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Installation was completed on the world's largest radio telescope on Sunday morning as the last of 4,450 panels was fitted into the center of the big dish. ... In the first two or three years after its completion, the telescope will undergo further adjustment, and during that period Chinese scientists will use it for early-stage research. After that, it will be open to scientists worldwide, said Peng Bo, director of the NAO Radio Astronomy Technology Laboratory. Scientists can also carry out remote control and observation in other cities such as Beijing, more than 2,000 kilometers from the telescope site, said...

Wendy’s (WEN) said that self-service ordering kiosks will be made available across its 6,000-plus restaurants in the second half of the year as minimum wage hikes and a tight labor market push up wages. It will be up to franchisees whether to deploy the labor-saving technology, but Wendy’s President Todd Penegor did note that some franchise locations have been raising prices to offset wage hikes. McDonald’s (MCD) has been testing self-service kiosks. But Wendy’s, which has been vocal about embracing labor-saving technology, is launching the biggest potential expansion. It’s not surprising that some franchisees might face more of a labor-cost...

Cruz surrogate Glenn Beck is once again encouraging Americans to join him in a fast in the run-up to a crucial primary vote and to spread the word with the hashtag #Tuesdayfast. In a Sunday night Facebook post, Beck wrote: "I would like to ask that you, your family and friends join me for a day of prayers, fasting and humility. To beg the Lord to not remove His hand from us. To turn to Him and ask that He will heal our land. Beginning Monday night and running for 24 hours ending on Tuesday will you pray and if...

The Obama administration failed to adhere to a court-ordered Friday deadline to turn over all subpoenaed documents to Congress about the government's role in the 2009-2011 Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal, prompting immediate complaints from Congress. "Today, under court order, DOJ turned over some of the subpoenaed documents," House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz said in a statement late Friday. "The committee, however, is entitled to the full range of documents for which it brought this lawsuit. Accordingly, we have appealed the District Court's ruling in order to secure those additional documents." A U.S. District Court judge had ruled in January...

The Obama administration caved to a judge’s order Friday and sent documents from the botched Fast & Furious gun-running operation to Congress, complying with a subpoena the House Oversight Committee issued years ago. President Obama had claimed executive privilege in trying to shield the documents from Congress, but a federal judge rejected that, insisting lawmakers had a right to see the information in order to complete their investigation into an operation that saw thousands of guns trafficked into Mexico, with the administration’s knowledge. With just hours to go before the judge’s 60-day deadline, the administration complied Friday. “As we’ve long...

FASTING AND GREAT LENT THE TRIODION Great Lent is the 40-day season of spiritual preparation that comes before the most important Feast of the Christian year, Holy Pascha (which means "Passover" and is commonly called "Easter",). It is the central part of a larger time of preparation called the Triodion season. The Triodion begins ten weeks before Easter and is divided into three main parts: three Pre-Lenten weeks of preparing our hearts, the six weeks of Lent, and Holy Week. The main theme of the Triodion is repentance--mankind's return to God, our loving Father. This annual season of repentance is...

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch was scheduled to appear at a Portland Police gang task force meeting, but no-showed after learning that folks from Don’t Shoot Portland planned on attending and possibly protesting. In lieu of Ms. Lynch, the moderator at the regularly held meeting used a big easel to jot down concerns and comments from the community to take to Lynch. But the moderator only wanted to hear from certain organizations and agencies, and refused to call on anyone else. Finally, after Penny Okamoto, of Ceasefire Oregon, gave a monologue about wanting stricter oversight of federally licensed gun dealers,

Following Donald Trump’s victory in the South Carolina GOP primary, talk radio host Glenn Beck urged his Facebook followers to join him and his family “in a fast for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), our country and the Nevada caucus.” “I would like to ask you to join me and my family Monday in a fast for Ted Cruz, our country and the Nevada caucus,” Beck wrote on his Facebook page after the South Carolina election results showed a decisive double-digit victory for Trump, whose candidacy Beck has been staunchly opposed to.

For years, the Obama Administration has stood behind two excuses (given under oath) for not sending a quick reaction force to assist in rescuing American citizens during the Sept. 11, 2012 al Qaeda-linked attacks on the U.S. consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans. The first excuse being: There were no forces available that could have responded quickly. The second reason was: Even if they had scrambled more people, they couldn't have gotten there in time to make a difference. Now, an email, hidden for three years, has come to light and...

Shake Shack announced Thursday it's expanding the release of a popular fried chicken sandwich to its menu nationwide. The Chick’n Shack debuts after the restaurant tested the sandwich this summer at its Brooklyn, N.Y. locations.

