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☆ Southern Baptists Move to Purge Churches With Female Pastors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Elizabeth Dias | Ruth Graham | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The crackdown comes at a moment when the country is broadly reexamining women’s rights, a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. As the convention got underway Monday in New Orleans, Mike Law, a Virginia pastor, pushed for his proposed amendment to the S.B.C. The amendment would need to be passed twice, in consecutive years, to go into effect. Some Southern Baptists view female leaders as “as an early harbinger of a raft of other changes,” said Joshua Abbotoy, whose church left the denomination last year because of concerns about a liberal drift. Mr. Abbotoy is the managing director of New Founding, a conservative organization whose journal published an analysis over the weekend estimating that there were more than 1,800 female pastors serving in S.B.C.

Persons: Roe, Wade, ’, Mike Law, ”, Joshua Abbotoy, Abbotoy Organizations: Southern Baptists, Southern Baptist, Church, New Locations: New Orleans, Virginia, Southern, S.B.C

☆ What’s at Stake as Southern Baptists Move to Bar Women Pastors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Colbi Edmonds | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Southern Baptist Convention, a denomination that is often a bellwether for evangelical America, has expelled five churches from the convention this year over their appointment of women as pastors. The move to enforce a strict ban against women in church leadership comes as some evangelicals fear a liberal drift in their congregations and a departure from Scripture. On Tuesday, two of those churches, Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., and Saddleback Church in Southern California, appealed their expulsions before thousands of delegates at the annual convention in New Orleans. At the same time, ultraconservatives were moving to amend the S.B.C. constitution to further restrict the role of women in leadership, by stating that a church could be Southern Baptist only if it “does not affirm, appoint or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind.”

Organizations: Southern Baptist Convention, Fern Creek Baptist, Saddleback Church, Southern Baptist Locations: America, Fern Creek, Fern Creek Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky, Southern California, New Orleans, Southern

☆ Where Are Their Heads? Hordes of Ancient Statues Pose That Puzzle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Graham Bowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This is clear in any gallery of Greek & Roman art.”Headless Bodies in Top-Shelf MuseumsMany heads were lost because of the wear and tear of time. But other, less innocent explanations for the legions of severed heads include looting and regime change. Ancient insurrectionists and invaders decapitated statues to undermine the authority of rulers who had erected images of themselves as symbols of dominion. “Every culture in the ancient world seems to do it,” said Rachel Kousser, professor of ancient art at the City University of New York. was decapitated by Kushite raiders in Egypt, who then defiantly buried the severed head beneath temple steps in the Kushite capital of Meroë, in modern Sudan.

Persons: ” Kenneth Lapatin, ”, Rachel Kousser, it’s, Emperor Augustus Organizations: Paul Getty Museum, City University of New, British Museum Locations: Los Angeles, “, City University of New York, Egypt, Meroë, Sudan

☆ Western Canada covered in smoke as wildfires loosen grip on Quebec
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Smoke billows upwards from the Donnie Creek wildfire (G80280) south of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada June 11, 2023. Wildfire Service/Handout via REUTERSOTTAWA, June 12 (Reuters) - Smoke shrouded Western Canada on Monday as wildfires flared again in the main oil-producing province of Alberta, while firefighters in Quebec doused some of the worst early season blazes, allowing thousands of evacuees to return home. "If you look at western Canada, it's completely covered by the smoke and that continues into Tuesday," federal meteorologist Gerald Cheng told reporters on Monday. "The risk for smoke is very high because the winds are really transporting the smoke throughout Alberta today and even into Tuesday." (Click here to read what health experts say about wildfire smoke.)

