Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says city has fewest homicides in 50 years

Brandon Scott has cause some ridiculous drops in all crime rates. Every. metric dropped.


He invested in after-school programs, summer camps, literacy programs, extended hours of rec centers, planned block parties. IOW he was dealing with the causes of crime. And what a surprise
; he got reaults.

Two questions
If these reaults could be replicated in the area where you live, do you believe the investment would be worth it?

How long will it be before people recognize that policing does NOT prevent crime?

Should Christians condemn people to Hell?

After answering, explain why

So Jesus gave 2 great commandments:

Matthew 22

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Click to expand...

but then also
Luke 14

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Click to expand...

So self denial and self hatred.. but love your neighbors as yourself? How do you love others as yourself when you hate yourself?
I find loving others properly difficult because I have trouble loving myself. It causes me to resent others, including at times God Himself (for creating me) because I resent my own existence.

Maurene Comey, a Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was abruptly fired on Wednesday by the Trump administration, according to six people with knowledge of the matter.

Ms. Comey was told of her firing Wednesday in a letter from a Justice Department official in Washington who cited Article II of the Constitution, which broadly describes the powers of the president, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. She said in her email that the letter did not give a reason for her termination.

A spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, where she has worked for nearly a decade, declined to comment.

“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” she wrote in an email that was circulated to her colleagues within the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan. “Do not let that happen.”

Archbishop Alexios blesses the bodies of Saad Salameh and Foumia Ayyad, killed earlier in an Israeli strike that hit the Holy Family church in Gaza City, during their funeral ceremony at the Saint Porphyrius Church on July 17, 2025. An Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church killed three people on July 17, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, as Israel said it "never targets" religious sites and regretted any harm to civilians. | OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli military will investigate reports that a tank strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza killed three people and injured several others amid the war with Hamas, vowing to publish the results of the probe amid criticism from Catholic leaders.

In a statement Thursday, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem decried the strike at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, which has sheltered hundreds of people since the war began.

Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest and confidant of the late Pope Francis, is among those who have been injured. Video shared online shows the priest sitting with his leg bandaged, while photos show damage to the church's roof, with a large chunk missing near a stone cross.

Continued below.

After years of appeals, depositions are underway in the sexual abuse scandal involving Strauss, a former Ohio State University doctor. It has been seven years since the first lawsuits were filed against the university.

Jordan is set to be deposed on Friday in Washington. Former Ohio State Athletic Director Andy Geiger was deposed on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Neither have been charged with any crimes, but many have questioned what they knew about Strauss’ behavior.

The survivors of Strauss kept quiet for decades, internalizing their trauma, but back in 2018, they started talking.

Hundreds of the survivors of the 20-year-long string of sexual assaults by the Ohio State team doctor still have cases against the university pending in federal court.

--

Will this be harder to dodge than a Congressional subpoena?

Unbelievably, 48% of Hispanic voters supported Trump in the 2024 election.

Months later, only 35% approve of him. While I am sorry that this dawning of awareness did not happen earlier, I understand it completely.

Whether the Hispanic voter is an immigrant, a first-generation American, or possibly a second-generation American, I am sure that they realize exactly what life conditions they were fleeing, or how desperate they were.

Very few "waited in line." Most were grandfathered in under Reagan's amnesty. They themselves (or their parents) did exactly what many undocumented immigrants do today, and they were not punished.

And what about the Cubans? They know what it was like to be a refugee fleeing communism. I wonder what they think about Trump's lies about the Haitian refugees--"they're eating the dogs!" I wonder what they think about refugee status being cancelled--when the refugees have no home to return to?

I can empathize because my grandparents fled poverty in Ireland...but that was in the early 20th century. How must these immigrants (or first-generation) or refugees must feel--with the hunger, fear, and uncertainty embedded in their vestigial memories? They understand what a president born with a platinum spoon in his mouth doesn't. They know the truth. And that knowledge should forever disaqualify the people with ICE on their shirts and their leaders with ICE in their veins.

It's great that Congress is acting on President Trump Executive Order to defund these partisan organizations.

Patience and godliness. Two deal breakers for those in search of contentment. For this life does not offer a lot of either, especially godliness. But, no matter what stage of growth a convert is, ,if after a time of sowing to the Spirit like Paul (Romans 7:19), during which there is clearly no free will, but the mind of the flesh still remains hostile to any suggestion. But, after a season, the joy and peace he sought grows and breaks forth and also becomes accompanied with righteousness or, blessed into the Kingdom of God.

