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☆ I'm a florist for a 5-star hotel in Hawaii. Our flowers tell a rich cultural story — certain ones are connected to special Hawaiian legends and folklore.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Molly O'Brien | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Joseph Reyes, 51, is the head florist at Halekulani, a hotel on the beach in Honolulu. Reyes' job is to book more weddings, create centerpieces, and manage other floral needs for the hotel. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Joseph Reyes, 51, the head florist at Halekulani, a hotel on the beach in Honolulu. I was born in the Philippines but raised in Honolulu, and now I work as the head florist at Halekulani, a hotel on the beach in Honolulu. Certain flowers are associated with special Hawaiian legends and folkloreOne example would be the Ohia Lehua flower.

☆ The Biden Family Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hunter Biden Photo: Aaron Chown/Zuma PressHouse Republicans on Wednesday released their latest report on the Biden family’s business ties, and one conclusion is that it’s good to be related to Joseph Robinette Biden . Hunter Biden and his relatives traded profitably off the Biden name with transactions that suggest the main family business is influence peddling. House Oversight Chair James Comer ’s staff report shows in detail that Hunter had extensive dealings with unsavory foreign actors. This yielded millions of dollars for Biden family members via a web of shell companies that would be hard to untangle without subpoena power. Why so much complexity?

☆ Biden Said He’d Veer From Trump on Immigration. The Reality Is More Complicated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Michael D. Shear | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — In his final debate with Donald J. Trump on Oct. 22, 2020, Joseph R. Biden Jr., then a candidate, excoriated his rival for radically undermining America’s decades-long tradition of welcoming people who seek asylum at the country’s borders. “This is the first president in the history of the United States of America that anybody seeking asylum has to do it in another country,” Mr. Biden said, referring to one of hundreds of Trump-era immigration policies aimed at shutting down the border. Like Mr. Trump’s policy, the new approach is likely to lead to many migrants being deported in a swift process that critics say deprives them of due process. After nearly two and a half years in office, Mr. Biden has struggled to settle on an approach to immigration that satisfies his critics on the right or the left. In some cases, he has embraced his predecessor’s use of aggressive measures aimed at keeping a surge of migrants at bay along the southern border.

☆ Thousands of Afghans escaped the Taliban with the help of private veteran groups. Today, many remain in limbo in the UAE
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Several thousand were brought there by the State Department directly from Kabul and have since been relocated to the US or Canada. Consequently, thousands of Afghans evacuated by private groups were left in a legal limbo with seemingly no clear path to the US – or anywhere else. It was unclear whether that documentation is sufficient for what the State Department has required. The first two groups were evacuated from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in August 2021 by both the State Department and private groups working independently. In her responses to CNN, Tekach said the State Department “had limited information” about refugees who came on those separate flights.

☆ Pence Appears Before Grand Jury on Trump’s Efforts to Retain Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared on Thursday before the grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election, a person briefed on the matter said, testifying in a criminal inquiry that could shape the legal and political fate of his one-time boss and possible 2024 rival. Mr. Pence spent more than five hours behind closed doors at the Federal District Court in Washington in an appearance that came after he was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury earlier this year. As the target of an intense pressure campaign in the final days of 2020 and early 2021 by Mr. Trump to convince him to play a critical role in blocking or delaying congressional certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, Mr. Pence is considered a key witness in the investigation. Mr. Pence, who is expected to decide soon about whether to challenge Mr. Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, rebuffed Mr. Trump’s demands that he use his role as president of the Senate in the certification of the Electoral College results to derail the final step in affirming Mr. Biden’s victory.

in order to cast their ballot when polling stations open in local elections next week, sparking concern that some parts of the electorate will in effect be disenfranchised by the change. Large parts of England vote in local council elections on May 4, and a national election is expected next year. In Northern Ireland and many countries in Europe, the need to produce photo ID is established and not unusual. But rapid adoption of this new system in England leaves campaigners fearing that voters will be caught out by the change. "There's a lot of risk in doing what is essentially the biggest change to our elections for a generation," she said.

