New York City's storefronts aren't as alluring as they once were. The brutal statistics coming out are bad (but wholly predictable) news. As of 2024‚ 11.2 percent of the city's storefronts are sitting vacant. This is up from 6 percent in 2019. That doesn't seem like a huge number‚ but...

According to reports‚ an explosion rocked a BAE Systems weapons plant in Glascoed‚ Monmouthshire (Wales). Locals living near the plant said the blast felt like an earthquake. “BAE Systems plc is a British multinational aerospace‚ defence and information security company‚ based in London‚ England. It is the biggest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues‚” Wikipedia states. The Wales plant is the United Kingdom’s only munitions factory. An explosion has occurred at the BAE Systems Glascoed arms factory in Monmouthshire‚ Wales The fire service said on X: ‘At 10.49am on Wednesday 17th April‚ an incident occurred at the premises of BAE Systems Glascoed when an explosion occurred'https://t.co/lz2QUbOJA9 — Metro (@MetroUK) April 17‚ 2024 Per Daily Mail: Emergency services were deployed to the site‚ which is spread across a large field close to the south-eastern village; locals say the blast ‘wasn’t loud‚ but felt like an earthquake’. BAE Systems has promised a full investigation into the incident at the factory‚ which is the UK’s last remaining munitions filling factory. BAE says the Glascoed plant employs around 500 people. The firm is Europe’s biggest military contractor with several sites across the UK. A local told the South Wales Argus: ‘It wasn’t that loud from where I was but it felt like an earthquake. My car shook.’ A BAE Systems spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that there was an incident at our Glascoed facility in Wales this morning. ‘Tried and tested safety protocols were immediately enacted and emergency services attended the site. ‘All personnel are accounted for and our emergency response team continues to monitor the facility. We have launched a full investigation.’ An explosion occurred at a plant producing ammunition components for the British company BAE Systems in Wales‚ – Telegraph No injuries have been reported at this time and the company has launched an investigation. pic.twitter.com/X0PYQwVkgs — — GEROMAN — time will tell – — (@GeromanAT) April 17‚ 2024 Per Metro: It is believed that the explosion was an accident and no malicious intent was behind it. BAE Systems is the largest military contractor in Europe‚ producing ammunition‚ missile launchers and artillery systems. The Glascoed site was built in 1938 as a bomb-filling factory for the Royal Navy in the run-up to World War Two. Today‚ it employs roughly 500 people‚ according to BAE Systems. The company began work late last year on a new bomb-making building at the 1‚000-acre site. In recent months‚ it has been targeted by pro-Palestine protesters who claim the company has links to the Israeli military. The incident follows a reported fire at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton‚ Pennsylvania. DEVELOPING: Emergency Personnel Reportedly Respond To Fire At Army Ammunition Plant

The iconic singer-songwriter had no problems dishing it out if he felt like his targets deserved it

If you see a woman in green or blue scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck‚ you know who she is and what she does. If a man comes into your house to fix something and he’s got a hammer‚ a saw‚ a chisel‚ and a measuring tape on his tool belt hanging around his waist‚ then you know he’s not there to repair your laptop. Who he is and what he does are evident from what he holds. Psalm 23 teaches us who the Lord Jesus is and what he does by what he holds. He’s heavily armed. This is the further beautiful amplification of why we need not fear the darkest of valleys: “Your rod and your staff‚ they comfort me” (v. 4). Rugged Shepherd In the 19th century‚ J. L. Porter met shepherds in the northern Transjordan region‚ the same part of the world that led King David to write Psalm 23. The times have changed‚ of course‚ but the ruggedness required to shepherd in that place has remained the same. Here’s Porter’s description: The shepherds themselves had none of that peaceful and placid aspect which is generally associated with pastoral life and habits. They looked like warriors marching to the battlefield—a long gun slung from the shoulder‚ a dagger and heavy pistols in the belt‚ a light battle-axe or iron-headed club in the hand. Such were the equipments; and their fierce flashing eyes and scowling countenances showed but too plainly that they were prepared to use their weapons at any moment. We’re so used to the gentleness of Psalm 23 that we may never have felt the steel encased in the velvet. Dale Ralph Davis says‚ Jesus Christ‚ our Shepherd‚ is no emaciated weakling. Our Shepherd is a warrior‚ as shepherds had to be. No one can snatch his sheep out of his hand (John 10:28). The muscles of his arm are flexed to defend his flock; he doesn’t carry a club for nothing. He is obviously enough for whatever the