Girl May Get Prison for Rigging Queen Contest; Used Mother's Access to Cast Fraudulent Votes

 A Pensacola, Florida high-school student accused of rigging her high school's queen election will be charged as an adult, the WND website reports today (May 6, 2021). 

Emily Grover and her mother Laura Carroll, assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School, were arrested in March after authorities said the duo used Carroll's special access to the district's student data system to cast hundreds of fraudulent votes for Grover in the homecoming queen election at Tate High School.

Carroll remains free on $6,000 bond, and Grover is free on $2,000 bond. Prosecutors said the mother and daughter each face a maximum 16-year sentence. 

US Birth Rate Undergoes a Huge Decline in 2020; Records Its Largest Decline in More Than 40 Years

Birth and fertility rates in the U.S. declined again last year, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed today (May 5, 2021)  -- with births down 4% to the lowest level in more than 40 years --  according to the UPI website. 

The total and general fertility rates in 2020 also declined 4% from 2019 to record lows. The report said at the current level, there are more people dying every day than are being born.

The decline from 2019 to 2020 is the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years.

The U.S. birth rate last year was down to about 56 births per 1,000 women of child-bearing age, which is the lowest rate on record. 

Police Lock Ontario Church for Dismissing Court; Ignored Provincial Restrictions to Reduce COVID

 A judge in Ontario, Canada has allowed authorities to lock the doors of a church that has refused to follow provincial restrictions on gatherings aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, the Christian Post website reports today (May 4, 2021).

The attorney general's office for Ontario province had police lock the doors of Trinity Bible Chapel of Waterloo through May 8 to prevent in-person worship services. 

The move came as part of a temporary injunction against the chapel in which Justice John Krawchenko concluded that closing the church was a matter of public safety.

Germany's Oktoberfest Voided for 2nd Yr. in Row; Beer Gatherings Blocked Due to COVID Pandemic

 Germany's Oktoberfest beer extravaganza, scheduled to bring together hundreds of thousands of people from September 18 to October 3 in Munich, has been canceled for the second year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Euro News website reports today (May 3, 2021).

The health situation remains too uncertain for the "most comprehensive gathering of all"  to be held in the autumn, Bavarian Minister-President Markus Soder said at a press conference. 

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter described the announcement as "bitter" but said that "it certainly does not come as a surprise to most."

Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-Winning Star, Dies at 89; Cousin of Mass. Gov.,Northeastern Prof. Dukakis

 Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress who won an Oscar for her role in the romantic comedy "Moonstruck," has died at the age of 89, the National Herald website reports today (May 2, 2021).

Dukakis died yesterday in her home in New York City, according to Allison Levy, her agent at Innovative Artists. She referred to her 1988 Oscar win as "the year of the Dukakii" because it was the year Masachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis , her cousin, was the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. 

The former Mass. governor has been a distinguished professor of political science at Northeastern University in Boston since 1988.

Greek Orth. Christians Celebrate Easter May 2; Happy to Return to Church after Video Services

 Hundreds of millions of Greek Orthodox Christians around the world will celebrate Easter on Sunday, May 2, this year, the wwlp website reports today (May 1, 2021).

This time last year, the congregation at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Springfield, Mass. were watching their Easter services through a screen due to the coronavirus pandemic. But this year, they can enter the church doors, take a seat in the pews, and reunite through song and prayer as a community.

"It's very important for us to be back because the church is all about the people, we make the church," said Rev. Father Dionysios Koulianos at the Springfield church.

"It's definitely a wonderful feeling to be back here, especially to be back as a whole, although it's not the same with the masks theologically," said George Patrakis, head altar boy.

Pope Sets a Limit on Generous Gifts for Cardinals; Can No Longer Accept Gifts Worth Over 40 Euros

 Pope Francis has decreed that cardinals and other Vatican staff can no longer accept gifts worth more than 40 euros in his latest crackdown on corruption within the Holy See, the Yahoo News website reports today (May 1, 2021).

It will mean an end to the lavish  gifts and generous cash donations that cardinals and monsignors have received in the past from benefactors and supporters.

"All employees are prohibited to receive gifts worth more than 40 euros," the pope said in a strongly-worded document that was issued on April 29 by the Vatican.