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Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles Matthew 16:13-19 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that the gates of hell (“the netherworld”) shall not prevail against his Church. And Jesus insists that this society, grounded in Peter’s confession, would constitute an army so powerful that not even the fortified capital of the dark kingdom itself could withstand it. It is fascinating to me how often we construe this saying of Jesus in precisely the opposite direction, as though the Church is guaranteed safety against the onslaughts of hell. In point of fact, Jesus is suggesting a much more aggressive image:...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) vaccine advisory panel on Tuesday voted 19 to 2 to recommend new COVID-19 booster shots that include the Omicron variant this fall. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) did not issue guidance on whether additional data would be needed to recommend an updated composition of the primary-series vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S., or whether it would be appropriate to continue to use a primary-series vaccine as a booster. It is the first time VRBPAC has suggested vaccine makers modify their vaccines to target a different variant,...

Three women have claimed they were abused by the son of an Indiana pastor who was ousted after being accused of grooming a 16-year-old girl for sex more than two decades ago. Two of the alleged victims accused Jeremiah Lowe, 39, of molesting them when they were youngsters. One alleged he fondled her breasts when she was just 11 - and he was 18 - and another claimed he molested her when she was a little girl while he was babysitting her in the 2000s. Lowe's ex-wife, Abbey Plummer, claims he forced her to have sex with him, choked and...

Arak, the clear, anise-flavored liquor category known for its palate-cleansing abilities, has been gracing dinner tables throughout the Levant and beyond for many centuries. Its refreshing profile makes it the perfect complement to the region’s traditional mezze — a smorgasbord of spices and textures presented as small plates. Tubi 60, a 21st-century herbal spirit brand that first garnered a very enthusiastic following in Tel Aviv, has gone on to become a permanent fixture in Israeli bars and nightclubs. Fans praise the spirit for its seemingly euphoric side effects and its lack of hangover symptoms — maintaining an air of mystery...

Trustees for the Forney Independent School District got an earful from parents Monday night after the district released a new dress code last week that bans hoodies, denim, dresses, skirts and/or 'skorts' for a large number of students. It was the first board meeting since the district released the new 7-page dress code. A petition...to change or do away with the new dress code has already reached over 5,000 signatures. Per the district, no clothing with hoods is allowed any longer inside schools. That includes hoodies or jackets and coats with hoods. Dresses, skirts, and skorts are only allowed for...

Cassidy Hutchinson testified at Jan. 6 hearing that Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent when he couldn't go to Capitol The January 6 Committee didn't reach out to the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) before its Tuesday hearing regarding an allegation that former President Donald Trump lunged at one of its agents and tried to grab the steering wheel of a presidential vehicle, an agency spokesman said. USSS spokesperson Anthony Gugliemi confirmed to Fox News Wednesday that the committee did not contact it in the days ahead of the hearing, after it was first reported by Politico. The committee did...

Florida Pastor EXP0SED himself 0n Starbucks patio Of course it happened in Florida.

The Biden administration is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to advance racial equity in the government’s bloated, multi-billion-dollar food-stamp program that already serves a large minority population. A record 45 million people receive the welfare benefit, according to the latest figures published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), at a cost of about $80 billion. This month the administration announced it is investing $6 million to fund data projects centered on identifying inequities in the food stamp program, which was rebranded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by the Obama administration to eliminate the welfare stigma. The costly project is...

[Catholic Caucus] Pelosi receives Holy Communion at Mass presided over by Pope FrancisThe Democrat leader flew to Rome for a special meeting with Pope Francis, at which she received a blessing, before attending Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) – Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi has reportedly received Holy Communion at a Mass presided over by Pope Francis this morning, despite being banned from receiving Communion by her local ordinary, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.The Democrat leader flew to Rome for a special meeting with Pope Francis, at which she received a blessing, before attending Mass...

