1. According to the AP, The death toll from Nepal’s earthquake soared past 3,300 Monday, and how much higher it would rise depended largely on the condition of vulnerable mountain villages that rescue workers were still struggling to reach two days after the disaster. Reports received so far by aid groups suggest that many communities perched on mountainsides are devastated or struggling to cope. Landslides hindered rescue teams that tried to use mountain trails to reach those in need. Matt Darvas, a member of the aid group World Vision, said it is likely that many communities can be reached only by helicopter.
2. According to Breitbart, More than 10,000 people gathered on the National Mall Sunday with a message for the Supreme Court: the Court does not have the authority to redefine marriage, and the nine Justices dare not try. At once a political rally and an Evangelical prayer meeting, the striking thing about the third annual March for Marriage was the sea of brown faces. The marchers were almost totally African-American and Hispanic, hundreds bussed in from New York City. This points up a theme of man-woman marriage proponents that gay marriage is a project mostly of white elites. Bishop William Lori, archbishop of Baltimore, told the crowd that God was hearing their prayers that the country turn away from any “new and arbitrary definition of marriage.” The President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Joseph Kurtz, called same-sex advocates to civility in debate and said that “there must be room in the public square for the sacrificial love that a mother and a father share with their children.”
3. According to NBC News, Security is being stepped up in Los Angeles, its area airports and other parts of Southern California amid new ISIS-related threats calling for attacks on uniformed personnel. Los Angeles had already started using two-man patrols as a precaution. Upgraded measures were extended to Los Angeles International Airport this week. Investigators said there was no specific plot but concerns increased as result of intelligence from overseas.
4. According to the AP, Mourners filed for hours on Sunday past the coffin of the man who died after sustaining serious injuries in the custody of Baltimore police, somberly paying respects after a night of violent protests. The stream of people continued all afternoon at the wake for Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died April 19 just days after an encounter with police left him with grave spinal injuries. Gray’s funeral is scheduled Monday.
5. According to CNN, Huge military exercises are underway off and around Britain’s coast, but NATO insists they are not a deliberate response to the Russian military’s increasingly brazen behavior. The British-led war games are code named Joint Warrior and the numbers are all big: 13,000 personnel from 14 countries operating more than 50 ships and submarines as well as 70 aircraft. NATO says the planning started long before Russia began behaving as an adversary.
6. According to the AP, Italian authorities say they have rescued 274 migrants from a migrant vessel in the Mediterranean, while more than 300 rescued a day earlier arrived in a port in Sicily. Italian Navy spokeswoman Giorgia Trecca said Saturday’s rescue took place off the Libyan coast but could not give details. There were no reports of any casualties.
7. According to The Jerusalem Post, The Israel Air Force struck and killed four terrorists who crossed into Israel from Syria and planted explosives near an abandoned IDF post on Sunday night, said a senior IDF source. The source declined to say which organization the terrorist cell belonged to, saying it was too soon for such details. The IDF confirmed that the terrorists were in fact planting bombs before ordering an air strike.
8. According to the AP, Nigeria says it is recalling its top diplomats in South Africa because of “ongoing xenophobia targeting foreigners.” A Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement says the attacks that began three weeks ago have killed seven people, destroyed property and “created fear and uncertainty in the minds of African migrants.” It says Nigeria’s ambassador in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital, and the consul general in Johannesburg, the economic hub, will return to Nigeria for consultations.
9. According to the AP, The acting chief executive of the Clinton Foundation is acknowledging mistakes made in how it disclosed its donors amid growing scrutiny as Hillary Clinton opens her presidential campaign. In a blog posting Sunday, Maura Pally defended the foundation’s work and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, describing its policies on donor disclosure and contributions from foreign governments as “stronger than ever.” Still, Pally said the foundation expected to refile some tax forms because it had “mistakenly combined” government grants with other donations.
10. According to The Daily Star, Airstrikes on a marketplace in Idlib province Sunday killed at least 40 civilians, including women and children, as Syrian forces stepped up attacks on rebels a day after losing a key town. There were fears the death toll would mount from the bombing raids on Darkoush, a rebel-held town near the Turkish border, which also wounded dozens of people. The attacks came after a coalition of rebel groups overran the nearby town of Jisr al-Shughur Saturday, tightening their grip on the northwestern province less than a month after capturing its capital.
As you go throughout this day, keep this word in mind: Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Roger Von Oech said, “Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn’t work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.”
God loves you. He always has and He always will. He loves you so much that the Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, why don’t you get to know Him today. Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose by the power of God for you. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Thanks so much for listening. May God bless your day.
BCNN1 WP 