The journey of a young Albanian girl from the Roma and Gypsy community who went from being a troubled teenager to excitedly following Jesus!

IT could have been a warm welcome home for a conquering comedy hero when Billy Connolly appeared before an audience of Scottish school children at the BBC in Glasgow.

PREPARATIONS to give out millions of coronavirus vaccines must start now or Scotland risks compounding the economic damage caused by the pandemic, a leading expert has warned.

The government's new public slogan for the next phase in the fight against coronavirus has fallen flat ahead of its proposed reveal tonight.

The Herald is bringing live coronavirus updates and breaking news from Scotland, the UK and the world.

Source: www.androidcentral.com - Saturday, May 09, 2020
After being delayed back in April due to the coronavirus, UFC 249 is back on and we have all the details on how you can watch the highly anticipated event online or on TV in the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia. UFC 249 was originally scheduled to take place in Brooklyn, New York but the UFC had to relocate the event to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. However, while the event is back on, there won't be any fans in attendance for Saturday's fights for safety reasons. The venue may have changed and fans won't be crowded around the octagon but many of the fights originally scheduled for UFC 249 will be included on the new card. The biggest change though is that Tony Ferguson will now be taking on Justin Gaethje in the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship as Khabib Nurmagomedov is unable to leave his home country of Russia due to its coronavirus travel restrictions. Ferguson is known for his incredible cardio and pressure while Gaethje's kill or be killed mentality sets himself apart from the pack. Ferguson also hasn't lost a match since May 2012 and in that time, he's won 12 fights and defeated Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone and more. Gaethje on the other hand is on a three fight winning streak following back-to-back losses. In addition to the interim lightweight championship, Henry Cejudo will go up against Dominick Cruz for the UFC bantamweight championship. Elsewhere on the card, Francis Nga

Source: www.mprnews.org - Saturday, May 09, 2020
A barber cuts a woman's hair at a salon amid the coronavirus pandemic in Round Rock, Texas, on May 8, following a slow reopening of the Texas economy. Sergio Flores | AFP via Getty Images As of Friday, in Texas you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Meanwhile places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work — while many public health experts warn that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at the Rollins School of public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. COVID-19 in Minnesota Full coverage from MPR News Tracking the spread Minnesota and the Upper Midwest COVID-19 How it compares with other diseases in 5 charts But then because of that success many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. Cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later, the island was back on lockdown . "That's the concern that we have right now," he said.

Source: www.businessinsider.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
The US Navy sent two ships into the middle of a South China Sea dispute on Thursday as the commander of US Pacific Fleet warned China to stop "bullying" other countries in the region. A US Navy littoral combat ship and a cargo vessel conducted "presence operations" near the West Capella, a Malaysia-contracted drillship at the heart of a standoff with China and, to some extent, Vietnam. Adm. John Aquilino, commander of US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement Thursday that China "must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . The US Navy warned China to stop "bullying" other countries in the South China Sea as two Navy ships sailed into the middle of a dispute in the contested waterway. The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery and the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez conducted "presence operations" near the West Capella, showing apparent support for the Malaysia-contracted drillship that has been hassled by Chinese ships in recent months. Adm. John Aquilino, commander of US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement Thursday that the US is "committed to a rules-based order in the South China Sea and we will continue to champion freedom of the seas and the rule of law." He continued: "The Chinese Communist Party must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries. Mi

Source: www.businessinsider.com - Saturday, May 09, 2020
Mother's Day is the single most important holiday for flower shops, with many businesses relying on strong holiday sales to survive the summertime slowdown in demand for flowers. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, spring 2020 got off to an ominous start for florists across the United States. 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. CEO Chris McCann and BloomNation CEO and cofounder Farbod Shoraka told Business Insider that their florist partners are seeing a major uptick in spending in the run-up to Mother's Day. The National Retail Federation is projecting that flower sales on Mother's Day will increase from $2.01 billion to $2.1 billion in 2020. Despite the good news, there remain major challenges to florists and the flower industry as a whole during COVID-19, including a major downturn for growers and wholesalers, reduced staffing, and even figuring out distribution capabilities. But Society of American Florists CEO Kate Penn told Busines Insider that florists are some of the "resourceful" and scrappy business owners out there: "Come rain, sleet, or social distancing they'll figure out how to get it delivered." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . For flower shops across the United States, Mother's Day is the most important date on the calendar. Millions of Americans setting out to make their moms feel special with a bright bouquet consistently ensure that the second Sunday of May is the biggest holiday in the flower business

Source: api-internal.usatoday.com.akadns.net - Friday, May 08, 2020
Vice President Pence's trip to Iowa shows how the Trump administration's aims to move past coronavirus are sometimes complicated by the virus itself.            

