At least five people have died after a high-speed train hit railway workers in Italy today (August 31, 2023),the BBC website reports.
The workers were replacing part of a track near the town of Turin, Italian news outlet Ansa reported.
In a statement, Italian railway network (RFI) expressed its "deep sorrow" for the incident.
A federal judge has ruled that Rudy Giuliani is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers by repeatedly claiming the women were manipulating 2020 ballots, the NPR website reports today (August 30, 2023).
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell issued a "default judgment" against Giuliani, writing in an opinion today that he "has refused to comply with his discovery obligations and thwarted plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss's procedural rights to obtain any meaningful discovery in this case."
The decision means a trial will begin to decide how much Giuliani must pay Freeman and Moss for "defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, and punitive damage claims."
The Kremlin has welcomed remarks by Pope Francis on Russsia's historical legacy, made on Aug.25 during a speech to young Russian Catholics, the RT website reports today (August 29, 2023).
"It's very good that the pontiff knows Russian history, which is deeply rooted," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists today.
Speaking by video to Russian Catholics, the pope called his audience in St. Pertersburg "heirs of the great Russia...of saints, of kings of Russia, of Peter the Great and Catherine II, of the great Russian Empire, and so much culture and humanity."
Pope Francis has blasted the "backwardness" of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church, saying they have replaced faith with ideology and that correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time, the AP website reports today (August 28, 2023).
Francis' acknowledgment of the divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church was sparked by a split between progressives and conservatives, particularly on abortion and same-sex marriage.
Many conservatives have blasted Francis' emphasis instead on social justice issues such as the environment and the poor, while also branding as heretical his opening to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive the sacraments,
The man who shot and killed three Black people in a racist attack at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla. was identified today (August 27, 2023) as Ryan Palmeter, a 21-year-old white man, the NY Daily News website reports.
"The shooter penned multiple manifestos that were full of ractst ramblings," Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
"They were, quite frankly, writings of a mad man," he added. "They included the rather liberal use of the n-word several rimes."
Ukraine and Russia are intensifying operations around the war-ravaged city of Bakhmut, as President Zelensky's forces increase their use of drones, the Euro News website reports today (August 26, 2023).
Russian air defenses have repelled a fresh drone attack on Moscow, which forced a temporary shutdown of all three major airports serving the city.
The Moscow region was repeatedly targeted in recent weeks, although there were no reports of major damage.
A California church is suing county officials for spying on its members during the state's coronavirus shutdown, the Christian Post website reports today (August 25, 2023).
Attorneys with Associates for Faith and Freedom filed the lawsuit in behalf of Calvary Chapel San Jose against Santa Clara County for utilizing a form of geo-tracking wile the church remained open under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
At the height of the pandemic, the church -- now known as Calvary Christian Fellowship (CCF) -- and Pastor Mike McClure defied social distancing orders and reopened the church. Both were later held in contempt of court and fined for violating a temporary restraining order.
Former President Donald will turn himself in to authorities in Georgia today (August 24, 2023), in a case involving election interference in the Peach state, the Daily News website reports.
Trump is one of 19 people criminally charged with attempting to overturn the presidential election outcome in Georgia in2020 after he lost the state to Joe Biden.
Trump is being charged with racketering, conspiracy to commit forgery, and 11 other charges.
If convicted, he will be the first former president convicted of a criminal act.
The National Weather Service said "searing" heat is scorching parts of the central and southern U.S.this week as a massive dome of high pressure remains in place over the regions, the USA Today website reports today (August 23, 2023).
The heat is dangerous and potentially record-breaking, forecasters said.
Heat alerts have been issued from Minneapolis to New Orleans, which includes 22 states and some 130 million people.
An unbalanced woman, who told cops she "prayed to God" while plowing into seven pedestrians at a Midtown Manhattan intersection, was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, the Daily News website reports today (August 22, 2023).
Imani Lucas, 29, also faces charges of assault, reckless endangerment, and leaving the scene of an accident.
She faces one count of murder for each person she struck after driving her car through a red light at Sixth Ave. and W. 36th St., just north of Macy's Herald Square at about 11:55 p.m. on August 20.
Pope Francis has praised the life and testimony of Italian Father Pino Puglisii, 30 years after he was gunned down by mafia hitmen, a result of his vocal opposition to the mafia and his efforts to save youth from organized crime, the Crux website reports today (August 21, 2023).
In a letter dated July 31 and addressed to Archbishop Corrado Lorefice of Palermo -- the heart of Italian mob territory in Sicily -- Francis called Puglisi a "good priest and merciful witness of the Father," and he thanked God for "the gift of the Blessed Marty Don Pino Puglisi, son and pastor of the beloved Palermitan church and the whole of Sicily.
Puglisi received multiple death threats and was gunned down in the middle of the street outside his Palermo parish on his birthday, Sept. 15, 1993.
