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Mask is mandatory again in New York
NEW YORK — Facing a cold-weather surge in COVID-19 infections, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that masks will be required in all indoor public places unless the businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement.
Hochul said the decision to reinstitute a mask mandate was based on a rising number of cases and hospitalizations, which has been especially pronounced in parts of upstate New York.
New York enacted a mask mandate at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020 that ended in June 2021 for vaccinated individuals. The new mask mandate applies to both patrons and staff and will be in effect from Monday to Jan. 15, after which the state will reevaluate.
“We’re entering a time of uncertainty and we could either plateau here or our cases could get out of control,” Hochul warned at a public appearance in New York City.
New York joins several states with similar indoor mask mandates, including Washington, Oregon, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada and Hawaii.
Mask mandates have become a hot-button issue. For weeks, Hochul has said local governments will decide whether to reimpose COVID-19 protocols. She’s expressed caution about whether resistant communities would follow stricter rules.
Hochul’s announcement Friday was cheered by some fellow Democrats and a union representing retail and grocery workers, even as Republicans called it an overreach and an unnecessary burden on businesses.
Violators could face civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000. While Hochul said local health departments will be in charge of enforcing the requirements, Republican Rockland County Executive Ed Day said the governor’s staff was unable to provide detailed information about the new requirement.
“I told the governor’s staff that we cannot and will not enforce this requirement as it currently stands,” Day said in a prepared release.
Niagara County Legislature Chair Becky Wydysh, a Republican, said local officials don’t believe a mandate is the best use of resources. The county will take an “educate to cooperate approach” to enforcement, Wydysh said in a statement.
News of the mandate was welcome at the Lake Placid Christmas Company, a shop on Main Street in the tourist-friendly Adirondack village.
“Our employees all wear masks, but we stopped requiring all of our customers to wear masks because it was too hard to enforce,” said manager Scott Delahant. “Quite frankly, I got sick of arguing with people.”
He said many shoppers browse barefaced, despite a sign on the door encouraging mask wearing and a basket of free disposable masks.
Hochul announced the mask mandate at a social service agency in Manhattan, where most people already wear masks. New York City requires vaccinations for indoor restaurant dining, entertainment and gyms, and those vaccine-requiring venues will be unaffected by the new rule.
The state recorded more than 68,000 positive tests for the virus in the seven-day period that ended Wednesday. That’s the most in any seven-day stretch since the start of February, and rates are rising in nearly all counties.
“We are heading upward in a direction that I no longer find sustainable,” Hochul said.
Nearly 3,500 people are hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York — nearly double from 1,794 on Nov. 7.
The surge is especially pronounced in some areas of upstate New York, which has accounted for nearly three-fourths of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in hospitals since August. Several upstate counties have recently enacted mask mandates, including Erie County, which includes Buffalo.
In Sullivan County in the mid-Hudson Valley, public health director Nancy McGraw said people have become complacent about the virus and she supports the mask mandate. She said vaccination rates are disappointingly low in remote areas including Woodbourne, where only 36% of roughly 3,000 residents are fully vaccinated.
“We have very limited resources for enforcement and people need to do the right thing,” McGraw said. “Public responsibility is key here.”
New York has the seventh highest rate of fully vaccinated residents: 70.1% as of federal data updated Friday. But fewer than 60% of residents are fully vaccinated in more than 500 zip codes throughout New York, according to data for about 1,300 zip codes provided by the state health agency.
Thirty-two upstate hospitals in Niagara and elsewhere had to limit performing nonessential elective surgeries starting Thursday because of capacity issues.
One of the state’s worst hit hospitals, Glen Falls Hospital in Warren County, said 50 out of 165 patients had COVID-19 as of Wednesday. That’s the most infected patients the hospital’s ever reported, according to state data.
“We remain very busy across all units in the hospital,” hospital spokesperson F. Raymond Agnew said. He said 70% of COVID-19 admissions are unvaccinated people.
