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SECOND WEEK OF EASTER John 3:1–8Friends, today in this inexhaustibly rich conversation with Nicodemus in the Gospel, Jesus tells the Israelite elder: “Unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”He is speaking with great directness here about metanoia, about the change of attitude required before one is capable of living in the energy of the Incarnation. Jesus senses that Nicodemus, the great “teacher of Israel,” is caught in the net of ego concerns, still clinging fearfully to his power and status, still exulting in his grasp of the religious traditions of his people.And Jesus’ concerns...

Amid a spike in the COVID-19 caseload, public health experts in Malaysia are encouraging the public to mask up once again. According to the latest data from the health ministry, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by 87.5 per cent in the 14 days leading up to Apr 8. Meanwhile, hospital admissions during the same period rose by 30.5 per cent while deaths due to COVID-19 went up by 25 per cent. As of Apr 8, the number of active cases nationally was more than 13,000. In a statement issued on Monday (Apr 17), the Association of Private Hospitals...

When China ended a lengthy border closure in January, e-commerce marketer Tianni Ren immediately began planning a team-building trip for her 14 employees to Australia, hoping to see its stunning pink salt lakes that had captivated her on social media. But instead, she took her colleagues from the city of Hangzhou to New Zealand after learning Australia was cut from a list of destinations approved by Beijing for group overseas travel, effectively halting a two-decade programme that had helped China dominate Australia's A$45 billion (US$30 billion) international tourism market until early 2020. SNIP After three years of struggle and anticipation,...

A woman on TikTok had some interesting opinions on potluck etiquette, and TikTok let her know that she had the wrong idea. Katie K (@Katiekcomedy) made a video regarding a potluck she recently attended, specifically a fellow attendee’s choice to bring a single pizza. “I didn’t think as a person in my 30s, that I would need to say this to other people in their 30s, but here we are,” she started. She went on to explain how someone brought one pizza for the entire group to share at a potluck, which she disagreed with. This magazine editor's closet is...

Sunday wasn't your average day at work for one pizza delivery driver in Aston, Delaware County.Middle Township, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Sunday wasn't your average day at work for one pizza delivery driver in Aston, Delaware County. While out on a delivery, Tyler Morell with Cocco's Pizza helped police put a stop to a high-speed chase. And the best part is, Morell's heroic act was all caught on video. "A car just came up doing like 75, he beached on the side of this person's lawn and almost took out a couple of cars," recalled Morell. What Morell thought was...

OpenAI’s leftist artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT is once again affirming that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, despite hedging in an earlier response. MRC Free Speech America followed up on its Easter analysis questioning ChatGPT on a range of Resurrection Day-related inquiries on April 4. The most revealing answer came when researchers asked ChatGPT: “Is Jesus the Son of God?” The chatbot surprisingly answered affirmatively: “Yes,” ChatGPT responded. “[I]n Christian theology, Jesus is commonly understood to be the Son of God.” ChatGPT changed its answer entirely when asked the same question again on April 11. ChatGPT laced its April...

Chicago's mayor-elect said the city should not demonize the teens who organized a 'Teen Takeover' of the Loop over the weekend, even after the event turned violent with cars burnt cars and minors shot. Brandon Johnson, 47, said Sunday he does not 'condone the destructive activity' and that it's 'unacceptable and has no place' in Chicago, but that it should not be used as a way to vilify the group. 'However, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities,' said Johnson, a progressive Democrat. Shocking footage showed some teenagers jumping...

"Live updates: AG's office says 8 officers fired 94 shots at Jayland Walker in 6.7 seconds The eight police officers involved in the killing of Jayland Walker last summer will not be criminally charged, a special grand jury decided, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Monday. Yost hosted a virtual press conference at 3:30 p.m. Monday, with Senior Assistant Attorneys General Anthony Pierson and Anthony Cillo. As of 4:30 p.m. Monday, High Street is closed between Bowery and State streets. Akron Metro RTA buses are still running but are detouring around the closure. Grand jury decision:No criminal charges for 8...

This often-spicy comfort food has a common base, with variations reflecting flavors of Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and moreIt may be the theme of noodle soup taken to its international, ultimate and yet entirely logical extreme. It may also be the most approachably delicious dish you’ve never heard of: laksa. In reality, laksa is not a single dish, but an array of different but related Southeast Asian noodle soup dishes particularly popular in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. All forms of laksa feature noodles of some type with toppings like chicken, shrimp and/or fish in either a rich and often spicy coconut...