The Financial Times (FT) reported today (August 20, 2023) that the U.S. is not in a position to supply Ukraine with tactical ballistic missiles in quantities that could help turn the tide in its counteroffensive, according to the RT website.
The British newspaper is also claiming that Washington is wary that such deliveries could lead to an uncontrolled escalation with Moscow.
A possible re-election of Republican Donald Trump adds another layer of uncertainty, given his repeated pledges to end the conflict as soon as he resumes office, the FT noted.
A 53-year-old man, whose identity has not been revealed, was arrested yesterday after leading police on a long chase through Rome,which ended with the man insisting that he planned to detonate a truckload of explosives at the Vatican, although the claim turned out to be a hoax, the Crux website reports today (August 19, 2023).
The incident began yesterday morning when police began receiving reports that a man on the main highway that loops around Rome's metropolitan area, was throwing rocks at motorists.
When police cars arrived on the scene, the man then ran on foot to an auto rental agency where he stole a small truck. He then led police on a lengthy chase on the highway that eventually involved several police cars to block him.
President Biden today (August 18, 2023) announced the security and economic commitments following the first summit between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, The Hill website reports.
South Korean President Yon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Famio Kishita joined Biden at Camp David for the one-day summit.
The three leaders agreed to establish a hotline, where the countries will "share information and coordinate our responses whenever there is a crisis in the region or affecting any one of our countries," Biden said.
Bishops in Pakistan have called for prayer after an angry mob vandalized several Christian homes and churches in the district of Faisalabad yesterday (August 16) following allegations of blasphemy and desecration of the Quran, the Crux website reports today (August 17, 2023).
The incident unfolded this morning, as hundreds of Muslims armed with batons and sticks attacked a Christian community in Jaranawala, an industrial district of Faisalabad in Pakistan, damaging several homes and burning several churches after a Quran was desecrated by a young Christian man.
The violence erupted after pages from the Quran were discovered near the Christian community with blasphemous content written on them.
A fierce battle between Hindus and Christians raging in northeast India, with some human rights experts blaming the country's government for fueling the religious violence, the CBN website reports today (August 16, 2023).
What started as a feud over economic benefits now has the state of Manipur teetering on the brink of a civil war.
Religious and ethnic clashes between the Hindu majority Meitei community and the tribal Christian Kuki minority over land and influence in the state has left at least 180 people dead and over 500 injured.
A Tennessee megachurch had to put one of its services on hold last Sunday (August 13) because so many people were spontaneously coming forward to get baptized, the CBN website reports today (August15, 2023).
"What happened yesterday was another genuine move of God. We baptized 136 on Sunday," Long Hollow Senior Pastor Robbie Gallaty said.
The Hendersonville, TN church celebrated people who made a public declaration that they are living a new life in Jesus Christ,
California police said a "mob of criminals" stole up to $100,000 worth of items from a Los Angeles mall on August 12 , the USA Today website reports today (August 14, 2023).
A group of people entered the Westfield TopangaShopping Center in Los Angeles around 4 p.m. and stole between $60,000 to $100,000 worth of merchandise from a Nordstrom store, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Video footage posted by police shows several people wearing black masks and clothing running out of the store with merchandise, with duffel bags, purses, and other bags in their hands.
An 11-year-old boy in North Carolina has been charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting an eight-year-old girl his mother was babysitting, the People website reports today (August 13, 2023).
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said that police responded to a call on July 25 about an "unresponsive juvenile with an apparent gunshot wound," who died two days later at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetville.
The victim, identified by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office as Jenesis Dockery, and her sister ,were dropped off at their babysitter's house, where police say the son of the babysitter got hold of a gun and shot the eight-year-old girl in the head.
Two Ukrinian missiles were shot down today (August 12, 2023) by Russian air defense over the Crimean Bridge, an important military infrastructure linking Russia to the annexed peninsula, the Euro News website reports.
Ukraine's attempted attack by 20 drones against targets on the Crimean peninsula was foiled, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The attack caused no casualties or damage, the Defense Ministry added.
Proposed regulations from the Biden administration to implement a piece of legislation designed to enhance workplace protections for pregnant women has drawn the anger of U.S.bishops, as they charge the regulations could contain language to advance abortion, the Crux website reports today (August 11, 2023).
The bipartisan "Pregnant Workers Fairness Act" requires employers to provide accommodations to qualified workers for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions,
On August 7, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released regulations that adds abortion as a reasonable accommodation.
At least 36 people have died due to a wind-whipped wildfire burning the Hawaiian island of Maui yesterday, destroying homes and businesses in Lahaine Town to ashes and forcing people to jump into the ocean to escape the flames, the Yahoo News website reports today (August10, 2023).
In a few hours,the blaze tore through popular Front Street and decimated a town center that traced its roots to the 1700s and was on the National Register of Historic Places.
