Tens of thousands of high school students in cities nationwide plan to skip classes Friday to attend Global Climate Strike marches calling for immediate action to end climate change. They will be part of a global joint protest aimed directly at the adults who they say are ignoring the destruction of the planet. (Weise, USA Today)
Read MoreWhat is cancel culture, which is simultaneously decried as everything that’s wrong with humanity (or liberals, or Generation Z) and condemned as a made-up term that helps people escape accountability for past wrongdoing? Is there anything useful we can learn from this mess about the nature of comedy and the Int ernet? (Ohlheiser & Izadi, The Washington Post)
Read MoreA fire that destroyed an ancient Holy Land church near the Sea of Galilee around 700 CE appears to have preserved the church’s beautiful mosaic floor, which includes depictions of baskets, loaves and fish as well as inscriptions. The floor was protected by a layer of ash and the remains of the church’s collapsed roof. (Chabin, Religion News Service)
Read MoreThe U.S. abortion rate is continuing a long-term downward trend, according to new data released by the Guttmacher Institute on Wednesday. Guttmacher, which supports abortion rights, finds that the overall number of abortions dropped 7% — to 862,320 in 2017, down from 926,200 in 2014, the last time the data were updated. (McCammon, NPR)
Read MoreHigh-profile catwalk shows are big money-spinners for fashion houses which build the reputation of designers and cement their links with wealthy and influential customers. Last night, Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden, the former chaplain to the Queen, urged the diocese “think twice” about whether its holy buildings were being used in a manner fitting for a faith that renounces materialism. (Hardy & Swerling, The Telegraph)
Read MoreMerriam-Webster added a new definition of the word “they” to its dictionary, declaring the pronoun may be used to refer to a “single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.” (Schmidt, The Washington Post)
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