valley throws at us. Spurgeon says the shepherd’s rod and staff lead David to praise him for “the ensigns of [his] sovereignty and of [his] gracious care.” Richard Briggs suggests that “the rod and the staff are the visible symbols of God’s invisible presence‚ in turn suggestive of the shepherd in the valley as the visible symbol of God’s presence.” Rod as Weapon Let’s consider the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus displayed in his rod and see how it comforts his sheep. Our shepherd is heavily armed. This is why we need not fear the darkest of valleys. Kenneth Bailey notes the word translated “rod” has a semantic range that can include “rod‚” “scepter‚” and “weapon‚” and so a “rod” isn’t the same thing as a walking stick: Rather‚ it is the shepherd’s primary offensive weapon for protecting the flock from enemies‚ be they wild animals or human thieves. The instrument itself is about two and a half feet long with a mace-like end into which the heavy pieces of iron are often embedded. It becomes a formidable weapon. This is why texts like Psalm 2:9 speak of the Lord’s anointed one smiting the nations with “a rod of iron” (see also Rev. 2:27; 12:5). The reference is likely to a wooden item but with iron embedded into it to ensure maximum effectiveness in the hand of the one who wields it. David’s own account of his shepherding must surely be referring to an item like a rod as he presents himself to Saul as a combatant able to face mighty Goliath: “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion‚ or a bear‚ and took a lamb from the flock‚ I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me‚ I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him” (1 Sam. 17:34–35). Rod as Safety Device At the same time‚ Bailey makes a good case that the shepherd’s rod wasn’t only used for fighting. He draws attention to Leviticus 27:32‚ where (despite the ESV’s rendering of the word as “staff”) the shepherd’s rod is in view as a counting device for his flock. The idea is that as the sheep reenter the fold at each day’s end‚ the rod is held up across the entrance and the sheep are counted in as they pass beneath it. (Today we’d use a digital sign-up form or a scannable QR code for check-in to the premises.) This is the shepherd’s way of personally checking his sheep are all present and accounted for. Bailey writes‚ “Thus the sheep (in the flock of God) can note the shepherd’s rod and remember that it is an ‘alarm system’ used to assure everyone’s safety. If any sheep is lost‚ the shepherd will be alerted during the ‘evening count.’” This is a beautiful picture‚ for the implement of warfare is now turned to a different use. The protection here lies not in an instrument of aggression but in a symbol of loving possession. The rod in the shepherd’s hand performs both these roles; so what’s the comfort for us here in the valley&;#63; The rod helps us to know‚ as John Goldingay says‚ that having the Lord “with” us “is not merely a feeling. It doesn’t signify mere presence but also action. . . . This presence expresses itself by aggressive action to defeat enemies and thus protect the one to whom Yhwh is committed.” Numbered‚ Led‚ Protected‚ and Comforted Defeating enemies and protecting sheep: both are present in the shepherding work of the Lord Jesus for us. “My sheep hear my voice‚ and I know them‚ and they follow me. I give them eternal life‚ and they will never perish‚ and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27–28). Such language implies‚ of course‚ that some will attempt to snatch‚ that there are forces out there who seek to do sheep harm‚ and yet we’re encased in the shepherd’s strong hand‚ which is in turn grasped in the Father’s strong hand (v. 29). Defeating enemies and protecting sheep: both are present in the shepherding work of the Lord Jesus for us. This ready willingness to protect his sheep follows from the fact that Jesus knows exactly who belongs to him. He “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own‚ he goes before them‚ and the sheep follow him‚ for they know his voice” (vv. 3–4). Numbered by Jesus‚ we’re led by Jesus; led by Jesus‚ we’re protected by Jesus; and protected by Jesus‚ we’re comforted by Jesus. Some of us reading these lines feel weak. The circumstances of life have pressed us down‚ and we feel broken. This shepherd‚ God’s servant‚ will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick (Matt. 12:20‚ citing Isa. 42:3); he is tender to all our brokenness. But this same Jesus “will faithfully bring forth justice” (Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:20). So let the rod in Jesus’s hand also put strength into your failing heart; for‚ remember‚ he’s leading you through the valley‚ and on the other side is the house of the Lord where we’ll dwell forever. We should always remember how the Bible ends: on the other side of it all‚ the Lamb wins. The Lamb wins because he’s also a Lion. We should never mistake the tenderness of our shepherd for weakness or his care for us for carelessness about all that threatens us.

