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☆ Rep. Lauren Boebert suggested God used her to stand up to to 'demons' including 'a speaker of the House'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Lauren Boebert told a crowd God may use them to stand in front of "demons," or a "speaker of the House." Boebert, though she was coy about what House speaker she referred to, tried to block McCarthy's bid. Boebert has previously invoked religion and politics, saying "the church is supposed to control the government." After negotiations within the party and 15 rounds of voting, McCarthy was finally elected speaker last month, kicking off the new Congress. Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at IUPUI and co-author of "Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States," told Insider at the time her comments touched on Christian nationalist imagery that's linked to violence.

☆ Church of England explores gender neutral God
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Peter NichollsLONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The Church of England will look into the use of gender neutral terms to refer to God in prayers, but the centuries-old institution said on Wednesday there were no plans to abolish current services. "Christians have recognised since ancient times that God is neither male nor female," a spokesperson for the Church said. "Yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship." Bishop Michael Ipgrave, vice chairman of the Church's liturgical commission, said the Church had been "exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years". The Church's Faith and Order Commission – which advises on theology – will work with the liturgical commission on looking at questions around gender terms, the spokesperson said.

☆ Indiana's Senate race will show the depths of the fault lines within the GOP. Early signs show it's still Trump's party.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mitch Daniels would have been an ideal GOP Senate candidate. Daniels' decision offers a look at the obstacles that the party continues to face headed in 2024. Mitch Daniels would have been seen by most traditional conservatives as an ideal candidate to run for the Senate. Eric Holcomb is a potential candidate in the 2024 Indiana Republican Senate primary. AP Photo/Manuel Balce CenetaIndiana could drive the GOP Senate roadmapAhead of the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans anticipated making major gains in Congress, which eventually didn't come to pass.

☆ Tyre Nichols funeral draws civil rights leaders, U.S. vice president
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Alyssa Porter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Al Sharpton will eulogize Nichols, and another prominent civil rights leader, attorney Ben Crump, will deliver a "call to action" during a funeral at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Nichols' adopted hometown of Memphis. Among those planning to join the mourners was U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Crump said the Nichols family invited. Harris spoke with Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, in a private telephone call on Tuesday, he said. Two other officers implicated in the events leading to Nichols' death have been relieved of duty - effectively suspended - and are under investigation. "What happened to Tyre Nichols here is a disgrace to this country," Sharpton told reporters, flanked by Nichols' mother and his stepfather, Rodney Wells.

☆ VP Harris to attend Nichols funeral as prosecutors weigh more charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Alyssa Pointer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Alyssa PointerMEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan 31 (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris will attend Wednesday's funeral of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who died three days after Memphis police officers savagely beat him following a traffic stop earlier this month, the White House said on Tuesday. Nichols will be eulogized by the Reverend Al Sharpton at a service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis on Wednesday morning. Family members of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, who were killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis in 2020, will also attend. "We are looking at all individuals involved in the events leading up to, during, and after the beating of Tyre Nichols," his office said, adding that the investigation is incomplete. In an apparent reference to Hemphill, the office said an officer present during the initial encounter with Nichols may also face charges.

☆ 10 things about ancient Egypt that movies and TV got wrong, according to an expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Carter Thallon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Movies and television shape what people think about ancient Egypt. Here are 10 things that "Moon Knight", "The Mummy", and others got wrong and one they got right. When it comes to ancient Egypt, they can draw the portrait of pharaohs ruling Egypt with an iron fist, cruel torture, and wicked booby-trapped pyramids. "All of the sarcophagi that I've seen in Egypt were made of stone," said Browder, an author of several books on ancient Egypt. The curse that set Imhotep on his murderous path in "The Mummy" has no historical basisIn "The Mummy," Imhotep was mummified alive.

