Luxury fragrance brand Nisara has appointed Beauty Brands Global DMCC as its exclusive distributor in the UAE. The partnership aims to leverage Beauty Brands Global's market expertise to establish Nisara's presence in the region. Nisara plans to offer its products through both online and offline channels, targeting the UAE's appreciation for luxury goods.

We use many services in the process of podcasting and engaging our audiences, like Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, SpeakPipe, and more. But saying these brand names in your podcast can overwhelm or confuse your audience and—even worse—break their ability to properly engage with your podcast!

The post Stop Saying Brand Names in Your Podcast! Do These 5 Things Instead first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Presentation is one of the 5 cornerstones of podcasting (content, presentation, production, promotion, and P.R.O.F.I.T.), and how you communicate in your podcast can make the biggest difference in whether people enjoy and benefit from your content.

The post 6 Free Ways to Podcast Better by Communicating Better first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

You might think your audience should thank YOU for all the work you put into your podcast, but how often do you thank THEM?

The post 6 Ways to Thank Your Podcast Audience first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Should you publish your podcast episodes on a particular day of the week, avoid the weekends, publish on popular days, or something else?

The post What Is the Best Day of the Week to Publish Podcast Episodes? first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Does it matter what time of day you publish your podcast episodes? Yes! And here are some tips to help you pick when that should be.

The post What’s the Best Time of Day to Publish Podcast Episodes? first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Your podcast description gives you SEO benefits and the vital opportunity to convince a potential audience to try your podcast.

The post 8 Ways to Improve Your Podcast Description first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Podcasting 2.0 introduced a new way for your audience to support your podcast by sending micropayments. This is usually measured by satoshis (abbreviated as "sats"), which are one hundred millionths of a Bitcoin. As such a small portion of cryptocurrency, many people might wonder whether the effort is even worth the return.

The post Are Podcasting 2.0 Micropayments Actually Worth It? first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Happy Amazon Prime Day! Here are the best deals we've found for podcasters. These prices are good for only July 11–12, 2023—or maybe even more limited than that! Most of the following deals are available exclusively to Amazon Prime members. Prime Day is over, but the following deals are still available as of 11:15 am...

The post Best Prime Day Deals for Podcasters 2023 first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Check here often for the latest and greatest deals on microphones, interfaces, apps, accessories, and more to help you podcast!

The post Best Black Friday / Cyber Monday Podcasting Deals for Podcasters (2023) first appeared on The Audacity to Podcast.

Ring Digital's latest FutureOfTV.Live quarterly report included revealing survey data on the state of live captioning in the TV and streaming ecosystem. We'll delve into the questions we asked and the survey's findings here.

After being tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency with Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk said all of the actions taken by the department will be posted online for "maximum transparency."

The incoming Senate Republican Conference will meet Wednesday morning to elect the successor of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Artasia Viges, 24, is facing multiple charges after police said she lied about her son being kidnapped after she left him unattended on a major roadway.

Again, we say hello! Just a reminder that the self-nominations for the inaugural Metafilter Steering Committee (SC) close on August 7th! The purpose of said committee will be to develop and implement site policy, code updates, and ensure the financial health of the site, i.e. help guide the direction of the overall site and act as the voice of the community. Interested? Come over to Metatalk to view details and learn how to apply by August 7th!

After a week away, WEMU's David Fair returns to chatting about cinema with Marquee Arts executive director Russ Collins. As they do every week, they deliver all of the details on new films and the many special screenings coming to Ann Arbor!

We just wrapped up a fantastic fall fundraiser a few days ago, so let's celebrate with a good movie! WEMU's Mat Hopson steps in for David Fair this week to chat about all of the cinematic offerings coming soon to your favorite movie houses with Marquee Arts executive director, Russ Collins!