Science fiction‚ one of the most popular forms of entertainment‚ is filled with extraordinary inventions. From time machines and starships to androids and warp drives‚ there is no end to the astonishing inventions and fantastic feats of engineering conjured up by artists and writers. Starting in the 19th century with Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein‚ fictional […] The post The Ten Greatest Engineers in Science Fiction History appeared first on Listverse.

History can give the impression that they were inclined to do the opposite‚ but Europe’s medieval and renaissance monarchs sometimes spent a lot of time and money on securing peace—or giving the impression that that was what they were doing. The fortnight-long festival of the “Field of the Cloth of Gold” in 1520 is one […] The post 10 Enthralling Facts about the Field of Cloth of Gold appeared first on Listverse.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Eva Edl turned 10 years old in a World War II-era death camp. She believes she might die in a United States prison. Charged by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act‚ Edl faces up to 11 years in prison and $350‚000 fines. She is about to turn 89 years old. “When I was indicted‚ I began to prepare to die there‚” she said thoughtfully in a phone interview with The Daily Signal. “Right now‚ I am ambivalent. … I’m doing the best I can to get ready. Haven’t talked to a funeral director yet.” “I’m just being sensible‚” she added. “There’s no guarantee that I survive it.” Drawing on her brutal experiences with communism in what was then Yugoslavia‚ she refuses to underestimate those who have the power to oppress her‚ recalling how her mother couldn’t believe they were in danger until it was too late. “We haven’t done anything wrong&;#33; Who would harm us&;#63;” she remembered her mother saying. “Then our whole people was destroyed‚” Edl said. “We hadn’t done anything wrong‚ as far as I know.” As Danube Swabians‚ an ethnic German-speaking ethnic group‚ Edl and her family were rounded up in the aftermath of World War II by soldiers under the direction of Yugoslavia’s communist leader‚ Josip Broz‚ commonly known as Tito. The cover of a book by Leopold Rohrbacher describes the eradication of the Danube Swabians. “A People Eliminated: The Extermination of Danube Swabians in Yugoslavia.” Edl says: “The two pictures on the cover are the only two photographs we have. We were not liberated by any army‚ which would have been able to document the atrocities. The picture of the little girl was taken in Austria after her grandmother was able to escape with her. The little girl’s name was Herta G&;auml;rtner.” (Photo: Eva Edl) She described how she was shipped off in cattle cars to a concentration camp in Yugoslavia at age 9: “We were packed body to body‚ and being a small child‚ I could hardly breathe. We had no food‚ no water … .” The camp (named Gakowa‚ or Gakovo‚ according to Edl) was “primitive‚” she said‚ and its purpose was the extermination of the Danube Swabians. Many of those in Gakowa with Edl died from starvation or disease and were buried in mass graves. She slept on straw. She had her one dress. Very little food. “You couldn’t wash your clothes because all you have is that one dress‚” she explained. “So‚ you were filthy. And then we had diarrhea‚ dysentery‚ typhoid‚ and rats and anything you could imagine‚ and we had no toilet facilities to contain all that. We had an outhouse. Well‚ how do you have masses of people with diarrhea just go to one outhouse&;#63; So‚ you know what happened. And filth and disease went rampant.” Eva Edl’s family in the summer of 1944. Eva (top right) was 9 years old at the time. (Photo: Eva Edl) Her mother‚ forced to work as a slave laborer in the fields‚ escaped and smuggled herself into the camp in a wagon full of corn‚ determined to find her young daughter among the thousands of prisoners‚ Edl says. Soldiers poked through the load of corn with bayonets‚ just barely missing her mother. Edl’s mother finally found her young daughter lying on a pile of rancid straw‚ starving‚ too weak to walk‚ “festering” with lice and other creatures. The scene was so horrific that it caused Edl’s mother to rush outside and vomit‚ although Edl did not learn this until years later. At the time‚ she was so weak she could barely register her mother’s presence‚ and she could scarcely recognize her mother‚ thin and emaciated as she was. But it seemed to Edl a miracle that they had been reunited—even in a concentration camp. “I just couldn’t believe it was her‚” she explained. “It took a while.” Edl’s stories of her time in the death camp features many brave women: her grandmother‚ who voluntarily chose to go to the concentration camp with her in order to protect her; her mother‚ who repeatedly risked death to reunite her children and get them safely to the United States; and her sister‚ who‚ forced by a soldier to dig her own grave‚ looked him in the eye and dared him to kill her. (He didn’t‚ according to Edl.) So‚ it should come as no surprise that Edl‚ after she came to the United States in 1955 and was exposed to a human rights crisis she had never before heard of‚ decided that she must do whatever was in her power to save lives. Eva Edl poses with her husband‚ two daughters‚ and son‚ in the spring of 1990‚ just after her husband was diagnosed with lung cancer. (He died six months later.) Edl says she has 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild‚ “seven living‚ three in heaven.” (Photo: Eva Edl) Edl took an English course around 1968‚ and during the course‚ someone brought up whether or not the United States should legalize abortion. (Roe v. Wade‚ the landmark decision in which the Supreme Court ruled that there was a constitutional right to abortion‚ did not come about until 1973.) “I didn’t know what [abortion] meant‚” Edl said. She was blown away by the explanation she received. As she spoke with The Daily Signal‚ she reflected that an unborn baby is not a tumor‚ but a life. No one should have the ability to just end a baby’s life‚ she said. “I tried to speak up in that subject‚ but I must have done a very bad job because I don’t think I convinced the person that I was speaking with. And after that‚ I just brought the subject up all the time because it bothered me that people would actually think of killing their own children.” During the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta‚ she first learned that abortions don’t take place in a secretive‚ underhanded fashion; rather‚ that unborn babies are aborted within abortion clinics‚ places that openly advertise their gruesome services. Edl was shocked. Hundreds of pro-life protesters demonstrated outside the convention beginning in July 1988. In October 1988‚ police arrested about 400 protesters in connection to those demonstrations‚ The New York Times reported. It was during that time period‚ after discussing the matter with her husband and getting his blessing‚ that Edl joined the protesters as they prayed outside an abortion clinic in Atlanta and attempted to dissuade women from going inside and aborting their babies. “We are doing what we are condemning others for‚” Edl says she told her husband at the time. “This is what people should have done for us.” She was arrested that day with many others‚ led by Operation Rescue leader Randall Terry. Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry Prays outside a Boulder‚ Colo.‚ abortion clinic on Oct. 7‚ 1990. (Photo: Glen Martin/The Denver Post/Getty Images) Edl says the police treated them brutally‚ dislocating the arms of many of the protesters arrested. The pro-life activists had been warned that police were prepared to be brutal‚ she explained‚ and to avoid any appearance of accosting police‚ the activists crawled on their knees rather than walked. “I was weeping the whole time‚” she said. “I must have left a trail of tears … .” She was inconsolable that America would even consider aborting its unborn. “America‚ in my eyes‚ was this country of justice and opportunity and everything that is good‚” she said. “A beacon for us‚ over there‚ that didn’t know what all that meant‚ because we had nothing but oppression from whoever was ruling us at the time.” When an officer put his hand on her shoulders‚ she froze‚ as she had been instructed. “I heard somebody say‚ ‘Just use your nightstick‚’ and I thought‚ ‘Oh‚ Lord‚ here they come. They’re going to club me.’ They just put the club‚ the nightstick‚ behind my arms. They hung me on it and nearly dislocated my shoulders‚ and just threw me on the bus. Other people got their shoulders totally dislocated; others got their heads bashed in. Some ended up in the hospital.” That was her first “rescue”—the term that pro-life activists use for their attempts to stop abortions from taking place at an abortion clinic. Under the FACE Act‚ such activity is considered a crime. The FACE Act prohibits use of force‚ obstruction‚ or property damage intended to interfere with “reproductive health care services.” Though it theoretically protects houses of worship and pregnancy help centers‚ as well as abortion clinics‚ the Biden administration’s Justice Department has largely used FACE to prosecute pro-life activists like Edl. The Rev. Flip Benham of Dallas‚ a member of the Christian Defense Coalition‚ prays with Eva Edl of Aiken‚ S.C.‚ alongside the Rev. Cal Zastrow as they gather in front of a Senate office building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 6‚ 2001. (Photo credit: Mike Theiler/AFP/Getty Images) Since 2022‚ the year the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade‚ the Justice Department has hit a total of 40 pro-life activists with FACE-related charges at five different rescues‚ or “blockades” as the DOJ calls them. Edl describes a rescue in the following way: “We would put our bodies in front of the entrance of the abortion clinic‚ which I call the ‘death camp‚’ so nobody could come in and kill the babies.” Since that October 1988 incident‚ Edl says‚ she has been part of more than 50 rescues throughout the United States. She also says that she has been arrested about 50 times. Now‚ she faces prison time. “To the best of my knowledge‚ I am facing around 11 years in prison and $350‚000 fines‚” she said. The Justice Department has thrice charged Edl with violating the FACE Act‚ first