People suffering as a result of unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion should be allowed to seek professional help, and the Church must offer a more hopeful message than simply telling them to be celibate for the rest of their lives.

Sometimes suburbia is the destination. One such suburb is Irving, Texas. Once a bedroom community for Dallas, it has become a destination in its own right.

Former Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt and the SBC are scheduled to meet next year as part of his lawsuit against the denomination over allegations of defamation and invasion of privacy.

Weeks after failing to reach an agreement with Pastor Matthew Queen to vacate his position after he pleaded guilty to making a false statement to federal authorities about a sexual abuse investigation, Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, announced that he has resigned.

The Latino Christian vote shifted strongly in support of President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, according to exit polls.

Leaders of pro-life advocacy groups are celebrating former President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, citing his win as evidence that the American people do not support the unfettered abortion access endorsed by the Democrats.

If American Evangelical Christians want any moral legs to stand on in the sexuality debate, we must own up to our sordid racial past.

The Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith, lets us in on his writing process before an event recorded for radio in Portsmouth. The workshop was recorded backstage. #writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alexander Chee is a careful craftsman of language. As we came to find out, when we talked to him from Argot Studios in NYC, he is as measured, unassuming and thoughtful in his speech. A retiring man, who prefers to write in transient spaces, he also just so happens to have penned the most hotly anticipated literary novel of 2016 - The Queen of the Night, a sophomore work fifteen years in the making*. *He assures us it only took eleven or twelve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Columbus Blue Jackets start a new season Thursday night. The Jackets open the season at home inside Nationwide Arena against the Boston Bruins, and expectations are down following a 2015-2016 season that ended with the Jackets as one of the league's worst teams.

On October 5, SpaceX Crew Dargon blasted off to the International Space Station. Anna Kikina, a woman cosmonaut from Russia, was on board the SpaceX spacecraft. "A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon Endurance spacecraft into orbit carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann as mission commander, and Josh Cassada, pilot. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, also aboard the Dragon, will serve as mission specialists for their science expedition in microgravity aboard the space station," NASA wrote. The participation of a Russian cosmonaut in the launch launch was made possible owing to the cross-flight programme: a Russian cosmonaut boarded SpaceX, and an American astronaut flew to the ISS on board a Soyuz spacecraft.

Not every serial killer should necessarily be either a social outcast or a sociopath. Some of them are good at disguise and may at times have a reputation of exemplary society members. Biographies of many famous serial killers of the USSR era testify to this. Chikatilo helped to catch himself Andrey Chikatilo, a serial killer from Rostov, committed his first crime in 1973, the last in 1990. Chikatilo killed 53 women and children in all that time. All the crimes were sexually motivated; he would stab and dismember his victims' bodies.

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev once had to beg Joseph Stalin for mercy. The episode in Khrushchev's biography took place before he came to power in the USSR. Khrushchev had to kneel in front of Stalin, begging him not to punish his son Leonid, who had shot an officer by accident.  Professor, biophysicist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Andrei Malenkov, the son of one of Khrushchev's competitors in the struggle for power, Georgy Malenkov, said in an interview with Lenta.ru that Khrushchev came to Stalin and was crawling on his knees in front of him because his son was supposed to be executed for shooting an officer. Moreover, it was the second time when Khrushchev's son committed such a crime (he was forgiven for the first one), Malenkov said.   With this landmark report at the XX Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union "On the cult of the personality and its consequences" Nikita Khrushchev wanted to take revenge on Stalin for his unfortunate son Leonid, the professor also said, adding that Khrushchev was a "very vindictive little man."

Putin's Annual Address to the Federal Assembly is scheduled for September 30. Kremlin sources say it will become even more historic and globally important than the 2014 address for the return of Crimea. Mass media and experts make their own suggestions about the content of Putin's speech that he is going to deliver to the Federal Assembly on September 30. There are a number of versions:

The accession of new territories to Russia is justifiable from the economic point of view and will not have a negative impact on the Russian budget, the Kremlin said. As Russia readies to grow even larger, experts try to calculate how much it will cost the Russian budget to rebuild cities and restore peaceful life in the new territories. Some others try to find out how much profit the new territories will bring. The Washington Post announced the approximate cost of mineral deposits in the new regions — about 12.4 trillion dollars.

In 2023, central banks around the world purchased significant amounts of gold. China's activity in this area was particularly noticeable as the nation's gold reserves increased by 225 tons over the year. An article published on Chinese Internet platform Baijiahao says that Russia actively participated in the gold rush to increase its precious metals reserves. As a result, Russia's gold reserves reached a record 2.36 thousand tons. Russia is thus ranked fifth following the USA, Germany, Italy and France.