☆ Tsitsipas eyes boyhood dream of Grand Slam title, top ranking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Shrivathsa Sridhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Stefanos Tsitsipas moved into the Australian Open final on Friday, taking a step towards becoming the first Greek world number one, which the third seed said would be the culmination of a boyhood dream. "I remember watching (Grand Slam finals) on TV saying to myself, I want to be there one day myself. I want to recreate that feeling for me," Tsitsipas, who plays favourite Novak Djokovic or Tommy Paul next, told reporters. There are certain steps you have to take to give yourself the chance to be competing for something like this. He said he was also delighted to put his country on the map along with women's world number six Maria Sakkari.

☆ NYC bike path killer convicted, could face the death penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the New York City truck attack is seen in this handout photo released November 1, 2017. An Islamic extremist who killed eight people with a speeding truck in a 2017 rampage on a popular New York City bike path was convicted Thursday of 28 federal crimes and could face the death penalty. A death sentence for Saipov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, would be an extreme rarity in New York. A federal jury in New York has not rendered a death sentence that withstood legal appeals in decades, with the last execution in 1954. Saipov's lawyers have said the death penalty process was irrevocably tainted by former President Donald Trump, who tweeted a day after the attack that Saipov "SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!"

☆ Missouri's abortion ban declares 'Almighty God is the author of life.' Faith leaders beg to differ in new suit.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Stephanie Russell-Kraft | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Missouri's abortion ban completely outlaws abortion with limited exceptions. The clergy, who come from denominations of Christianity, Unitarian Universalism, and Judaism, said the abortion ban violates their religious freedom and subjects them to "the religious dictates of others." "It came from religious leaders and communities, who have been explaining for decades that they see reproductive freedom as essential to religious freedom." But Missouri lawmakers openly discussed their religious beliefs on abortion while writing the abortion ban in 2019 according to the lawsuit, saying things like "Life begins at conception. There have also been more than a dozen cases challenging abortion restrictions on religious freedom grounds since the Supreme Court's decision, according to Platt.

☆ Venezuelans describe dangers and desperation amid U.S. asylum changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Albinson Linares | Noticias Telemundo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

MEXICO CITY — Mariantonela Orellana spent nine days in the dangerous Darien Gap jungle in the Colombia-Panama border, and she described her nightmarish ordeal. Now back in Mexico, migrants wrestle with whether to try to stay in Mexico, keep trying to seek asylum in the U.S. or return to Venezuela. According to Department of Homeland Security data, the flow of Venezuelan migrants to the U.S. increased by almost four times compared to the year prior. Mexican authorities approved 61% of asylum applications from January to November, including at least 90% of approvals for Hondurans and Venezuelans. “I left Venezuela because the discrimination against the LGBT community is terrible; we are trampled on and attacked every day.

☆ Farmers in Brazil are risking their lives to harvest açaí — but they've been left out of the profits from the trendy berry's popularity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Barbara Corbellini Duarte | Amanda Choy | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Climbing açaí trees requires this rope tool, which used to be made of plants. Kadeh FerreiraThe trunks are so thin that climbers like Lucas and his son Luis Fernando Souza de Deus have to be lightweight. The only tool they use to climb the trees is a single piece of rope called a peconha. The tool used to be made of leaves. At the top, climbers swing from the tree to grab multiple bunches of berries.

☆ Trial of Sayfullo Saipov, accused of killing 8 people in truck terror attack on NYC bike path, begins
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Opening arguments kicked off Monday in the federal trial of Sayfullo Saipov, the Uzbek immigrant who in 2017 plowed a rented pickup truck on a New York City bike path, killing eight people in its path of destruction. The Oct. 31 attack was the deadliest terrorist attack in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001. Police said Saipov, then 29, was inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group, or ISIS, in launching the attack. How the attack unfoldedIn the attack, Saipov rented a white Home Depot pickup truck in Passaic, New Jersey, and drove it into Manhattan where the streets were filling up with Halloween festivities. Investigators later found a note that Saipov left in the truck, claiming the attack was in the name of ISIS.

