Russia's naval blockade on the Black Sea has resulted in logistical chaos in Ukraine, the world's fourth largest grain producer, the Euro News website reports today (July 31, 2022).
Consequently, many African nations now face the prospect of famine.
Reni in Ukraine is one of the only places of its kind still operating in the country and remains a key hub for exporting Ukrainian corn, wheat, and other crops.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul yesterday declared a state disaster emergency to strengthen New York state's efforts to confront the monkeypox ourbreak, the CBS New York website reports today (July 30, 2022).
The governor says the executive order will allow the state to respond more quickly and "allow health care professionals to take additional steps that will help get more New Yorkers vaccinated."
Thee monkeypox is being classified a threat to the state, but not to NewYork City.
Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides, as storms pound parts of central Appalachia, the Newsy website reports today (July 29, 2022).
Kentucky Gov. Andy Bashear said today that at least 15 people have died from flooding in the state.
He added that property damage has been massive, with hundreds losing their homes.
Spain's government has sent a message to women who may be uncomfortable about showing their bodies in bathing suits on the beach, the Euro News website reports today (July 28, 2022).
The government's Equality Ministry launched a summer campaign today encouraging women to reject "stereotypes" and "aesthetical violence" -- a reference to social pressure some women feel to conform to beauty ideals.
In a tweet, Equality Minister Irene Montero said, "All bodies are valid and we have the right to enjoy life as we are, without guilt or shame."
A 24-year-old Indian woman, Kshama Bindu, tied the knot with herself last month == the first example of "sologamy" in India -- the Al Jazeera website reports today (July 27. 2022).
"People look weirdly at me, like I have committed a crime," she said.
Bindu's "sologamy" -- a marriage with herself -- was conducted last month in an elaborate Indian wedding setup, making her an overnight internet sensation and the first Indian ever to engage in such a practice.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has revealed that more than 1,750 city employees have now been fired for fighting for their bodily autonomy against COVID=19 shots, the CBN News website reports today (July 26, 2022).
A spokesman for Adams said the total number of employees fired reached 1,752 as of July 13.
The city workers discharged from their positions included 36 NYPD personnel, 25 Fire Department employees, and 914 staff members of the NYC Department of Education.
Pope Francis, who arrived in Canada yesterday, is expected to visit the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School south of Edmonton and apologize for the abuses against tens of thousands of indigenous people who were taken from their families and put in schools, in an effort to make them conform to Christian society, according to the UPI website.
The schools, funded by the Canadian government, were created to assimilate indigenous peoples to the dominant Canadian culture.
The pope's apology, which may come as early as today, will address the decades of physical and sexual abuse and suppression at Catholic schools across Canada.
Former President Donald Trump, during his "Save America" rally July 22 in Arizona, slammed President Joe Biden over his handling of Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, and more, the Newsmax website reports today (July 24, 2022).
"You can rake the five worst presidents in American history and put them together and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done to our country in less than two short years," Trump said in the Prescott Valley event held to bolster his endorsed candidates in Arizona's races.
Further, Trump noted that two years ago, when he was still in office, gasoline was "$1.87 a gallon. Now, it's $5, $6, $7, and even in spme places $8 and $9 a gallon, and tr's going to get worse."
The World Health Organization (WHO) has dubbed the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, the N.Y. Daily News website reports today (July 23, 2022).
The designation means the U.N. health agency sees the outbreak as severe enough to warrant a coordinated global response in order to prevent it from reaching pandemic levels.
While the WHO warning does not impose restrictions on governments, it does serve as a global call to action, aimed at channeling resources and attention toward the issue at hand.
More than 100 New York National Guardsmen from the 27th Infanry Brigade Combat Team deployed July 15 to train Ukrainian soldiers whose country is still combating the Russian invasion that began in February, the Army Times website reports today (July 22, 2022).
The140 New York Guard soldiers will first complete additional training at Fort Bliss, Texas, before replacing 160 Florida Guard soldiers in Gemany.
The New York Guardsmen are expected to take control from the Florida Guard's 53rd Infantry Brigade's Combat Team this September.
'
Everyhing is so expensive today that no one can afford to buy anything anymore, the Breitbert website reports today (July 21, 2022).