http://theendtimeradio.com
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16 വയസിന് താഴെയുള്ള കുട്ടികളിൽ സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയ നിരോധിക്കാൻ യുകെ
ലണ്ടന്: ഓസ്ട്രേലിയക്ക് പിന്നാലെ 16 വയസിന് താഴെയുള്ള കുട്ടികളില് സോഷ്യല് മീഡിയ നിരോധനം കൊണ്ടുവരാന് യുകെയും. ഓണ്ലൈന് സുരക്ഷ ഉറപ്പാക്കാന് തനിക്കാവുന്നത് ചെയ്യുമെന്ന് യുകെ സാങ്കേതിക വിദ്യ സെക്രട്ടറി പീറ്റര് കൈലേയെ ഉദ്ധരിച്ച് ബിബിസി റിപ്പോര്ട്ട് ചെയ്യുന്നു. എല്ലാത്തിന്റെയും രേഖകള് കയ്യിലുണ്ടെന്നും തനിക്ക് ആദ്യം കൂടുതല് തെളിവുകള് ലഭിക്കണമെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം വ്യക്തമാക്കി. യുവാക്കളിലെ സോഷ്യല് മീഡിയകളുടെയും സ്മാര്ട്ട്ഫോണുകളുടെയും സ്വാധീനത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് കൂടുതല് ഗവേഷണം നടത്തുമെന്നും കൈലേ പറഞ്ഞു.
16 വയസുവരെയുള്ള കുട്ടികളില് സോഷ്യല് മീഡിയ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നത് നിരോധിക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള നിയമം ലോകത്തിലാദ്യമായി ഓസ്ട്രേലിയ അവതരിപ്പിച്ചിരുന്നു. ഓസ്ട്രേലിയയിലെ കമ്മ്യൂണിക്കേഷന് മന്ത്രി മിഷേല് റോളണ്ട് അവതരിപ്പിച്ച ബില്ല് ഓണ്ലൈന് സുരക്ഷയുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടുള്ള രക്ഷിതാക്കളുടെ ആശങ്കയ്ക്ക് പ്രാധാന്യം നല്കുന്നു. ബില്ല് പാസായാല് നിയന്ത്രണമേര്പ്പെടുത്താന് ഒരു വര്ഷം വരെയെങ്കിലും സമയമെടുക്കും.
കുട്ടികള് അക്കൗണ്ട് എടുക്കുന്നത് തടഞ്ഞില്ലെങ്കില് സാമൂഹ്യ മാധ്യമങ്ങള് നഷ്ടപരിഹാരം നല്കേണ്ടി വരുമെന്നും ബില്ലില് പറയുന്നുണ്ട്. ഇങ്ങനെ സംഭവിച്ചാല് ടിക് ടോക്, ഫേസ്ബുക്ക്, സ്നാപ്ചാറ്റ്, റെഡ്ഡിറ്റ്, എക്സ്, ഇന്സ്റ്റാഗ്രാം തുടങ്ങിയ പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമുകള് 3.3 കോടി ഡോളര് പിഴ നല്കേണ്ടി വരും. സോഷ്യമീഡിയ പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമുകളില് സംരക്ഷണം ഒരുക്കേണ്ട ചുമതല കുട്ടികള്ക്കോ മാതാപിതാക്കള്ക്കോ അല്ലെന്നും മൈക്കിള് റോളണ്ട് പറഞ്ഞു. 18 വയസിന് താഴെയുള്ളവർക്ക് ഓണ്ലൈന് പോണോഗ്രഫി നിരോധിക്കാനുള്ള നിയമവും ഓസ്ട്രേലിയ ആലോചിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.
Sources:azchavattomonline.com
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British Evangelist Slashed, Imprisoned, Threatened with Death, Keeps Going
LONDON – An ex-Muslim turned Christian evangelist has been beaten, chased by angry mobs, unlawfully jailed and even stabbed, all for the sake of the Gospel.
This is not in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia. It is officially happening in Christian Britain.
Her name is Hatun Tash, and what has been done to her has even caught the attention of the British media.
Tash grew up in Turkey as a Muslim and became a Christian after moving to England. And being an ex-Muslim speaking out against Islam has made her a target.
She told us she has changed residences more than 50 times in the past four years because she knows Muslims are looking for her in order to kill her. One man has already been sentenced to 24 years in prison for trying.
Because of this ongoing danger, she asked that we interview her from a secret location.
Tash told us her conversion to Christ began when she learned the truth about Islam and Mohammed.
“As I read biography, it was very disturbing to me. So, the man you grew up to love and honor suddenly turns out to be like, yeah, not good, not good. And I decided, I can’t be Muslim.”
Then she learned about a very different God than the one of Islam, telling us, “As you dig into it, you get to meet with a God who is not silent or far or distant from you, but you meet with a God who loves you, who pours out himself on you. And not only that, He just puts himself on the cross and then says, ‘I love you from everlasting to everlasting, Come to me.'”
Tash began sharing this message to Muslims at Speakers Corner, in London’s Hyde Park, where speakers climb atop stepladders and vigorous debates ensue, often between Muslims and Christians.