Persons: it's, Gerald Cheng, Cheng, Anita, Ismail Shakil, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Wildfire Service, REUTERS OTTAWA, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, TC Energy, Health, U.S ., Canadian Defence, Thomson Locations: Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, Alberta, Quebec, Netherlands, Europe, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Edson, Edmonton, McMurray, U.S . East Coast, Alberta , Nova Scotia, Ottawa

REUTERS/Carlos OsorioWINNIPEG, Manitoba, June 11 (Reuters) - The number of wildfires raging out of control across Quebec dropped on Sunday as firefighters in the Canadian province gained the upper hand in some areas, a provincial minister said on Sunday. Quebec Natural Resources Minister Maite Blanchette Vezina said told reporters that the number of out-of-control fires in the eastern province dropped to 44 from 72 on Saturday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported. By Monday, around 1,200 firefighters, including more than 100 from France and some from other provinces, are expected to be battling blazes across Quebec. A federal government meteorologist forecast on Saturday that Quebec could receive light rain on Tuesday in some burning areas. "Last Wednesday, we thought we could close down our emergency control center and come Friday, that idea went out the door when the fires went out of control very drastically," said Luc Mercier, chief administrative officer for Yellowhead County.

Persons: smokey, Carlos Osorio, Maite Blanchette Vezina, Blanchette Vezina, Luc Mercier, Karley, Rod Nickel, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Carlos Osorio WINNIPEG, Quebec Natural Resources, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, Edmonton, Wildfire Service, Thomson Locations: Ontario, Quebec, Toronto , Ontario, Canada, Carlos Osorio WINNIPEG , Manitoba, Canadian, France, New Brunswick, Alberta, Edson, Yellowhead County, Pacific, British Columbia, Tumbler, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Rey Steve Mabiala and his wife, Liz Gouari, taking refuge at the Roberval emergency center after being ordered to evacuate Chibougamau, Quebec, as a fire approached. Of the more than 400 fires now burning in Canada, more than one-third are in Quebec, which has already registered its worst wildfire season on record. Credit... Carlos Osorio/Reuters“We are facing some unprecedented events, including droughts, accelerated fires and heat waves, and there will be more over time, especially forest fires,” Ms. Mohsin said. But perhaps most surprised were newcomers to Chibougamau, like Mr. Mabiala, from the Republic of Congo, who came to work in logging. “They were asking, “Oh, is there such a thing in Canada?’ ’’ Ms. Cabrera said.

Persons: Rey Steve Mabiala, Liz Gouari, Gouari, Mabiala, Prince Edward Island, ” Mr, “ It’s, ”, Josée Poitras, Tanzina Mohsin, Carlos Osorio, Ms, Mohsin, Poitras, “ I’ve, I’ve, Francis Côté, “, Chibougamau, Renaud Philippe, Côté, Guy Boisvert, Winters, Boisvert, Shirley, Jonathan Mattson, Mr, Mattson, Ruth Cabrera, Anna Huerte, —, Cabrera, Huerte Organizations: Wildfire, University of Toronto, ., Reuters, The New York Times, “, Credit Locations: Chibougamau, Quebec, Africa, Canada, North America, Republic of Congo, Prince, Nunavut, Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Toronto, Val, Montreal, Roberval, East Coast, United States, Philippines

☆ Canada on track for its worst-ever wildfire season
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Smoke billows upwards from a planned ignition by firefighters tackling the Donnie Creek Complex wildfire south of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada June 3, 2023. OTTAWA, June 5 (Reuters) - Canada is on track for its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction as warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist through to the end of the summer after an unprecedented start to the fire season, officials said on Monday. "The rate of increase of area burned is also high ... if this rate continues, we could hit record levels for area burned this year," he said. "Over the last 20 years, we have never seen such a large area burned so early in the season," said Yan Boulanger, a researcher with Natural Resources Canada. "Partially because of climate change, we're seeing trends toward increasing burned area throughout Canada."