"Everlasting Love" is one of two songs to become a Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s* and the only song to become a UK top 40 hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

Written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, "Everlasting Love" was a hit for Robert Knight in 1967. Love Affair's 1967 cover, the most successful version in the UK, knocked The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye" off the number one spot on British charts. Singer Steve Ellis was 17 and recorded the song with session musicians after the record label rejected the band's version. Carl Carlton's 1973 cover, the most successful version in the US, was originally the B-side of a single but was made into the A-side. The video for Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet's 1981 cover features them as a couple getting married. Their version includes an additional verse of uncredited authorship that was approved by the song's composers. The video for Sandra's 1987 cover has her and "Austrian model Rupert Weber as lovers in different periods of world history" Eve to 1987. U2 did an acoustic/electric cover in 1989 as the B-side to "All I Want Is You." Gloria Estefan was pregnant when the video for her 1995 cover was filmed, so three male and two female drag performers appeared as Estefan at different stages of her career. Jamie Callum's 2005 cover was featured on the soundtrack to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Other covers of note include Joe Dassin's "Plus Je Te Vois, Plus Je Te Veux" "(The More I See You, The More I Want You)" (1968), Patricia Paay (1977), and Willy Sommer's "Liefde Voor Altijd" (2011). The song was featured in an episode of the BBC One TV series Casualty and the cast later performed it live. Jamie Dornan performed the song in the 1998 movie Belfast. Buzz Cason performing "Everlasting Love" in 2013. The writers of 'Everlasting Love' tell their story:

Mac Gayden started writing "Everlasting Love" when he was 5 years old. Those "oooh" vocals that float in the background of the chorus? It's a melody he came up with at that age. "I just kind of drew it out of the air," he says.

This explains a lot.

A Narcissist's Prayer That didn't happen. And if it did, it wasn't that bad. And if it was, that's not a big deal. And if it is, that's not my fault. And if it was, I didn't mean it. And if I did You deserved it. by Dayna EM Craig The Trauma Survivor Mantra It did happen. It was bad. It was a big deal. It doesn't matter if they meant it. I reject the shame. I didn't deserve it. by Dr. Elayna Fernández ~~~~~ Elayna Fernández is a happy, smiling, festive, wise powerhouse who lives oh so large. A joy to read, I cannot help but smile. I was/am so glad to come across her take on A Narcissists Prayer -- honest, painful, human, smart. A Narcissists Prayer is the best description of the animal I've ever come upon, in six lines (!) no less. Craig gives it to us dead on. Fernández in The Trauma Survivor Mantra nails it, gives us the sane and healthy response to insane unhealthy people.

I'm listening to NPR's streaming "First Listen" of Cibo Matto's "Emerald Tuesday," off the forthcoming Hotel Valentine, and I know this song it's sampling from the first note. (And I think that's the point of the lyrics, that the ghost in the song listened/listens to the sampled song all the time.) I feel like it's also something my husband listens to all the time, or that was in a movie I just saw, but I can't pin it down. My first thought was Curtis Mayfield, but I'm not finding it. I know it's going to seem obvious to me once you tell me, but nonetheless—help! What is that song?

Is there a way to change the Microsoft voice Zira so she stops saying "Mississippi" when the word miss is used as a title or with a period at the end of it? I found two files (MSTTSLocEnUS.dat and MSTTSLocEnCA.dat) in the folder C:WindowsSpeech_OneCoreEnginesTTS that contain the text "mississippi" but they are both dat files and when I open them in Wordpad or Notepad, I cannot find the text. I looked in Windows Speech options and there is no place to fix pronunciations. I am using Windows 11 and it does not seem to happen when I use the David voice, only the Zira voice.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is set to roll back the city's reopening plan back to phase one as COVID-19 continues to spread across the state, a spokesman said Friday. The first phase guidelines include encouraging residents to stay home except for essential trips, wearing a face covering in public and avoid in-person dining at restaurants.

