Title: Court votes yes on citizenship proof
1Court votes yes on citizenship proof
2 A federal judge on Wednesday ordered federal
election authorities to help Kansas and Arizona
require proof of citizenship of registering
voters, in a decision that could well set a trend
for other Republican-dominated states. The new
state requirements make new voters provide a
birth certificate, passport or other
documentation to prove their U.S. citizenship to
election officials. It is different for federal
elections where the federal registration form
requires only that prospective voters sign a
statement declaring they are citizens. Supporters
of this new law argue the requirements stop voter
fraud by preventing noncitizens from voting,
particularly those in the country illegally.
Critics of such laws view them as suppressing
voter participation because it makes the process
too complicated. The judge for the case upheld
that although the U. S. Congress holds full power
over federal election rules, states could require
proof of citizenship in state and local
elections. In other words, he suggests that the
U.S. Constitution gives states the power to set
voter qualifications.
3In Other News
- The U.K. has unveiled a new 12-sided pound coin
that is being hailed as the most secure coin in
the world. The Royal Mint will begin replacing
existing round 1 coins in 2017 in a bid to stamp
out fraud. It estimates that 3 of 1 coins -- or
nearly 46 million (76 million) -- are fakes. - Two objects spotted by satellites in the southern
Indian Ocean may be debris from the missing
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australian
authorities said Thursday, fueling hopes of a
breakthrough in an international search of
unprecedented scale. The objects are indistinct
but of "reasonable size," with the largest about
24 meters (79 feet) across. They appear to be
"awash with water and bobbing up and down" in an
area 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) southwest of
Australia's west coast. A Royal Australian Air
Force surveillance plane sent to the site was
unable to find the debris. Clouds, rain and
limited visibility were hampering the search. An
Australian naval ship was on the way, but "some
days away. Flight 370 vanished over Southeast
Asia on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew
aboard, and the announcement raised the prospect
of finding parts of the plane amid a huge search
that is now in its 13th day. - Matt Lamanna, from the Carnegie Museum of Natural
History in Pittsburgh, unveiled details of a new
dinosaur Wednesday with fellow paleontologists.
This study came about not from one excavation but
from three dating to Cretaceous period and from a
rock formation known as Hell Creek in North and
South Dakota. According to scientists, the
11½-foot-long, roughly 10-foot-tall Anzu wyliei
had a bird-like beak, sharp claws and large
hands. - According to neuroscientist Sigrid Veasey from
the University of Pennsylvania, the widely held
idea that you can pay back a sizeable "sleep
debt" with long naps later on seems to be a myth.
Long-term sleep deprivation saps the brain of
power even after days of recovery sleep, Veasey
said. And, based on her study, that could be a
sign of lasting brain injury. The discovery that
long-term sleep loss can result in a loss of
brain cells is a first. - A robot has smashed the world record for solving
a Rubik's Cube in the fastest time of 3.25
seconds. The menacingly named "Cubestormer III"
annihilated Dutchman Mats Valk's human record of
5.55 seconds