Category: Opinion

Posted on

What is Easter, and why do Christians celebrate this holiday? | Fox News

Easter Day, which falls on Sunday for most Christians in the U.S., celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Easter Day, which falls on Sunday for most Christians in the U.S., celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After being executed on a cross on Good Friday, Jesus was buried in a tomb. That first Easter, some 2,000 years ago, God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. The account is found in all four Gospels of the New Testament in the Bible.

That’s the basic definition. I hope every Christian knows that much, and I suspect that many non-Christians know this much, too. Beyond those basics, much of our Easter celebration is layered in tradition.

Our churches are often decorated with white lilies and other spring flowers. Families gather for festive meals, often eating ham or lamb. For me personally, jelly beans are always a highlight of Easter customs. It’s traditional to buy new clothes to wear to church on Easter. And if you come to a church on Easter Day, it’s likely you’ll sing hymns and songs beloved by that church community.

But if we keep looking at Easter, it gets more complex and the meaning deepens. The day is larger than the commemoration of a historic event, and it’s larger than familiar traditions. For on Easter, everything changed.

We Christians believe that Jesus Christ was sent by God the father to live among us, to show us perfect love. Jesus loved outcasts and sinners. Jesus offered hope and healing. Jesus said that our joy is found in sacrificial generosity, not in accruing possessions.

Jesus always told the truth. Jesus offered forgiveness of sin, even to those who betrayed and murdered him. Jesus said, over and over, that we shouldn’t be afraid. Jesus showed us perfect love.

Of course, the Roman Empire didn’t much care for someone preaching a message like this. The empire relied on wealth and was built on might and fear. Jesus’ teachings undercut all that.

Authorities conspired to kill Jesus in an attempt to silence his message. So Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tortured and executed on a cross. His followers lovingly cared for his body and he was buried in a stone tomb.

When women went to the tomb early on Easter morning, they found it was empty. Then they met the risen Jesus, who told them not to be afraid. These women told the men, Jesus’ disciples, the good news that Jesus had been raised from the dead, that he was alive.

People 2,000 years ago understood that when people die, they are meant to stay dead. So it was shocking to them to see their friend and teacher alive again. They were so convinced that Jesus was really, truly alive that many of them would willingly be martyred for their faith in the decades that followed.

Jesus’ followers rejoiced at Easter and developed deep faith. It wasn’t just that Easter showed them a really amazing miracle. No, the joy of Easter is even deeper than that.

Easter shows us that perfect love always wins. In the end, whatever powerful people might try to do to silence love, God’s way is always stronger.

Easter shows us that our mortal bodies die, but life for us continues. Easter shows us that we need not fear death. Death no longer has dominion over us.

This holiday celebrates a complete reorientation of the universe. Love defeats hate. Hope defeats fear. Sacrifice defeats greed. Mercy defeats might. Life defeats death.

If you celebrate Easter, you are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But you are also celebrating God’s great love for us, a love strong enough to defeat death itself. Happy Easter to you all.

Source: What is Easter, and why do Christians celebrate this holiday? | Fox News

Posted on

Pittsburgh area restaurants offering Easter meals to go

Easter has changed for many people this year. Most of us will be having an intimate Easter at home.

Luma, in Mount Lebanon, is one of several offering Easter meals to go, and still accepting orders.

“We’d like to get all the orders by Saturday at the latest, so that we can prepare,” owner Greg Ackerman said.

Ackerman is offering his fine dining menu for Easter, which includes filet, salmon oscar, short ribs and other options.

“We’re seeing individual orders, we are seeing orders for two people,” Ackerman said. “It hurts your heart because you feel for that grandmother who is not gonna be able to see her grandchildren or her children for Easter. But, we’re happy that we are able to provide at least some sense of Easter dinner.”

DiAnoia’s Eatery, in the Strip District, has sold out of their Easter meals.

“We sold over 450 of them,” owner Aimee DiAndrea Anoia said.

DiAndrea Anoia said they are still offering their homemade pasta boxes, which include fresh bread and wine.

Both DiAndrea Anoia and Ackerman agree that they are able to continue serving, and offering Easter, due to the generosity of their customers.

“They’ve really been good to us,” said Ackerman “That’s what’s keeping us afloat, it’s a tough time, but it’s a tough time for everyone.”