Heidi Denecke, owner of the Maui Animal Farm, spent last night awake in her truck at her farm in Lahaina watching the fire with friends before being evacuated early today. She said, "You can't stay during these times."
A group of Black Brazilians, who attended the August 1--6 World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Porrtugal, in order to hand a letter to the pope about racism in Brazil and in the Church, now say they suffered racist attacks on more than one occasion during the event last week, the Crux website reports today (August 9, 2023).
One such act of aggression was recorded on a video on August 4 that shows a number of young Catholics, all of them white, appearing to make monkey sounds as they passed by Marcolino Vinicius Vieira, a Black Brazilian who was carrying the country's flag.
"I suddenly saw myself among those people. They were laughing at me and imitating the sound of monkeys," Vieira told Crux.
Workers, managers, and elected officials braced for one of the biggest labor actions to hit Los Angeles city government in a generation -- a one-day walkout by the union that represents traffic officers, gardeners, mechanics, custodians, and scores of other jobs, the L.A. Times website reports today (August 8, 2023).
Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents over 7,000 city workers, began its strike at 12:01 a,m. today to protest unfair labor practices by city negotiators and a failure of management to remain at the bargaining table.
David Green, the union's president, said SIEU members have reached their limit with the number of vacant positions that plague city agencies.
Asked by reporters during his return flight from an August 2--6 trip to Portugal, where he presided over World Youth Day, why the Catholic Church does not allow women priests, Pope Francis said "this is not a sign of close-mindedness," the Crux website reports today (August 7, 2023).
Also asked why the Church was not a place of equality for members of the LGBTQ community -- since it cannot receive all the Church's sacraments -- Francis said, "The Church is open to everyone, then there is legislation that regulates life inside the Church."
"These groups cannot have access to the sacraments," he said, but insisted that "this doesn't mean it is closed."
Pope Francis ended a five-day trip to Lisbon, Portugal today (August 6, 2023) with a massive open-air Mass for an estimated 1.5 million people who camped overnight on a vast field to attend the grand finale of the World Youth Day festival, the Euro News website reports.
On August 5, his audience heard a message of hope from Francis.
"The only time it is legitimate to look down on someone from above is to help them get up," he told them. "How many times do we see people looking at us like that , from above. It's sad."
Climate change effects usually become clear over decades and centuries, but they seem to be everywhere this summer, as the temperature records are broken constantly, ocean waters are as warm as hot tubs, and world leaders are so alarmed they've called this summer "the era of global boiling," the Yahoo News website reports today (August 5, 2023).
Scientists have long worried about even more dramatic and irreversible changes to the planet that could happen quickly.
A paper in the Journal of Science in 2022, suggesting that several conditions beyond which changes become self-perpetuating and impossible to undo, provides reasons to limit warming as much as possible.
In an opening salvo of a five-day trip to Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day (WYD), Pope Francis repeated his condemnations of populism and the inequities of capitalism, reiterating his main concerns regarding Europe, including migration, a declining birth rate, and growing polarization, the Catholic Herald website reports today (August 4, 2023).
The pope said he believes World Youth Day represents hope for the future and a desire on the part of future generations to write a different story together based on pluralism and respect for life.
"World Youth Day represents a chance to build together," he said, saying the event "revives our desire to accomplish something different..."
The CNBC network has found that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's conduct is a source of annoyance in Washington, as Zelensky angers his American backers by ignoring their orders and issuing ever-greater demands, the RT website reports today (August 3, 2023)..
Zelensky lashed out at NATO leadership before the bloc's summit in Lithuania last month, claiming it was "unprecedented and absurd" that the U.S.-led bloc hadn't offered Ukraine a timeline for membership.
The incident drew sharp criticism from the normally-supportive UK, and left Washington so "furious" that it considered withdrawing its support for Ukraine's eventual membership, the Washington Post reported.
As Pope Francis heads to Lisbon, Portugal today (August 2, 2023) for World Youth Day,an event often dubbed the "Catholic Woodstock" due to the large and celebratory crowds it always draws, he faces the unique challenge revitalizing the faith amid growing European secularism and increased empty pews in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Crux website reports.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have already flocked to Lisbon for World Youth Day (WYD),set to take place from Aug. 1--6 and which holds the theme, "Mary arose and went in haste." By the time the pontiff celebrates the event's concluding Mass August 6, turnout is expected to reach well over one million people.
This year's event marks the first international WYD gathering since the Covid-19 pandemic.
California's biggest wildfire of the year -- burning on delicate Joshua Tree forests along the Calif.-Nev. border -- is a desert blaze fueled in part by the rapid growth of underbrush from the winter's record rains, the LA Times website reports today (August 1, 2023).
The York fire had scorched 77,000 acres as of July 31.
The blaze has spread across the Mojave National Preserve in eastern San Bernardino County, but recently jumped into western Nevada.