Monday on Political Rewind , the relationship between Gov. Brian Kemp and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has frayed, as both officials take opposing views on how to govern during the pandemic. A once productive and collegial relationship is now soured by open fighting. What brought us here? Listen here:

Ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to the Atlanta area on Wednesday, prominent Georgia Democrats have scheduled a news conference to "slam" what they call the president's "failed coronavirus response," the group announced in a press release. For state Republican leaders, the visit offers an opportunity to showcase Trump before the GOP base as the November election approaches.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Police reform is the issue that made a lawyer named Lori Lightfoot a political presence in Chicago when she was head of the Chicago Police Board. Of course, she is now Mayor Lightfoot of Chicago and said this week that police misconduct and brutality, quote, "tarnish the badge." Mayor Lightfoot joins us now. Mayor Lightfoot, thanks for being with us. LORI LIGHTFOOT: It's my pleasure, Scott. SIMON: You've led investigations into brutality cases when you were head of the police board and the CPD's Office of Professional Standards. Must also be said that as an attorney in private practice, you represented some police officers. How difficult is police reform? LIGHTFOOT: Well, having seen this issue from a lot of different angles - I also prosecuted corrupt police officers when I was a federal prosecutor. So I've been around this issue for a long time, and really, it comes down to this. You can have all the policies that you want,

Although New Zealand is about as far — in miles, at least — as you can get from Minneapolis, protests have erupted there over the killing of George Floyd. The Indigenous Maori people in particular have pushed back against police use of force, which disproportionately affects them. At first glance, the context seems quite different. New Zealand police don't usually carry firearms. The reason goes back to the 19th century British aversion to creating a police force too much like a military. In general, if New Zealand police officers need to use a gun, there is one in a lockbox in their car that they can use with a supervisor's permission. But after a white nationalist gunned down 51 people in two mosques last March in Christchurch, New Zealand's police introduced a pilot program to send heavily armed police teams on patrol in three communities. One of these communities was around Christchurch. The other two were far away in counties near the city of Auckland. The police said it would

Ella Jones will be sworn in as mayor of Ferguson, Mo., next week, becoming the first black mayor — and the first woman — to lead the city that gained national attention when police killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014. The protests that erupted in response helped establish the Black Lives Matter movement of today. Still, nearly six years after Brown's death, Jones says the protests against police brutality — this time in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis — feel the same. "I don't think they feel any different," Jones tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly on All Things Considered . The officers who were involved in the shooting of Brown were not indicted . But his death drew the attention of the federal government and the city entered into a federal consent decree in 2016 that resulted in widespread policing and municipal court reforms. Jones thinks that despite the work Ferguson has done, her city — which has a population that is two-thirds black — still feels like the

French police say they are being stigmatized during protests in France against police violence in the wake of George Floyd's death. On Thursday, police gathered in front of precincts across the country and threw down their handcuffs in a symbolic gesture against what they say is unfair criticism. "The police in France have nothing to do with the police in the U.S., and we're not racist," said Fabien Vanhemelryck, the head of the main police union in France, as he joined dozens of police officers demonstrating Friday morning along the Champs-Élysées. Just days after Floyd was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis, more than 20,000 Parisians defied a ban on gatherings during the pandemic to demand the truth about the death of a black Frenchman named Adama Traoré while in police custody in 2016. The protesters said the French police, like their American counterparts, are endemically racist, a charge denied by many top officials in a country that likes to consider itself colorblind

The growing calls for systemic reform of American policing follow years of rising anger at the ongoing deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement, including the recent killing of George Floyd. The calls for change run the gamut from severely restricting police use of deadly force, creating a national database of abusive officers and re-directing taxpayer money away from police toward social programs that improve education and tackle crises including homelessness, poverty and mental health care . But one key problem has gotten less attention: the conflict of interest, real and perceived, between prosecutors and police unions. When district attorneys run for the office they get political donations from a range of interests including powerful, well-funded police unions who represent the officers that district attorneys will be called to prosecute in the event of officer brutality, corruption or even murder. "We need to do everything that we can in this moment to avoid not