Here are some options in the Pittsburgh area for Easter meals to go:

https://goodfoodpittsburgh.com/order-easter-meals-for-pickup-from-these-pittsburgh-restaurants/

https://patch.com/pennsylvania/pittsburgh/amp/28681731/these-pittsburgh-restaurants-will-be-open-easter

https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2020/04/order-easter-dinner-for-pickup-from-these-restaurants-in-central-pa.html?outputType=amp

Source: Pittsburgh area restaurants offering Easter meals to go

Posted on

What are the main modes of transmission for COVID-19? | Live Science

The new coronavirus has upended all of our usual calculus about seemingly ordinary activities. Is running past someone on the street safe? How about shopping in a grocery store with a 6-foot (2 meters) distance? And what about packages and takeout? And which of these activities poses the biggest risk?Unfortunately, there’s a lot we still don’t know about the way the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads.”At this point, I don’t think anyone can take a group of people with COVID, say how each person has become infected, and then say that xx% got infected with droplets and yy% got infected via touching surfaces,” Dr. Jeffrey N. Martin, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, told Live Science in an email. “I don’t think this kind of study has ever been done for any infection. In most individual persons, we do not know how the person got infected.

 

—Coronavirus in the US: Map & cases 

—What are the symptoms of COVID-19? 

—How deadly is the new coronavirus? 

—How long does coronavirus last on surfaces? 

—Is there a cure for COVID-19? 

—How does COVID-19 compare with seasonal flu? 

—How does the coronavirus spread? 

—Can people spread the coronavirus after they recover?

Source: What are the main modes of transmission for COVID-19? | Live Science

Posted on

Tuition-Free Online & Virtual Public School Programs | K12

K12 offers students a high-quality education through tuition-free online public schools available in more than 33 states, plus it offers great help regarding student loan help for those who are thinking of going to college. K12’s acclaimed K–8 and high school programs provide an individualized educational experience for students. Take charge of your child’s education with K12.

How does public school at home work?

K12 uses digital technology to provide a rigorous, interactive curriculum and high-quality educational experiences that give students an opportunity to succeed.

How is public school at home the same as a traditional school?

Like brick-and-mortar schools, K12-powered online public schools:

  • Are tuition-free* and full time
  • Serve students in grades kindergarten through 12
  • Have state-certified teachers who provide instruction and support
  • Follow a traditional school year
  • Adhere to state requirements for assessments
  • Award graduates a high school diploma

Source: Tuition-Free Online & Virtual Public School Programs | K12

Posted on

Easter on the big screen at Pittsburgh-area drive-in

VANDERGRIFT, Pa. —

7:45 PM | 9:15 PM | Riverside Drive In

April 10–12

The Riverside Drive-In in Parks Township, Armstrong County is teaming up with Harvest Baptist Church in Natrona Heights to provide Easter services while also allowing people wishing to worship to practice social distancing.

There will be six showings of a 53-minute pre-recorded service at the drive-in this weekend.

Although the drive-in has a capacity of 300 cars, owner Todd Ament said he’ll limit capacity to 150 to help people practice social distancing. Bathrooms will be open but concessions will be closed.

The event is free but people wishing to attend need to reserve a spot online.

To reserve a spot, click this link.

Source: Easter on the big screen at Pittsburgh-area drive-in

Posted on

Bob Dylan Gets First Billboard No. 1 Murder Most Foul Charts

Better late than never.

A very talented, promising young musician just earned his first No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and he goes by the name of [checks notes] Bob Dylan? Yes, Nobel Prize in Literature holder, Oscar winner, and ten-time Grammy award-winning folk legend Bob Dylan has climbed to the top of the charts for the first time in his career at the tender age of 78. Pitchfork reports that Dylan’s 17-minute song “Murder Most Foul” about the assassination of JFK, which he surprise released last month, now sits atop the Rock Digital Song Sales chart after selling 10,000 downloads within its first week of release.

Source: Bob Dylan Gets First Billboard No. 1 Murder Most Foul Charts

Posted on

Pittsburgh food bank president worries about supply running out | TribLIVE.com

Lisa Scales has worked in food banks for nearly 25 years. She was involved in food distribution efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and to the 9/11 attacks in New York.

She has never experienced anything like the need associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

“I have never seen a spike in need to this degree,” said Scales, president and CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. “I have never seen need like we’ve seen in the past several weeks in the Pittsburgh region and frankly across the country.”

Scales is facing a harsh reality that the current need for food is greater than the food bank’s supply can meet.

So far, the food bank has held four large-scale, drive-up distributions and served boxes of food to over 5,000 cars. It has more distributions planned and is developing other methods of getting food into the community. But Scales believes that in the midst of the covid-19 crisis, the food bank has met its match.

“It’s hard for me to say this, but the need is so significant that, despite our best efforts, I know that we will not be able to meet all of the need that’s in the community throughout the entirety of the crisis,” Scales said.

