Simon Biles’s Critics Miss the Bigger Story of Bodily Abuse

Some see the Olympic gymnast as a self-serving athlete. But her withdrawal from competition is a model for how to honor rather than disdain our bodies. The Olympics always hold surprises, and this first week of competition in Tokyo was no exception. On Tuesday, Simone Biles, captain of the USA Olympic Women’s Gymnastics team and the most decorated American gymnast of all time, withdrew from the team competition after uncharacteristic performances on both the vault and floor. By... Read More

PACs behind ‘ghost’ candidates in key Senate races were run out of business lobbying group’s HQ, records show

Tom Feeney, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida, at his Tallahassee office, on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. The nonprofit’s Adams Street headquarters was listed on paperwork for two PACs involved in the “ghost” candidate controversy. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) ... Read More

This Land Is Your Land, Say More Churches in Canada Than in US

CRC congregations weigh land acknowledgements amid rising awareness of indigenous injustices on both sides of the border. Visitors to a suburban Toronto congregation are greeted in the foyer or from the stage with the following: “The Community Christian Reformed Church of Meadowvale is located on the Treaty lands and traditional Territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.” The statement names the indigenous community that once stewarded the land where the Canadian... Read More

Lobster mini-season ends tonight; two arrests, three reported deaths

Miami resident and nurse Teresa Ripoll lends a hand in removing the tails from 60 lobsters caught by the team of five divers after their early start and return to Matheson Hammock Park Marina on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in Miami. There’s a 12-lobster limit in Florida, except in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, where the limit is six per person. The two-day lobster mini season started for residents and visitors to get their share of lobsters ahead of the commercial and regular... Read More

Broward County School Board Unanimously Approves Contract for Interim Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright

Wednesday, July 28, 2021Today, Wednesday, July 28, the School Board of Broward County unanimously approved the contract for Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright to serve as Broward County Public Schools Interim Superintendent. ... Read More

Disney World to require all guests to wear masks indoors starting Friday

Until Friday, guests will operate under the same procedures: masks are optional for fully vaccinated guests in most areas except on resort transportation, including the Skyliner, monorail and buses. Guests who are not fully vaccinated are expected to wear face coverings while indoors and upon entering attractions and transportation, per Disney’s guidelines. Disney does not require proof of visitor vaccination. ... Read More

Broward schools keep mask mandate in place, defying the governor

Broward has thus far been an outlier on the issue. Most if not all other districts in the state had already announced that masks would be optional, including Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Orange, Hillsborough and Duval counties. Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said his district is reconsidering the issue in light of the new CDC recommendation but hasn’t made any decisions yet. ... Read More

Joel Greenberg used private state database to look up hundreds of people’s personal info, tax office says

The DAVID system is used by criminal justice and law enforcement officials — including police officers and deputy sheriffs while on patrol — to quickly access a person’s information, including Social Security number, date of birth, addresses, signatures, and medical and disability information. ... Read More

One Solution to Social Conflict: Tell War Stories. But Tell Them Well.

The book of Samuel shows us how to reconcile our differences through redemptive storytelling. I am a missionary in Croatia, a beautiful country with a very complex past. Twenty-four years ago, when I first came here on a Cru summer missions trip, I found Croats were eager to spend hours in cafés sharing their stories. My new friends spent a lot of time talking about history—10th-century kings, fascists, communists, and their experiences in the War of Independence, which had... Read More