An erupting volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands sent up a cloud of ash Friday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue an inflight warning to pilots

Yankees pitcher Luis Severino’s struggles continued with his latest shelling by the Orioles on Thursday night.There was a lot of booing in the Bronx as Luis Severino and the New York Yankees suffered a brutal 14-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. Severino gave up seven runs in th...

Margot Robbie as a Barbie can fly down the stairs and walk on water, as she appears to be going through a very relatable girlhood-to-womanhood identity crisis. A world of pink, pastels, and hard, shiny plastic packed with painstaking attention to detail. We’re calling it: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie is set to be the biggest film event of the year (sorry to all the Oppenheimer truthers out there).

Pope Francis has opened the door for the first time to blessing same-sex unions in a cautious step away from the Catholic Church’s traditional attitude towards gay couples. Maintaining that the Church would crucially not recognise gay marriage, the Pope made his opinion known in answer to doctrinal questions from five conservative cardinals who challenged him to affirm teaching on homosexuality. His statement comes ahead of major Vatican meeting where LGBT+ Catholics are on the agenda, and at a time when several progressive priests in a number of countries have begun blessing same-sex couples in defiance of conservative archbishops. The Catholic Church considers homosexuality “intrinsically disordered” and the Pope has long opposed gay marriage, claiming marriage can only happen between a man and woman. However, his remarks could signal a change in trajectory with the potential for blessings of unions distinct from marriage. In a letter, published yesterday, he said: “We cannot be judges who only deny, push back, exclude.” Pope Francis was sent the set of formal questions known as “dubia“ or doubts ahead of the Vatican synod, which will begin on Wednesday to decide the future direction of the Church and the inclusion of LGBT+ Catholics. The Vatican subsequently published a letter Francis wrote to the cardinals on 11 July, where he suggested that such blessings could be considered if they didn’t confuse the blessing with marriage. Francis in his seven-point response said the Church was very clear that marriages could be only between a man and a woman and that the Church should avoid any other ritual that contradicted his teaching. He said "pastoral charity should permeate all our decisions and attitudes", adding that "we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude". "For this reason, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of benediction, requested by one or more persons, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage," he wrote. "Because when a benediction is requested, it is expressing a request for help from God, a plea to be able to live better, a trust in a father who can help us to live better." He noted that there are situations that are objectively "not morally acceptable". The Church teaches that same-sex attraction is not sinful but homosexual acts are. The pope's response marks a reversal from the Vatican's current official position. In 2021 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said flat-out that the Church couldn't bless gay unions because "God cannot bless sin". New Ways Ministry, which advocates LGBT+ Catholics, said the letter "significantly advances" efforts to make the community welcomed in the Church and is "one big straw towards breaking the camel's back". Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the ministry, in a statement, said the pope's words implied "that the church does indeed recognise that holy love can exist between same-gender couples, and the love of these couples mirrors the love of God". With agency inputs Read More Catholic priests have held a ceremony blessing same-sex couples in defiance of a German archbishop 5 conservative cardinals challenge pope to affirm church teaching on gays and women ahead of meeting Women's voices and votes loom large as pope opens Vatican meeting on church's future Things to know about the Vatican's big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church Clergy abuse survivors propose new 'zero tolerance' law following outcry over Vatican appointment 5 conservative cardinals challenge pope to affirm church teaching on gays and women ahead of meeting

Odds are that if you're on the lookout for the next bed of your dreams, memory foam is on your list of options to check out. We don't blame you. Unlike other mattresses, the squishy-yet-supportive material gradually molds to our bodies in response to pressure and easily caters to a wide range of sleepers. The real question is this: Which mattress will actually keep you counting sheep in comfort, night after night?

Donald Trump has been indicted four times this year but the latest charges -- in Georgia -- may carry particular...

A punishing heat wave in parts of the US has claimed the lives of at least a dozen people.

Polly Pocket

A Colorado businessman convicted of fraudulently siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from an online fundraiser to build a wall along the U.S. southern border has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison

NEW DELHI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 20, 2023--

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with X owner Elon Musk on Monday, where he is widely expected to confront Musk on his social media platform's handling of antisemitism.

SHENZHEN, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 17, 2023--