of social democracy and of the European Union over the coming years. Now that Trump — a man whose own former chief of staff says is an admirer of Hitler and is “fascist to his core” — is leading the GOP, we can expect the U.S. Republican Party to do everything in its power to seed discord and to boost the European far right in the years ahead.

The Dallas Cowboys ruled out right guard Zack Martin and cornerback Trevon Diggs with injuries on Saturday, one day prior to a road game against the Washington Commanders. Martin has been dealing with ankle and shoulder injuries and didn't practice at all this week before initially being listed as doubtful to play on Friday. He also physically struggled during Monday night's loss to the Houston Texans. Martin, who turned 34 on Wednesday, has started all 162 games played in 11 seasons with the Cowboys. He's a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and a seven-time first-team All-Pro. Diggs has been dealing with groin and knee injuries. He was listed as questionable on Friday before being downgraded Saturday. Diggs, 26, has 37 tackles and two interceptions in 10 games this season. The two-time Pro Bowl pick led the NFL with 11 picks in 2021 and has 20 in 57 games. The Cowboys elected not to activate receiver Brandin Cooks (knee) for the game. He returned to practice earlier this week and he was listed as questionable on Friday. Dallas activated offensive tackle Chuma Edoga (toe) and defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (knee) off injured reserve Saturday, placed safety Markquese Bell (shoulder) on IR and released defensive end KJ Henry. Tight end Jake Ferguson (concussion) was previously ruled out. Tight end Princeton Fant was elevated from the practice squad to replace him. Cornerback Kemon Hall also was elevated from the practice squad. --Field Level MediaThousands demand lower rents at Barcelona demoMurió el caricaturista Fernando ‘Zele’ Zeledón, referente del humor político en Costa Rica

Courtney Bass, an outreach worker with Milestone Recovery, listens as a homeless woman talks to her in Scarborough on Dec. 17. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald Whenever a patient of Milestone Recovery, past or present, dies from a drug overdose, staff typically logs into a critical incident system to report it. One day this fall, Executive Director Tom Doherty went to log in but needed to update his password because it had expired after 90 days of inactivity. It had been at least 90 days since someone died. Service providers like Doherty aren’t taking victory laps, but there is a glimmer of optimism as 2024 sunsets that Maine might be reversing a deadly trend that has devastated the state for a decade. Between January and October, there have been 403 drug overdose deaths, an average of 40 each month, according to state data . That’s down 21% from the same period in 2023 when 513 overdose deaths had been recorded, and it comes on the heels of a 16% decrease from 2022 to 2023 . If this year’s pace continues in November and December, Maine will end 2024 with fewer than 500 fatal overdoses for the first time since 2019. Gordon Smith, Maine’s director of opioid response, said deaths aren’t always the best metric for success or failure, even though he understands that’s what generates the most attention. “We could do everything right that we’re supposed to do, and our deaths could still go up,” he said. And it’s clear there are some larger forces at work. Overdose deaths are down nationwide this year, although Maine’s decrease is more dramatic than the national decline. Still, Smith said, the historic investments Maine has made in treatment, harm reduction and prevention might be paying off. Just last month, the state awarded $14 million to 43 projects through its share of opioid settlement funds and those funds will continue to flow to Maine for 17 more years. Doherty said greater acceptance of harm reduction efforts has been a key factor. Harm reduction means everything from widespread distribution of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and drug testing strips to the Good Samaritan law that allows anyone to call 911 following an overdose without fear of being arrested for drug possession crimes. Milestone has two mobile outreach teams that spend their days traveling throughout greater Portland looking for people at greatest risk. Other agencies, including Maine Access Points, which focuses on harm reduction efforts in rural areas, have the same aim. The goal is to steer them toward treatment, even if that takes many attempts. “Not everybody is going to clean up their mess on the same day,” said Angel Trotter, a Milestone outreach worker. So, the goal becomes simpler: Just keep them alive. ‘Trying to get by’ Courtney Bass, an outreach worker with Milestone Recovery, hands a stocking to a homeless woman in Portland on Dec. 17. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald Trotter and her outreach partner, Courtney Bass, spend most of their days working out of a Nissan NV3500 passenger van that’s filled with supplies and food. One day this month, the two women also toted individualized Christmas stockings that had been stuffed by volunteers with candy and personal care items. Their goal each day is to make contact with clients who are living on the street, most of whom are also dealing with substance use disorder — the most vulnerable to overdose. “I’m not sure how long I would last living out behind the ballfield and having people not even looking at you or shouting, “Get a job,’” Doherty said. Trotter and Bass said their work has gotten harder since Portland passed an ordinance prohibiting homeless encampments. Now, unhoused individuals who don’t end up at the shelter are scattered in bordering communities like South Portland and Westbrook. With Bass behind the wheel and Trotter in the passenger seat on