☆ Wind and solar power generators wait in yearslong lines to put clean electricity on the grid, then face huge interconnection fees they can't afford
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

The local utility in charge of overseeing the interconnection process told Pine Gate it would be more than $30 million. Pine Gate had to terminate the project because it couldn't afford the new fees, its vice president of regulatory affairs, Brett White, told CNBC. "Those projects ended up withdrawing from the queue or terminating, because they don't pencil anymore," White told CNBC. "There is Texas, and then there's the rest of the country with respects to interconnection," White of Pine Gate told CNBC. And that means getting those engineers out of some of the rote manual data entry and into the actual analysis," White told CNBC.

☆ The life and times of Pope Francis as he marks his 10th anniversary as pontiff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/3] Pope Francis greets people as he attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter's square at the Vatican, March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, March 8 (Reuters) - Following are some of the major events of the life and ministry of Pope Francis, who marks the 10th anniversary of his election as pontiff on March 13. 2017Jan. 2 - Pope Francis says in a letter bishops must show zero tolerance to clergy who sexually abuse children. May 18 - In unprecedented move, all Chile's bishops offer to resign after attending crisis meeting with Pope Francis. In March 2022, he introduces a reform saying Catholic women could in future take charge of most departments.

In a text message with his producer, Alex Pfeiffer, Mr. Carlson appeared livid that viewers were turning against the network. On Nov. 7, 2020, Mr. Carlson told Mr. Pfeiffer that claims about manipulated software were “absurd.” Mr. Pfeiffer replied later that there was not enough evidence of fraud to swing the election. A video of Carlson from “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Said publicly on Nov. 19, 2020 Carlson: “We did not dismiss any of it. It aired on the programs hosted by Mr. Dobbs, Ms. Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. On Feb. 5, 2021, one day after Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox, Fox Business canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” At the time, Fox said it regularly reviewed its lineup.

The tumult that broke out last month during the election of Kevin McCarthy for speaker illustrated the potential for profound dysfunction in the new House Republican majority. Here is a closer look at the fractious House Republican caucus. Chart of House Republicans highlights members who denied the 2020 election results, were supported by the House Freedom Fund, or both. Representative Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, who has also denied the 2020 election results, defeated Representative Liz Cheney in the primary. A Venn diagram shows the Republican newcomers in the House who either denied the 2020 election results, were supported by the House Freedom Fund, or both.

☆ The Paradox of Prosecuting Domestic Terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( James Verini | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +52 min

The preventive approach to domestic terrorism goes back even further than the 1990s and it begins with the basic police work and surveillance of the joint terrorism task forces. In fact, there is no section of the U.S. Criminal Code that criminalizes domestic terrorism as such. The absence of clear law around domestic terrorism, and the imperatives of prevention, mean that investigators and prosecutors who work domestic terrorism cases must focus on more common charges: weapons violations, illegal drug possession, burglary, aiding and abetting and so forth. But this was not enough to overrule the fear of domestic terrorism that was gripping the nation and that hung in the courtroom. It reflected the legal paradoxes of the case and domestic terrorism law in general or, maybe more accurately, the absence of it.

☆ Brian Walshe searched 'Can you be charged with murder without a body?' History says yes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Brian Walshe, center, listens at his arraignment Wednesday at Quincy District Court, in Quincy, Mass., on a charge of murdering his wife, Ana Walshe. Craig F. Walker / The Boston Globe via AP, PoolThe remains of Ana Walshe, 39, who was last seen around New Year's Day, have not been recovered. via Cohasset PoliceProsecutors also said that Brian Walshe searched Dec. 27 for “what’s the best state to divorce for a man” — and that “rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body,” Beland said. Joseph Romano's lawyers filed to appeal the conviction in 2006 but were denied based on the strength of the circumstantial evidence, court records show. And the lack of a body most likely wouldn't serve as a mitigating factor in sentencing, Cevallos said: “A murder conviction’s a murder conviction."

