Rev. Billy Graham has gone home
A few months shy of his 100th birthday, the world renowned North Carolina evangelist died today at his home in Montreat.
The well-known minister was born on November 7, 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He grew up with three siblings on a dairy farm during the Depression, graduated from the Florida Bible Institute and Wheaton College and became a Southern Baptist minister in 1939. Graham preached throughout the United States and Europe after World War II, emerging as a rising young evangelist.
It's estimated he preached to more than 2 billion people.
Here's a story of the chain of people who led Graham to Jesus.
And here is the official obituary from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Congressman jeered at gun control town hall
Out of Colorado comes a good illustration of why it's nearly impossible to engage in a "national conversation" about how to stem mass shootings - particularly school shootings.
Grumbling and jeers met the request for a moment of silence for the 17 people killed last week in the Florida school shooting.
"Let's do something for them!" one man yelled at the beginning of Republican Rep. Mike Coffman's town hall Tuesday night. Another participant cried out, "We're done with thoughts and prayers!"
Discussing solutions and asking for a moment of silence for victims is not an either/or choice for the audience here. It is quite possible to show empathy AND to discuss ways to limit the violence.
But it's emblematic - how the loudest voices are the ones with the least ability to thoughtfully discuss the matter.
Also, Democrats need the anger.
The raw emotions at Coffman's town hall shows how guns have become a volatile issue in an already hyper-charged midterm election, stoking passions that will be difficult for Democrats to contain, and difficult for embattled Republicans like Coffman to defend against.
So, ideas like allowing teachers and administrators to conceal carry on campus, posting more security, installing metal detectors, and gun violence restraining orders are ignored.
The dirty secret is that so-called "gun nuts" are the ones offering realistic solutions.
Sharp questions about guns dominated the hourlong town hall. Coffman said he was willing to discuss "reasonable restrictions within the parameters of the Second Amendment," a statement that drew fierce boos from the crowd. He repeatedly declined to back an assault-weapons ban but said he'd consider "red flag" laws that would allow the temporary confiscation of firearms from those judged to be a threat to themselves or others.
Stop calling the cops over missing chicken
I had to double-check that this story came from the UK and not Florida...
KFC lovers are being urged not to call the police over the fried chicken "crisis".
The fast food chain closed half its 900 UK outlets after "operational issues" with its new delivery firm DHL.