Early this week, all the nations using coal planrts agreed to shut them down by 2035 at the latest, the New American website reported on May 1, 2024
This includes the U.S. , which still operates more than 200 coal-- fired power plants.
It does not include China and India which are starting up new coal plants faster than the West is shutting its down.
The Evangelical Christian Churches in the U.S. are a very important feature of American life and have a great influence on the world evangelical community, the Christian Today website reports today (April 30, 2024).
They make up a large part of rthe Christian population of the U.S. as well as the overall population.
The impact on culture, communities, and individual lives is difficult to exaggerate. However, it is their involvement with politics which has increasingly gained attention. Their close association with the Republican Party is wqell known , but their support for Donald Trump has become a defining feature since 2016.
In 2016, it generally is accepted that about 81% of White U.S. evangelists voted for Donald Trump. Some analysis of the data argues for it being 79%, but figures are comparable . The proportion voting for Trump in 2020 was similarto the higher figure. This support of white evangelicals (and it is necessary to add that racial clarifier) for the Republican Party in its current Trump--MAGA -- form, has become one of the norms of modern U.S. politics. There is every sign that 20 24 will be comparable with previous patterns of voting.
The ideological voting pattern, so clear in 2016 and 2020, looks set to continue.
It is a political and cultural phenomenon of great importnce. But what is its history? How has the U.S. "evangelical right" emerged as such a political force? And why is it so important of Donald Trump and MAGA?
Right--leaning evangelical Protestants have been involved in politics for much of the twentieth century and the activities are not simply a modern phenomenon , although during the past 35 years they have come to increasing prominence. As far back as 1940s, 50s and 60s,anxieties about the perceived threat of communism and changing patterns of social behavior caused many with this outlook to gravitate towards the Republican Party as a way of defending what would have been described as the Protestant--based moral order.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a difficult mission to the Middle East this week, as he tries to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal that would end the devastation in Gaza, the Politico Playbook PM website reports today (April29, 2024).
The Biden administration's immediate goal is to stave off an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, to which a larege percentage f Palestinians have been displaced. U.S. officials hope a pause in the war could pave the way for talks to create a more durable peace.
Negotiations could start as ssoon as tomorrow (April 30, 2024), and they are seen as an uphill battle for the U.S., Egypt, Qatar,and otrhers to get the two sides to agree to a deal.
A group of presidential experts was asked to create a ranking of presidential greatness that covered all presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden, the USA Today website reports today (April 28, 2024).
To do this, they asked respondents to rate each president on a scale of 0 -- 1100 for their overall greatness, with 0 equal to failure, 50 average , and 100 great. They then averaged the ratings for each president and ranked them from highest avcerage to lowest.
The survey showed Trump ranked last.
Abraham Lincoln, who won the Civil Warand ended slavery, was ranked dfirst , ahead of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who saw the U.S. through the Great Depression and the Second World War.
Next, came George Washington, the first president who won independence from Britain, then Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Harry Truman respectively.
Northeastern University in Boston launched a large ptotest against Israel yesterday which was joined by students from Berklee College of Music, the Boston Globe website reports today (April 26, 2024).
"I'm feeling really invigorated and inspired and agitated in a good way," said Ixchel, an upperclass student at Northeastern.
By 8 a.m. tents sprung up on Centennial Common. Throughout the day more than 100 students and faculty members banded together, chanting and linking arms in a circle around the common at the center of campus.
"I think it's really beautiful to see that kind of solifarity, said Maya, a senior at Northeastern.
As for the large group of Northeastern police officers who arrived in riot gearto oversee the encampment, Maya said their presence was "uncomfortable and scary" and she felt they were " trying to intimidate students."
"We are students who are expressing our free speech, and we should have the right to do that like any other political organizing group that doesn't get based with that kind of police repression." Maya said.
Around 5:30p.m., student organizers gathered crowds into the center of the grassy common. "Don't talk t o cops," one organizer said into a microphone. "Don't talk to administrators; administrators are cops."
Some 15 tents dotted the grass, many covered in tarps and Palestinian flags. Handmade cardboard signs were spread on the common. "The cold is coming in, said one student , who noted that hand warmers and extra blankets were in ample supply.
Around 7 p.m. students from Berklee College of Music marched rto Northeastern 's campus to join the encampment.
Jake, 20, a junior at Northeastern studying computer science, is Jewish. As he sat on a bench outside of t he grassy common with a group of friends, he said he is wary of "protests that start out with good intentions but then turn antisemitic. "
"I come out here to support rto other Jewish students,to show we're not going to be intimidated out of being on our own campus, " said Jake who is from New Jersey.
Police arrested protesters yesterday at the University of Southern California (USC) campus, which closed to the public amid clashes between pro--Palestinian demonstrators and aauthorities at the school and nationwide, the USA Today website reports today (April 25, 2024).
Hundreds of students and off--campus activists protested for hours at the university , joining movements at colleges across the country , demanding that universities cut any ties to Israel and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Arrests were made at the USC campus last night, a Los Angeles police spokesperson told USA Today.
The university closed the main campus due to"significant activity on campus," USC 's Dept. of Public Safety said in an alert to students.
"If you are in the center of campus, please leave; LAPD will be arresting people who don't disperse," USC's Dept. of Public Safety wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 79 -- 18, passing a $95 billion foreign aid package that provides $61 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel, and $8 billion to Taiwan, the New American website reports today (April 24, 2024).
President Joe Biden said Senate Democrats and Republicans joined together to answer a historic call, stating on X:
"Tonight , a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history's call at this critical inflection point. Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our natural security and send a message to the wortld about the power of American leadership: We stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression. I will sign this bill into law tomorrow."