Former President Trump will travel to Alaska this weekend to stump for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s congressional bid and a GOP challenger to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The rally is set for Saturday afternoon. Trump will rally for Palin, Governor Mike Dunleavy and Kelly Tshibaka, who is looking to oust Murkowski. Earlier this month, Palin advanced in the special election to replace the late Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). She is among four candidates who will go on to a ranked-choice election on Aug. 16. Tshlibaka is facing off against Murkowski, the Alaska senator who has drawn Trump’s anger for...

While Gov. Gavin Newsom has pledged to make California a sanctuary for women seeking abortions, his administration won't spend public money to help people from other states travel to California for the procedure. Newsom's decision, included in a budget agreement reached over the weekend, surprised abortion advocates who have been working with the governor for nearly a year to prepare for a potential surge of patients from other states coming to California for abortions now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. California's operating budget, which is scheduled for a vote in the state Legislature on Wednesday,...

WASHINGTON — He flung his lunch across the room, smashing the plate in a fit of anger as ketchup dripped down the wall. He appeared to endorse supporters who wanted to hang his own vice president. And in a scene laid out by a former aide that seemed more out of a movie than real life, he tried to wrestle away the steering wheel of his presidential vehicle and lunged at his own Secret Service agent. Former President Donald Trump has never been seen as the most stable occupant of the Oval Office by almost anyone other than himself, but...

Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s Tuesday testimony ought to ring the death knell for former President Donald Trump’s political career. Trump is unfit to be anywhere near power ever again. Hutchinson’s resume alone should establish her credibility. The 25-year-old had already worked at the highest levels of conservative Republican politics, including in the offices of Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (LA), before becoming a top aide for former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows. In short, Hutchinson was a conservative Trumpist true believer and a tremendously credible one at that. She did not overstate...

In early June, during an uptick in COVID-19 cases, Alameda County was the only Bay Area county to bring back an indoor mask mandate. At the time, county Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss said, “Putting our masks back on gives us the best opportunity to limit the impact of a prolonged wave on our communities.” But regional case data provides no discernible evidence that the rule, which was lifted June 25, succeeded at that goal. The graphs below compare Alameda County’s seven-day average case rate from the past two months to rates in neighboring Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San...

I have a GE Tru Temp oven/stove and am having an issue which I believe may be thermostat related. The problem: when I turn on the over to say 350 degrees, it sometimes (often times) will not heat up to 350. I then have to turn the oven on…off…on…off..on..off..on.. off several times before it finally decides to preheat. Then, another problem I have is when I turn the oven on to say 375 degrees, it sometimes un-controllably warms up to which seems like 500-600 degrees and when it does that, I turn the oven off and it won’t go off....

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Fish are falling from the sky in parts of San Francisco, and a boom in coastal anchovy populations is to blame. Reddit user sanfrannie posted earlier this month that about a dozen 8-inch silver fish “rained down from the sky” onto their friend’s roof and back deck in the Outer Richmond. Several other users commented with similar experiences — one person said they “heard a whoosh sound behind me and heard a massive splat” before seeing fish scattered on a nearby driveway. Another commented that they “almost got hit by a fish waiting for a bus” in the Castro, and...

Liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has announced that he will step down from the high court, effective Thursday at noon. Breyer, who notified President Joe Biden back in January that he would retire at the end of the current term, released a letter on Wednesday stating that he will officially retire after the Court issues its final opinions of the term on Thursday. “The Court has announced that tomorrow, beginning at 10 a.m., it will hand down all remaining opinions ready during this Term. Accordingly, my retirement from active service under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 371(b)...

An agreement signed with Unilever Global stipulates that Ben & Jerry's franchisee in Israel can continue to sell ice cream all over Israel, including in Judea and Samaria - Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Economy Minister Orna Barbibai welcomed the decision: "An important value victory against discrimination and anti-Semitism at the heart of the boycott campaign on Israel" - CEO of Israel Avi Singer:" It was a long and complex struggle, crossing borders and sectors."