Updated 7:41 p.m. ET Mourners came to pay their respects to Rayshard Brooks at a public viewing in Atlanta Monday. The Black man was shot and killed during an encounter with white police officers earlier this month after he was discovered asleep in a car at a fast-food restaurant. The viewing was held at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was a co-pastor. The funeral service, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, will also take place at the church. Brooks' death on June 12 added to the fury and anger already felt by demonstrators protesting against systemic racism and police brutality in Atlanta and across the nation. Many of the protests were prompted by the death of George Floyd in custody of Minneapolis police in May. Atlanta-based movie and television mogul Tyler Perry is reported to be covering funeral costs for the family. As NPR reported over the weekend , Clark Atlanta University has also offered full scholarships for his

As mysterious displays of fireworks continue to be set off across the country – in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles – residents in New York City say the nightly cacophony is driving them nuts. "It's kind of been a bit all-consuming to be honest," said Brooklyn resident Eric Anderson, 33. "I go to bed hearing it. I get woken up hearing it, and then on my Twitter feed all anybody is doing is talking about it." In New York City, the police department said there were 54 fireworks complaints in the first half of last year. In the same period this year, there have been more than 11,000. It's illegal to set off your own fireworks in New York, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the city is going to crack down on suppliers. "We're going to start a huge sting operation to go and get these illegal fireworks at the base," he said. Last week he appointed a task force made up of officers from the New York City Police Department, fire marshals and members of the Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal

Philando Castile, Eric Garner and George Floyd. The deaths of these Black men at the hands of police have fueled outrage over police brutality and systemic racism. Men make up the vast majority of people shot and killed by police. But the names of Black women who were also killed are generally missing from Americans' collective memories, says Kimberlé Crenshaw, co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum . The Say Her Name campaign, created by Crenshaw's group in 2014, is meant to include women in the national conversation about race and policing. A few women's names and stories, such as Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by Louisville, Ky., police executing a no-knock search warrant in March, have been part of the Black Lives Matter movement. But others have not — women such as Michelle Cusseaux and Kayla Moore. In 2014, Cusseaux was shot by police in her Phoenix home while they were attempting to take her to a mental health facility. In 2013, police

While the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland galvanized the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the killings of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have forced America to reckon with centuries of racial injustice and police brutality in unprecedented ways. Not only have protests demanding change been widespread, but major corporations — which, until now, have been largely silent and hesitant to embrace Black Lives Matter — are pledging to fight racial injustice and declaring their support of the nearly seven-year-old movement.

America’s mayors have taken center stage in 2020. Big city mayors feuded with state and federal officials over COVID-19 protections and resources, and have been praised — and condemned — for their handling of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. These crises may be unfolding on a national and international scale, but affect lives in every American city and town. Outside of Atlanta’s national spotlight, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson is working to address these issues head-on.

Copyright 2020 KJZZ. To see more, visit KJZZ . STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Hospitals in Arizona are reaching capacity. Coronavirus infections there continue to rise. And the governor, who once pushed ahead with reopening, has now delayed the start of school. Is that enough? From our member station KJZZ, Rocio Hernandez reports. ROCIO HERNANDEZ, BYLINE: Arizona students are some of the first in the nation to go back to school. Some districts opened their doors as early as end of July. But that won't be the case this year. In June, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey issued an executive order pushing back the reopening of brick-and-mortar schools. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) DOUG DUCEY: At this point in time, we are going to delay the first day of school till August 17. HERNANDEZ: That's too soon, says teacher Stacy Brosius at Deer Valley Unified School District in Phoenix. STACY BROSIUS: I don't want to be the teacher that gets COVID and have my third-graders have to attend my funeral. But I

A Distant Shore has just been released in an expanded version by Cherry Red Records, along with demos for songs that would eventually be released on Everything but the Girl's debut album. Tracey Thorn's classic 1982 indie album has long been a favorite of artists from Björk to Massive Attack, and is constantly rediscovered. In 2013 Thorn spoke about the album to the Guardian [archive link] and also wrote about the circumstances of its writing in her memoir Bedsit Disco Queen, excerpted here.

