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Apr 13, 2022,02:58pm EDT

Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Outdoor Gear For Adventurers“,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:1,”title”:”Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Outdoor Gear For Adventurers”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/62571a1aac91b7a05c24317b/960×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Apr 13, 2022″,”hourMinute”:”02:58″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/wendyaltschuler/2022/04/13/mothers-day-gift-guide-the-best-outdoor-gear-for-adventurers/”}},”id”:”293p0gg6267o00″},{“textContent”:”

Apr 13, 2022,01:11pm EDT

The CDC Punts The Air Travel Mask Mandate To Early May, Per Report“,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:2,”title”:”The CDC Punts The Air Travel Mask Mandate To Early May, Per Report”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6256f3e4fd564b5fa387c82c/960×0.jpg?cropX1=240&cropX2=1826&cropY1=22&cropY2=1090″,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Apr 13, 2022″,”hourMinute”:”01:11″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/04/13/cdc-punts-air-travel-mask-mandate/”}},”id”:”54oel7bj7aec00″},{“textContent”:”

Apr 13, 2022,12:27pm EDT

5 Free Things To Do In Stavanger, Norway“,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:3,”title”:”5 Free Things To Do In Stavanger, Norway”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/61daaa4ac2e068e00b6660a6/960×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Apr 13, 2022″,”hourMinute”:”12:27″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2022/04/13/5-free-things-to-do-in-stavanger-norway/”}},”id”:”1jb3l2fe9ma400″},{“textContent”:”

Apr 13, 2022,07:18am EDT

Anne Hathaway And Roger Federer Woo Tourists Back To Switzerland“,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:4,”title”:”Anne Hathaway And Roger Federer Woo Tourists Back To Switzerland”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6256aa51947d84e2c4185a69/960×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Apr 13, 2022″,”hourMinute”:”07:18″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/irenelevine/2022/04/13/anne-hathaway-and-roger-federer-woo-tourists-back-to-switzerland/”}},”id”:”dk4b1n3mkf1400″},{“textContent”:”

Apr 13, 2022,06:30am EDT

Savannah: Eat, Walk And Repeat“,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:5,”title”:”Savannah: Eat, Walk And Repeat”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6255cbc4f39ce076d2404a9c/960×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Apr 13, 2022″,”hourMinute”:”06:30″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiegoldsmith/2022/04/13/savannah-eat-walk-and-repeat/”}},”id”:”eqfb701f4p7c00″},{“textContent”:”

Apr 13, 2022,05:29am EDT

This Hip New Hotel Is Turning Up The Heat In Athens“,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:6,”title”:”This Hip New Hotel Is Turning Up The Heat In Athens”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/625448c8597304ea8301f237/960×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Apr 13, 2022″,”hourMinute”:”05:29″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabellekliger/2022/04/13/this-hip-new-hotel-is-turning-up-the-heat-in-athens/”}},”id”:”c94g7jq8b8p400″},{“textContent”:”

Apr 13, 2022,05:22am EDT

On Top Of The World: A Stay At Severin*s Reveals The Serenity Of Mountain Living“,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:7,”title”:”On Top Of The World: A Stay At Severin*s Reveals The Serenity Of Mountain Living”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6256845e054c3514ac22a946/960×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Apr 13, 2022″,”hourMinute”:”05:22″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelinavillaclarke/2022/04/13/on-top-of-the-world-a-stay-at-severins-reveals-the-serenity-of-mountain-living/”}},”id”:”1nmm3bqrc2a600″}],”breakpoints”:[{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (max-width: 767px)”,”config”:{“enabled”:false}},{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (max-width: 768px)”,”config”:{“inView”:2,”slidesToScroll”:1}},{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (min-width: 1681px)”,”config”:{“inView”:6}}]};

If you’re not a Vaticanista, the announcement of the proposed reform of the Roman Curia on March 17 might have seemed like some pretty standard Catholic gobbledygook. What is the Roman Curia? And why should I care about dicasteries? Does this mean I get to go back to eating meat on Fridays? If not, why are we talking about it?

But in the midst of the release of the reform document (which was actually a big deal for many reasons), Vatican experts recognized something that actually could change things for you and me in a potentially massive way. As one theological expert who worked on the constitution put it, the Vatican seems to be saying that the “power of governance in the church does not come from the sacrament of [Holy] Orders” but from one’s mission in the church. That is, being in positions of leadership in the church should not require a collar, ordination or being a man.