EMAIL NEWSLETTERS 

Source: Pittsburgh food bank president worries about supply running out | TribLIVE.com

Posted on

U.S. stock futures retreat ahead of Friday’s jobs report – MarketWatch

U.S. stock index futures fell late Thursday, leaving Wall Street on track for another week of losses. As of 9 p.m. Eastern, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -1.21% were down more than 200 points, or 1%, while S&P 500 futures ES00, -1.17% and Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, -1.20% slipped as well. Earlier, stocks gained in the regular session, with the Dow DJIA, +2.24% closing up more than 2% as President Donald Trump hinted at imminent production curbs by feuding oil giants Saudi Arabia and Russia. But investors may be bracing for Friday’s March jobs report, which is expected to be ugly though not fully indicative of the massive job losses caused by businesses shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, data showed that unemployment applications last week soared to a record 6.6 million.

Source: U.S. stock futures retreat ahead of Friday’s jobs report – MarketWatch

Posted on

“Above normal” 2020 Atlantic hurricane season on tap, researchers forecast – CBS News

As the world battles the coronavirus crisis, researchers are warning of a potentially active Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, which kicks off June 1 through the end of November.

Specifically, the team forecasts 16 named tropical systems; 12 is the average. Eight of those named systems are forecast to reach hurricane status, with winds greater than 74 mph; Six is the usual amount per year. CSU is also forecasting more major hurricanes than is typical per year: four as opposed to the average of 2.7.

At least eight of the 16 named tropical storms that are forecast will reach hurricane status with winds greater than 74 mph, according to Colorado State University.

Source: “Above normal” 2020 Atlantic hurricane season on tap, researchers forecast – CBS News

Posted on

Will zinc supplements protect against coronavirus? | Fox News

Dr. Manny explains whether you should be taking zinc supplements to help prevent COVID-19.

Dear. Dr. Manny, 

I’ve read that zinc supplements may help protect me against COVID-19. Is there any truth to that? 

Thanks for your question.

Right now, the most important measure that you can take to protect yourself from the novel coronavirus is social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and following the guidelines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has put out for self-quarantine.

However, I do understand your question.

MONITORING FOR CORONAVIRUS: WHAT IS AN OXIMETER? 

Zinc supplements have been touted for many years to be effective in shortening the phase of common colds, and there is data to support that impression.

There have been many randomized controlled trials that have shown that zinc supplements can inhibit replication of the common cold viruses and, therefore, reduce the average duration of a common cold.

Source: Will zinc supplements protect against coronavirus? | Fox News

Posted on

Stock Markets in Asia Dip on Dire U.S. Warning: Live Updates – The New York Times

Markets fell in early Wednesday trading in Asia as investors digested a steady drip of worrying news about the economic ramifications of the global coronavirus outbreak.

Major indexes in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were modestly lower midday, as financial markets settled into a slow grind of bad news. While the panic of recent weeks appeared to have subsided, numerous signs pointed to glum prospects for a quick recovery.

After Wall Street’s Tuesday close, President Trump said at a news conference that the United States would face “a very painful, very very painful two weeks.” U.S. government scientists projected that the outbreak could kill up to 240,000 Americans.

Futures markets predicted Europe and the United States would open lower later on Wednesday. Prices for long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, a traditional investment safe haven, rose, as did gold futures. Oil prices were mixed.

Source: Stock Markets in Asia Dip on Dire U.S. Warning: Live Updates – The New York Times

Posted on

Royal baby: Meghan gives birth to boy, Harry announces – BBC News

The Duchess of Sussex has given birth to a boy, the Duke of Sussex has announced.

Prince Harry said they were both “absolutely thrilled” and thanked the public for their support during the pregnancy.

The duke added they were still thinking about names.

Source: Royal baby: Meghan gives birth to boy, Harry announces – BBC News

Posted on

Kentucky Derby 2019 winner: Country House wins after Maximum Security is disqualified – Los Angeles Times

Country House won the 145th Kentucky Derby on Saturday after Maximum Security, which crossed the finish line first, was disqualified for a contact foul while making its way onto the final stretch.

Source: Kentucky Derby 2019 winner: Country House wins after Maximum Security is disqualified – Los Angeles Times

Posted on

Rachel Held Evans, the hugely popular evangelical writer, is dead at 37.

Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism.

Rachel Held Evans, an influential progressive Christian writer and speaker who cheerfully challenged American evangelical culture, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Evans, 37, entered the hospital in mid-April with the flu, and then had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics, as she wrote on Twitter several weeks ago. According to her husband, Dan Evans, she then developed sustained seizures. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma, but some seizures returned when her medical team attempted to wean her from the medications that were maintaining her coma. Her condition worsened on Thursday morning, and her medical team discovered severe swelling of her brain. She died early on Saturday morning.