☆ Bills safety Hamlin released from Cincinnati hospital, returns to Buffalo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been released from a Cincinnati hospital one week after suffering a cardiac arrest during an NFL game and has returned to Buffalo, New York, doctors said on Monday. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) where Hamlin spent the last week said he traveled well by air and will continue to be monitored by a care team in Buffalo. "I can confirm he is doing well and this is the beginning of the next stage of his recovery. Happy to be back in Buffalo," Hamlin wrote on Twitter. While Hamlin surprised team mates on a video call last Friday and again after Sunday's game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters that having him back in Buffalo was an added boost for the players.

☆ New Year's Eve attack on New York police linked to Islamist extremism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 3 (Reuters) - The teenager accused of attacking three policemen with a machete on New Year's Eve near Times Square and charged with attempted murder was linked to Islamist extremism, a senior New York City Police Department official said on Tuesday. The FBI interviewed the suspect, Trevor Bickford, last month in Maine after his mother reported her concern that her son was possibly becoming radicalized, Galati said. "He is not representing, you know, the Islamic religion but rather, you know, a very, very small percentage of people that get radicalized," Galati added. The attack, which officials say was unprovoked, took place before midnight outside a secure area set up for New Year's Eve celebrations. Before the attack, Bickford wrote a farewell letter to his mother in a diary, according to the New York Times report quoting a law enforcement official.

☆ Major aid groups suspend work in Afghanistan AS Taliban bar women
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

KABUL, Afghanistan — Four major international aid groups on Sunday suspended their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country’s Taliban rulers to ban women from working at non-governmental organizations. Excluding women from schools and NGO work in Afghanistan “can and will lead to catastrophic humanitarian consequences in the short to long term,” the International Committee of the Red Cross warned. Half of Afghanistan’s population, or 24 million people, are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the group. The International Rescue Committee said it was dismayed by the Taliban decision, adding that more than 3,000 of its staff in Afghanistan are women. The Economy Ministry’s order comes days after the Taliban banned female students from attending universities across the country, triggering backlash overseas and demonstrations in major Afghan cities.

☆ Faithless singer Maxi Jazz dies aged 65
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Maxi Jazz, the lead vocalist of British electronic music band Faithless and known as the voice in trance hits such as "God Is a DJ" and "Insomnia", has died aged 65, the band said on Saturday. He gave proper meaning and message to our music," the other two core members of Faithless, Rollo and Sister Bliss, said in a statement on Facebook. The band said on Twitter that Jazz had died peacefully in his sleep. He helped form Faithless in 1995, which then grew into one of the most popular dance bands in Britain and round the world. His words and performances touched so many of us," British DJ MistaJam wrote of Jazz on Twitter.

☆ Fact Check-World Economic Forum did not declare ‘God is dead’ or that humans would become gods
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Social media posts have claimed without evidence that leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF) have said “God is dead” and that they will turn humans into gods. In the video, a woman claims Klaus Schwab, leader of the WEF, said “God is dead” and that “WEF leaders have acquired divine powers to rule over humanity” (here), (here). We are really acquiring divine powers of creation and destruction. A Google search for “Klaus Schwab” and “God is dead” did not result in any reports from credible news sources of similar statements by Schwab. The WEF did not state that “God is dead” or that the organization would turn humans into gods.

At least one video on TikTok had gained more than 4 million views by late Thursday afternoon. That police were called on a student at an HBCU, an institution that is intended to be a safe space for Black students, was not lost on some. It wasn't immediately clear, in either the TikTok video or the school's statement, what the student was doing that made her an urgent threat in need of prompt removal. After class was briefly delayed by a fire alarm, the student said the professor asked her about the essay. At some point, the discussion became heated, according to the student, who said she raised her voice after the professor allegedly raised hers.

☆ Will Smith takes over ‘Red Table Talk’ to discuss toughest role of his career
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Smith got emotional talking about his character in the film, recounting a scene in which Peter pauses to praise God in the midst of a harrowing journey through a swamp. Will Smith and Ben Foster in "Emancipation," premiering n Apple TV+. Quantrell Colbert/Apple TV+“It was one of the things that I wanted to be able to share with you all, the ideas that I learned from Peter,” Smith told his children. Smith talked about some of the “brutal” and “dehumanizing” moments of portraying the character and how the role affected him. Ben Foster plays Jim Fassel, who hunted Peter in the swamp, and praised Smith’s performance in a video sent for the “Red Table Talk” episode.