Persons: Michael Norton, Norton, Yan Boulanger, Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Ismail Shakil, Alistair Bell Organizations: Wildfire Service, REUTERS, Natural Resources, Flames, Wallbridge Mining Company, Thomson Locations: Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, OTTAWA, Quebec, Atlantic, of Nova Scotia, Natural Resources Canada, Alberta, United States, Ottawa

☆ Wine at Wegmans? Not in New York, if Liquor Stores Can Help It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Luis Ferré-Sadurní | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The two main alcohol distributors in the state, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Empire Merchants, have collectively spent at least $120,000 since the year began on lobbying state officials, disclosure records show. The families that own Southern Glazer’s, which is the largest liquor distributor in the United States and based in Florida, also contributed at least $25,000 to Ms. Hochul’s campaign last year. The commission failed to reach consensus on some of the most contentious issues, such as allowing grocery stores to sell wine. It is now up to lawmakers to decide whether to turn the proposed changes into legislation. law, introduced a bill that incorporated the commission’s recommendations.

Persons: Hochul’s, ”, Harry Bronson, “, James Skoufis Organizations: Empire Merchants, Rochester Democrat, Anheuser, Busch, State Senate, Hudson Valley Democrat Locations: Southern, United States, Florida, logjam, Albany, State, Hudson Valley

☆ Alberta wildfire fighters hope rain, cooling bring relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Smoke rises from the Stoddart Creek wildfire near Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada May 13, 2023. Amid hot, dry conditions, forecasters were tracking a front likely to move into the province on Sunday that should bring much-needed relief, including humidity and even rain, Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire, said at a Saturday briefing. "That will help us more than a short burst that would bring lightning and could spark a new wildfire." Alberta is enduring energy production cuts, home evacuations and poor air quality after an intense start to the wildfire season. This year, Alberta Wildfire responded to 496 wildfires burning more than 842,000 hectares, compared with just 459 hectares in 2022.

☆ Archaeologists discover a lost world of 417 ancient Mayans cities buried in remote jungle, connected by miles of 'superhighways,' WaPo reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists in Guatemala have discovered "the first freeway system in the world," The Washington Post reports. Archaeologists have found ancient Mayans built 417 cities interconnected by 110 miles of "superhighways." Historians to rethink what they know of ancient Mayan civilization. The findings have unveiled "a whole volume of human history that we've never known," he told the Post. It allowed the scientists to see ancient dams, reservoirs, pyramids, platforms, causeway networks, and even ball courts, per the study.

☆ In Ancient Egypt, Severed Hands Were Spoils of War
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Franz Lidz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aristotle called the hand the “tool of tools”; Kant, “the visible part of the brain.” The earliest works of art were handprints on the walls of caves. Throughout history hand gestures have symbolized the range of human experience: power, tenderness, creativity, conflict, even (bravo, Michelangelo) the touch of the divine. The hands, along with numerous disarticulated fingers, were most likely buried during Egypt’s 15th dynasty, from 1640 B.C. Eventually, a few rose to power as the Hyksos, basing their power in Avaris. A recent study published in the journal Nature proposes that the Hyksos had a custom known as the Gold of Valor, which involved taking the hands of enemy combatants as war trophies.

☆ Tombs filled with severed hands suggest warriors in ancient Egypt mutilated their enemies to get war trophies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Experts have analyzed a pile of severed hands found in a 3,500-year-old temple in ancient Egypt. Their study suggests soldiers took the hands of slain enemies and presented them to their ruler. But archaeological records have suggested that severed hands were presented to kings after big battles. The severed hands could prevent the soldiers from fighting in the netherworld, for instance, per Bietak. Hands were likely removed soon after deathA colorised images shows the hands in the soil.

☆ How to explore Greece's lesser-known islands like a local
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | Morgan Awyong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

But now it wants tourists to get to know lesser-known locations across its thousands of sprawling islands. Currently, Germany and the U.K. represent Greece's largest inbound tourism markets by revenue, followed by the United States, France and Italy. An eco-paradise surrounded by 24 islets, Lipsi forms part of the Dodecanese island collection in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Alonissos, SporadesDivers' delight Alonissos, part of the Sporades group of islands, is a diver's paradise and the site of Greece's first underwater museum. Alonissos, part of the Sporades archipelago in the northwest Aegean Sea, is known for its diving spots, including Greece's first underwater museum, the "Parthenon of the Wrecks."

