National Public Radio, by Scott Neuman: The Southern Baptist Convention has voted to make it easier to expel churches that mishandle claims of sexual abuse. Delegates, representing some 47,000 Southern Baptist churches, gathered at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham,…

Mirror, by Tiffany Lo: Hailstones as big as grapefruits hammered several countries across Europe, causing chaos and damaging thousands of homes and buildings. The fierce hailstorm has battered parts of Slovenia, Croatia and Germany since Monday as strong gale-force winds…

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, by Fiza Pirani: For the first time, scientists believe they’ve found a way to generate full spoken sentences based on brain activity, paving the way for technology that can potentially be used by people with speech disabilities….

New York Post, by Jon Lockett: A huge swarm of ravenous locusts has been caught on film completely blanketing the skies over a Saudi Arabian city. The deluge of biblical bugs – which numbered in the tens of millions –…

Fox News, by Caleb Parke: Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law Wednesday establishing a woman’s “fundament right” to abortion, keeping a campaign promise to make the state the most progressive in the country when it comes to abortion rights….

Fox News, by Caleb Parke: The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop – which won a case before the U.S. Supreme Court recently – was sued for a third time this week. Jack Phillips, the Lakewood, Colo. bakery owner who has refused…

DailyMail.com, by Tim Stickings and Chris Dyer: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. believes Iran was responsible for attacks that damaged two oil tankers near the Persian Gulf. American forces found an unexploded mine on one of the damaged vessels. …

By Betsy Mayer A major shock was felt in the global trash market in 2018 when China, the main recycler of plastic waste, closed its doors to accepting imported waste. This left the trash-exporting countries scrambling to redirect their waste…

Time Magazine, by Shoshana Zuboff: George Orwell repeatedly delayed crucial medical care to complete 1984, the book still synonymous with our worst fears of a totalitarian future — published 70 years ago this month. Half a year after his novel’s debut, he…

Catholic News Agency, by Courtney Grogan: Pope Francis called on nations to work toward a global common good Thursday, particularly in confronting climate change, human trafficking and nuclear threats. “In the current situation of globalization not only of the economy…

Deutsche Welle: The southern German city of Constance has become the first in the nation to pass a resolution declaring a climate emergency. The resolution, which was passed unanimously by the city council on Thursday [May 2, 2019], was urged by…

Reuters: Iran can sink U.S. warships sent to the Gulf region using missiles and “secret weapons”, a senior Iranian military official was quoted as saying by the semi-official news agency Mizan on Saturday. The United States on Friday announced the…