If that interpretation proves accurate to the Vatican’s intent, it would mean not only that most of the departments in the dusty but incredibly well-decorated halls of Rome can be run by women and men who aren’t priests, but that our local parishes and dioceses could. Your sister could potentially be put in charge of the parish where I say Mass; my aunt Kathleen or Uncle Stan could even end up running the diocese someday! (And they would be awesome.)

Let’s remember that almost all of our Catholic schools are run by incredibly talented women and men who are not priests, and have been so in most cases for decades.

If this sounds hard to believe, let’s remember that almost all of our Catholic schools are run by incredibly talented women and men who are not priests, and have been so in most cases for decades. The same is true of our Catholic social service agencies, homeless shelters and pretty much every other Catholic institution. Even some parishes are already run by “lay administrators” who effectively serve as pastors.

So it’s an expansion of a pre-existing idea, but at a much more radical scale. Basically, it’s like the moment that the internet actually became a thing, but for ecclesial authority—a change that could expand access to leadership so radically as to transform our church entirely.

Welcome to the future! It’s all finally happening!

Or so I thought, until some diocesan priest friends rolled their eyes so hard at my enthusiasm that I thought they were going to fall over. “You really think church leaders are about to hand over any of their authority?” one asked me. “What channel are you watching?”

“Well, it’s not like they’re going to have a choice, is it?” I wondered. The fact is, there just aren’t that many priests to go around these days.

“Yes, and how is leadership responding?” another asked. “Are they expanding the pool of who is eligible to be ordained, finally opening the doors to women or married people? No. They’re closing and combining parishes, putting that much more work on us. Meanwhile, to try to increase numbers they’re also opening the seminaries to more reactionary men who end up causing trouble.”

And in Rome, even as Pope Francis has appointed more women to positions of leadership in the Vatican than ever before, America’s Colleen Dulle points out that only one dicastery (department) currently has a non-cleric in charge, and Francis himself had to fight hard just to enable the appointment of a woman in that group’s No. 2 role. Meanwhile the head of the Vatican’s magazine for women resigned after she wasn’t allowed to report on women religious in Rome who have been sexually assaulted by the bishops and cardinals for whom they worked.

We’re already in a situation where there aren’t enough priests, and we are seeing the impact of that on everything from pastoral care to the morale of priests themselves.

Maybe this new reform document isn’t like the revolution of the internet after all. Maybe it’s like electric cars, which, believe it or not, were first introduced around 1900. Porsche had one; Thomas Edison spoke of their superiority; there were even charging stations—but they were quickly cast aside in favor of the combustion-engine Model T. It doesn’t matter if an invention or innovation offers a massive improvement if no one will adopt it.

Pope Francis no doubt knows that there’s a significant portion of church leadership that will simply dismiss this idea, even though their parishes and dioceses actually need it. He’s had nine years of seeing them do it.

I also can’t believe he and his advisors don’t see the writing on the wall. In many places, the priesthood’s numbers are in freefall. Almost half the United States’ 37,000 priests are over 70; the other half would add up to just over one priest per parish throughout the country, except that figure includes over 11,000 ordained religious, most of whom do not work full-time in parishes. So basically we’re already in a situation where there aren’t enough priests, and we are seeing the impact of that on everything from pastoral care—trying to find a priest who can come and anoint your loved one can be nearly impossible at times, even in big cities—to the morale of priests themselves. As Ms. Dulle reported last week in discussing the reform announcement, the worldwide priest-to-parishioner ratio as of 2019 was, similarly, one priest for every 3,245 Catholics.

This is simply not tenable. We are well beyond the tipping point when it comes not only to priests providing pastoral leadership but the sacraments themselves. The institution as we currently experience it is simply not going to be able to survive, and yet much of our leadership seems content to blame the messenger and insist on business as usual rather than confront that reality. So what to do?

Here’s a thought: What if Francis has spent the last nine years building an ark? He has used his pontificate to call out clericalism, empowered groups within the church that have been ignored and drawn the eyes of the faithful back to the needs of the poor and marginalized, where he believes our mission belongs. We read these actions as a corrective for the present, but maybe they have been just as much about creating a vehicle for the church to have a future. Certainly, what he has laid out in this newest document offers exactly the kind of non-clerical basis for authority that the church of the future is going to need to survive.