Consumer spending faded earlier and faster than most analysts expected.
This was largely because food and energy prices have become a sort of tax on the U.S. economy.
Pope Francisis is represnting a significant break from previous popes, the Catholic Herald website reports today (July 20, 2022).
Although of Italian descent, the pope comes from Latin America and has changed his more liberal perspective and general worldview.
While it is often remarked upon that the College of Cardinals increasingly reflects the pope's more liberal leanings and represents an attempt by the pontiff to secure his legacy, it is obviously a less European affair now as well, as the Church membership is increasingly concentrated in the American and Global South.
The Biden administration is scrambling to take action on abortion following the Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the National Catholic Register website reports today (July 19, 2022).
Legal experts told the Register that the Biden administration appears to be trying to intimidate the states through the executive order and the guidance from various agencies that have followed despite the limited scope of his executive authority.
Clarke Forsythe, senior counsel at Americans United for Life, told the Register that the order is "a desperate attempt by the Biden administration to do something in the wake of the Supreme Court decision."
Dr. Anthony Fauci says he'll retire by the end of Joe Biden's first term as president, the Daily Beast website reports today (July 18, 2022).
The president's chief medical adviser said that he expects Americans to be living with COVID for many years to come.
Fauci, 81, also said that there might be attacks on public health measures for which he has advocated in the pandemic if Republicans take control of the House or Senate.
Pope Francis has again lamented the continuing war in Ukraine and the senselessness of conflict, urging institutional organizations and leaders to "really" work for peace , the Catholic News website reports today (July 17, 2022).
Raising his voice yet again since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine that continues to wreak death, suffering, destruction, and displacement, the Pope reiterated the appeal to the international community to seek a negotiated solution instead of fueling violence.
"I pray and hope that all international actors will really work to resume negotiations, not to fuel the senselessness of war."
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is preparing to provide additional protections for the nation's thousands of crisis pregnancy centers, which have been hit by pre-abortion vandals because of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn the Roe abortion standard that was created in 1973, the WND website reports today (July 16, 2022).
There have been many rock-throwing, spray=painting, fire-bombing incidents at these centers.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has even demanded that the federal government attack them and close them down.
Protesters have taken to the streets for more than a week in Panama, as people are angry that fuel prices have nearly doubled and inflation, which it hasn't experienced for years, the Crux website reports today (July 15, 2022).
In an attempt to avoid an escalation to the crisis, the government has called on the Catholic Church to mediate a dialogue.
A country of four million people, 70 percent of whom are Catholic, Panama has historically maintained a fairly stable service-based economy that uses the U.S. dollar as its official currency.
Donald Trump is looking at a fall announcement for his 2024 presidential candidacy, according to a report, the Daily Beast website reports today (July 14, 2022).
The Washington Post says Trump is looking at September as the ideal month to fire the starting gun on his bid to reclaim the White House.
He has reportedly been advised not to announce his candidacy before the midterm elections in November, with Trump-backing strategists fearing he would be blamed for poor GOP results.
Israel and the U.S. today (July 13, 2022) announced the establishment of a bilateral committee to promote technology cooperation, hours before President Joe Biden landed in Israel on his first Mideast trip as president, according to the Times of Israel website.
The StrategicHigh-Level Dialogue on Technology will be tasked with presenting solutions to global challenges, such as pandemic preparedness, climate change, implementation of artificial intelligence, and ensuring trusted technology ecosystems
The collaborative will be led by the respective national security councils and include rpresentatives from various agencies in both countries.
The Pentagon has announced that an ISIS leader in Syria was killed today (July 12, 2022) in a drone strike, the Yahoo News website reports.
The U.S. Central Command said that Maher at Agal -- the leader of the Islamic State in Syria -- was killed in northwestern Syria.
Another senior ISIS leader was seriously wounded in the drone attack, according to the Pentagon.
Portugal has requested emergency EU (European Union) assistance as wildfires have broken out across parts of the country, the BBC website reports today (July 11, 2022).
Thousands of firefighters have been tackling the blazes.
So far, no serious injuries have been recorded, and several villages have been evacuated as a precaution.