The new Netflix docudrama “Queen Cleopatra,” produced and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith, has already elicited a passionate response, though perhaps not the kind that publicists hoped for. “Queen Cleopatra” depicts the legendary monarch as Black. Many contemporary Egyptians view her as a key figure in the preservation of their history and even as a role model for contemporary Egyptian women. Scholars have long debated whether certain references in Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” suggest that the playwright believed she had dark skin. “Queen Cleopatra,” however, has touched an international nerve.

☆ Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Folk Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 84
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( William Grimes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian folk singer whose rich, plaintive baritone and gift for melodic songwriting made him one of the most popular recording artists of the 1970s, died on Monday night in Toronto. His death, at Sunnybrook Hospital, was announced on his official Facebook page and website and confirmed by his publicist, Victoria Lord, and B.C. Fiedler, his longtime Canadian concert promoter. Overnight, he joined the ranks of songwriters like Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton, all of whom influenced his style. When folk music ebbed in popularity, overwhelmed by the British invasion, Mr. Lightfoot began writing ballads aimed at a broader audience.

☆ Rome, Sacred Ground for Nearly 3,000 Years, and Counting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( David Laskin | Martin Pauer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“There is not a corner of it that is not full of our cults and our gods.”Rome, in a sense, has been sacred ground right from the start. To many, Rome is the epicenter of Catholicism, the seat of the Vatican and home to a seemingly infinite number of churches. Rome has sheltered polytheistic pagans and monotheistic Jews, adherents of Middle Eastern cults, and, in more recent times, a sizable multinational Muslim community. All have left traces — altars, temples, shrines, mosques, inscriptions — some hauntingly beautiful, others erased to stubs. But Rome and its environs conceal many holy places beyond the ken of the Bible.

☆ New York repatriates three antiquities to Yemen after seizing them from Met board member
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 28 (Reuters) - New York will return three antiquities worth $725,000 to the people of Yemen, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Friday, as part of a criminal investigation into a Manhattan-based private collector. The investigation into White by the Manhattan Antiquities Trafficking Unit "has allowed dozens of antiquities that were ripped from their countries of origin to finally return home," Bragg said. "These are just three of nearly 1,000 antiquities we have repatriated over the past 16 months." In December, the Art Newspaper, a trade publication, reported that the Manhattan district attorney's office had seized $24 million worth of antiquities from White's apartment. The Yemeni pieces will be on temporary display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington until Yemeni authorities can safely repatriate them.

☆ A Century-Old Vaccine Fails to Protect Against Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Roni Caryn Rabin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An old tuberculosis vaccine known to bolster the immune system did not prevent Covid infections among health care workers, scientists reported on Thursday. But the trial was shorter and smaller than originally designed, and the investigators said that the results did not rule out other potential benefits associated with the vaccine, known as B.C.G. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, was the largest clinical trial of the vaccine’s potential to protect against Covid infections. The trial of health care workers began in March 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, when no effective treatments for Covid were available and a new vaccine against the highly infectious disease seemed to be a remote fantasy. The hope was that the old vaccine might be repurposed to save lives.

☆ I'm a vet who had a retro pug live for 18 years. Here's how I kept her healthy and why this super breed lives longer than pugs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She says retro pugs are playful and energetic and have fewer breathing problems than purebred pugs. Kasey was a retro pug who lived for 18 years, a few years longer than what's typical for a traditional pug. How healthier retro pugs came aboutAn 1802 painting of what pugs may have looked like in the early 19th century. Not only did retro pugs resemble historical pugs, they had improved genetics, fewer health issues, and a longer life expectency than purebred pugs. Bread and Butter Productions / Getty ImagesEye issues are common among pugs and retro pugs, but I've found retro pugs can heal much faster than their purebred relatives.