Some church leaders may scoff at the pope, drag their feet and wink at one another while they tell themselves they’re going to wait his pontificate out. But maybe it’s Francis who has been doing the real waiting all along, ensuring the viability of the church to come while the waters keep rising at our feet.

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. —  

The 325th Logistics Readiness Squadron individual protective equipment flight provides combat-ready support and ensures operational readiness by helping Airmen prepare for deployments, trainings and TDYs.

The IPE flight maintains and issues protective gear to Airmen, monitors expiration dates, coordinates sanitization and ensures adequate supply and proper turn-in procedures.

“Customers come in for deployments, chemical, biological, radiological and neurological (CBRN) [gear] and annual trainings,” said Senior Airman Caron Edouard, 325th LRS IPE mobility specialist. “We issue them the clothing sizes that they need, such as coats and trousers.”

The IPE flight also issues pre-packaged kit bags. Mobility specialists prepare kit bags with required items which can include a chemical protective jacket, pants, gloves, boot covers, a gas mask, web belt and canteen. Other items IPE can issue also include security forces armor vests and plates, weaponry, cold weather gear, sleeping bags and more.

“Different squadrons have different trainings and [IPE] issues out their gear because our stock is more abundant,” said Edouard.

Having this mobility at Tyndall directly impacts efforts happening at TDY locations across the country and contingency operations overseas.

“We help keep the deployment pipeline running smoothly,” said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Walker, 325th LRS IPE mobility supervisor. “It’s possible the (deployed location) may not have all the gear required and Airmen have had to make multiple stops at different installations in the past.”

From a logistical standpoint, maintaining and organizing a robust supply out of home station cuts down on gear that is lost or misplaced down range. Controlling the issue process also helps the wing and higher headquarters save money as the Air Force isn’t continuously funding replacement gear.

The IPE flight works together to effectively support missions both home and abroad by providing critical gear and ensuring service members are ready to fight.

“We see everybody on the base,” said Walker. “I like that we’re Airmen taking care of Airmen.”

NEW RIVER, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – Hot weather and high winds play a big role this time of year when it comes to wildfires. And fire officials are warning all of us that now is the time to take precautions. There are a few things you can always do–like mowing or watering dead grass–to lower the risk of damage. But not everyone is in a rush to do them.

“It’s basically take your chances,” Marcel Brunet said. That’s how the New River resident describes his community’s approach to wildfires. “The fire travels 50 miles per hour,” Brunet said. “And add a little bit of a wind, it’ll just burn everything down.”

Living in a mobile home, Brunet is already equipped to evacuate on short notice. But he also has a water tank on property and cleans and trims any grassy areas every year. “Keep the ground as clear of vegetation as you can,” he added. It’s all part of what Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management Affairs Officer Tiffany Davila calls creating ‘defensible space’.

“That defensible space just basically acts as a buffer between a potential wildfire and your home,” she said. Davila says this means not just getting rid of debris, but anything that could potentially be flammable: propane tanks, firewood piles, and patio furniture.

“Start protecting your property now,” she said. “Don’t wait until smoke is in the air.” If it ends up being necessary to evacuate, Davila says having a pre-made emergency bag with essential items can help (especially when time is of the essence.)

“Have some clothes in there, some snacks, make sure your prescriptions are in there, or grab them before you leave,” Davila said. “And have a thumb drive with all of your important documents on there.”

As for Brunet, he’s still got some work to do with this year’s wildfire season fast approaching. “I trimmed my trees, but now I’ve got to bring the branches in,” he said. Despite the extra maintenance that comes with living in our dry, fire-susceptible state, Brunet (like I’m sure a lot of us) wouldn’t trade it for anything else. “Arizona’s the place to be!” he laughed. “Even with all of that.”

Some other ways to stay on top of wildfires are to sign up for emergency alerts on your phone from your county’s emergency management system, as well as making sure your tires are in good condition for any quick evacuations.

Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.

PLATTSBURGH — Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman has bright eyes for promoting a total eclipse two years away.

Cashman is hoping the town can cash in on celestial tourism when the region will be in the direct path of a total solar eclipse expected to occur in the skies in 24 months.

“The Town of Plattsburgh is directly en route of the Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024,” Cashman said Friday.

“This rare event won’t happen again over our North Country skies again for what is believed (to be) centuries.”

READY FOR THE BIG DAY

The supervisor isn’t kidding when he says that with roughly 1,000 hotel rooms, numerous restaurants, shopping, and of course, lots of open sky, that the town is ideally situated to welcome visitors for the big event.