for an “August 2020 blockade” of a Sterling Heights‚ Michigan‚ abortion clinic; second for an April 2021 “blockade” in Saginaw‚ Michigan; and third for a March 2021 incident at a Nashville‚ Tennessee‚ abortion clinic. The DOJ charged eight defendants in the Sterling Heights incident and 11 defendants in the Nashville incident. Edl maintains that she never committed any violence against those at the abortion clinics. (The DOJ would not respond to requests for comment about its charges against her.) She says that her actions are completely justified‚ given that she is trying to save the lives of babies about to be aborted. “Let me liken it to something‚” Edl explained thoughtfully as we discussed her arrests around the country. She referred back to her time in Gakowa. “When we were rounded up to be killed‚ we were placed in cattle cars‚ and our train was headed toward the extermination camp. What if citizens of my country would have overcome their fear‚ and a number of them stood on those railroad tracks between the gate of the entrance to the death camp and the train&;#63; The train would have to stop. And while the guards on those trains would be busy rounding up the ones that were in front of the train‚ another group could have come in‚ pried open our cattle car and possibly set us free‚ but nobody did.” She has heard stories that people stood by the roadside and wept as the cattle cars went by. “But that didn’t help us any‚” she said. “So‚ when we place our bodies between the woman and the clinic‚ we buy time to get our sidewalk counselors the opportunity to speak with women‚ and hopefully open their hearts with love for their babies and let their babies live‚” the death camp survivor said. “After all‚” she added‚ “we offer them everything there is‚ including adoptions. I’ve offered to adopt babies on the spot … we’re standing between the killer and the victim.” Congress passed the FACE Act in 1994‚ and then-President Bill Clinton signed it into law that same year. Spearheaded by the now-deceased Sen. Ted Kennedy‚ D-Mass.‚ the legislation was a response to attacks on abortionists and abortion clinics. Pro-life advocates made sure that the legislation included clauses stating that it also protects churches and pregnancy resource centers. In recent months‚ some conservative lawmakers and activists have called for the legislation to be repealed‚ arguing that it has been weaponized against pro-life activists. They point to the large number of DOJ FACE charges against pro-life activists‚ noting that hundreds of churches and pregnancy resource centers have been attacked by pro-abortion vandals since the May 2022 leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion indicating that Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned. The DOJ has charged only five pro-abortion vandals in connection with attacks on Florida pregnancy centers and an Ohio pregnancy center. It appears that no vandals have been charged with FACE for attacking churches. Eva Edl‚ a supporter of a brain-damaged Florida woman‚ Terri Schiavo‚ prays moments before being arrested for trespassing for attempting to take water into the Woodside Hospice for Schiavo on March 23‚ 2005‚ in Pinellas Park‚ Florida. A federal judge the day before had rejected a request from the parents of Schiavo to reinsert her feeding tube in a different sort of right-to-life case that made national news at the time. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Edl‚ who has followed the FACE Act and its application since its inception‚ said she was arrested in Kennedy’s office when she went to talk to him about it in the 1990s. “Instead of talking to us‚ he had us arrested‚” she said of Kennedy. She believes that she and her fellow pro-life activists are being targeted through the FACE Act because they “are in the way of [the Biden administration’s] agenda.” She has lived through 13 presidents in her lifetime‚ and she says that Biden is the worst of them. Edl and the other defendants accused of violating the FACE Act have said that they are not allowed to show images or pictures in their trials. They are not allowed to say that they acted in order to save lives—the lives of unborn babies. At the end of the day‚ however‚ she seems very at peace about the possible penalties. She’s getting her affairs in order. She had a bench trial in federal court in Nashville‚ where a federal judge found her and several others guilty of violating the FACE Act. Edl and the other three defendants face a maximum of six months in prison‚ five years of supervised release‚ and fines of up to $10‚000 in this case‚ according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. She will be sentenced July 30‚ she said. And her next trial is in federal court in Detroit on Aug. 6. “I feel very strongly‚ because of my background‚ that human life is sacred‚” she said simply. “Government does not have the authority to permit what God forbids.” “And murder is forbidden by God.” The post EXCLUSIVE: She Survived a Death Camp. Facing Biden DOJ Charges‚ She Is Prepared to Die in Prison appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Pro-Hamas Protests Rage Into the Night at Columbia University