☆ How Do Actors Find Housing When They Get Gigs Out of Town? Well, It Depends.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During the pandemic, Mr. Conway said, a lot of actors moved out of New York with their families and put down roots elsewhere. “If they get cast in a show that will bring them back to New York, a housing stipend becomes pretty important,” he said. Rentals of less than a year are hard to come by, and rentals of less than 30 days are legally problematic. (For perspective, most actors are not rich. The median wage for actors was $23.48 an hour in May 2021, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

☆ As weight-loss drugs hit the U.S. market, doctors debate how to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The American Medical Association logo is seen at their office in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/March 30 (Reuters) - As powerful new obesity drugs enter the U.S. market, medical associations are keen to advise their members on how to best use them for patients. "These new compounds are game changers, there's no doubt about it," said Anthony Comuzzie, chief executive of The Obesity Society. The group last provided obesity treatment guidelines in 2013 alongside the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. OBESITY AS A DISEASEThe American Medical Association, the nation’s largest medical group, recognized obesity as a disease in 2013.

☆ Ancient Egypt excavation uncovers 2,000 mummified ram heads at Abydos
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, March 25 (Reuters) - At least 2,000 mummified ram heads dating from the Ptolemaic period and a palatial Old Kingdom structure have been uncovered at the temple of Ramses II in the ancient city of Abydos in southern Egypt, antiquities officials said on Saturday. It added that the discoveries would expand knowledge of the site over a period of more than two millennia up to the Ptolemaic period. The Ptolemaic period spanned about three centuries until the Roman conquest in 30 B.C. It was a necropolis for early ancient Egyptian royalty and a pilgrimage centre for the worship of the god Osiris. The structure could help "reestablish the sense of the ancient landscape of Abydos before the construction of the Ramses II temple," the head of the mission, Sameh Iskander, was quoted as saying.

☆ Why Has Xi Jinping Let His Hair Go Gray?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Daniel A. Bell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Xi Jinping in 2008 (left) and 2023. In recent years, the Chinese president has demonstrated his unique status by breaking with convention and allowing his hair to show signs of gray. Former Chinese president Hu Jintao was perhaps the most boring leader in modern times. The then-governor of New Jersey, James McGreevey, told Mr. Hu—whose hair was jet-black—that he did not look his 59 years. Mr. Hu replied: “China would be happy to share its technology in this area.”Why do Chinese leaders dye their hair?

☆ Canada's B.C. province sets high emissions bar for new LNG projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The entrance to Shell's LNG Canada project site is shown in Kitimat in northwestern British Columbia on April 12, 2014. While the tougher regulation will not impact the huge Shell-led (SHEL.L) LNG Canada project already under construction, a proposed export terminal adjoining the small-scale Tilbury LNG facility and the early-stage Ksi Lisims LNG project in northern B.C will fall under the new rule. The province will start exporting 14 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) when LNG Canada enters service in 2025. "That (net-zero requirement) is a very high bar and a high hurdle to pass," said Mark Zacharias, executive director of think-tank Clean Energy Canada, adding the new framework rounds out B.C. 's new regulations also include an oil and gas emissions cap and plans to accelerate the electrification of the economy.

☆ How GSK plans to replenish its depleted medicine cabinet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

GSK has since suffered a series of clinical trial setbacks in its cancer drugs portfolio, most recently last year involving ovarian cancer drug Zejula and blood cancer drug Blenrep. BLOCKBUSTER POTENTIALAnalysts say that despite a string of strong quarterly earnings, lingering concerns over the company's drug pipeline reflect in GSK's share price. The investor said he does not see enough GSK drugs, either on the market or in development, with potential to be a so-called "blockbusters" with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. But Wood said the overhauled R&D department has put GSK in a strong position to meet growth targets. U.S. regulatory approval on GSK's vaccine, and a rival vaccine developed by Pfizer, is expected in May.

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