U.S.Charity, World Central Kitchen said that supplies leaving Cyprus with a second round of aid for Gaza, were enough to prepare more than one million meals, the EuroNews website reports today (March 31, 2024).
A three--ship convoy left the Cypriot port of Larnaca yesterday with 400 tons of food and other supplies, as concerns about hunger soar.
Also on board were dates, which are traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during t he Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
According to a report by Gallup, three in 10 people in the U.S. attend religious services on a regular basis, representing a decline compared to the past couple of decades, the Christian Today website reports.
Gallup reported on March 25, 2024 that 21% of Americans said they attend religious services on a weekly basis, while 9% said they attend religious services nearly every week.
By contrast, 11% of respondents reported attending about once a month, 25% reported attending "seldom,"while 31% said they "never" go to religious services.
In his first major liturgy for Holy Week, Pope Francis offered an extended reflection on the spiritual underpinnings of so--called "Catholic guilt," a concept associated with an almost compulsive need to feel overly guilty for any perceived offense, the Crux website reports.
The roots of this concept come from an ancient tradition in Christianity called "compunction," meaning a sense of remorse and repentance for one's sins which for centuries has been a source of reflection by the Catholic Church's most celebrated minds, many of whom are saints.
Pope Francis dedicated his homily for the March 28 Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to a healthy living compunction, which he said is not an "obsession" with feeling unworthy, but a genuine acknowledgement of wrongdoing and sorrow for its repercussions.
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic nominee for vice president who later became a political independent, died of complications from a fall, the USA Today website reports on March 27, 2024.
"Senator Lieberman's love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life
in the public interest," his family said in a written statement.
Lieberman, 82, a former Conn. state senator and attorney general who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988,developed a reputation for bipartisanship during his years in Washington. He was also the first Jewish--American candidate nominated on a major party ticket.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early yesterday (Marcdh 26, 2024), after a support column was hit by a large container ship that had lost power, sending vehicles and people into the Patapsco River, the CBS News website reports.
Six people remain missing and are presumed dead, Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath of the U.S. Coast Guard said at a news conference. Two other people were rescued from the water.
All eight people were part of a construction crew that was filling potholes on the bridge at the time.
The United Nations Security Council demanded a ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends April 9, 2024, the Euro News website reports.
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.--sponsored resolution on March 22 that would have supported "an immediate and sustained ceasefire" in the Israeli--Hamas conflict.
The Arab Group appealed to all 15 council members "to act with unity and urgency" and vote for the resolution "to halt the bloodshed, preserve human lives, and avert further human suffering and destruction."
By ushering in a new era of prayer, the Lord Jesus provides a whole new arena by which the People of God can have communion with God in His life of prayer and in everything the Lord did, the Crux website reports today (March 25, 2024).
Such a communion was the basis of all the Lord's words and deeds.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes this very point: "The Gospel according to St. Luke emphasized the action of t he Holy Spirit and the meaning of prayer in Christ's ministry."
Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis at age 42 shines a light on dreaded disease that seems to be striking people of younger ages, although it has become more survivable, the USA Today website reports today (March 24, 2024).
Americans have about a 40% chance of developing cancer at some point in their lives. Just under 20% who develop it die from cancer, which is the second leading cause of death in the U.S.
It is typically considered a disease of aging, with 88% of diagnoses coming in people age 50 and above, according to the American Cancer Society.
Russian authorities said at least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured after gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow yesterday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website reports today (March 23, 2024).
Reuters and other agencies said Islamic State had claimed responsibility via its affiliated Telegram channels.
The IS statement said the attackers had "retreated to their bases safely."
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit on March 21, 2024 against Apple. accusing the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant of stifling competition and leveraging its clout and ownership of the popular APP store to increase prices for customers, the LA Times website reports today (March 22, 2024).
Just what does this mean for everyone with an iPhone?
Greater freedom for app developers on the App Store. More consumer choices.
The American Bible Society (ABS) will be closing down its Faith and Liberty Dscovery Center, around three years after the Philadelphia--based museum , which cost around $60 million , had opened, the Christian Today website reports today (March 21, 2024).
The ABS announced that the center is ending operations on April 1, with the last day of public visits to be March 28.
Full refunds will be given to those who bought tickets to vsit the center after March 28, according to ABS.
Though the global situation risks plunging people into pessimism, Christians are called on to pursue their vocation of becoming "men and women of hope," Pope Francis said in his message for World Day of Prayer for Vocations , the Catholic News website reports.
The global challenges, such as war, migration, rising poverty rates, and climate change, in addition to personal difficulties encountered daily, "risk plunging us into resignation or defeatism," the pope wrote in his message released March 18, 2024.