Gov. Kathy Hochul reportedly authorized payment of nearly $2 million in taxpayer money for outside ghostwriters to help draft her State of the State speeches. Most of the money was paid to Deloitte Consulting and the Boston Consulting Group to help the state’s first female governor shape her vision, according to the New York Times. Hochul’s office shelled out $871,000 on three outside firms to help prepare this year’s speech – with Boston Consulting Group racking up the largest amount of $838,000 for what it listed in records as “SOS support.” Representatives for three of Hochul’s predecessors — fellow Democrats...

Jane Seymour saw a "white light" during a near-death experience. The actress, 72, famed for playing Bond girl Solitaire in 1973's Live and Let Die alongside Roger Moore as 007, said she could have been killed when she contracted bronchitis while filming a movie and went into anaphylactic shock due to wrongly administered antibiotics. She told The Times about her vision during her brush with death, when she was asked if she believes in an afterlife: "I have no idea. I do know that I left my body [after the near-lethal antibiotics]". "I did see the white light and I...

Explanation: What's that red ring in the sky? Lightning. The most commonly seen type of lightning involves flashes of bright white light between clouds. Over the past 50 years, though, other types of upper-atmospheric lightning have been confirmed, including red sprites and blue jets. Less well known and harder to photograph is a different type of upper atmospheric lightning known as ELVES. ELVES are thought to be created when an electromagnetic pulse shoots upward from charged clouds and impacts the ionosphere, causing nitrogen molecules to glow. The red ELVES ring pictured had a radius of about 350 km and was...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing a tough-on-crime agenda ahead of an expected presidential bid with his support for two bills in the state legislature, including one that would challenge the U.S. Supreme Court. DeSantis is backing a bill that would authorize the death penalty for child rapists. Under the legislation, a jury - by a vote of at least 8-4 - can recommend a death sentence for sexual battery on a child under age 12. 'We are authorizing the death penalty for child rapists,' DeSantis said Monday morning during an interview with an Orlando radio state. 'My view is...

Donald Trump's campaign team has dismissed the finding of a poll that suggests Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would be the preferred 2024 Republican candidate against Joe Biden in key swing states. A survey from GOP firm Public Opinion Strategies shows that DeSantis, who has not confirmed he is running for president but is expected to do so soon, would beat Biden in Arizona and Pennsylvania in a hypothetical 2024 face-off by 48 to 42 percent and 45 percent to 42 percent respectively. The poll of 500 registered voters in Arizona and Pennsylvania also showed that Trump would lose to Biden...

On a Wednesday in April 2020, Gigi Hadid dispatched an Instagram story detailing her recipe for spicy vodka sauce for two. It was a few weeks into the lockdowns, and all over the country, boules of sourdough quivered, forgotten as they sat proofing on countertops, their creators’ attention turned elsewhere. To a place where acerbic met sweet, where cheesy met creamy, where all of that met al dente, and where, best of all, it happened in less time than it took to stream an episode of Tiger King. Americans watched with bated breath as Hadid added one half cup of...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday threatened to build a state prison next to Walt Disney World as payback for the company's attempt to circumvent the authority of his oversight board. The Republican governor ramped up his war against the Magic Kingdom by declaring the state legislature, controlled by his party, will void Disney's legal maneuvering that effectively stripped his new oversight board of authority over the company. And he promised more crackdowns to come next week as he rains down war on theme park giant in order to keep Mickey, Minnie and company from living happily ever after. DeSantis...

Former President Donald Trump said Friday if he is elected president in 2024, he will liberate Americans from the regulatory onslaught of the Biden administration."Cutting wasteful and job-killing regulations was a key part of my America-First economic agenda that built the greatest economy in the history of the world," Trump said in his latest "Agenda 47" campaign policies video posted to social media, including on his Truth Social account."As I work to quickly save America from Joe Biden's economic disaster — and that's what it is: one of the great economic disasters of all time — I will restore my...

A massive mob ransacked a Los Angeles gas station and stole thousands of dollars worth of alcohol, condoms and snacks during an illegal street takeover - as cops said they were unable to intervene due to being outnumbered. Footage from Sunday around 2am showed a group stopping traffic in the Compton intersection of Alondra Boulevard and Central Avenue to drift their cars before charging toward a nearby Arco. Deputies said they couldn't intervene as a mob of about 100 people broke the windows of a mini-mart and wiped it clean because they were outnumbered. Those involved appeared to be mostly...

Voter ID requirement From 4 May 2023, voters in England will need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations in some elections. This will apply to: Local elections Police and Crime Commissioner elections UK parliamentary by-elections Recall petitions From October 2023 it will also apply to UK General elections. If you don't have accepted photo ID, you can apply for a free voter ID document, which is known as a Voter Authority Certificate. Find out more about accepted forms of photo ID, how to apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate, and what to expect on polling day.

Bonus song - I found the lyrics on the Internet, and I couldn't resist.