OM Director's Update from Lawrence Tong

Transform mission conference one year, outreach team in France the following year, the sisters from Mexico are eager to share the love of Christ, realising the audience was different from what they expected.

Small outreach teams will share the life-changing message of the gospel with hundreds of women in brothels and on the street this Easter.

Bahia Blanca, Argentina :: A missionary couple teaches church members about serving God as a family.

OM Director's Update from Lawrence Tong, International Director

OM Director's Update from Lawrence Tong

In 2008, OM Ireland purchased Lacken House to be their headquarters. Ten years and hundreds of people later, the team continues to minister from the heart of Ireland.

The journey of a young Albanian girl from the Roma and Gypsy community who went from being a troubled teenager to excitedly following Jesus!

Parks testing public access at several parks with limited offerings and services

He's in a growing spat with officials over reopening an electric vehicle plant.

Deputy will be charged with trespassing and breaking and entering.

Scores of nature lovers from dozens of states crowded trails, blocked-off areas.

Penn State Altoona has announced the spring 2020 commencement student marshals, chosen to represent their academic division based on outstanding academic achievement.

Penn State Altoona students from various disciplines showcased their work through Zoom presentations to faculty, staff, students, the local community, family and friends.

A poem by Erin Murphy, professor of English, has been selected for the Pennsylvania Center for the Book’s Public Poetry Project.

Courtney Kantoski has created a line of T-shirts and tank tops which she is selling to benefit the United Way of Blair County’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.

Penn State Altoona's Alumni Society is mailing "graduation goodie" packages to each of the college's 200 graduating seniors.

Penn State Altoona this spring recognized outstanding employee contributions with the 2020 faculty and staff awards.

Andrea Regalbuto was awarded second place in the oral presentation category for Arts and Humanities at the Penn State Undergraduate Exhibition, held virtually April 15-17.

Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has published an article written about Carolyn Mahan's newest research grant.

The annual Student Awards Ceremony — celebrating achievements in scholarship, service, creative activity, student life, athletics, and more — is now available to view online.

With Gov. Tom Wolf’s easing of stay-at-home restrictions in 24 Pennsylvania counties on May 8 and his plan to reopen 13 additional counties starting on May 15, Penn State students from areas not currently under travel restrictions who have personal belongings remaining in on-campus housing may begin scheduling times for moving out of their residence halls at campuses where restrictions have also eased, the University announced today (May 9).

Penn State DuBois is teaming up with Penn State York to offer a remote learning opportunity for those seeking the Assisted Living Administrator, 15-hour training. This training prepares those who are planning on taking the licensing test, or qualifies as the required 15 hours of Continuing Medical Education for those completing training to maintain their current license.

With the digital business landscape ever-changing due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the North Central PA LaunchBox is teaming up with the Altoona LaunchBox to offer the webinar “Cyber Security for Business” from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6.

In addition to Penn State’s virtual spring 2020 commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. on May 9, individual campuses and colleges across the University will be offering special recognition and events to their graduates.

James Dillard, distinguished professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State, describes strategies to help regulate emotions during the stress and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.

Xiaoye You, Liberal Arts Professor of English and Asian Studies, will become director of the Center for Democratic Deliberation in the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, effective July 1.

As part of Penn State’s 2020 spring commencement activities, Christopher Abraham will represent the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese as its student marshal. Abraham, a Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar, will graduate with bachelor of arts degrees in Spanish and English.

Response to Intervention (RTI) has been proven to work with students. Why don't we use it with teachers?

Data from a soon-to-be published report on RTI implementation shows that some states don't have a framework for evaluating program effectiveness.

Quiz Yourself! What are the essential components of response to intervention (RTI) initiatives, how are schools struggling to implement RTI, and what factors are contributing to school improvement?

Education Week will be hosting a live web chat March 24 with three response-to-intervention experts.

The approach was used to support struggling students in general education and to determine eligibility for special education services.

The funding will establish a center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. that will focus on instructional strategies in reading and math for students with persistent learning struggles.

Quiz Yourself: What are the essential components of response to intervention (RTI) initiatives, how have schools struggled to implement RTI, and what factors have contributed to school improvement?

Recently, OM Ecuador finished its annual medical clinic. This year's medical outreach was held in Zaruma, Ecuador. While the clinic focused on medical attention, God worked to bring another type of restoration to some people's lives.

OM Ecuador team members work with people living with HIV and AIDS in a children's hospital in Guayaquil.

Fourteen from three countries participated in the cross-cultural missions training programme hosted by OM Andean Region.