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Southern Baptists refuse to let Saddleback Church back into the denomination for women pastors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the California megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors.Southern Baptist church representatives at their annual meeting here also rejected a similar appeal by a smaller church, Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky, which is led by a woman pastor.The results of the Tuesday votes were announced Wednesday morning on the concluding day of the the two-day annual meeting here of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, whose statement of faith asserts that only qualified men can serve as pastors.The convention hall packed with about 12,000 Southern Baptists was quiet after the announcement, appearing to have listened to the earlier urging by SBC President Bart Barber for them to show restraint.“I know sometimes there are churches where people wind up in biblical divorce,” he said. “But we don’t throw divorce parties at church...

Italian ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi is given a state funeral in the city where he made his billions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was honored Wednesday with a state funeral in Milan’s Duomo cathedral and a day of national mourning as his legacy — positive or negative — was being hotly debated among Italians.Thousands of people outside the Duomo, including fans from Berlusconi’s beloved AC Milan soccer club, erupted in applause as a sign of respect as his rose-draped casket was hoisted out of the hearse and into the cathedral for the funeral Mass. Inside, Italy’s business and political elite, including the president and three former premiers, gathered alongside Berlusconi’s children and companion, who openly wept as the casket was placed in front of the altar.Most Italians identify Berlusconi, a media mogul, soccer entrepreneur and three-time former premier, as the most influential figure in Italy over recent decades. But they remain sharply divided on whether his influence was for the better or worse, extending to whether the three-time former pre...

Wolves that nearly died out from inbreeding recovered, now helping a remote island’s ecosystem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Gray wolves are thriving at Isle Royale National Park five years after authorities began a last-ditch attempt to prevent the species from dying out on the Lake Superior island chain, scientists said Wednesday.Meanwhile, the park’s moose population continues a sharp but needed decline. Overpopulation of the lumbering mammals were causing their own starvation as they outstripped available balsam fir trees — their primary food during long, snowbound winters, Michigan Technological University biologists said.The trends appear to justify federal officials’ 2018 decision to airlift mainland wolves to Isle Royale, the researchers said, arguing that the predators’ return is helping rebalance an ecosystem knocked off-kilter as their number dropped to just two.The scientists’ annual report, based largely on aerial observations last winter, estimated the rebuilt population at 31 wolves— up from 28 last year. It said the wolves appeared to be ...

Woman comes forward to accuse lawyer of 2007 rape in Boston, wants to face him in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A woman who has accused a New Jersey man of raping her 16 years ago in Boston says she felt that her freedom had been taken away from her that night, and she wants to face him in court.“It’s been horrible. A big part of my life stopped that day,” Lori Pinkham told ABC’s “Good Morning America” in an interview broadcast Wednesday. “I couldn’t work. I didn’t want to spend time with anybody. Every day, I’ve lived in fear.”Matthew Nilo, 35, a lawyer from Weehawken, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty in a Boston courtroom last week to several charges, including three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape and one count of indecent assault and battery. The charges stem from four attacks that happened in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood from August 2007 through December 2008 — a time that authorities say Nilo lived in the city.A prosecutor said authorities helped tie him to the attacks by getting...

Climate protesters throw paint and glue at Monet painting in Swedish museum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

STOCKOLM (AP) — Two women were detained in Stockholm after they threw “some kind of paint” at a painting by French artist Claude Monet and then glued themselves to the frame, Sweden’s National Museum said Wednesday.The painting, “The Artist’s Garden at Giverny,” was on display as part of an exhibition at the museum. Spokesperson Hanna Tottmar said artwork was encased in glass and “is now being examined by the museum’s conservators to see if any damage has occurred.”The exhibit, titled “The Garden,” was closed but expected to reopen to visitors on Thursday. ”We naturally distance ourselves from actions where art or cultural heritage risks being damaged … regardless of the purpose,” Per Hedström, the museum’s acting director, said.Before they were apprehended, the activists smeared red paint on the painting, according to a video of Wednesday’s incident. “The situation is urgent. As a nurse, I refuse to watch. The pandemic was nothing compared to the clima...