El Departamento de Seguros de Texas (TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) anunció a Dan Paschal como el Comisionado Adjunto de la recién creada división de Relaciones Externas. Esta división incluirá Comunicaciones (actualmente Asuntos Públicos) y Relaciones Gubernamentales (actualmente Asuntos de la Agencia).

El caso fue dirigido por los investigadores del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (TDI por su nombre y siglas en inglés) y los fiscales trabajando con la Oficina del Fiscal del condado Harris.

Erica De La Cruz is now Deputy Commissioner of Claims and Customer Service. The new program area includes Claims Services, Self Insurance Regulation, and the Subsequent Injury Fund.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) announces its chief deputy commissioner and new leadership for its Administrative Operations, Life and Health, and General Counsel divisions.

El Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance - TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) anuncia el nuevo comisionado jefe adjunto y nuevos líderes para las divisiones de Operaciones Administrativas, Seguros de Vida y de Salud, y las Divisiones del Concejo General.

El exjugador de la NFL Corey Bradford se declaró culpable por presentar reclamaciones fraudulentas para reembolso de salud después de una investigación realizada por la Unidad de Fraude del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (TDI por su nombre y siglas en inglés).

Un ajustador de seguros público de Texas acusado de robar más de $268,000 en reclamaciones de seguros a múltiples víctimas ha sido acusado por un gran jurado del condado Kimble.

Business owners have many decisions to make, including whether to provide workers’ compensation coverage to their employees. Texas is the only state that gives private-sector employers that choice.

James Adkisson, el exjugador de la NFL se declaró culpable por presentar reclamaciones fraudulentas de más de $33,000 para reembolso de salud después de una investigación realizada por la Unidad de Fraude del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés).

The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced today that three Texas companies have been recognized with a Lone Star Safety Award for their exemplary workplace health and safety programs and low rates of work-related injuries and illnesses.

Texas Workers' Compensation Commissioner Jeff Nelson has announced the appointment of Matthew Posey as DWC's new Deputy Commissioner of Operations and External Relations.

Residents whose property was damaged by the Texas wildfires should contact their insurance company to file a claim as soon as possible.

Los residentes cuyas propiedades hayan sufrido daños por los incendios forestales de Texas deben llamar a su compañía de seguros para presentar una reclamación lo antes posible.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) reminds flood victims to document damage and file insurance claims right away.

El Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) les recuerda a las víctimas de las inundaciones que deben documentar los daños y presentar las reclamaciones al seguro de inmediato.

Septiembre se considera la etapa cumbre de la actividad ciclónica, pero es importante recordar que la temporada de huracanes se extiende hasta noviembre.

New exhibition entitled “Art of Islam” begins today in the halls of the State's Hermitage Museum in London's Somerset House. 75 items from the Hermitage's Eastern Art Collection will be displayed. “Exhibition of Islamic art with a few pieces from Hermitage had taken place in London nearly 40 years ago. However, this art collection of the world’s famous Hermitage is taking place in London for the first time on such grand scale,” stated senior staff scientist of the Department of Eastern studies of Hermitage, Adel Adamova, reports RIA ‘Novosti”. Museum halls will showcase various pieces from different countries of the Islamic world; the earliest dating back to the Middle Ages. Visitors could witness the best examples of Muslim bronze work, Turkish and Iranian weapons, jewelry items, a series of Persian miniatures, chasubles of Russian priests made from Turkish and Persian fabrics, as well as velvet fabrics made in Iran in XVI century.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Dostoyevsky of 20th century, dies of heart failureAlexander Solzhenitsyn died in Moscow at age 89. President Dmitry Medvedev presented his condolences to writer’s wife and sons. Stepan Solzhenitsyn told The Associated Press his father died late Sunday of heart failure, but declined further comment. Solzhenitsyn's unflinching accounts of torment and survival in the Soviet Union's labor camps riveted his countrymen, whose secret history he exposed. They earned him 20 years of bitter exile, but international renown. And they inspired millions, perhaps, with the knowledge that one person's courage and integrity could, in the end, defeat the totalitarian machinery of an empire.

Florence researchers are about to excavate the bones of the woman they believe served as the model for Mona Lisa. Their hope is that facial reconstruction will prove once and for all if Lisa Gherardini was the subject of the Leonarda da Vinci portrait that has mesmerized viewers for centuries. The painting has long also been known as La Gioconda, linking it to Gherardini's husband, Francesco del Giocondo, who commissioned da Vinci to paint his wife. Digging will begin later this month at a convent in central Florence where Gherardini was buried in 1542, Newser reports. The team will be led by Silvano Vinceti, an art historian who last year announced that he had found the remains of the Renaissance genius Caravaggio, although his claim was disputed by other scholars.