Who is it but the child of God that waits out that season to draw near and commune with the Holy Spirit of ''liberty'' (free will)?

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)

What do I think? Is it not conditional on the Father's timeframe, and not ours?/.

In 1873, Charles Finney wrote to pastors challenging them to raise the moral standards of the nation through preaching.

He concluded: “If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.”

In 1980, a very similar argument was raised by Jerry Falwell, Tim LaHaye, and other leading pastors as they launched the Moral Majority. Churches had been lured into silence on moral issues that were prevalent in politics, and we were reaping unwelcome consequences from our inaction. Cal Thomas and I were both involved in leadership positions in the Moral Majority in 1980 and were—and I believe, still are—friends.

However, Cal’s recent column decries the idea that pastors exercise their right to fully preach about moral and political issues, along with giving their candid views on political candidates who have such a significant impact on these issues.

Continued below.

Trey Gibson, the fun-loving associate pastor of families at First Baptist Church of Dothan, Alabama, has been fired following his arrest for leaving one of his preschool-aged children alone in a vehicle while he drank and dined for hours in a bar and restaurant.

Eyewitnesses told Dothan Police that Gibson, a married father of two, left his child, who is younger than 5, in his SUV while he drank at a bar last Saturday into early Sunday, according to News 4. After leaving the bar, Gibson drove across the parking lot to a 24-hour restaurant and left the child alone again.

Lt. Scott Owens of the Dothan Police Department told USA TODAY that a concerned patron told police that a child was left unattended in a vehicle.

Continued below.

Morality is what we do between one another, but godliness is what we do between God and ourselves. Morality can be a possible indication of one being a Christian, but godliness confirms it. One can be morally-centered but not be godly; and one who is godly will be morally-cantered.

It’s one of the most significant blessings that God, receiving the believer, does not require works or morality to be saved; but in time morality and works will become prominent to the believer. Nobody knows and does the Word at the outset of salvation, but must be patient with God while He “conforms” us (Rom 8:29; 2Co 3:18; Phl 2:13).

I would imagine that there will always be those who conceive that doing good is received of God, but Scripture says “to them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled” (Tit 1:15). Thus nothing, concerning an unbeliever, can possibly be good, as far as God is concerned.

Of course we’re already aware that the Lord Jesus had foreknowledge that the majority of mankind will not choose His “Way” (Matt 7:13, 14; Act 19:9 – NKJV); but He chose to create everything for those He knew would follow Him.

(Time is almost running out) Pray that the foreign Indian nurse named Nimisha Priya who worked in the nation of Yemen is miraculously given a lighter sentence other than death by execution:

I found an advertisement for an old grocery store with a very Catholic theme on it. Trying to figure out the language it’s written in. Can anyone help?

I've been reading the Septuagint and have a couple questions.
Is the Brenton's Septuagint a good translation or is there a better one?
Are there commentaries based on the Septuagint? Most of the commentaries I've come across are based on the Masoretic, but I've noticed there are some differences in the texts.
I've noticed a couple verses in Brenton's Septuagint that are not in my KJV - is there a reference available as to where, what texts, the additional verses originated?
Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

Most Americans think the Trump administration is covering up evidence in the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s federal case, according to a new poll.

A poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov from July 11 to 14 found 67 percent of Americans believe the government is hiding evidence related to the late financier, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges related to the sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls. He had pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.

I have a friend who recent had a baby. Her baby’s first name isn’t a Catholic name but her middle name is Katherine, spelled like that. I know there’s a St. Katharine Drexel, who I think spells it differently than Katherine. And there are other saints with the name spelled with a C instead of a K. Is Katherine spelled this way still a Catholic name? And do we still have to have a Catholic name to be baptized?

Please pray that I will be delivered from my habitual sin and sinful habits.

I need all grace I can get!

***No debating allowed please***

***prayers only****

God bless!

“This is an extraordinary struggle by our negotiating team led by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs,” Hasan Nasbi, the Indonesian president’s spokesperson, told Reuters.
Prabowo is expected to reveal more detail later on Wednesday. In a post on Instagram, the Indonesian president wrote the two sides “agreed and concluded to take trade relations between Indonesia and the United States into a new era of mutual benefit between our two great nations.”

This is the way it should be. Far too many U.S. bureaucrats make deals just to say they made a deal rather than negotiate trade or anything else based upon the best interests of the American people.

I have a final exam next week. Please pray that I pass it.

I passed all my other exams in that class, but the worst ones are B-, which concerns me.

Prior to taking this oath, Mamdani completed Form N-400. Because of what we know about his political ideology, he lied in answering question 5b within part nine of the form — a question that asks the applicant if they have ever advocated for communism, among other inquiries.

There is enough evidence to hold a hearing on the matter.

The biggest "gender-affirming care" center for trans kids in the US is closing, prompting protests
https://apnews.com/article/la-trans-youth-center-closing-34d27684692c95b4f7c3266c55a71d38

Trump terminated the project’s funding because it has cost taxpayers “hundreds of billions” and is “disastrously overpriced.”

California has wasted so much money that could be put to use to actually help people.

I need some help or advice, I initially made this post on reddit a little bit ago when I was in a worse place, but I'm a bit better now so there is no need to worry about me.

I just don't know what to do any more. I'm 40 years old, gay, Christian, diagnosed with autism, and my depression has been getting worse and worse. I have been taking care of my mom since she had her hip and knee replaced, and still needs another hip replacement. She is a fall risk, and has now has had more memory problems as of late. I have no friends, no relationships, all I have is her, and I refuse to tell her how I'm feeling. My mom worked 3-4 jobs to take care of me and my siblings and did a good job. Out of my 40 years on this earth, I have had 2 friendships, each lasting only about year. I have had 1 relationship when I converted to atheism, but he just wanted my money, and didn't care for me at all. I had always been somewhat suicidal since I was in my late teens, but I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't do that to my mom. But the older I get, the harder it's becoming.

It's gotten progressively worse since hitting 40. I see guys with their wives and kids and I desperately want that. I want a family so much but I'll never have one. I have prayed and prayed begging for God to take the gay away and take the autism away so I can be normal, so I'm not alone; but it never happens. It's not like it matters though, even if a gay relationship wasn't considered a sin, if I can't even form friendships then an actual relationship is a stretch. And even if I decided I just wanted to adopt a child, nobody is going to give a child to a 40 year old single gay autistic guy with no support system or friends. I would mess that kid up worse than I am.

And it's not like I don't try to make friends. I have held a job pretty much non-stop since I was 16. I have gone to quite a few churches, I have gone to 3 different colleges for 3 different degrees. I tried to socialize with coworkers and other students, none of them ever evolved into a friendship. It's obvious the problem lies with me, but nobody ever yells me what I'm doing wrong, why they dislike me. When I had my friend around 19 years old, I had a job and other than bills most of my money went to doing stuff with him (hanging out, movie tickets, games, food, etc.). I was plenty generous and tried to be nice.

I became a Christian when I was about 18 and went to a church every Sunday and youth group every Wednesday night. Nobody really talked to me during Sunday service, and it took almost a year to make a friend in the youth group. And that wasn't until one night after another youth group of having nobody to talk to, I talked to the youth pastor, I literally went to him crying after everyone had left asking how to make friends. I still remember his answer "Just talk to people, you'll make friends easy." And I've been told that by many people, but it never held true for me. The next Sunday morning, two of the more popular kids who were twin brothers in youth group came up and started talking to me and asking if I wanted to play basketball. We talked for a bit and played basketball and they left after church, and to hang out with them some more and try to make friends I did some stuff that would be considered creepy looking back.

During that year I still went to youth group, tried to make other friends, but it never happened. And even with the 2 brothers, if I wanted to do anything with them I almost had to invite myself as I was never invited. When they left and moved away, I left that church and shortly after I became an atheist. I hated God for what he made me and I was angry. I still didn't manage to make any friends at work or outside work. Last year I don't know why but God or something brough me back to Christianity, and I was hopeful this time would be different. But sadly its no different and no better. Every time I see a kid with their father in a tv show, YouTube, or movie now, I can't stop but tear up.

I tried every local church I had that looked decent. I went a couple of days to weeks in each one. And never had more than a few words, and that was with the deacons greeting people. So right now I am struggling with that as well. People say God can be your friend, Jesus can be your friend, but I just feel like I'm talking to myself. I never get any type of reply, sign, feeling, nothing. It just feels like any other one-sided conversation I am having in my head.

I just don't know what is wrong with me and why God won't help me. I've heard of God having people live in celebacy, but they weren't alone, they had friends. Am I just supposed to live whatever left of my life completely alone?