“It is helpful that the day of the eclipse will be a Monday so if people want to make a long weekend out of it, this will be a great place for them to come and enjoy the moment,” Cashman said.

2017 ECLIPSE

Cashman remembered the eclipse of August 2017, which attracted widespread attention globally. The Plattsburgh area was not in the direct path of that eclipse, but still offered decent viewing.

The direct path of that eclipse five years ago was in the middle of the country, and the Kentucky-Tennessee border was considered the ideal spot to see it then.

That region saw large crowds show up staying at hotels and camp sites to celebrate the rare event.  

“People traveled from all over to see that one so I expect that will happen again, so why not come here,” Cashman said.

“The town is well-positioned for this event.”

NEVER TOO EARLY

The North Country Chamber of Commerce Adirondack Coast has also been talking about the 2024 eclipse as have several other tourism outfits promoting the Adirondacks as a good place to watch the phenomenon.

Cashman said it is not too early to be thinking about, and talking about, the upcoming eclipse in order to get it on people’s minds that this is a good place to come and view.

“From locals to visitors from afar we look forward to looking to the sky together,” he said.

“731 days and counting down…”

Email Joe LoTemplio:

jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: @jlotemplio

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Apple could release a new version of its popular USB-C wall adapter. A since-pulled support document on the Apple website shows the company is prepping a new 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter, according to 9to5Mac.

Noting it’s unclear when such an accessory might be released if ever, 9to5Mac says the support document noted:

Use the Apple 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter and a USB-C cable (not included) to charge your device. Connect a USB-C cable to either port on the power adapter, extend the electrical prongs (if necessary), then plug the power adapter firmly into the power outlet. Ensure the power outlet is easily accessible for disconnecting. Connect the other end of the cable to your device.

To date, Apple has yet to release a dual USB-C charger. If it would, a 35W adapter would be enough to charge multiple Apple products simultaneously, such as an iPhone and Apple Watch.

More information from the document:

Input: 100–240V /1.0A
(USB PD) Output 1 or 2: 5VDC/3A or 9VDC/3A or 15VDC/2.33A or 20VDC/1.75A

Currently, Apple offers various single USB-C power adapters, including 20W, 30W, 67W, 96W, and 140W. There are various third-party USB charging solutions and wall chargers on the market. These work with the 2021 MacBook Pro and other Apple products.

Were Apple to reveal a dual USB-C wall adapter, it could happen during this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which begins on Monday, June 8.

Twitter’s most requested feature, the edit button, is actually real, and is set to arrive as a test feature later this year. 

The company announced the news this afternoon amid speculation that new Twitter board member Elon Musk will pressure the social media platform into adding an edit button. 

“Now that everyone is asking… yes, we’ve been working on an edit feature since last year! No, we didn’t get the idea from a poll,” Twitter tweeted, referencing the poll Musk started on Monday asking if users want an edit button.

Tweet

The company plans on testing the edit button first among users of Twitter Blue, which costs $2.99 per month. The edit button will be available through the Twitter Blue Labs beta program in the coming months. Twitter also debuted a GIF that shows the edit button will be accessible via the three-dot button on a posted tweet. 

“Edit has been the most requested Twitter feature for many years,” said Head of Consumer Product Jay Sullivan. “People want to be able to fix (sometimes embarrassing) mistakes, typos and hot takes in the moment. They currently work around this by deleting and tweeting again.”

In the past, Twitter has balked at adding an edit button over concerns it could be abused. The main worry is that a tweet that’s gone viral could be edited with different information. People who circulated the original tweet would then be rebroadcasting information totally unaware the content was changed. 

“Without things like time limits, controls, and transparency about what has been edited, Edit could be misused to alter the record of the public conversation,” Sullivan added. “Protecting the integrity of that public conversation is our top priority when we approach this work.”

As a result, Twitter is being extra careful with how it develops the edit button. “It will take time and we will be actively seeking input and adversarial thinking in advance of launching Edit. We will approach this feature with care and thoughtfulness and we will share updates as we go,” Sullivan added. 

It’s unclear if the edit button will remain exclusive to Twitter Blue. We reached out to Twitter for comment and will update the story if we hear back. However, the company’s blog post on Twitter Blue Labs notes: “These features might eventually become available to the rest of Twitter, graduate to a feature of Twitter Blue, or sunset based on feedback we hear from subscribers.”