He encouraged Christians to instead "cultivate a gaze full of hope and work fruitfully in response to the vocation we have received in service to God's kingdom of love, justice, and peace."
Since Donald Trump's entry into politics began with a ride down the Trump Tower escalator almost nine years ago, the presidential candidate spoke directly to evangelical Christians and many responded in kind, the CBN website reports today (March 19, 2024).
In 2024, not much has changed. "We have to bring back our religion, we have to bring back Christianity in this country," Trump recently told those gathered at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville.
Georgetown Professor Paul Miller, who wrote the book "What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism," has some of those same concerns. "There's a kind of nationalism that uses Christian language and symbols and rhetoric to advance its agenda and it's bad," Miller tells CBN News. "I think Christian Nationalism is real."
Faced with decades of rising secularism, the Church must invest in families and in strengthening other forms of community to transmit faith, Pope Francis said on March 15, 2024, the Catholic News website reports.
"The big issue before us is to understand how to overcome the rupture that has been established in the transmission of faith," the pope told members of the Dicastery for Evangelization's section for new evangelization on March15.
Developing faith in Christ "requires a meaningful experience lived in the family and in the Christian community as a life--changing encounter with Jesus Christ in order to be transmitted," he wrote in his message to members of the dicastery during their plenary assembly. "Without this real and existential encounter, one will always be subject to the temptation to make faith a theory and not a testimony of life."
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has confirmed that it has filed a federal lawsuit over an Indiana school district's order that students not gather together for prayer, the WND website reports
One coach threatened track team members . " "Don't let me see you do that again," after they gathered before a track meet for prayer, the ACLJ said, describing it as a "blatant violation of students' First Amendment rights."
The students were instructed that they must not be seen praying together as a group and that they would engage in a moment of 'reflection' alone in small groups of two or three ." the ACLJ said. .
Organizers of Pope Francis's ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality announced March 14 that 10 different working groups had been formed in the Roman Curia to address specific topics that came out of last year's session, the Crux website reports t oday (March 16, 2024).
These topics are restricted to issues mentioned inside the synod hall and include hot--button questions such as women's access to the diaconate and ways of welcoming the LGBTQ community.
Monsignor Piero Coda, secretary general of the International Theological Commission, said issues of homosexuality, and the women's diaconate are on the agenda, and various materials will be included in these topics.
NATO Secretary -Geneeral Jens Stoltenberg has warned members of the bloc against committing a "historic mistake" by allowing Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, to secure victory in the Ukraine conflict, the RT website reports today (March 15, 2024).
Speaking at a conference in Brussels on March 14, Stoltenberg insisted that Ukraine has proven that it is capable of defeating Russia on the battlefield and has survived thus far, thanks to the "unprecedented" support of NATO countries.
Now, however, Kiev is "running out of ammunition," the NATO chief warned, and called on bloc members to mobilize their reserves and "show the political will" to provide Ukraine with everything it needs to continue the fight.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on March 13, 2024 that would force Chinese company Byte Dance to sell TikTok in order for the social media app to be allowed to operate in the U.S., the Daily Caller website reports.
The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act advanced from the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a unanimous vote on March 7.
The legislation's proponents argue that the app, immensely popular with teens and young people for its customized song and dance features on short clip videos, poses national security risks. TikTok' parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing and may expose American user darta to Chinese government surveillance.
The first humanitarian aid ship using a new maritime corridor departed Cyprus yesterday and headed to Gaza, where more than 1 million people face an increasing threat of starvation and reports of malnutrition --related deaths are rising, according to health officials and organizations, the USA Today website reports today (March 13, 2024).
The food shortage and exorbitant prices for what's available are especially dire in the north amid Israel's restrictors on aid .
The vessel, towing a barge with 200 tons of food, collected by the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, carries the first shipment of aid sent by sea to the territory since the war started.
A taskforce reviewing funding arrangements for aged care has rejected the idea of a tax levy to cover the sector's costs and instead suggested Australians accessing care should pay more based on their personal wealth , the ABC News website reports today (March 12, 2024).
The Albanese Government established a taskforce last year to find out how the country could properly fund aged care, following a range of recommendations made by a damning royal commission into the sector.
A total of $23.6 billion was spent on aged care in 2020--21, which increased to $24.8 billion in 2021--22, and $27.1 billion last financial year in 2022--23 with aged care expenditure expected to reach $42 billion by 2026--27.
President Joe Biden claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the ongoing war in Gaza is damaging Israel in an interview with MSNBC on March 9, adding that he would like to speak to members of the Knesset (the Israeli Congress) to push for a change in the conflict's management and plans for the post--war Strip, the WIN (World Israel News) website reports.