☆ "Emancipation" review: Will Smith casts an Oscar-shaped shadow over Antoine Fuqua's earnest movie
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Any discussion of “Emancipation” will inevitably be clouded by the Will Smith of it all, and Apple’s decision to release the movie into the teeth of awards season. Taken to work laying railroad track, Peter overhears word of Lincoln’s pronouncement and realizes his best chance at freedom involves reaching the Union Army in Baton Rouge. Effectively adopting a Haitian accent, Smith captures the physicality of the role, and Peter’s defiance toward his captors without uttering a word. “Emancipation” premieres December 2 in US theaters and December 9 on Apple TV+. It’s rated R. (Disclosure: The writer’s spouse works for a unit of Apple.)

☆ Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock's runoff victory is a testament to how he connected with voters though faith
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

During the Georgia Senate race, Raphael Warnock didn't stray from his deep roots in the church. Warnock effectively engaged with a wide range of voters in a state that can be tough for Democrats. Warnock defeated former University of Georgia football legend Herschel Walker to secure a full six-year term in the Senate. Warnock, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, campaigns at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Eatonton, Ga., on August 18, 2022. And he acknowledged that while many Americans have faced challenges in recent years, retaining a sense of faith was important.

☆ The iconic Wednesday Addams dance gets a cultural twist from Asian TikTok creators
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Brahmjot Kaur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

"Wednesday," a comedy horror show and the latest “Addams Family” spinoff, was released on the streaming service last week. It follows daughter Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, as she navigates Nevermore Academy, her psychic abilities and a murder mystery. The dance scene, which shows Wednesday ghoulishly grooving at Nevermore Academy’s annual Rave’N dance, has mesmerized thousands on the app. She was also dressed in all black with a Polynesian dancing belt called a hip hei and her hair in a braided crown. The Addams Family consists of mother and father Gomez and Morticia; children Pugsley and Wednesday; butler Lurch; and extended family members Uncle Fester and Grandmama.

☆ Kanye West said the IRS put a $75 million hold on 4 of his accounts because he owes $50 million in taxes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

On a podcast on Monday, Kanye West said the IRS put a $75 million hold on four of his accounts. The rapper said he owes around $50 million in taxes. He's now estimated to be worth around $400 million, a massive drop for the one-time billionaire. "But I found out — okay, so they froze, they put a $75 million hold on four of my accounts." A lot — was it — well, around $50 million," Ye said.

In the early 2010s, Mr. Mellow set out for still more distant shores, traveling to many famous surf breaks in the South Pacific. Mr. Abdul-Rashed and Mr. Danian traveled to Hawaii to connect with Mr. Mellow, their spiritual guide and Pacific expedition leader. Mr. Mellow posted an ad on Facebook and Craigslist offering $10,000 for passage to the South Pacific. Mr. Schmidt was in sync with the young seekers when it came to fear of Big Brother and vaccines, but dreading port officials brandishing nasal swabs struck even Mr. Schmidt as a little unhinged. When asked if he was at all responsible for what had happened to Mr. Danian and Mr. Abdul-Rashed, Mr. Mellow looked genuinely confused.

☆ U.S. Soccer briefly scrubs emblem from Iran flag at World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The U.S. Soccer Federation briefly displayed Iran's national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, saying the move supported protesters in Iran ahead of the two nations' World Cup match Tuesday. The Twitter account of the U.S. men's team displayed a banner with the squad's matches in the group stage, with the Iranian flag only bearing its green, white and red colors. The USSF displayed the official Iranian flag in a graphic showing Group B standings on its website. As comments raged online, Iranian state television described the U.S. federation as "removing the symbol of Allah" from the Iranian flag. In the capital Tehran, anti-riot police — the same ones cracking down on protests — waved the Iranian flag after the Wales win, angering demonstrators.

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