her laptop or phone, they start their route. “Meeting people where they are at” is a common phrase, and that often means in parking lots of libraries or big box retail stores. Sometimes it’s just the side of the road. Trotter has been an outreach worker for 18 months but said she, too, was living on the street not that long ago. “It’s changed a lot,” she said. Bass has been with Milestone for more than a decade. She said much of her job is making sure people have what they need to stay safe. “You don’t think about these things when you’re running, you’re just trying to get by,” she said. At one stop, a young man asked Trotter to look at a rash on his stomach that wasn’t going away. She asked if she could take a picture and send it to someone at the free clinic. Back in the van, she places a call and tells a clinician she’s going to send the picture over to see if he needs to be treated right away. They work closely with other service agencies, including Common Space, which operates a needle exchange program and other harm reduction initiatives. Executive Director Brian Townsend points to two factors contributing to the decline in overdose deaths: 1. A dramatic increase in available supplies for safe use and 2. Increased sophistication and knowledge of overdose response. There is still resistance, he said, to harm reduction initiatives such as needle exchange programs. Townsend doesn’t begrudge anyone who has a strong emotional reaction, like complaining about discarded needles or the impact on emergency crews. But he also tries to explain that harm reduction does not equate to enabling drug use. “Our efforts are strictly to keep people safe, and keep them alive,” he said. At their last stop, Trotter and Bass waited for nearly 20 minutes in a parking lot across from Lowe’s on Brighton Avenue, near the Portland-Westbrook line, for a client who was supposed to meet them. They didn’t show up the day before either. Bass said if more than a couple of days go by without seeing a regular client, they start to worry a little. “Then we go look,” she said. ‘Still way too many’ Tom Doherty is the director of Milestone Recovery in Portland. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald Maine isn’t alone in documenting fewer deaths. Fatal overdoses declined nationally by about 14% between June 2023 and June 2024, according to recent data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some experts attribute some of it to the supply chain. Fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid that supplanted heroin years ago as the go-to drug of many, has has become less potent as the country has started to crack down on cartels and other international suppliers. This fall, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration head Anne Milgram announced that for the first time since 2021, her agency saw a decline in fentanyl potency. Smith said Maine has likely seen some of that, too. In addition to fewer deaths, the number of non-fatal overdoses has decreased by 13% over the same period in 2023. Still, fentanyl showed up in three of every four overdose deaths in Maine this year, often in combination with another substance, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, according to state data. Smith also said officials have little control over the supply side of the crisis. Cartels and others have always found a way to stay a step ahead. “I’d rather work on the demand side,” he said. To that end, Maine has built a network of recovery coaches across the state that didn’t exist five years ago. Naloxone has become widespread in most communities. There are more than 1,000 recovery beds statewide. The state has never had more people on methadone and Suboxone, the two primary forms of medication-assisted treatment. And more and more are opting to use Sublocade, which is a one-month injection that blocks opioid receptors and effectively makes it impossible to get high. In Portland, Milestone has doubled its number of detox beds . Combined with other beds around the city, there are 5 times as many as before the pandemic. “It used to sort of be like Willy Wonka and the golden ticket,” Doherty said. There are always challenges. Experts say tracking other substances that might get mixed with fentanyl or methamphetamine or cocaine is key. Some newer mixers are resistant to naloxone. It’s one of the reasons agencies like Milestone and Common Space distribute testing strips. Longer-term residential treatment, which is expensive, is still in short supply and often faces local resistance . Townsend said that independent of the state’s investments, the conversation about opioid use and overdose has evolved so that it’s OK to talk about. Mostly. “Stigma remains one of our biggest issues,” he said. “That has not shifted all the way, but it has shifted in the right direction.” While there is more hope, experts aren’t declaring any victories. “It’s still way too many (overdose deaths) in a state our size,” Smith said. Doherty agrees and is always quick to temper his optimism. Not long after he logged into the critical incident system with his new password, the agency saw two overdose deaths back-to-back. Drug overdose deaths declined by 16% in Maine in 2023 Maine Recovery Council approves $13.9 million in projects Legislators approve compromise bill for Good Samaritan expansion Comments are not available on this story. Send questions/comments to the editors.Cavaliers vs. Hawks Injury Report Today – November 27The have tried everything at quarterback. From veteran journeymen to first-round rookie passers and a half-baked Aaron Rodgers cameo, nothing has worked. So as the Jets upon the top of the 2025 NFL Draft, the chance to take a new quarterback will be tempting. However, New York might not be in love with a quarterback in this year’s underwhelming class. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.