Biden said that Netanyahu is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel,"due to the number of civilian lives lost during the current war.
Notably, Biden uncritically accepted the claim from the Hamas--controlled Gazan Health Ministry that some 30,000 civilians had been killed -- a number which cannot be confirmed by neutral sources, and likely includes a significant number of Hamas terrorists.
Nigeria has established over many years a solid reputation for allowing its Islamic militants over the last decade or more to have killed "at least 52,520 Nigerian Christians," the WND website reports today (March 10, 2024).
The violence is carried out by the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency, which targets Christians and faces little pushback from the government there.
That report also noted that over the same time period, 18,000 churches were set on fire, and 2,200 Christian scdhools were burned.
At least 16 American universities are promoting the book "How to Blow Up A Pipeline," which outlines for readers how to commit eco--terrorism -- often making it required reading , the Daily Wire website reports today (March 9, 2024).
The book was published in 2021 by Swedish professor Andreas Malm and calls for terrorism and overthrowing capitalism, acknowledging that people will be killed as a result.
"Demolish them, burn them , blow them up. Let the capitalists who keep investing in the fire know that their properties will be trashed, " the book says.
Sweden became NATO's newest member yesterday (March 7, 2024), upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with the Government of the U.S. in Washington, D.C.,the NATOHQ/news website reports today (March 8, 2024).
With Sweden's accession, NATO now has 32 countries among its membeers.
NATO Secretary Gweneral Jens Stoltenberg said: "This is a historic day. Sweden will now take its rightful place at NATO's table, with an equal say in shaping NATO policies and decisions..."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is sending in the state National Guard to New York City to help police curb a surge in crime in the city's subways, the Yahoo News website reports today (March 7, 2024).
Announcing a five--point plan yesterday, the Democratic governor said she was deploying 750 members of the National Guard to the subways to assist the New York Police Dept. with bag searches at entrances to busy train stations.
"For people who are thinking about bringing a gun or knife on the subway, at least this creates a deterrent effect..." she said.
U.S. President Joe Biden said yesterday that it was in the hands of Hamas whether to accept a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, as delegations held a third day of talks with no sign of a breakthrough, the Reuters website reports today (March 6, 2024).
Negotiations from the Palestinian militant group, Qatar and Egypt -- but not Israel -- are in Cairo trying to secure a ceasefire with Israel in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramada, which begins next week.
The deal presented to Hamas would free some hostages captured by Palestinian militants in the October attack that precipitated the war.
The word "postmodern" is heard a lot, but how many know what it really means? the Christian Today website reports today (March5, 2024).
The way it is used varies and can be confusing. It can refer to new ideas about gender, the fight between the powerful and the oppressed, obscure philosophical discussions, or modern art. It's often used in a way that just means "younger people are very different nowadays, and I don't understand them."
Taking time to understand the concept can help older generations to communicate with younger generations, address some of the problems we have in society at present,and explain why traditional ways of sharing the Christian faith are less effective than they used to be.
The town of Kittery,, Maine's Planning Board gave final approval in February to a phased renovation of the Outlets at Kittery at 283 Route 1, which is located next to the famous Kittery Trading Post, the Boston Globe website reported on March 3, 2024.
The town has been exploring for years how to convert dying retail space into mixed units. Kittery used to be the most productive retail mile in America, but it has been struggling ever since Amazon came along.
The new project includes housing and a hotel aimed at nearby Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers.
The most powerful California blizzard of the season pounded the Sierra Necvada with gusts up to 190 mph , while heavy snow on March 2 forced the closure of key roads to the Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain areas, the Yahoo News website reports.
The main road to Mammoth Mountain ski resort , Highway 395, was shut down in both directions -- to the south, toward Southwern California, and to the north, toward Reno.
The 75-mile stretch was closed from northwest of Bishop in Inyo County to Bridgeport in Mono County, "due to multiple spinouts and collisions, as well as whiteout conditions," the Calif. Dept. of Transportation said.
President Joe Biden said yesterday (March 1, 2024) that the U.S.would airdrop humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip to help alleviate hunger and suffering triggered by the Israel--Hamas war, the USA Today website reports.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Biden said "innocent people" have died in Gaza.He said the airdrops would start "in the coming days."
The humanitarian aid will be delivered by a U.S. military aircraft, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
A record share of Americans view illegal immigration as a major threat in the U.S., the Christian Post website reports today (Maerch 1, 2024).
Gallup released the poll Feb. 27, based on responses collected from 1,016 U.S. adults from Feb. 1--20. Respondents were asked about their views on the issue of immigration .
The share of Americans who characterized illegal immigration as a critical threat facing the U.S. reached a record high of 57% this year.