In a place where an act as simple as reading the Quran can be an act of defiance, the Taliban has banned women from hearing other women's voices in its latest attempt to impose their version of Islamic law on Afghanistan, including mandating that women refrain from performing Takbir—an Islamic expression of faith—and from reciting the Quran aloud, even in the presence of other women.

The UN and Amnesty have stated that the oppression of Afghan women, made prisoners in their homes, unable to speak, has erased women from all spheres of life. Girls born in the 20 years free of Taliban rule went to school and learned of their mothers' experience of repression, only to lose the ability to attend school with the Taliban's return in 2021. Women lost their ability to work, learn, travel alone, or receive healthcare and became "faceless, voiceless shadows" in a brutal apartheid against women.

What makes the Taliban's ideology so uniquely repressive of women?

"What sets the Taliban apart from other Islamic groups," Moheq added, "are the tribal codes of Afghanistan also embedded in the Taliban's ideology." A fundamental part of the tribal codes is defining a narrow place for women: They exists as the property of men and for the honor of men. For example, Moheq explained, "the rape of a woman is not seen as wrong because she was raped, but because she represents the honor of a man," and that is what was violated.

The Taliban's ideology was strong enough to draw manpower from the country's tribal areas for long enough to outlast the United States and the Western-backed government in Kabul. In return, as the primary manpower of the Taliban comes from tribal areas of the country, they further reinforce the Taliban's conservative culture, including the continued exclusion of women.

Among more than 7,500 Afghans living in the country with access to mobile and internet services, the survey found, 66% said they agreed or strongly agreed that human rights for women were a top priority for the future of Afghanistan. Nearly half, or 45% of those, strongly supported the Taliban's control of the country.

I'm a 40F who upon hearing the election results this week, felt a surge a gratitude about being a spinster. I figure there has to be articles, books, or some type of literature made by fellow spinsters throughout history about their experiences.

I'm a 40F who upon hearing the election results this week, felt a surge a gratitude about having no kids or a male partner. I of course have been on this path for years, mostly due to my total disinterest in dating and or sex. (I didn't realize I was a OG member of the 4B Movement.)
The choice to forego the things that many women consider their purpose in life does make you feel like the weird one.
I figure there has to be articles, books, or some type of literature made by fellow spinsters throughout history about their experiences. It find it a 95 percent positive experience, but I'd also be curious if these ladies have also written about the drawbacks (money troubles, not being anyone's person) as well.
I'd be curious how the stigma played out then as it does now, I figure it was worse then due to not being able to get good jobs, but I know in some places, these women served as elderly caretakers. I look forward to learning more.

To glance at some of the political news this week, you'd think it was October. Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta did Meet the Press over the weekend to talk about Russia hacking the DNC's emails. Hillary Clinton aide Brian Fallon took to Twitter on Tuesday to question the FBI's investigation into Clinton's emails. Donald Trump and Bill Clinton sniped at each other. But it's mid-December. The voters and electors alike have cast their votes. And while millions of Americans are doubtless more than happy to have Election Day well behind them, they can still plan on hearing still more about the election in the coming days or even weeks. There's good reason for some of the continuing concern over the election. The FBI and CIA alike say they are now confident Russia hacked the DNC's emails, that Putin was involved, and it was all in an attempt to influence the election in Trump's favor. That could have very real repercussions. President Obama told NPR's Steve Inskeep that Russia's

Bernie Sanders thinks he has a pretty good idea why Hillary Clinton and Democrats lost in the 2016 election. "Look, you can't simply go around to wealthy people's homes raising money and expect to win elections," the Vermont senator, who gave Clinton a surprisingly strong run for the Democratic nomination, told NPR's David Greene in an interview airing on Morning Edition. "You've got to go out and mix it up and be with ordinary people." That picks up on a criticism of Clinton devoting too much time to fundraising — and not enough to on-the-ground campaigning in traditionally Democratic states, like Michigan and Wisconsin. In the general election, Clinton never visited Wisconsin after she became the nominee and visited Michigan late in the game. The two Upper Midwestern states swung narrowly to Trump: Wisconsin by slightly more than 20,000 votes and Michigan by slightly more than 10,000. During the primary, Sanders boasted of his small-donor donations. "The Democratic Party swallowed