St. Paisius (Velichkovsky)St. Paisius (1722-1794) was born Peter Velichkovsky in Poltava, Ukraine, to a priestly family. At age thirteen he enter the Kiev Theological School with the intention of following in his father’s footsteps, but felt there something missing—the monastic tradition of mental prayer and the patristic approach. He soon departed to find a monastery, and his search for true monastic instruction took him to Mount Athos where he labored for seventeen years, becoming the spiritual father to many monks. These years on Mount Athos were filled with labors in asceticism and study of the true monastic life. Greece...

Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar -- the Day of Atonement when observant Jews fast, pray to God for forgiveness and to be cleansed of sin -- begins at sunset Wednesday. And for 102-year-old Helen Stemple, it is yet another year to think about being a good person. Most Popular Officials: LI cop arrested in hit-run that injured driver Police: DWI driver flipped vehicle, hid in woods Police: 1 dead in two-vehicle crash on turnpike Jury: School district employee lost job in retaliation, gets $50G Pols to OTB: Reveal location for planned gambling parlor Stemple lives in...

The U.S. government is fighting to keep details of how its own federal gun agents let Mexican drug cartels buy rifles in Arizona illegally out of an upcoming murder trial in which two men will be tried for the killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry who died after he ran into men carrying those same illegal guns. In a court filing Monday, prosecutors are trying to keep some details about the guns found at the slain agent’s murder scene away from the jury. Terry, 40, was part of the Border Patrol’s elite BORTAC unit. In December 2010, the...

Standing at your deathbed, the Apostles cried aloud in wonder: The Palace of the King withdraws: the Ark of holiness is raised on high. Let the gates be opened wide that the Gate of God may enter into abundant joy, She who asks without ceasing for great mercy on the world. Several years ago, I was sharing with an Orthodox pilgrim the thought that the Dormition fast, though short, was very intense spiritually and that hardships seemed to befall people more in those two weeks than in the long Apostles’ fast. Without hesitation he responded, “Of course! Lent is...

San Francisco (CNN)The gun used in the killing of a San Francisco woman in a case that gave new political prominence to the issue of illegal immigration was stolen from a vehicle belonging to a federal Bureau of Land Management agent, a source familiar with the investigation said Wednesday. Kate Steinle was shot to death on July 1 on one of San Francisco's busiest piers. The .40-caliber pistol was a personal weapon, not an official firearm, the source said. Investigators still are trying to determine how Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, the man accused in Steinle's killing, allegedly obtained the weapon, according...

The blood-soaked executioners of ISIS have spared neither women nor children since the jihadist army established its caliphate a year ago, putting an estimated 74 kids and even more women to death for such offenses as practicing “magic” and refusing to fast during Ramadan.

See Boehner doles out new punishment ”Boehner allies have been retaliating against rank-and-file members who voted against a procedural motion earlier this month, nearly derailing a major trade package favored by Republican leaders that is set to clear the House on Thursday.” Our Constitution is crystal clear that any deals cooked up by our president must receive a two thirds approval vote by our national legislature to be binding law. See Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2: The President shall have power "... by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of...

The burger chain that put "supersize" into the American vernacular is slimming down: For the first time in more than 40 years, and perhaps ever, McDonald's says the number of U.S. restaurants it has is shrinking. McDonald's plans to close more restaurants in the U.S. than it opens this year, according to the world's biggest hamburger chain. That hasn't happened since at least 1970, according to an Associated Press review of McDonald's regulatory filings. Becca Hary, a McDonald's spokeswoman, declined to provide a specific figure but said the reduction would be "minimal" compared with its total of about 14,300 U.S....

Senator Jeff Sessions is worried that the adoption of the Trans-Pacific Partnership would lead to an "historic international regulatory Commission" that would eoncmpass 90 percent of the world's GDP. He's concerned that it would "[create] a self-governing and self-perpetuating Commission with extraordinary implications for American workers and American sovereignty." “The House is preparing to vote again tomorrow on providing fast-track executive authority to the President. If adopted, it will be sent immediately to the Senate for final consideration," Sessions says in a statement to be released tonight. "It is essential that there be no misunderstanding: fast-track preapproves the formation of...

Fast-food giant McDonald's said Wednesday it would announce a turnaround plan in two weeks as sinking US sales dragged down profits again in the first quarter. The ubiquitous burger-and-fries chain said US sales, the largest share of global income, fell 2.6 percent from a year ago for comparable outlets.