Displaying items by tag: North America

A state of emergency has been declared in British Columbia, where torrential rain and mudslides have destroyed roads, cut off several mountain towns, and displaced 18,000 people. At the time of writing there has only been one death, but the death toll will probably rise as the Canadian province grapples with what its premier, John Horgan, called a once-in-500-year event. Pray for neighbours and authorities working to save people and animals, secure supply chains, and ensure that essential goods and emergency services can reach hard-hit communities. Pray for the thousands of people forced to leave their homes in regions under evacuation orders. Ottawa is sending hundreds of air force personnel to aid the recovery, and thousands more are on standby. Pray for the affected towns in remote mountain areas with limited access and freezing temperatures. Many are cut off by road closures and mudslides.

2.25 million disabled Americans should attend church, but don’t. Calvary Community is oriented towards people with ‘special abilities’. Their families drive long distances to get there. As a result, church growth has surged. ‘It just really exploded,’ said Pastor Gina. ‘We have a heart to help. The church understands the value of people with special abilities. ‘They have a straightforward clear understanding of the love of God. They’re not bogged down by noise, politics, or anything that can confuse who God is. Their childlike faith reminds us how simple the love of God can be. They help us understand what it means to serve someone who can’t serve us back.’ The community has 300 volunteers actively seeking and serving people with special abilities. The results speak for themselves. The church now has a database of 700 families with one or more child or adult with special abilities, and they train and help other churches develop special programmes. 

Prime minister Justin Trudeau came into office promising to strengthen and restore ties with native communities and recently told reporters, ‘We are committed to compensating indigenous people who were harmed as children in child and family services’. Yet his government says it will appeal against a court order to pay billions of dollars to compensate indigenous children who went through the child welfare system. Last month, a tribunal upheld a 2016 ruling that the government underfunded First Nations services compared with those for non-indigenous children, and ordered $40,000 (£23,340) payouts to each child who was in the on-reserve welfare system after 2006. The case has been a source of tension between tribes and the government. The government has said it is not opposed to compensation, but that it had issues over the order's jurisdiction and how the money was to be divided.

‘Operation Round-Up’ used undercover detectives to target criminals who attempted to prey upon minors, sought sex for themselves or exploited victims through human trafficking. 125 people were arrested in the trafficking sting and four females were rescued. Joel Velasco, 38, a schoolteacher and Pastor Samuel Phillips Jr of Be Limitless Church were among those arrested when detectives created undercover profiles online and chatted with men who believed they were speaking to minors. Velasco and Phillips were held in positions of trust and respect in the community but abused it as many others of the traffickers did. Police also created false advertisements for sex, and female detectives posed as streetwalkers to catch illegal activities.

On ‘National Coming Out Day’, America’s LGBT awareness day, DC Comics announced that their latest Superman, Clark Kent’s son Jon, will be bisexual. In previous issues Jon was friendly with Jay Nakamura - a bespectacled, pink-haired reporter. In the next issue their relationship will become romantic. The storyline follows Jon as he takes on the mantle of Superman from his father. He fights wildfires caused by climate change, scuppers a high school shooting, and protests against deporting refugees. DC Comics said the pair become romantically involved after Jon ‘mentally and physically burns out from trying to save everyone that he can’. Even though this issue has not yet been released, DC Comics say that reaction to the storyline has been ‘overwhelmingly positive’. They hope people who see this Superman will say, 'He is like me, he fights for things that concern me’.

An antiviral pill has cut the chances of Covid-19 patients being hospitalised or dying by 50% in late-stage trials, raising hopes of a new weapon in the arsenal against the virus. The pill, Molnupiravir, was initially developed to tackle influenza but is also effective at reducing deaths and hospitalisations from Covid, the data from human trials showed. The manufacturers will now seek emergency authorisation in the United States as soon as possible and submit their data to regulators worldwide. A simple pill that can be taken at home to stop the disease in its tracks has been a key aim throughout the pandemic. Until now, Remdesivir, another existing antiviral, was the only one licensed to treat Covid - but it has to be administered intravenously and results have been modest. Other antivirals are also in development, including some specifically targeted at Covid-19, such as a pill currently being tested by Pfizer.

Numerous factors are pointing to a presidential meltdown. At home, Biden’s handling of the pandemic attracted growing criticism during a summer Covid surge. There has been continuing mistreatment of Mexico border migrants, which he promised to end. A Biden-backed police reform bill, prompted by George Floyd’s death, was rejected in Congress. His reputation for foreign policy competence was shattered by the Afghan withdrawal and deaths of Americans and Afghans. The row with France over a US-UK-Australia defence pact deepened disillusion over his commitment to multilateralism. While international perceptions matter, it is Americans who will make or break this presidency. Before next year’s midterm elections, Mr Biden wishes to enact an extraordinarily ambitious legislative agenda including a $3.5tn social spending plan and a $1.1tn infrastructure package. A new survey gives Donald Trump a 48% favourability rating to Biden’s 46%.

Flights carrying Haitian migrants from the US back to their homeland continue daily. The ongoing mass expulsion comes in response to a growing humanitarian crisis at the US/Mexico border. Over 12,000 migrants, mainly from Haiti, camped under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, after wading across the Rio Grande from Mexico. Activity at the border has increased significantly in recent years. Border agents stopped nearly 200,000 people last month, a significant increase from the 50,684 arrests in 2019. UN officials say almost a million people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras have fled to Mexico. Mexico may top 100,000 new asylum claims this year, breaking a new record. Recently a federal judge decided officials could not use Title 42 law to deport migrant families from the US to Mexico. Lawyers serving the Biden administration immediately appealed the ruling. Mission Cry is sending 25,000 Spanish Bibles to migrants all over Mexico and hope to reach 2 million people.

Many churches have either been destroyed or severely damaged by Hurricane Ida. The Baptist director of missions said that more than 80 Southern Baptist churches in Louisiana were damaged by the storm. ‘We have churches ranging from desperate to recovering, and the desperate ones need help now. Insurance rates are out of this world. It's going to be tough for them. But most of our churches will be okay in the long run. It's just right now, we have a crisis and need all the help we can get.’ Thirty of the most severely damaged churches were in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. Methodist Bishop Swanson said it is too early to gather damage assessment. New York churches were also severely damaged. A parish pastor describes the damage as ‘ten times worse than the last hurricane.’

One week after Hurricane Ida came ashore over half a million people are still without power. Some of the hardest-hit areas could be without power until 29th September. Mayor David Camardelle said, ‘It looks like a bomb went off. We have no water, we have no electricity, we have no food.’ Residents have been waiting in long queues for water, ice, food and fuel, and the situation has been made worse by extreme heat without air conditioning. On 9th September forecasters watched category 3 Hurricane Larry and Tropical Storm Mindy that are heading towards Bermuda and Canada causing ‘significant swells’ along America’s east coast. Louisiana’s Governor said, ‘We know there are a lot of people out there who are hurting. We're going to continue to work hard every single day to bring additional relief and to make progress.’ But Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy said residents need more help now.