Russia, when signing documents for the sale of Alaska to the United States, was realizing her objective benefit, deputy director of the Historical and Documentary Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Doctor of Historical Sciences Artyom Rudnitsky said.According to him, the deal between Russia and the United States on selling Alaska was fair and aligning with international norms of that time.Rudnitsky noted during the Russian-American international conference "Dialogue of Fort Ross - Meeting in Russia" that the sale of Alaska by Russia was due to several reasons, including the fact that the colony was unprofitable. There were objective difficulties in protecting it in the event of an attack, he added. At the same time, Russia expected to make $5 million from the sale, but managed to obtain more $7 million in the end, which was considered a great achievement for that historical period. Moreover, the Alaska deal became an expression of relations between Russia and the United States. Strengthening relations with the US was important for the Russian Empire, which was in international isolation after the lost Crimean War."Do you think Russia would concede part of its territory to a country that was aggressive and hostile agains it? They treated the Americans well back then and believed that this would in no way infringe upon Russia's interests," concluded Rudnitsky. Also read: If US wants Crimea returned to Ukraine, Russi wants Alaska backPravda.Ru Read article in Russian

Former US President Bill Clinton offered Russian President Boris Yeltsin large investments in Russia in the 1990s in exchange for NATO's eastward expansion and Moscow's approval of that expansion. A number of declassified documents testifying to USA's plans to buy off Russia became available on the website of the US Presidential Library. According to the documents, Yeltsin responded to Clinton's suggestion by saying that such a measure was like a bribe in exchange for Russia's consent to NATO's expansion to the detriment of her own interests.

Kamila Valieva, Russian figure skating phenomenon, failed her performance and was ranked fourth in the free skating program at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. When Kamila finished her performance, Tutberidze asked her why she stopped fighting during the performance. "Well, why did you let go of everything? Well, explain, you let go somewhere after the axel,” said the coach to her 15-year-old athlete.

An anonymous assistant to President Putin has had a few meetings with winter sports coaches, during which he "in a mild form" recommended to refuse from participating in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. According to All Sports agency, an official from the Kremlin administration, whose name remains anonymous, specified that it would have to be the athletes themselves to make such a decision. The talks of the of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission with representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took place in Moscow this week. The meetings were devoted to the structure of the Russian delegation during the Games in South Korea. The next day it became known that a number of prominent Russian athletes with an unblemished reputation, including biathlete Anton Shipulin, skier Sergei Ustyugov and speed skater Victor An, as well as the leaders of hockey and speed skating teams were not invited to the competitions, even though those athletes were not listed either in Richard McLaren or Denis Oswald reports. On Tuesday, the press service of the Russian Ice Skating Federation said that the IOC did not allow Russian figure skaters Ksenia Stolbova and Ivan Bukin to participate in the 2018 Winter Games without explaining the reasons. Representatives for the Russian Ice Skating Federation expressed their indignation about the absurd decision and started to defend the honour and dignity of athletes in all possible ways.The Russian Olympic Committee prepares to give a hard estimate to IOC's actions and request appropriate explanations.Following those events, Russian politicians assumed that the IOC was pushing Russia to boycott the Winter Games 2018 and exit the Olympic movement."If no explanations follow, perhaps Russian athletes will have to revise their decision regarding the participation in the Olympics in Pyeongchang. They wanted to make us boycott the Games before, but as soon as they realised that we were not going to do it, they decided to suspend clean athletes with perfect reputations. This looks like political blackmail and creates conditions for unfair victories at the Olympics," chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture Mikhail Degtyarev told Sport Express newspaper. On December 5, the IOC Executive Committee decided that only clean Russian athletes would be able to perform at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang under the Olympic flag. Two special committees of the IOC have reduced the list of 500 applicants to 389 names so far. The final structure of the Russian delegation will be announced on January 28. On December 6, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would not boycott the Games. Pravda.Ru