Her preaching and criticism of Islam has sometimes enraged Muslims, and three years ago a man slashed her face with a knife. He has never been caught.
She however has been arrested unlawfully more than once. The London Police have twice paid her damages for wrongful arrests, including two years ago when she refused to leave the area where she was preaching. Tash was forcibly marched through Hyde Park, followed by Muslims celebrating her arrest. She was placed in a police van, strip-searched, and jailed.
This has not stopped Tash from going to mosques and sharing the Gospel daily.
“I would simply stand in front of the mosques, and I’d say ‘Muhammad is a false prophet. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Tell me, what is your objections?’ Hundreds of Muslims just stop and then they want to talk to you. Sometimes you get harmed, sometimes it gets dangerous. Sometimes you end up in hospitals, sometimes you end up in people’s homes for a cup of tea,” Tash said.
“I don’t care whether people reject me or not. They need to hear the gospel,” she said.
Christian Concern’s Christian Legal Centre has defended Tash. Christian Concern’s Andrea Williams told us, “The truth is that those that have attempted to kill her have been caught on camera. The police know who they are, but they have not been arrested. She is feared by and targeted by Muslim groups because she is fearless for the gospel. She loves Jesus so much that nothing will halt her.”
Tash says she will continue to preach and continue to challenge Islam.
“Things are dangerous. Should I choose to stay silent? Like when people are spending 5,000 Pounds to buy a gun, to shoot you and shoot your loved ones? The Gospel is so glorious, I cannot be silent. And the Lord is the giver of life. So, when it’s my time, He will take me home. But until He gives me breath, we continue to preach.”
Sources:CBN News
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‘Christ Laid His Life Down for Me’: Greg Laurie Gives Powerful Gospel Presentation to Jordan Peterson
Christian megachurch leader Greg Laurie recently appeared on psychologist Jordan Peterson’s podcast, where he gave the professor-turned-cultural commentator a powerful presentation of the Gospel.
“When everything’s said and done, what’s more important than the afterlife?” the California-based pastor asked Peterson. “What’s more important than where we spend it? According to the Bible, I believe there’s a literal heaven, a literal hell, and I believe we choose in this life where we will spend the afterlife.”
Laurie added he’s going to spend eternity in heaven “not because I’ve lived a good life — because I failed in many ways — but because Christ laid His life down for me on the cross.”
“Coming back to Abraham, and what a picture, the son was willing to go and be sacrificed by the father,” the pastor continued, referring to the Old Testament story of Genesis 22. “[Isaac] knew what was going on: ‘Hey, Dad, where’s the sacrifice?’ ‘My son, God will provide for Himself a sacrifice.’ But Isaac made that sacrifice, too. The Son Jesus made that sacrifice for us, because He knew there was no other way that we could reach God, no other way we could satisfy the righteous demands of God. So Heaven isn’t for good people, as it’s often said; heaven is for forgiven people.”
The conversation between Peterson and Laurie stemmed from the 71-year-old minister opening up about the death of his son, Christopher, who passed away in 2008 as a result of a tragic car accident.
He described that day in July of 2008 as the “worst” day in his life. Nevertheless, Laurie said he is not without hope — because of his faith in the redemptive work of Jesus.
“I believe I’ll see my son again, because he believed in Jesus,” Laurie explained. “He won’t be in heaven because I’m his dad; he’ll be in heaven because he put his faith in Christ and he had that relationship. He’s a part of my future as well, so that gives me hope. But, also, I realize that God can allow these things in our life. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. I don’t even try to explain it.”
Peterson, author of the new book, “We Who Wrestle With God: Perceptions of the Divine,” admitted to Laurie he struggles to intellectually reconcile a desire to perfect the earthly world with the knowledge the Christian life is heavily weighted toward considering eternity.
The famed psychologist and podcast host asked, “How do you reconcile, in your own mind, the insistence that part of the Christian moral pattern is to perfect the world and to raise the material up to the heavenly with the notion of the afterlife and immortality?”
Laurie referenced 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, in which the Apostle Paul wrote about experiencing a “third heaven,” as well as the thief on the cross next to Jesus, Who promised the man, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43, NIV).
The pastor explained he has felt closest to God — and His promises of eternity — through life’s trials.
“God made a lot of promises,” said Laurie. “I’ve put those promises to the test, including the worst thing of all, to lose a child. And I’ve seen how God had come through for me. If He hadn’t come through for me after my son died, I would have given up preaching, for sure. Why carry on? But He came through for me.”
Sources:faithwire
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