Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli says border crossers are being almost immediately returned to Mexico after their crossing into the United States. 

Queen Elizabeth II marked the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day with an address to the British Commonwealth honouring the sacrifice of the fallen.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In a copyright dispute arising out of photographs posted online on defendant's social media website, the district court's summary judgment that defendant was entitled protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is reversed where: 1) the safe harbor set forth in 17 U.S.C. section 512(c) would apply if the photographs were posted at the direction of users; 2) defendant posted the photographs after a team of volunteer moderators, led by an employee of the defendant, reviewed and approved them; 3) the common law of agency applied to the defendant's safe harbor defense; and 4) there were genuine factual disputes regarding whether the moderators were the defendant's agents.

Following The Release Of His Critically Acclaimed New Album ‘Woodland Echoes’ That Entered At No. 4 In The Independent Album Charts, Nick Heyward Has Announced A UK Tour For 2018.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that homeowners could not bring a class action asserting a claim under California's Right to Repair Act against the manufacturer of an allegedly defective plumbing fixture used in the construction of their homes. The Act does not permit class actions of this type. Granted the defendant's writ petition.

(Supreme Court of California) - Held that an indigent defendant facing misdemeanor charges was constitutionally entitled to the help of appointed counsel on the prosecution's appeal. She had successfully moved to suppress evidence related to driving under the influence. The California Supreme Court agreed with her that she had the right to appointed counsel on the prosecution's appeal of the suppression order.

(Supreme Court of California) - Reversed. Plaintiffs are state correctional employees who sought additional compensation for pre and postwork activities that include walking from outermost gate of prison to their work posts. The court divided Plaintiffs into two groups: union and non-union. The appeals court held that the non-union employees were entitled to overtime. The California Supreme Court held the union employees were not entitled to additional compensation because their collective bargaining agreement took that into account. And the non-union were not entitled because the walking time did not fit the definition of compensable work time under the Pay Scale Manual.

(Supreme Court of California) - Affirmed. The Appeals court held that the current policy of the California Department of Social Services treating court-ordered child support as income and using the same funds twice as income for both the paying household and the receiving household does not violate the Welfare and Institutions Code section 11005.5.

(Supreme Court of California) - Vacate order and remand. The trial court denied Plaintiff access to ballistics evidence used at his trial to file a habeas corpus petition. The trial court believed that Penal Code section 1054.9 prohibited such a release of evidence. The Supreme court disagreed stating that section 1054.9 referred to physical evidence held by the prosecutor, not evidence held by the court.

(Supreme Court of California) - Reversed. A dental practice contended that the City of Oroville was liable under an inverse condemnation claim because of damage suffered when raw sewage began overflowing from toilets, sinks, and building drains. The lower court found that the city was liable. The Supreme Court disagreed, stating that the dentist could not prove that the damage was substantially caused by the design, construction or maintenance of the sewer system and that the damage could have been prevented if dentists had installed a legally required backwater valve.

(Supreme Court of California) - A prosecutor in a criminal case has a duty to disclose to the defense information that they personally know and information that they can learn about that is favorable to the accused. This obligation to disclose even includes restricted information about law enforcement officers. A law enforcement agency may disclose to the prosecution identifying information about an office and relevant exonerating or impeaching material in a confidential personnel file.

Dynamic Interviews With Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that an employer was entitled to enforce an employment contract's forum selection clause that required any lawsuits to be brought in Indiana. Granted writ relief to prevent an employee from proceeding with a wrongful-termination lawsuit in a California court.

RUBiS Energy Bermuda provided information about their operating hours during the Island’s Phase 1 reopening, with select sites offering 24-hour...

The Bermuda Housing Corporation has opened its Church Street offices for payments only. A spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Housing Corporation has...

As of Monday [May 11], HSBC’s Harbourview, St. Georges and Somerset branches will open on weekdays from 9.00am through 1.00pm “to provide...

By Rob Stein, Carmel Wroth, Alyson Hurt

To safely phase out social distancing measures, the U.S. needs more diagnostic testing for the coronavirus, experts say. But how much more?

The Trump administration said on April 27 that the U.S. will soon have enough capacity to conduct double the current amount of testing for active infections. The country has done nearly 248,000 tests daily on average in the past seven days, according to the nonprofit COVID Tracking Project. Doubling that would mean doing about 496,000 a day.

Will that be enough? What benchmark should states try to hit?

