All posts tagged: southern

Southern Baptists, losing members, find solace in baptisms and better attendance

Southern Baptists, losing members, find solace in baptisms and better attendance

Published by Sam

(RNS) — The bad news for Southern Baptists is that the denomination, the nation’s largest Protestant group, shrunk in 2023, with a drop of about a quarter-million people. The good news, according to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual statistical report, is that the decline slowed from 2022. In addition, of those who remained, more went to church and more newcomers took the plunge to get baptized. The SBC’s 2024 Annual Church Profile, released Tuesday (May 7), showed that membership dropped to 12.9 million members, the lowest since the late 1970s. Having peaked at 16.3 million in 2006, membership has been in decline ever since, with nearly 3.5 million members in total lost. About half of that total loss has come since 2018. Weekly attendance at churches rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic, topping 4 million per week, while small-group attendance was about 2.5 million. Donations at the denomination’s 46,000 churches also remained robust, topping $10 billion, feeding nearly $800 million into SBC national and international ministries. The SBC’s churches also reported 226,000 baptisms, a key evangelism …

Amazon, Volvo team up on electric trucks at Southern California ports

Amazon, Volvo team up on electric trucks at Southern California ports

Published by skeptic

You’ve probably seen those cute blue, circle-eyed electric Amazon delivery trucks around your neighborhood. Now you’ll be passing by electric Amazon big rigs on the highway. The world’s dominant online retailer is rolling out 50 all-electric big rigs in Southern California, eight of them out of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and White House national climate advisor Ali Zaidi are scheduled to trumpet the Amazon news at the Los Angeles port Tuesday afternoon. Aggressive and impactful reporting on climate change, the environment, health and science. California has laid down mandates to dump diesel trucks and replace them with lower-carbon technologies in increasing numbers until 2035, when sale of new diesel trucks will be banned. The aim: to get rid of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Already, the state has banned brand new diesel trucks from seaports in California, although diesel trucks purchased through 2023 will be allowed inside for years under certain conditions. The batteries in the big rig tractors, manufactured by Volvo, can travel up to …

One killed in Oklahoma tornado as severe storms batter central and southern states

One killed in Oklahoma tornado as severe storms batter central and southern states

Published by skeptic

At least one person in Oklahoma has died as a result of a tornado that ripped through small towns, as severe storms moved from the South and into central areas, causing devastation and disruption to for millions. Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden told NBC News that the unidentified person died as a result of a tornado in Barnsdall, a city of about 1,000 people some 40 miles north of Tulsa, amid some of the storm’s worst devastation, on Monday night. Virden said it was too early to say how many others may have been injured but said his deputies had carried out multiple rescues. “There’s areas, residences that [have] been completely destroyed. We did several rescues of people trapped in debris,” he said. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said on X that it had established a meeting point in the town for anyone searching for loved ones. Bartlesville, 20 miles to the north-east, was similarly affected. A hotel in the town was severely damaged, as shown in social media posts uploaded by witnesses — firefighters were …

Are you a waterbed enthusiast in Southern California? Get in touch

Are you a waterbed enthusiast in Southern California? Get in touch

Published by skeptic

The waterbed was invented by a San Francisco State University graduate student in 1969, and it quickly captured the American imagination. It soon became a symbol of the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll lifestyle for which the 1970s was famous. It hit the peak of its popularity in 1987, when one in every five mattresses sold in the U.S. was a vinyl bag that could be filled with up to 250 gallons of water. But even as waterbed design has evolved in modern times (more stability, less sloshing), these once-popular mattresses have seen a significant decline. Are you a holdout who still sleeps on a waterbed in Southern California? We want to hear your story. Source link

Death toll from southern Brazil rainfall rises to 78 with many missing | Floods News

Death toll from southern Brazil rainfall rises to 78 with many missing | Floods News

