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Murder charge over missing Jayden Parkinson

Murder charge over missing Jayden Parkinson

Murder charge over missing Jayden Parkinson

Murder charge over missing Jayden Parkinson

Murder charge over missing Jayden Parkinson

Ed Miliband details plans to boost house building

Ed Miliband details plans to boost house building

Ed Miliband details plans to boost house building

Ed Miliband details plans to boost house building

Residents in Newtown, Conn., drive cars adorned with green ribbon bumper stickers: “In Our Hearts. Sandy Hook Elementary School. 12.14.12.” Posters in shop windows encourage people to donate to the We Are Newtown Memorial Scholarship, and to “Spread love to all.” Stores sell Christmas tree ornaments, lanyards, and pins that support community funds and individual families affected by the tragedy. There’s a constant effort, it seems, to assert some control over an inconceivable event.

Last year’s shooting claimed the lives of 20 students, six educators, the gunman, and his mother, forcing the New England town into the national and global spotlight. Some residents say they hate to tell strangers where they’re from because people react with horror and pity–or ghoulish curiosity. Many find it frustrating to have their town, and themselves, defined by that day.

A Republican-backed voting bill in Ohio could contribute to longer lines at the polls and make it easier to purge voters from the rolls. State lawmakers passed the legislation Wednesday – and there’s likely much worse to come.

The bill itself has voting-rights advocates concerned enough. But it’s almost certain to be just the first step in a broad assault on access to the ballot box expected in the coming weeks from Republicans in Ohio, a pivotal state in presidential elections.

The measure cleared the Ohio House of Representatives by a 60-33 vote Wednesday, with just two Democrats in support. It has already been approved by the Senate and now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. John Kasich, who is expected to sign it. Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Kasich, said Thursday morning that the governor is studying the bill and will announce a decision shortly.

Two key aspects of the bill could restrict voting in the Buckeye State.

First, it makes it easier for Secretary of State Jon Husted to cross-reference Ohio’s voter-registration database with other databases—both within the state and outside it—in order to flag errors, like voters who are deceased or non-citizens, or voters who are registered in multiple states. Voting-rights advocates fear that could allow for flawed purges of voter rolls similar to those conducted recently in Florida, Colorado, and Virginia.

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