One prominent research group, Harvard's Global Health Institute, proposes that the U.S. should be doing more than 900,000 tests per day as a country. This projection, released Thursday, is a big jump from its earlier projection of testing need, which had been between 500,000 and 600,000 daily.

Harvard's testing estimate increased, says Ashish Jha, director of the Global Health Institute, because the latest modeling shows that the outbreak in the United States is worse than projected earlier.

"Just in the last few weeks, all of the models have converged on many more people getting infected and many more people [dying]," he says.

But each state's specific need for testing varies depending on the size of its outbreak, explains Jha. The bigger the outbreak, the more testing is needed.

On Thursday, Jha's group at Harvard published a simulation that estimates the amount of testing needed in each state by May 15. In the graphic below, we compare these estimates with the average numbers of daily tests states are currently doing.

Two ways to assess whether testing is adequate

To make their state-by-state estimates, the Harvard Global Health Institute group started from a model of future case counts. It calculated how much testing would be needed for a state to test all infected people and any close contacts they may have exposed to the virus. (The simulation estimates testing 10 contacts on average.)

"Testing is outbreak control 101, because what testing lets you do is figure out who's infected and who's not," Jha says. "And that lets you separate out the infected people from the noninfected people and bring the disease under control."

This approach is how communities can prevent outbreaks from flaring up. First, test all symptomatic people, then reach out to their close contacts and test them, and finally ask those who are infected or exposed to isolate themselves.

Our chart also shows another testing benchmark for each state: the ratio of tests conducted that come back positive. Communities that see about 10% or fewer positives among their test results are probably testing enough, the World Health Organization advises. If the rate is higher, they're likely missing a lot of active infections.

What is apparent from the data we present below is that many states are far from both the Harvard estimates and the 10% positive benchmark.

Just nine states are near or have exceeded the testing minimums estimated by Harvard; they are mostly larger, less populous states: Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Several states with large outbreaks — New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, among others — are very far from the minimum testing target. Some states that are already relaxing their social distancing restrictions, such as Georgia, Texas and Colorado, are far from the target too.

Jha offers several caveats about his group's estimates.

Estimates are directional, not literal

Researchers at the Global Health Initiative at Harvard considered three different models of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak as a starting point for their testing estimates. They found that while there was significant variation in the projections of outbreak sizes, all of the models tend to point in the same direction, i.e., if one model showed that a state needed significantly more testing, the others generally did too.

The model they used to create these estimates is the Youyang Gu COVID-19 Forecasts, which they say has tracked closely with what's actually happened on the ground. Still, the researchers caution, these numbers are not meant to be taken literally but as a guide.

Can't see this visual? Click here.

If social distancing is relaxed, testing needs may grow

The Harvard testing estimates are built on a model that assumes that states continue social distancing through May 15. And about half of states have already started lifting some of those.

Jha says that without the right measures in place to contain spread, easing up could quickly lead to new cases.

"The moment you relax, the number of cases will start climbing. And therefore, the number of tests you need to keep your society, your state from having large outbreaks will also start climbing," warns Jha.

Testing alone is not enough

A community can't base the decision that it's safe to open up on testing data alone. States should also see a consistent decline in the number of cases, of two weeks at least, according to White House guidance. If their cases are instead increasing, they should assume the number of tests they need will increase too.

And, Jha warns, testing is step one, but it won't contain an outbreak by itself. It needs to be part of "a much broader set of strategies and plans the states need to have in place" when they begin to reopen.

In fact, his group's model is built on the assumption that states are doing contact tracing and have plans to support isolation for infected or exposed people.

"I don't want anybody to just look at the number and say, we meet it and we're good to go," he says. "What this really is, is testing capacity in the context of having a really effective workforce of contact tracers."

The targets are floors, not goals

States that have reached the estimated target should think of that as a starting point.

"We've always built these as the floor, the bare minimum," Jha says. More testing would be even better, allowing states to more rapidly tamp down case surges.

In fact, other experts have proposed that the U.S. do even more testing. Paul Romer, a professor of economics at New York University, proposed in a recent white paper that if the U.S. tested every resident, every two weeks, isolating those who test positive, it could stop the pandemic in its tracks.

Jha warns that without sufficient testing, and the infrastructure in place to trace and isolate contacts, there's a real risk that states — even those with few cases now — will see new large outbreaks. "I think what people have to remember is that the virus isn't gone. The disease isn't gone. And it's going to be with us for a while," he says.

Can't see this visual? Click here.

Daniel Wood contributed to this report.