☆ Pope Francis meets Benedict's top aide as memoir rattles Vatican
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pope Francis talks with Archbishop Georg Ganswein during the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Max RossiVATICAN CITY, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Monday privately met Archbishop Georg Ganswein, former Pope Benedict's closest aide, who has rattled the Vatican with a book describing what he says were the strains while two men wearing white lived within its ancient walls. The Vatican's daily bulletin listed Ganswein in the pope's schedule of audiences but as is customary gave no details. Although Francis often compared having Benedict living in the Vatican to having a grandfather in the house, the book describes some tense situations. For the first seven years after Francis was elected pope, Ganswein kept his two jobs.

☆ Book by Benedict's top aide reveals tensions in Vatican
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Archbishop Georg Ganswein pays homage to former Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, January 3, 2023. Ganswein says Benedict, in his annotated response to Francis, critiqued the way Francis had responded to questions on abortion and homosexuality. He also writes that Benedict felt Francis' decisions to restrict the use of the traditionalist Latin Mass was "a mistake". Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he had no comment on the book, written with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta and published by Piemme, an imprint of Mondadori. SERVING TWO MASTERSFor the first seven years after Francis was elected pope, Ganswein kept his two jobs - Prefect of the Pontifical Household and private secretary to the ex-pope.

☆ Funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict seals a contradictory legacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Donna B. Doucette | Donna B. Doucette Has Been The Executive Director Of Voice Of The Faithful Since She Also Serves On The Leadership Team Of The Association Of U.S. Catholic Priests. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

It’s as if Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who is being laid to rest Thursday in Vatican City, has two legacies instead of one. Despite this promise and the potential for transparency, Benedict continued the church’s centuries-old preference for handling abuse cases privately. Benedict, for example, was the first pope to acknowledge the crimes of clergy sexual abuse and attempt to make amends institutionally. We quickly grew to a worldwide presence as the scope of the clergy abuse problem became apparent. Perhaps, using the contradictions and collisions of Benedict’s work, the Spirit has set in motion the 21st century path of the Catholic Church, which Pope Francis is calling us to embrace: synodality.

☆ Death of former Pope Benedict overshadows New Year at Vatican
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Candles stand next to St. Peter's Square after former Pope Benedict died in the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, December 31, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Pope Francis marked the Roman Catholic Church's traditional World Day of Peace on Sunday but the start of the new year at the Vatican was overshadowed by the death of his predecessor, Benedict. It will be the first time in many centuries that a sitting pope will preside at the funeral of his predecessor. PRAISE, BUT ALSO CRITICISM FOR BENEDICTOn Saturday night the Vatican released Benedict's two-page "spiritual testimony" written in 2006, a year after his election as pope. Francis on Saturday called Benedict a noble, kind man who was a gift to the Church and the world.

The priest sex-abuse scandal was the albatross around the neck of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s brief eight-year reign as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, according to Vatican analysts. Like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, Benedict also apologized to the victims and then took some steps to punish the predators. They say Benedict should have known better, because, before he became pope, he ran, for 24 year, the Vatican department that dealt directly with priest sex abuse allegations — the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). “He had an inside view of what was going on,” said David Gibson, the director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, who is the author of “The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World.” “His office dealt with these accusations. When John Paul II’s native Poland was part of the old Soviet bloc, accusations against priests were routinely dismissed as fabrications by the communist secret police to undermine the church.

☆ Pope Benedict: His life in pictures
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The new elected Pope Benedict XVI, known as German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, greets thousands of pilgrims from the balcony of the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 19, 2005. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

☆ Pope Benedict XVI Was a Bestselling Author
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Benedict XVI mostly maintained a low profile over the past decade, though some of his occasional recent writings have stirred controversy. ROME—In his seven-decade career as a scholar and church leader, the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote more than 60 books and numerous papal documents, including three encyclicals. An official adviser at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the pivotal event in the Roman Catholic Church during his lifetime, Joseph Ratzinger was a major figure in the theological debates that followed Vatican II. He also had a large nonacademic following, largely of conservative Catholics who increasingly looked to him for guidance and reassurance in the turbulent post-conciliar period. Even after his election as pope, he continued his scholarship, writing a three-volume study, “Jesus of Nazareth,” which became a bestseller.