As ordered by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, a million-strong fighting force has been amassed in the country to recapture its southern areas, which have been taken by Russian forces, the RT website reports today (July 10, 2022).
Ukraine's defense minister Alexey Reznikov said, "We're people of the free world and with a real sense of justice and liberty."
Reznikov praised the British effort to help Ukraine by providing it with artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and high-tech drones.
While recent polls show that President Joe Biden's job approval rating keeps falling, the latest Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll saw Biden's approval rating fall below former President Donald Trump's worst-ever rating, the Newsmax website reports today (July 9, 2022).
Trump's approval rating never dipped below 38% in four years of Rasmussen polls, while Biden's approval rating was measured at 37% by the polling company on July 8.
The White House has tried to fix Biden's slide in the polls with more travel and speeches, but without success.
Californians are finally beginning to heed the state's urgent call for water conservation -- but not fast enough -- the LA Times website reports today (July 8, 2022).
After months of middling efforts, residents in May saved 3.1% more water than the same month in 2020, the baseline year against which current data are measured.
Numbers for June showed an even greater statewide savings of 7.7%, but experts warned that more is needed as California enters the hottest, driest part of the year.
President Biden took aim at the opposing party yesterday by falsely claiming that Republicans -- rather than members of his own party -- are preventing Congress from implementing his proposed federal gas tax holiday to blunt fuel costs, the Washington Times website reports today (July 7, 2022).
"All Republicans do nothing and obstruct our efforts to lower your gas taxes." Biden said.
But many Democrats say it would be a drop in the bucket when prices are nearly $5 per gallon or the savings may not be passed on to consumers.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine , which had been destroyed during the 9/11 terror attacks, was consecrated on July 4 in New York City, the Religion News Service website reports today (July 6, 2022).
"The rebuilding of the St. Nicholas as a shrine for the Nation is also an act of restoration," said Archbishop Epidophoros, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, in an encyclical on July 3.
The restoration had been stalled for many years due to ongoing issues with funding.
Pope Francis expressed shock and sadness over the mass shooting that led to the deaths of at least six people and wounded some 30 others at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, the National Catholic Register website reports today (July 5, 2022).
In a telegram sent to Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, the pope condemned the "senseless shooting," appealing for a rejection of all forms of violence.
Pope Francis asked the cardinal to convey his spiritual closeness to all affected by this attack.
The collapse of a chunk of glacier ice in northeastern Italy yesterday left at least seven people dead and several others injured, the Euronews website reports today (July 4, 2022).
The ice crashed into a group of more than a dozen hikers who were making their way across a popular trail on the Marmolada glacier at more than 3,300 meters, the highest mountain in the Italian Alps.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi came to the site of the accident and said ,"This is a drama that certainly has unforeseen elements, but certainly also depends on the deterior action of the environment and the cliimate situation."
A $122 million pilot program, approved by the executive board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in June, will place up to 300 uniformed workers on trains and buses starting this fall, the LA Times website reports today (July 3, 2022).
The new workers will help with directions, alert police of a threat, point people to homeless services, keep an eye on vulnerable, and check that seats are clean and passengers are safe.
The program will run up to five years and could be expanded if successful.
The FBI has opened a widening investigation into the sex abuse in rhe Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans, going back decades, looking into whether priests took children across state lines to molest them, the AP website reports today (July 2, 2022).
More than a dozen alleged abuse victims have been interviewed this year as part of the probe.
Some of the New Orleans cases under review include abuse by clergy during trips to Mississippi camps or amusement parks in Texas and Florida.
In some of his strongest language yet on the Ukraine war, Pope Francis on June 30 told delegations of Greek Orthodox leaders that the conflict in Ukraine amounted to a "war of aggression" that was unacceptable for Christians to support, the Crux website reports today (July 1, 2022).
Speaking to a delegation from the Ecumnical Patriarchate of Constantinople who were in Rome to celebrate the Catholic Feast of Peter and Paul, Francis stressed the importance of Christian unity at a time when "our world is disrupted to a cruel and senseless war of aggression in which many,many Christians are fighting one another.
Francis also lamented the suffering of those "who have lost their loved ones and been forced to abandon their homes and their own country."