By Ezra David Romero

As the state slowly begins to reopen there’s a lot of mixed messages about what it means for Californians because counties, cities and the state are opening at different paces. 

CapRadio recently asked our audience about what concerns them about the reopening beginning to take place. We heard everything from California is opening prematurely so officials should take more caution to relief that some people can go back to work. 

There was an air of anxiety in their responses like this: “I think it is too early, and people just need to calm down. We need more testing before we start making plans to reopen so we can know what we are dealing with.”

Our listeners noted that they’re concerned because there are new transmissions and deaths from COVID-19 almost daily in the state. As of May 6 there were 60,614 cases in the state and 2,504 deaths. 

But how do we move forward? CapRadio’s region encompasses many counties and two states all with different rules. Imagine living in one county with a strict stay-at-home order and working in another where restrictions are limited. That’s the reality for many of our listeners and it’s producing anxiety for some.

We reached out to experts to find out how to meander through all the noise, news and changing guidelines.

What we looked into:

• How to find meaning within this crisis and how to fight off anxiety
• Precautions moving forward
• How do vulnerable communities move ahead? 
• Is it safe to go out into the natural world?

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that homeowners could not bring a class action asserting a claim under California's Right to Repair Act against the manufacturer of an allegedly defective plumbing fixture used in the construction of their homes. The Act does not permit class actions of this type. Granted the defendant's writ petition.

This theological abstract reality needs support all year round for any of us to believe it.

When it comes to explaining Easter to our children, we bump up against the same problems every year. First of all, our culture doesn’t point to Easter. There are no Easter songs playing on the radio. There are no parties in the lead up or the aftermath. Compared to Christmas, Easter just happens, with little cultural recognition other than a few minutes of interest in egg dying techniques. In contrast, even for nominal Christians, most of December in America directs itself toward what has more or less become a national celebration on December 25th. Sure, many people celebrate without direct reference to Jesus, but as I’ve written before, without his birth there would be no reason for the tinsel and the mistletoe.

We might bemoan the materialism of Christmas, but as parents we can also use it to our advantage. Everyone is paying attention. Schools take a break. Gift giving all around. It’s on the radio, in the mall, in our homes and in our churches. With Easter, not so much. One of my children has Good Friday off, but the others keep apace with their schoolwork. Ballet rehearsal is on for this Saturday. It’s easy to forget that we are preparing to mourn the death of Jesus and celebrate his resurrection in a few short days.

Secondly, my kids don’t retain the Easter story very easily. They remember eggs and bunnies from last year. They remember the sugar rush, and they are ready for more. But the theological narrative of Easter—that doesn’t linger in quite the same way. At Christmas, presents and special treats abound, but we also have the nativity scene and a birthday party for Jesus. Throughout the month of December, our children move the physical characters around and enact ...

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#62ndGrammyAwards #GrammyAwards #GrammyNominations #MelissaB

#62ndGrammyAwards #Blues #GrammyAwards #GrammyNominations

Ethereal Wave & Neo-Psychedelic World Beat Artist, Simrit, Set To Release Her Seventh Full Length Album, 'When We Return', In Early November 2019

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that a Houston law firm should be allowed to intervene in a lawsuit to protect its right to a contingent fee. The firm's client and the opposing party had allegedly conspired to cheat it out of its deserved attorney fee for work on a matter involving a foreign arbitral award. Remanded with directions to permit intervention and consider the law firm's claims on the merits.

NY-Vocalist, Benita Charles Will Be The Featured Artist For The Concert & Speaker Series At The Harlem Public Library On Oct 5th.

Generalize not, lest ye be generalized

I have been unemployed for nearly a third of the past three years, which means that I have been a part of more than a few pastoral searches, and know what’s involved. And I’m fairly certain they weren’t supposed to involve two people slinging subtle insults at one another.

This particular one happened over Skype. The church was in California, and for that reason alone was high on my list of preferences. If you are wondering why that was the case, it’s not the weather - it’s the food, specifically, the fish tacos. The man who was conducting the interview was in his mid-fifties, wearing the harried expression of a man who has conducted entirely too many pastoral interviews. Perhaps this in itself should have been a sign that things were not going to go well, the fact that this church had gone through so many candidates and had not managed to find anyone perfect enough for their forty-person congregation.

After our initial exchange, he looked down at my resume, and then looked back up. “Four children?” he said with emphasis. “Am I reading that correctly? FOUR?”

This was back when I had four children.

I smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s right. I have an eight year old, all the way to a one year old.”

I expected him to smile back and remark how children were such a blessing, or something to that effect. His response was rather different. With a chilly voice he replied, “Wow. Got yourself quite a quiverfull, don’t you.”

Wow. First time I had heard that joke...that day. But as this was an interview for a job that I was quite keen on getting, I simply smiled and shrugged off his snide comment. “Yup, yup, that I do. Quiverfull.” ...

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Passion is a wonderful thing. But it should not be the sole means by which we discern calling.

Having been unemployed for months at a time over the past few years, I have taken part in more than a few interviews for pastoral positions. In these interviews, there is always one question that flummoxes me more than any other, and that is when a search committee asks me what I'm passionate about, or what I feel called to, or have a heart for, or any Christian-ese variant of the question. And I totally understand what they are asking when they pose such a query, and I know what response I should give, that I am passionate about this aspect of faith or the other, that I feel called to serve a particular community. It's a standard question to ask any pastoral candidate.

My answer? "..." Confounded silence.

The easy answer would be to say that I have a heart for two things: to help the church reclaim a biblical theology of suffering, and encourage us also to embrace our calling to racial reconciliation. That is what I have found myself doing for the last four years, and is probably the kind of answer that the search committee is looking for. But there's a reason why I don't simply blurt such an answer.

You see, I never really had a passion for those who are suffering, nor for multi-ethnic ministry. That's not to say that I'm against either in any way, because they are incredibly important movements of faith. It's just that I didn't have any natural or personal inclination towards those ministries. I had no internships at inner city churches, never attended a multi-ethnic church conference, never scoured academic texts in search of the answer to the problem of pain. I always thought my passion and heart were in music and leading worship, more than anything else.

The reason ...

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Iron Maiden have announced that they have postponed all 2020 Legacy Of The Beast Tour dates until 2021

Salim Nourallah released his new EP new EP 'Let's Be Miserable Together' this week and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the song 'Winners'.

Rammstein broke the bad news to fans in Europe that their planned 2020 stadium tour will not be taking place as planned

David Gilmour is streaming his 2016 film, 'Live At Pompeii', as the fourth and final installment in Pink Floyd's new weekly series

The 3,014 square-foot residence at 565 Mountain Village Blvd. sits in the central plaza location of Telluride's Mountain Village and had a recent face lift.

"It's always neat to see them. For me, it's springtime -- hope and renewal. I just like to see them and know that they're surviving and that I can provide them with something right now."

In time for Mother’s Day, here are 12 local florists and growers to support.

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court decision to put Senate candidate Michelle Ferrigno Warren's name on the June 30 Democratic primary ballot, siding with the Secretary of State's Office.

Lennon Bus Launches 6th Annual Come Together NYC Residency

An Extraordinary Composer, Player And Bandleader Shows Her Talents On , Her First Full-length CD And Debut On The Label With An Outstanding NY Crew.

#62ndGrammyAwards #Blues #GrammyAwards #GrammyNominations

Jesus can transform you through the power of his love.

Imagine a world where people are awakened to the beautiful reality of God’s grace, mercy, and love. Imagine that the grace of God has so transformed people like you and me that we love him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. Through this love, we then care for our neighbors and ask how we can display Jesus for them today.

Maybe you are haunted by thoughts of inadequacy, asking if you will ever measure up. The reality is those thoughts are true, but Jesus becomes the answer. He becomes our “good enough.” Jesus becomes our adequacy and our righteousness. He becomes our very life. God sings and dances over you because Christ is in you (see Zephaniah 3:17). You are worthy because he is worthy

Watch the rest of the sermon here.

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The world needs people who love their enemies like Christ.

If you read the news or watch TV, you cannot escape the rise of extremism in the world. There are Islamic extremists, Hindu extremists, and even atheist extremists. Violence and hatred often mark the presence of extremism, but what if it was faced by something even stronger —love?

Maybe we need to see the rise of Christian extremists who use love to change the dark places. The world needs to be overrun with Christians who are driven, shaped, and compelled by Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:43–45: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (NIV).

Christian extremists are those whose hearts are so filled with the love of Jesus that they supernaturally love their enemies. The apostle Paul describes this extreme love in Ephesians 3:16–21, saying:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (NIV).

America and the world need Christian extremists who love so beautifully ...

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His case is so convincing, so true, that it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are guilty.