Award-winning Women of Substance Radio celebrates talented female performers of every genre with great songs. The music we feature is vocally excellent, has depth of character and emotion, and has lyrics that leave a lasting impression. WOS Radio has been around for 10 years and has become the trusted source for quality music by female artists in all genres for both listeners and Industry pros.

Our #1 New & Noteworthy Podcast can be heard on iTunes, YouTube, Tunein, Stitcher and many more popular platforms every 3-4 times per week.. Heard by over 10,000 monthly listeners and promoted to our social media base of over 60,000, the show is nearing 300,000 downloads and is continuing to grow. The Podcast features all Indie artists including interesting tidbits about the artists and the songs. Check it out at www.wospodcast.com or on iTunes or the Mobile Podcast App for Apple devices. Visit our website for more info at www.wosradio.com

We have many outlets available for promoting our Indies like you including our Video Blog and in-show advertising spots. Visit our website to find out more: www.WOSRadio.com

We are taking song submissions from quality Independent Artists in all genres so submit your music today for consideration.

Female artists, female fronted bands or female vocalists only please.

Please note that we are using the song to opportunity match (S₂O). If you are a male performer and the song matched yours it is because it sounded like the seed songs but it can not match by gender.

I don't want to get hosed buying a pretty label and sales pitch on the bottle. I don't mind buying more than one bottle to get a better price. I don't know what "should be" in good mayo but you do, that's why I came here for guidance. I know we all hate Amazon, plz go to the next question rather than telling me Bezos blows; I am aware.

I often have thoughts or ideas when I'm in the car, but I have no easy way to capture them. I have an iPhone, but I don't want to fiddle with it while I'm driving. I'm seeking an app (or possibly a standalone device) that I can safely use while driving. Is there some app that is voice-activated (i.e., without unlocking the phone) and will transcribe short memos? Ideally, I'd like those transcripts to be available in some cloud site, so I can access them via a web browser on my office computer or home computer.

I'd even consider buying a standalone recorder that I can activate just by pushing a button. I looked on Amazon, but I didn't really see anything that can make transcripts and upload them to a cloud site. Just the audio files might work, but it would be much better for me to have transcripts that I can easily access from a computer.

The Gospel of Mark recounts the calling of four disciples and describes a Sabbath in Capernaum and what followed. This “Sabbath with Jesus” at the beginning of Mark gives the reader a sense of who Jesus is. In the entire section for this week’s lesson there are very few of His words recorded: a brief call to discipleship, a command to a demon, a plan to visit other locations, and the healing of a leper with instructions to show himself before a priest to be clean. The emphasis is on action, particularly healing people. The Gospel writer likes to use the word immediately to illustrate the fast-action movement of Jesus’ ministry.

This week’s lesson starts with a very brief story at the end of Mark 12, where Jesus makes a profound statement about a small act by a widow. The main portion of this week’s lesson, however, deals with Mark 13, a striking prophecy about the fate of the Jerusalem temple and more. This chapter, along with its parallels in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, tell about both the fall of Jerusalem and beyond, even to the end of the world. Jesus not only predicts the future but also instructs His disciples both then and now in how to prepare for the coming trials.

Why did John write his Gospel? Did he wish to emphasize Jesus’ miracles? Or to emphasize some specific teachings of Jesus? What was the reason for writing what he did? This week we’re going to look in John at some of Jesus’ early miracles—from His turning water to wine at a wedding, to restoring to health someone’s very sick son, to the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda.