Source: Rachel Held Evans, the hugely popular evangelical writer, is dead at 37.

Posted on

Illinois marijuana legalization bill would allow possession up to 30 grams, 5 plants grown at home – Chicago Tribune

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to legalize marijuana in Illinois would allow adults 21 and over to possess up to 30 grams, grow five plants at home and open a path to expungement of convictions, including some felonies.

Source: Illinois marijuana legalization bill would allow possession up to 30 grams, 5 plants grown at home – Chicago Tribune

Posted on

Here’s where the jobs are — in one chart

CNBC studied the net changes by industry for April jobs based on the data from the Labor Department.

The business and professional services sector alone added 76,000 jobs, with strong hiring in computer systems design, temporary help services, and building and dwelling services like pest extermination, landscaping and housekeeping. The sector also includes lawyers, accountants and consultants.

Source: Here’s where the jobs are — in one chart

Posted on

Wisconsin restaurant bans kids from dining without their parents | Daily Mail Online

Tom’s Drive In in Appleton, Wisconsin, made the decision after groups of youngsters repeatedly treated staff poorly and disrespected the restaurant by vandalizing booths and leaving mess.

Tom’s Drive In in Appleton, Wisconsin, made the decision after groups of youngsters repeatedly treated staff poorly and disrespected the restaurant by vandalizing booths and leaving large messes.

While many say the reaction was justified, others have complained that they are punishing the masses for the bad actions of a few.

The restaurant has a sign on its front door which reads: ‘Due to mistreatment of Tom’s Drive In’s property, guests and staff, you are no longer allowed inside of the building without parental supervision.

Source: Wisconsin restaurant bans kids from dining without their parents | Daily Mail Online

Posted on

Taliban rejects calls for Ramadan truce in Afghanistan – BBC News

A traditional council, or loya jirga, made the proposal as it meets to discuss peace in Kabul.

The grand assembly is meeting in Kabul this week to discuss peace and called for an immediate ceasefire between the government and militants.

President Ashraf Ghani agreed to a truce provided it was not “one-sided”.

But the Taliban rejected the call and accused members of being government allies.

In 2018 the Taliban agreed a three-day ceasefire coinciding with Eid at the end of the holy month of Ramadan – their first since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Speaking at the meeting of the loya jirga – a grand tribal council attended by 3,200 religious leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country – Mr Ghani said: “Let us prove that only Western countries cannot solve this conflict. There is also human civilisation here.”

Source: Taliban rejects calls for Ramadan truce in Afghanistan – BBC News

Posted on

CVS closing 46 stores: See the list of CVS Pharmacy locations closing

CVS Health is closing 46 of its stores, saying the locations were “underperforming” as the drugstore chain continues to shift more of its retail presence toward health care services.

The move cost CVS about $135 million as a “store rationalization charge” in its first-quarter earnings report.

The cuts represent fewer than 1% of the about 9,600 CVS Pharmacy stores nationwide.

The closures, which happened over the last two months, include a 64,000-square-foot location in Springfield, Missouri, once described as the largest CVS in the world.

They also included four stores in Chicago, two in San Francisco and two in Minneapolis. (Scroll down to see the list.)

More: Payless, CVS and Victoria’s Secret are just some of the brands closing stores in 2019

Source: CVS closing 46 stores: See the list of CVS Pharmacy locations closing

Posted on

Oliver North out as NRA president after leadership dispute

Nation Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre applauds behind the empty seat of Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North at the NRA Annual Meeting of Members in Indianapolis, Saturday, April 27, 2019. North has announced that he will not serve a second term as president of the NRA amid inner turmoil in the gun-rights group. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

North, whose one-year term ends Monday, did not show up for the meeting, and his spot on the stage was left empty, his nameplate still in its place. His statement was largely met with silence. Wayne LaPierre, whom North had tried to push out, later received two standing ovations.

It was a stunning conclusion to a battle between two conservative and Second Amendment titans — North, the retired Marine lieutenant colonel with a ramrod demeanor who was at the center of the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, and LaPierre, who has been battle-tested in the decades since he took up the mantle of gun rights. He has fought back challenges that have arisen over the decades, seemingly emerging unscathed each time. In this latest effort, he pushed back against North, telling members of the NRA’s board of directors that North had threatened to release “damaging” information about him to them and saying it amounted to an “extortion” attemp

Source: Oliver North out as NRA president after leadership dispute

Posted on

Expert reveals why the idea of alien life no longer seems like science fiction | Daily Mail Online

According to a researcher from the University of Melbourne, the idea of alien life is not as far-fetched as it used to seem, thanks to remarkable discoveries over the past two decades.