How Pennsylvania plans to fix collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro prepared Wednesday to announce how Pennsylvania plans to replace a collapsed section of an important East Coast highway as investigators look into why a truck hauling gasoline went out of control on an off-ramp and flipped on its side, igniting a fire.Three days have passed since the fire caused the collapse of the northbound lanes of I-95 and severely damaged the southbound lanes.It could take weeks, at least, to replace the damaged and destroyed section. Meanwhile the collapse is snarling traffic in Philadelphia as the summer travel season starts, upending hundreds of thousands of morning commutes, disrupting countless businesses and forcing trucking companies to find different routes.Pennsylvania’s transportation secretary, Michael Carroll, said demolition work is continuing around the clock on the roughly 100-foot (30 meter) section of I-95, and the Biden administration is pledging its aid.For now, I-95 will be closed in both directions. The...

Aurora Cannabis on the hunt for savings again, says Bevo deal boosted Q3 revenue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

Aurora Cannabis Inc. is on the hunt for more savings after wrapping a transformation plan that delivered at least $400 million in savings over the last three years.The Edmonton-based cannabis producer said Wednesday that it wants to uncover another $40 million in savings by the end of next March, which marks the end of the company’s fiscal year.“This incremental reduction puts us squarely on the path to reach our next financial milestone, which is positive free cash flow,” Miguel Martin announced on a call with analysts.Free cash flow is an indicator of a company’s financial performance because it encapsulates money a company makes after accounting for expenses that support operations.Profitability has been difficult across Canada’s cannabis industry, where a lack of demand, strict regulations and the strength of the illicit market have hampered the financial performance of most businesses. Many, including Aurora and its rivals, have resorted to layoffs...

Roger Payne, scientist who discovered whales can sing, dies at 88

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

Roger Payne, the scientist who spurred a worldwide environmental conservation movement with his discovery that whales could sing, has died. He was 88.Payne made the discovery in 1967 during a research trip to Bermuda in which a Navy engineer provided him with a recording of curious underwater sounds documented while listening for Russian submarines. Payne identified the haunting tones as songs whales sing to one another.He saw the discovery of whale song as a chance to spur interest in saving the giant animals, who were disappearing from the planet. Payne would produce the album “Songs of the Humpback Whale” in 1970. A surprise hit, the record galvanized a global movement to end the practice of commercial whale hunting and save the whales from extinction.Payne was cognizant from the start that whale song represented a chance to get the public interested in protecting an animal previously considered little more than a resource, curiosity or nuisance. He told Nautilus Quarterly in a 2...

Inflation cools off in latest report, lowest in more than two years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Tuesday, the Labor Department reported inflation cooled to 4% in May, the lowest rate in more than two years."That's good news for American families," Council of Economic Advisers member Heather Boushey said.Boushey says lower inflation helps working-class Americans."Families are both seeing, you know slightly lower prices," Boushey said. "Prices are still too high. They're coming down now, and in real wage gains."The smaller-than-expected rise in the consumer price index was driven by a decrease in the cost of products and services like energy and groceries."They're going to the pump, they're seeing a lower price…the egg prices are down nearly 30% since January," Boushey said.Economists and experts say the slowdown may give the federal reserve reason to skip an interest rate hike."We're seeing kind of confirmation that April wasn't just a one-off at least, with the May data," Bank of America senior economist Stephen Juneau said.Juneau says despite the positi...

Renting? Ways to lower your AC bill in this heat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As Central Texas bakes in unusually hot weather for mid-June, you may already be worried about what the heat will cost you when your electric bill arrives. Homeowners have the liberty to make big adjustments in efficiency, but renters aren't without options.Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke with CEO of SmartRent, Lucas Haldeman, about devices that even renters can take advantage of to keep the cost of cooling down.Meteorologist Nick Bannin: Lucas Haldeman joins us today from SmartRent. Lucas, what smart devices can we buy to keep our electric bills lower, but also our homes more comfortable at the same time?Lucas Haldeman, SmartRent CEO: Great. Hey, Nick. Yeah, the best thing you can do is look to buy a smart thermostat. That's the number one way we can control our utilities and not cool empty spaces, especially in the summertime. I would also look to upgrade your lighting so you can control your lighting, so you can have your lights come on and go off when you want t...