Public health experts generally agree that, in spite of improvements, the U.S. still falls short on the testing needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The official who oversees the country's testing efforts, however, maintains the U.S. is doing well on testing now and will soon be able to expand testing greatly using newer, point-of-care tests that deliver quick results. In an interview with NPR's Morning Edition , Adm. Brett Giroir pointed out the U.S. is currently conducting more than 700,000 tests a day. He argued that some parts of the country are already conducting enough tests to contain outbreaks. "We know that in areas of the country right now that have appropriate mitigation, that the testing we have is sufficient. We know right now that the testing we have is dense enough that we can detect very sensitively where there's going to be a problem," the assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services told NPR. A recent analysis for NPR by Harvard

When COVID-19 barreled into the U.S. this year the predominant public health advice for avoiding infection focused on physical isolation: No parties, concerts, or sports events. No congregating inside in bars or restaurants. No on-site family reunions. No play dates for kids. Just keep away from other people. Meanwhile, although social scientists supported that medical advice, they feared the required physical distancing would spark another epidemic — one of loneliness, which was already at a high level in the U.S. "You might expect this would make things much worse," says Julianne Holt-Lunstad , a neuroscientist and social psychologist at Brigham Young University. But several new studies suggest that huge increase in loneliness hasn't come to pass — at least, not yet. And the researchers studying the pandemic's emotional fallout say we humans may have ourselves to thank. "That sense of solidarity that people are feeling when they ... are collectively going through a challenge together

The Michigan fuel tax is no longer sufficient to fund needed road repairs and maintenance. As more electric vehicles hit the streets, the tax will raise less money, but the need for road and bridge revenue will only increase. Conversations are underway about alternative possibilities. WEMU's David Fair talks about what that might look like with Denise Donohue, CEO of the County Road Association of Michigan.

Amazing Facts International is excited to announce that the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism (AFCOE) will hold its fall 2024 complete course in Granite Bay, California, beginning in August!

The three-month program aligns with Pastor Doug Batchelor’s upcoming Prophecy Odyssey evangelistic series in New York City in September. The class will help local congregations prepare for the reaping event through intensive training in outreach, including giving Bible studies, answering difficult Bible questions, organizing effective pre-work, discipling new believers, and much more.

However, the training provided for this series is not meant to benefit only our friends in NYC. Carlos Muñoz, AFCOE director, says, “We invite everyone, from everywhere, to come train and work for this event and learn how to replicate it in their local congregations. What you learn and practice here will help you grow your community of faith wherever you live.”

AFCOE is designed to help Christians from all backgrounds speak persuasively for Christ in public settings, develop a vibrant devotional life, confidently share their faith with others, and identify their specific calling in ministry. AFCOE can even teach you how to start and grow your own ministry.

Students will get winsome, empowering instruction from Pastor Doug and other experienced soul-winners, including Jëan Ross, vice president of evangelism; Carlos Muñoz; Daniel Hudgens, AFCOE assistant director; Dr. David Shin; Dwayne Lemon; Anil Kanda; and many more. Our instructors and guest speakers have excelled in their ministry fields and will give you a wider breadth of outreach and Bible knowledge.

Students will also go beyond the classroom to win souls for Jesus, working directly with Amazing Facts and churches to gain valuable outreach experience that will make an eternal difference. Says Pastor Doug, “AFCOE is about learning while doing. Students do real work in real communities and with real people, bringing real results for the Master.”

[PQ-HERE]

Is God Calling You?

Would you like to be a part of this amazing experience? Do you desire to become a better soul-winner, Bible worker, missionary, health evangelist, or whatever else God has called you to be? We invite you to learn more at afcoe.org today. Prayerfully ask God whether He wants you to receive this empowering, life-changing outreach training and win souls for Christ in these last days!

Quick Facts:

• Three-month outreach training course (August 15 to November 16).

• Classes are held in Granite Bay, California.

• Your AFCOE fee will cover airfare and lodging to New York City for Prophecy Odyssey outreach.

• Space is limited—housing enrollment deadline: July 18.

Apply today at afcoe.org!