Fans from all over the world continue coming to Russia for the World Cup. In Moscow, football fans paralyzed many pedestrian streets having arranged mass festivities there. Most fans gathered on Nikolskaya Street, which is adjacent to Red Square. Crowds of football fans gathered on Nikolskaya Street to support their national teams. Russia is welcoming fans of all ages - one can see elderly people holding hands, young people partying and even young parents with children. Light garlands above the street created a very special atmosphere of a football carnival against the background of facades of historical buildings covered with flags of the countries participating in the championship.Representatives of Latin and South America predictably turned out to be most active football fans, for whom football is a religion. Peruvians and Mexicans attracted people's attention by performing  national dances and playing traditional musical instruments. Fans from Argentina gathered the largest number of fans around themselves as they were singing the national anthem in unison, infecting everyone around with football fever.The Moscow police were behaving in a very friendly way with foreign guests, but were firmly suppressing all attempts of the latter to drink alcoholic beverages in public places. Of course, unpleasant incidents are unavoidable, and foreign football fans already appear in crime reports. In St. Petersburg, a fan from Morocco was robbed after visiting the festival of FIFA fans on Konyushennaya Square. On the way back, the man found that he lost 2,500 euros and his iPhone 7. The loss was evaluated at about 200,000 rubles. The Moroccan fan could only speak Arabic, and it took police officers a lot of time to understand what he was trying to say.On June 11, a Chinese woman reported the loss of a designer backpack and an amount of money worth 3,000 dollars. The same day, an American man addressed the police saying that he was left without cash. A 25-year-old Egyptian reported the loss of his luggage. The young man could not overcome the language barrier and resorted to the help of his friend, who could speak English. It turned out that the men forgot about their bag with tickets inside as they were stunned with views of St. Petersburg. In Kaliningrad, Nigerian football fans asked local authorities permission to bring live chickens to the stadium. The authorities had to decline. For Nigerian fans, a chicken is their mascot that they bring to every venue.  They did not specify what they needed the chickens for, although it is generally believed that African football fans usually practice various magic rituals during football matches, and chickens are widely used in Africa for sacrifice. Nigeria will play against Croatia in Kaliningrad on June 16. World Cup 2018 scheduleJune 14thGroup A. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Russia - Saudi Arabia 18:00June 15thGroup A. Ekaterinburg. Egypt - Uruguay 15:00Group B. St. Petersburg. Morocco - Iran 18:00Group B. Sochi. Portugal - Spain 21:00June 16thGroup S. Kazan. France - Australia 13:00Group D. Moscow, "Spartacus." Argentina - Iceland 16:00Group S. Saransk. Peru - Denmark 19:00Group D. Kaliningrad. Croatia - Nigeria 22:00June 17Group E. Samara. Costa Rica - Serbia 15:00Group F. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Germany - Mexico 18:00Group E. Rostov-on-Don. Brazil - Switzerland 21:00June, 18thGroup F. Nizhny Novgorod. Sweden - South Korea 15:00Group G. Sochi. Belgium - Panama 18:00Group G. Volgograd. Tunisia - England 21:00June 19Group H. Saransk. Colombia - Japan 15:00Group H. Moscow, "Spartacus." Poland - Senegal 18:00Group A. St. Petersburg. Russia to Egypt 21:00June 20thGroup B. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Portugal - Morocco 15:00Group A. Rostov-on-Don. Uruguay - Saudi Arabia 18:00Group B. Kazan. Iran - Spain 21:0021st of JuneGroup S. Samara. Denmark-Australia 15:00Group C. Ekaterinburg. France - Peru 18:00Group D. Nizhny Novgorod. Argentina - Croatia 21:0022nd of JuneGroup E. St. Petersburg. Brazil - Costa Rica 15:00Group D. Volgograd. Nigeria - Iceland 18:00Group E. Kaliningrad. Switzerland - Serbia 21:00June 23Group G. Moscow, "Spartacus." Belgium - Tunisia 15:00Group F. Rostov-on-Don. South Korea - Mexico 18:00Group F. Sochi. Germany - Sweden 21:00June 24Group G. Nizhny Novgorod. England - Panama 15:00Group H. Ekaterinburg. Japan - Senegal 18:00Group H. Kazan. Poland - Colombia 21:00June 25thGroup A. Volgograd. Saudi Arabia - Egypt 17:00Group A. Samara. Uruguay - Russia 17:00Group B. Kaliningrad. Spain - Morocco 21:00Group B. Saransk. Iran - Portugal 21:00June 26thGroup C. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Denmark-France 17:00Group S. Sochi. Australia - Peru 17:00Group D. St. Petersburg. Nigeria - Argentina 21:00Group D. Rostov-on-Don. Iceland - Croatia 21:0027th of JuneGroup F. Kazan. South Korea - Germany 17:00Group F. Ekaterinburg. Mexico - Sweden 17:00Group E. Moscow, "Spartacus." Brazil - Serbia 21:00Group E. Nizhny Novgorod. Switzerland - Costa Rica 21:00June 28thGroup H. Volgograd. Japan - Poland 17:00Group H. Samara. Senegal - Colombia 17:00Group G. Kaliningrad. England - Belgium 21:00Group G. Saransk. Panama - Tunisia 21:00Playoff schedule30 June1/8 finals. Kazan. C1-D2 17:001/8 finals. Sochi. 1A - 2B 21:00July 11/8 finals. Moscow, the Luzhniki Stadium. B1 - A2 17:001/8 finals. Nizhny Novgorod. D1 - C2 21:002 July1/8 finals. Samara. E1 - F2 17:001/8 finals. Rostov-on-Don. G1 - H2 21:003 July1/8 finals. St. Petersburg. F1 - E2 17:001/8 finals. Moscow, "Spartacus." H1 - G2 21:006 July1/4 finals. Nizhny Novgorod. (A1-B2) - (C1-D2) 17:001/4 finals. Kazan. (E1 - F2) - (G1 - H2) 21:00July 7th1/4 finals. Samara. (F1 - E2) - (H1 - G2) 17:001/4 finals. Sochi. (B1-A2) - (D1-C2) 21:0010 July1/2 finals. St. Petersburg. 9pmJuly 11th1/2 finals. Moscow, the Luzhniki Stadium. 9pmthe 14 th of JulyMatch for third place. St. Petersburg. 5pmJuly 15The final. Moscow, Luzhniki 18:00