While life is a special kind of complex chemistry, the elements involved are nothing special: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and so on are among the most abundant elements in the universe. Complex organic chemistry is surprisingly common.

Amino acids, just like those that make up every protein in our bodies, have been found in the tails of comets. There are other organic compounds in Martian soil.

And 6,500 light years away a giant cloud of space alcohol floats among the stars.

Habitable planets seem to be common too. The first planet beyond our Solar System was discovered in 1995. Since then astronomers have catalogued thousands.

Based on this catalogue, astronomers from the University of California, Berkeley worked out there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized exoplanets in the so-called ‘habitable zone’ around their star, where temperatures are mild enough for liquid water to exist on the surface.

Source: Expert reveals why the idea of alien life no longer seems like science fiction | Daily Mail Online

Posted on

Colorado Sen. Bennet jumps in 2020 race, as Democratic field grows even larger | Fox News

Add Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado to the still-growing list of Democrats running for the White House.

“We cannot be the first generation to leave less to our kids, not more. That’s why I’m running for President,” Bennet announced on Twitter Thursday morning. “Let’s build opportunity for every American and restore integrity to our government.”

On an interview with CBS News, Bennet emphasized that the nation faces two enormous challenges – “a lack of economic mobility and opportunity for most Americans” and the “need to restore integrity to our government.”

And he stressed that “if we continue to go down the path we’re going, we’re going to be the first generation of Americans to leave less opportunity, not more, to the next generation. I just need to do everything I can do that we don’t do that.”

Source: Colorado Sen. Bennet jumps in 2020 race, as Democratic field grows even larger | Fox News

Posted on

Trucking company shuts down, had ties to closed auto plant

A trucking company in Ohio that had been a mover of parts for the auto industry has abruptly closed.

Youngstown-based Falcon Transport Co. told its 550 workers over the weekend that it was immediately shutting down all operations.

Falcon Transport hasn’t given a reason for its decision to close. It had been a family-run business until it was bought by a private equity firm in 2017.

Employees say they received a text on Saturday night telling them to stop the work they were doing for the company.

Source: Trucking company shuts down, had ties to closed auto plant

Posted on

Watch live: May Day protests turn violent in Paris | Euronews

May Day protests in Paris have erupted into violence as police met demonstrators with tear gas in the city’s Vavin neighbourhood.

French police said it had made 165 arrests by early afternoon and had conducted more than 9,000 searches.

Heightened security has been put in place across Paris for this year’s demonstrations amid ongoing tension with the gilets jaunes movement, and climate protesting.

It’s feared that hooligans bent on violence in the French capital will join the “gilets jaunes”, as trade unionists, students and others turn out to mark International Workers’ Day.

President Emmanuel Macron’s recent promise of tax cuts and other reforms have been rejected in some quarters.

Source: Watch live: May Day protests turn violent in Paris | Euronews

Posted on

PENNSYLVANIA CICADAS: 17-year cicadas expected to emerge soon

For the last 17 years, millions of these cicadas have been sleeping in the ground, but in May they will come out of hibernation and start buzzing.

They are different from the kind of cicadas seen and heard in Western Pennsylvania every summer.

For the last 17 years, millions of these cicadas have been sleeping in the ground, but in May they will come out of hibernation and start buzzing.

They will make their appearance as soon as soil 8 inches down reaches an average of 64 degrees.

They will stick around for about six weeks, reproducing and being very loud, before the droning buzz fades away for another 17 years

Source: PENNSYLVANIA CICADAS: 17-year cicadas expected to emerge soon

Posted on

This Week, NASA Is Pretending An Asteroid Is On Its Way To Smack The Earth : NPR

The asteroid is in a horrible orbit and has a 1% chance of striking Earth in just eight years. And — thank goodness — it doesn’t really exist.

It’s a fictitious asteroid that’s the focus of a realistic exercise devised for scientists and engineers from around the world who are attending the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference being held this week outside Washington, D.C.

A real asteroid of this size, should it ever hit the planet, could wipe out an entire city.

“This is a threat that could happen, even though it’s extremely unlikely,” says Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who created this realistic simulation. “Our goal here is to go through all of the steps that we would have to go through.”

He says a lot has been learned from three previous drills held at past international conferences and from other asteroid exercises that have been separately conducted by officials at NASA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Source: This Week, NASA Is Pretending An Asteroid Is On Its Way To Smack The Earth : NPR

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress
%d bloggers like this: