List of All Articles with Tag 'li'

With toxic air quality in parts of North America likely to persist, here's what you can do to stay safe.

Israeli troops staged a rare incursion into Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority government in the occupied West Bank, prompting clashes the Palestinian Ministry of Health said left at least six people wounded.

Often the picks at the top of the NBA Draft come into focus well before draft night. But then there are those picks that no one saw coming.The 2023 NBA Draft is nearly two weeks away. So, now is a perfect time to look back in time and reexamine some of the biggest surprises in NBA Draft history....

Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died. He was 93. Robertson's death Thursday was announced by his broadcasting network. No cause was given. Robertson’s enterprises also included Regent University, an evangelical Christian school in Virginia Beach; the American Center for Law and Justice, which defends the First Amendment rights of religious people; and Operation Blessing, an international humanitarian organization. But for more than a half-century, Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms, known for his “700 Club” television show, and in later years, his televised pronouncements of God’s judgment on America for everything from homosexuality to the teaching of evolution. The money poured in as he solicited donations, his influence soared, and when he moved directly into politics by seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 1988, he brought a huge following with him. Robertson pioneered a now-common strategy of courting Iowa’s network of evangelical Christian churches, and finished in second place in the Iowa caucuses, ahead of Vice President George H.W. Bush. At the time, Jeffrey K. Hadden, a University of Virginia sociologist and a Robertson biographer, said Robertson's masterstroke was insisting that three million followers across the U.S. sign petitions before he would decide to run. The tactic gave him an army. ″He asked people to pledge that they’d work for him, pray for him and give him money,” Hadden told The Associated Press in 1988. ″Political historians may view it as one of the most ingenious things a candidate ever did.″ Robertson later endorsed Bush, who won the presidency. Pursuit of Iowa’s evangelicals is now a ritual for Republican hopefuls, including those currently seeking the White House in 2024. Robertson started the Christian Coalition in Chesapeake in 1989, saying it would further his campaign’s ideals. The coalition became a major force in Republican politics in the 1990s, mobilizing conservative voters through grass-roots activities. By the time of his resignation as the coalition's president in 2001 — Robertson said he wanted to concentrate on ministerial work — his impact on both religion and politics in the U.S. was “enormous,” according to John C. Green, an emeritus political science professor at The University of Akron. Many followed the path Robertson cut in religious broadcasting, Green told the AP in 2021. In American politics, Robertson helped “cement the alliance between conservative Christians and the Republican Party.” Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson was born March 22, 1930, in Lexington, Virginia, to Absalom Willis Robertson and Gladys Churchill Robertson. His father served for 36 years as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Virginia. After graduating from Washington and Lee University, he served as assistant adjutant of the 1st Marine Division in Korea. He received a law degree from Yale University Law School, but failed the bar exam and chose not to pursue a law career. Robertson met his wife, Adelia “Dede” Elmer, at Yale in 1952. He was a Southern Baptist, she was a Catholic, earning a master’s in nursing. Eighteen months later, they ran off to be married by a justice of the peace, knowing neither family would approve. Robertson was interested in politics until he found religion, Dede Robertson told the AP in 1987. He stunned her by pouring out their liquor, tearing a nude print off the wall and declaring he had found the Lord. They moved into a commune in New York City’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood because Robertson said God told him to sell all his possessions and minister to the poor. She was tempted to return home to Ohio, “but I realized that was not what the Lord would have me do ... I had promised to stay, so I did,” she told the AP. Robertson received a master’s in divinity from New York Theological Seminary in 1959, then drove south with his family to buy a bankrupt UHF television station in Portsmouth, Va. He said he had just $70 in his pocket, but soon found investors, and CBN went on the air on Oct. 1, 1961. Established as a tax-exempt religious nonprofit, CBN brought in hundreds of millions, disclosing $321 million in “ministry support” in 2022 alone. One of Robertson’s innovations was to use the secular talk-show format on the network’s flagship show, the “700 Club,” which grew out of a telethon when Robertson asked 700 viewers for monthly $10 contributions. It was more suited to television than traditional revival meetings or church services, and gained a huge audience. “Here’s a well-educated person having sophisticated conversations with a wide variety of guests on a wide variety of topics,” said Green, the University of Akron political science professor. “It was with a religious inflection to be sure. But it was an approach that took up everyday concerns.” His guests eventually included several U.S. presidents — Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. At times, his on-air pronouncements drew criticism. He claimed that the terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans on Sept. 11, 2001 were caused by God, angered by the federal courts, pornography, abortion rights and church-state separation. Talking again about 9-11 on his TV show a year later, Robertson described Islam as a violent religion that wants to “dominate” and “destroy,” prompting President George W. Bush to distance himself and say Islam is a peaceful and respectful religion. He called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2005. Later that year, he warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town not to be surprised if disaster struck them because they voted out school board members who favored teaching “intelligent design” over evolution. And in 1998, he said Orlando, Florida, should beware of hurricanes after allowing the annual Gay Days event. In 2014, he angered Kenyans when he warned that towels in Kenya could transmit AIDS. CBN issued a correction, saying Robertson “misspoke about the possibility of getting AIDS through towels.” Robertson also could be unpredictable: In 2010, he called for ending mandatory prison sentences for marijuana possession convictions. Two years later, he said on the “700 Club” that marijuana should be legalized and treated like alcohol because the government’s war on drugs had failed. Robertson condemned Democrats caught up in sex scandals, saying for example that President Bill Clinton turned the White House into a playpen for sexual freedom. But he helped solidify evangelical support for Donald Trump, dismissing the candidate's sexually predatory comments about women as an attempt “to look like he’s macho.” After Trump took office, Robertson interviewed the president at the White House. And CBN welcomed Trump advisers, such as Kellyanne Conway, as guests. But after President Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, Robertson said Trump was living in an “alternate reality” and should “move on,” news outlets reported. Robertson’s son, Gordon, succeeded him in December 2007 as chief executive of CBN, which is now based in Virginia Beach. Robertson remained chairman of the network and continued to appear on the “700 Club.” Robertson stepped down as host of the show after half a century in 2021, with his son Gordon taking over the weekday show. Robertson also was founder and chairman of International Family Entertainment Inc., parent of The Family Channel basic cable TV network. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. bought IFE in 1997. Regent University, where classes began in Virginia Beach in 1978, now has more than 30,000 alumni, CBN said in a statement. Robertson wrote 15 books, including “The Turning Tide” and “The New World Order.” His wife Dede, who was a founding board member of CBN, died last year at the age of 94. The couple had four children, 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren, CBN said in a statement. ____ Former Associated Press reporter Don Schanche contributed to this story.

90min exclusive interview with Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson.

British colonial rule may have divided up India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but we are all united in our love of falooda – a rose-tinted milkshake textured with bubbly basil seeds and noodles,” says Ravinder Bhogal. Faloodas come in many flavours, but her favourite is “the original and the best – rooh afza, make a thick concentrated floral syrup that turns milk Barbie pink”. The syrup can be easily found in Indian and Pakistani supermarkets. “Here, inspired by my friend Ravneet Gill’s excellent Rasmalai Cake, I have used rooh afza-flavoured milk to make a sort of tres leches cake. If you can’t find basil seeds, use chia seeds, which have a similar tapioca-like texture when hydrated.” Strawberry falooda milk cake Ingredients: 225g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 5 eggs 175g caster sugar 1 tsp rosewater 115g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing For the falooda milk: 50ml rooh afza 200g condensed milk 250ml whole milk 300ml double cream For the topping: 300g strawberries, sliced 2 tbsp basil seeds 1 tbsp rosewater 1 tsp caster sugar 300ml double cream Dried rose petals, for sprinkling Crushed pistachios, for sprinkling Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas mark 4 and lightly grease a three-litre (33 × 23cm) baking dish with butter. 2. In a jug or bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the falooda milk and leave in the fridge to chill till required. 3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Put the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed for about seven minutes until thick and pale (or whisk in a bowl with a hand-held electric whisk). Fold in the flour mixture and rosewater, then fold in the melted butter. Spoon into the baking dish, smooth the top and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 4. When you remove the cake from the oven, prick it all over with a skewer and keep warm. Pour over the falooda milk and leave to cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 5. To serve, mix together the strawberries, basil seeds, rosewater and sugar and set aside. Before serving, gently whisk the double cream in a bowl until it has a soft, rumpled bedsheet texture. Spread the cream over the surface of the cake and then spoon the strawberries over the cake. Top with rose petals and crushed pistachios. Recipe from ‘Comfort & Joy: Irresistible Pleasures From A Vegetarian Kitchen’ by Ravinder Bhogal (Bloomsbury, £26). Read More Showstopping BBQ main dishes for a hot grill summer 7 TikTok food hacks that actually work Saltie Girl in Mayfair will make you happy as a clam – as long as you can afford it Chef Ravinder Bhogal: Vegetables are the secret to saving money How to make tomato confit with whipped feta Kataifi: A comforting Greek pie full of veggie goodness

CAIRO About 300 children have been evacuated from an orphanage in Sudan's capital Khartoum where dozens of orphans

The climate crisis is stacking the deck in favor of larger and more frequent wildfires as temperatures rise, and has renewed the debate over regulation.

Analysts have a more precise measurement of how much US natural gas goes directly into the atmosphere, worsening

The Rory McIlroy - LIV rivalry is far from over.

The Portland Trail Blazers are eager to contend with Damian Lillard, but should the team think about hitting the reset button sooner than later?The Portland Trail Blazers entered last season with a healthy Damian Lillard and title aspirations. Lillard did his part: 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and...

The vice presidency can be a stepping stone to the presidency. Just ask Joe Biden, who found that serving as Barack Obama's No. 2 was the ticket to winning his party's nomination for president after two unsuccessful attempts.