Once you surrender your life to Christ, from that point on, when God looks at you, he sees Jesus—not your past failures or even your accomplishments. He sees Jesus in you. God’s grace is just that amazing.

It seems too incredible to believe, doesn’t it? This is why the gospel means “good news.” Because of our union life with Jesus, we are no longer sinners. Instead, we are made free from the penalty and power of sin.

We just need to learn how to walk in the freedom that has already been won by Jesus.

Picture in your mind a courtroom.

You are on trial for treason against God.

You are sitting on the left side of the room, alone. The prosecuting attorney is seated on the right. In front is a Judge whose righteousness is so blinding you can’t see his face; all you can see is his glory.

The well-dressed prosecuting attorney approaches the Judge. He turns on a 20-foot, high-definition television. For hours he assaults you with everything you’ve ever done. His case is so convincing, so true, that it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are guilty. You are guilty of being a sinner.

As you stand to receive your well-deserved sentence of eternity in hell from the Judge, the creaking sound of the door opening echoes through the courtroom. It’s your defense attorney. He’s wearing a ripped-up, blood-soaked robe. You notice he has holes in his wrists. As your attorney approaches the bench, a hush descends over the crowded courtroom, and under the silence you hear, “He’s never lost a case.”

The prosecuting attorney objects to your defense attorney representing you. He tells the Judge that he wants you to represent yourself.

The Judge speaks. ...

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Six keys to being more productive in life and ministry.

Pastors have a lot going on. We have to be present mentally, emotionally, and physically in many circumstances throughout each week. We often have families that are, or should be, a priority. We have responsibilities that pull us in many directions daily.

As the lead pastor for a church as well as a speaker, author, and doctoral student, I’m often asked, “Pastor, what is the key to your productivity?” Here are some principles I like to remember in order to be productive and try to maximize my God-given potential.

1. Know your calling

We are all first called to receive, embrace, and live from the life of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In response to the love of God, through the Holy Spirit’s power, we grow in our love for God.

For me, after that, I am called to love my wife and then my children.

I am called to serve and shepherd Transformation Church.

I am called to influence and encourage other pastors.

I am called to be an author.

I am called to complete a doctorate in the New Testament in context.

The specifics of your calling will differ, but by knowing and stewarding our callings, we can be free of the “tyranny of the urgent.” Once we clearly define our priorities, then if it’s not on that list, we really need to consider if it’s the best use of our time and other resources.

2. Simplify and declutter your life

A lack of productivity in people’s lives is often the result of not knowing our calling and having a cluttered life, filled with activities but not production.

In our 21st-century world, choices are everywhere, and we often clutter our lives with too many options because we are afraid we are going to miss out on something. ...

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Joy is not found in our circumstances.

In Biblical times a person showed sorrow and suffering by putting on sackcloth. In Psalm 30:10–12, David describes how God had removed his sackcloth and exchanged it for joy:

“’Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.’

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever” (NIV).

Joy isn’t rooted in our circumstances. It is rooted in God. Our hearts can sing praises to him even if our mouths cannot.

As Psalm 32:1-2 says, we can have joy because our sins are forgiven. We have joy because at the end of the day God says, “I forgive you.” We can’t determine if God loves us based on good or bad circumstances in our lives. We determine God’s love for us based on the cross and the resurrection.

Joy is found in knowing that our record of guilt has been cleared and that he has fully forgiven us.

“Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,

whose lives are lived in complete honesty!”

(Ps. 32:1-2, NLT).

Watch the rest of the sermon here.

Marinate on that.

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(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed. The panel affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in an ERISA action challenging the denial of plaintiff’s request for early retirement benefits, holding that any procedural irregularities in the actions of the board were minor.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed. The district court denied Plaintiff’s national-interest waiver petition for lack of jurisdiction. Affirming, the panel held that 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) strips the federal courts of jurisdiction to review the denial of a national-interest waiver.

Facets Of Folk Hit #1 On The Folk Alliance International Folk DJ Charts And Is Now On The List For Consideration For The Grammy® For Best Folk Album

Vigilante neighbor enforcement of stay-at-home orders pales in comparative zeal to official actions.

You can reduce water use not by forgoing the recommended eight daily glasses of water, showering less often, or draining the fishbowl but by cutting back on grass, the turf kind, that is.

Each of us is morally and ethically called upon to do the right thing, make sacrifices, and take the necessary steps to keep our family, friends, co-workers and community safe.

My body, your choice? Re: “Inside state’s growing anti-shutdown movement,” April 27 news story