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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.In an era where digital connectivity shapes business success, one engineer's innovative approach to fiber service adoption has established new benchmarks in data-driven sales optimization. Under the leadership of Rajkumar Kyadasu, the Fiber Accelerator project at AT&T emerged as a transformative initiative, strategically revolutionizing the identification and conversion of potential fiber service customers within existing infrastructure zones. The project arose as a critical business imperative for the need to maximize the return on investments made in fiber infrastructure by AT&T. Recognizing that there was great scope in converting non-fiber users within areas already equipped with fiber capabilities provided Rajkumar with the rationale to develop an advanced data analytics framework designed to identify and prioritize high-potential conversion opportunities and, in doing so, fundamentally changed the way the sales organization approached customer acquisition. At its core, Rajkumar's innovation came from his attitude toward data engineering and analytics. He made use of the most advanced tools such as SQL, Python, and Spark, building very complex algorithms for analyzing vast datasets of customers, clearly illuminating subscribers for fiber service within the coverage areas. His usage of real-time data processing solutions inside Databricks made sure that the latest customer insights were always available to sales teams, thereby greatly increasing the efficiency of targeting. Under his guidance, the technical architecture consisted of several cutting-edge elements that were hugely enhancing sales capabilities. With automated data pipelines, the entire workflow of data processing became streamlined, and comprehensive Power BI dashboards offered an unprecedented view into customer locations, subscription statuses, and fiber availability, thus involving the proactive engagement of customers approaching renewal dates for further opportunities at service upgrades. Performance metrics also reflected high levels of influence from Rajkumar, as customer conversion within target areas increased by 20%. Efficiency benefits were equally impressive, as conversion times improved by 25% and data processing by 40%. These benefits directly translate into improved resource allocation and more efficient sales operations, which thus substantially improved the return on investments from AT&T's fiber infrastructure. It could be highlighted that one development was in the area of creating an integrated monitoring solution by Rajkumar, which monitored all contract expirations and was aligned to the customers' engagement pattern. All these developments ensured the sales teams could close more value-added opportunities and properly target customers nearing the tail end of their contracts. The highly developed approach to data visualization and analysis gave the sales representative a holistic view, creating a better-prepared base for customer interactions. Thus, cross-functional collaboration emerged as a key ingredient in the recipe for the success of the project. Rajkumar actively collaborated with sales and operations teams and customer success teams to ensure that the perfect alignment of the technical solution was done in terms of business objectives. This cross-functional collaboration, therefore, allowed for the continuous refinement of the system based on real-world feedbacks to enable better targeting and conversion strategies. Rajkumar thus revolutionized the organization's approach to sales intelligence through automated pipelines for data. He made it easier, extracting the transformation and loading processes that a solid foundation would lead to real-time decision-making through efficient processing and analytics of large datasets in the system; therefore, there were fast responses to opportunities or changing market conditions based on current information from sales teams. At that level, the system design impact went far beyond any direct operational benefits to Rajkumar through the strategic approach of implementing scalable and automated solutions. It established new market standards in terms of data-driven sales optimization and created a prototype that will be followed in similar efforts across the whole telecommunications sector. With the success of his approach toward striking the balance between technical sophistication and practical usability setting new standards, the sales enablement technology has never been the same in terms of sales effectiveness. Looking ahead, the initiative that Rajkumar has built is going to form a solid foundation for all future sales optimization efforts. The flexible and scalable architecture he designed facilitates continuous improvement and adaptation to evolving market requirements and emerging opportunities. His comprehensive success in approaching both near-term needs for selling sales and longer-term goals for operational efficiency offers a model for future transformations in telecommunications sales. The long-term impact of the effort begun by Rajkumar continues to resonate in the decision-making processes of AT&T's fiber service. That, truly, is a significant endorsement of his skills in combining innovative data engineering with deep business acumen as an effort towards meaningful, long-lasting improvements in sales effectiveness. His means of integrating technical capabilities with an appropriate understanding of business needs have created a solution that drives organizational success and efficiency toward new standards for optimizing the adoption of fiber services. About Rajkumar Kyadasu A visionary technical leader, Rajkumar Kyadasu combines deep expertise in data engineering with exceptional cloud architecture skills. His career highlights include developing groundbreaking solutions for public sector analytics and telecommunications infrastructure optimization, resulting in substantial operational improvements and cost savings. Known for his ability to bridge complex technical challenges with business objectives, Rajkumar has consistently delivered innovative solutions in data migration, cloud transformation, and advanced analytics. His work in implementing automated data pipelines and machine learning models has revolutionized how organizations leverage their data assets for strategic decision-making.Who is Sebastian Gorka? Trump nominee with extreme right-wing ties

Colorado hands No. 2 UConn second straight loss in MauiBillion-dollar nickel-trading fraud accused goes to trial on 42 charges