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva said that she was emotionally tired of the doping scandal, in which she found herself at the Beijing Olympics. "These days have been very hard for me, there are not enough emotions. I am happy, but I am emotionally tired. There are tears of happiness and grief a little. But, of course, I am happy to be at the Olympics. I will try to represent our country and I hope that I will be as motivated as possible to show a good result,” said Valieva. According to the athlete, she saw all the good wishes, and even banners in her support in the streets of Moscow.

The main feature of Russia's prospective light tactical aircraft, also known as the Su-75, or Checkmate, is stealthiness, military expert Andrei Klintsevich said in an interview with News.ru. “The main feature of the Checkmate fighter is that this is a fifth-generation aircraft in terms of stealthiness. This is a single-engine jet meaning that it is quite cheap to manufacture. It will be an analogue of the Su-35 fighter, but it is still difficult to say what characteristics it will have. Currently, Russia pays priority to twin-engine technology to improve reliability and flight performance,” he said. According to the expert, modern aircraft become versatile platforms capable of performing fighter, interceptor or bomber missions.

By the 2020s, in spite of centuries after the Emancipation Proclamation (in 1863) and decades or generations of Black empowerment, there is still something fundamentally missing in the Black American identity, because the latter has failed to substantially "de-colonize" the violent colonial legacy (like the ruthless importation of Black slaves, not just the near-extermination of Native Americans) in the Thirteen British Colonies (and later the United States) in early American history. A good beginning for a long-term solution (de-colonization) is to understand in what ways the "average" Black American mindset has lost its average Black "African" roots, with the resultant effect of "inferiority complex" among Black Americans (involving both "self-hatred" within the oppressed and "anger" or "hatred" towards the oppressor, which vary in degree from person to person), on "average." Although this essay uses the case of Black Americans for analysis, the logical implication is much broader, since the same reasoning can be applied to Black communities around the world (outside sub-Saharan Africa), be they in Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, North Africa, the Oceania, and the like.

The fact that President of Brazil Lula is not attending the BRICS summit in Kazan has given rise to rumours of internal contradictions within the bloc. Brazilian sources debunk this myth and explain why there is a queue to join BRICS. According to Western media, Brazil was against the participation of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the BRICS summit in Kazan, since Brazil did not recognise the presidential election in this country. In an interview with the O Globo, Celso Amorim, special adviser to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on foreign policy, said that Brazil's position on Venezuela "is not a moral or political judgment." "I am not concerned about Venezuela's accession, we do not make moral or political judgments about the country itself. BRICS has countries that practice different types of regimes, the question is whether they have the potential to contribute to a more peaceful world, given their political weight and ability to form relationships," Amorim said.

In October, Russian companies delivered 2.16 tons of gold worth $124.6 million to China — a record amount since 2016. Yet, Russia remains a marginal supplier in the Chinese market that is primarily dominated by suppliers from Switzerland and Canada. Russia's gold exports to China doubled in physical terms in October compared to the same period last year, having reached 2.16 tons, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China said, RBC reports. It goes about raw or semi-finished forms of gold. Supplies in monetary terms also doubled up to $124.6 million. Judging by China's monthly statistics, these are the largest supplies since 2016.

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