☆ Two popes in the Vatican - sometimes more crowd than company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Pope Francis later removed him from a top job in the Vatican. "In the Catholic Church, symbols are important," said Father Tom Reese, a Washington-based Catholic author and commentator for Religion News Service. Reese, a Church liberal, found agreement from an unusual source - conservative Australian Cardinal George Pell, a former Vatican treasurer and close associate of Benedict in his retirement. Reese and others have suggested that a former pontiff be called "bishop emeritus of Rome" and be subject to the rules that cover retired bishops. He has said he would want to be called Bishop Emeritus of Rome and live not in the Vatican but in a home for retired priests in the Italian capital "because its my diocese".

☆ Former Pope Benedict dies aged 95
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to attend a mass for the beatification of former pope Paul VI in St. Peter's square at the Vatican October 19, 2014. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File PhotoVATICAN CITY, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Former Pope Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, died on Saturday aged 95 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican where he had lived since his resignation, a spokesman for the Holy See said. "With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Earlier this week, Pope Francis disclosed during his weekly general audience that his predecessor was "very sick", and asked for people to pray for him. Conservatives in the Church have looked to the former pope as their standard bearer and some ultra-traditionalists even refused to acknowledge Francis as a legitimate pontiff.

☆ Pope Emeritus Benedict in stable condition and participates in Mass
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“At present his condition is stationary.”On Wednesday, Pope Francis revealed that his 95-year-old predecessor was “very ill” and he went to see him in his home in the Vatican Gardens. Francis called for prayers for Benedict, resulting in an outpouring of messages of solidarity from rank-and-file Catholics and cardinals alike. On Friday evening, the cardinal vicar of Rome, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, celebrated a special Mass for Benedict in St. John in Lateran Basilica. Referring to Benedict’s nearly 10 years in retirement from the papacy, De Donatis said that the pope emeritus “even in old age, and in illness, continues to sustain humanity totally offering oneself.”The pope emeritus was “in profound communion with Pope Francis,” the cardinal said. At the end of Mass, De Donatis said the faithful were entrusting “our Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to the maternal care” of Jesus’ mother, “because she has promised to be near to her children in the moment of trial.”

☆ Rituals for Benedict's passing could be template for future ex popes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to attend a mass for the beatification of former pope Paul VI in St. Peter's square at the Vatican October 19, 2014. The Vatican has painstakingly elaborate rituals for what happens after a reigning pope dies but no publicly known ones for a former pope. They could be a template for other popes who choose to resign instead of ruling for life, including Pope Francis himself someday, Vatican sources say. The last pope to die, John Paul II, was buried on April 8, 2005, six days after he died. Benedict, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, presided at John Paul's funeral in 2005 in St. Peter's Square and Francis is expected to preside at Benedict's.

☆ Ex pope Benedict's condition worsening, Vatican says as Francis calls for prayers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rhoda Kwan | Claudio Lavanga | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's health has suddenly "worsened" in recent hours, the Vatican said on Wednesday after Pope Francis asked for prayers for the former pontiff. "I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church," Francis said at the end of his general audience. Later, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni added: "I can confirm that in the last few hours his condition worsened due to age. Benedict, 95, in 2013 became the first pope in some 600 years to resign amid the clerical sexual abuse scandal that engulfed the church. The former pope has largely stayed out of the public eye since his retirement.

☆ Factbox: Former Pope Benedict, his papacy and resignation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

VATICAN CITY, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Following are some facts about former Pope Benedict, who died on Saturday:- Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, was elected on April 19, 2005 to succeed the widely popular Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years. Benedict said he stood down because bad health prevented him from bearing the full weight of the papacy. [1/2] Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate a mass at Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, March 28, 2012. The Vatican under Pope John Paul II had failed to take action against Maciel despite overwhelming evidence of his crimes. Some loyalists failed to accept that he had resigned the papacy willingly and continued to consider him "my pope".

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