Published by Sam

The death toll is rising as heavy rains continue to lash southern Brazil, driving floodwaters higher. The storms and flooding in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul have killed at least 78 people, local authorities said on Sunday, with more than 115,000 people displaced. Volunteers using boats, jet skis – and even swimming – have assisted in rescue efforts. In the state capital, Porto Alegre, Fabiano Saldanha said he and three friends used jet skis to save about 50 people from floodwaters since Friday. The death toll could still increase significantly, with 105 people reported missing on Sunday, up from about 70 the prior day, according to the state civil defence authority. It also said it was investigating whether four more deaths were related to the storms. Driven by the persistent heavy rains, flooding has affected more than two-thirds of the nearly 500 cities in the state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, according to authorities. Roads and bridges have been damaged in several cities. Rains have also …

Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 75 people over 7 days

Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 75 people over 7 days

Published by skeptic

Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. Carlos Macedo/AP hide caption toggle caption Carlos Macedo/AP Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024. Carlos Macedo/AP RIO DE JANEIRO — Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday. At least 155 people were injured, while damage from the rains forced more than 88,000 people from their homes. Approximately 16,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters. The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Operators reported electricity and communications cuts. More than 800,000 people are without a water supply, according to the civil defense agency, which cited figures from water company Corsan. A rescue team pulled an elderly man in serious medical condition into a …

Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangeroo Island: an eco hotel on Australia’s Galapagos

Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangeroo Island: an eco hotel on Australia’s Galapagos

Published by skeptic

At the request of founders, James, and Hayley Baillie, the original architect of Southern Ocean, Max Pritchard returned with his team to recreate 2.0. The original Lodge, which was the flagship of luxury collective, Baillie Lodges, was devastatingly burnt to the ground in bush fires in 2020, bar a sculpture of a kangaroo which sat in the lobby. More than a decade on, Pritchard has taken the opportunity to install cutting edge technology, setting new benchmarks for environmental sustainability in the tourism industry in everything from rainwater capture to solar power. 45,000 biodiverse native plants have been propagated on-site and planted to form a natural buffer from the surrounding wilderness. And of course, there is vastly upgraded fire prevention infrastructure. Source link

Pro-Palestinian protest ends quietly at University of Southern California

Pro-Palestinian protest ends quietly at University of Southern California

Published by skeptic

Pro-Palestinian protesters at an encampment at the University of Southern California, one of the focal points of anti-Israel protests across U.S. college campuses, left the scene early Sunday after authorities warned them that they could be arrested. Their departure came after university safety officers and Los Angeles police began clearing the center of campus, where police had arrested 93 people on April 24. “If you are in the center of campus, please leave,” the university warned the protesters on the social media platform X, saying they could be arrested if they stayed. Elsewhere, pro-Palestinian protests continued at several college graduation ceremonies on Saturday. At the University of Virginia, 25 people were arrested for trespassing after police clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters who refused to remove tents from the campus. At the University of Michigan, demonstrators chanted anti-war messages and waved flags during graduation ceremonies. More protests occurred at Indiana University, Ohio State University, Princeton University in New Jersey and Northeastern University in Massachusetts. Source link

Death toll from rains in southern Brazil rises to 57 as 69,000 people displaced | Brazil

Death toll from rains in southern Brazil rises to 57 as 69,000 people displaced | Brazil

Published by skeptic

The death toll from rains in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 57, local authorities said on Saturday afternoon, while dozens still have not been accounted for. The state’s civil defence authority said 67 people were still missing and more than 69,000 had been displaced as storms affected nearly two-thirds of the 497 cities in the state. Floods destroyed roads and bridges and triggered landslides and the partial collapse of a dam at a small hydroelectric power plant. A second dam in the city of Bento Gonçalves is also at risk of collapsing, authorities said. In Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul’s capital, the Guaíba lake broke its banks, flooding streets. Porto Alegre’s international airport has suspended all flights for an indefinite period. People are evacuated from a flooded area in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by torrential storms in southern Brazil has climbed to 58 people. Photograph: Carlos Fabal/AFP/Getty Images Rains are expected in the northern and north-eastern …