Emily Belz

Yoshinobu Yamamoto won Games 2, 6 and 7 of the World Series. He threw a complete game in Game 2, six innings and 96 pitches on Friday and came back Saturday to throw 2.2 scoreless innings on 34 pitches and induce the World Series-winning double play. A legendary performance.

Bats are seeking sanctuary in churches - but they're making an unholy mess A new study estimates that about half of all churches in England have bats living in them.

new study: lots of Bats in the belfry www.bbc.com/news/article...

L.A. tops Chicago in Orkin's Rattiest Cities list - UPI.com Los Angeles has beaten Chicago as America's Rattiest City, according to Orkin, which publishes the the top 50 list. Chicago has been the perennial winner.

NYC getting a W www.upi.com/Top_News/US/...

One of the prettiest songbirds migrating through Central Park, this Blue-headed Vireo.

Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says US revokes his visa Nigeria's Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka said on Tuesday the United States had revoked his non-immigrant visa issued last year and he was told to re-apply if he wished to try again to visit the U.S.

US canceled the visa of 91 year old Nobel laureate (and Trump critic) who teaches in the US www.reuters.com/world/us/nig...

come to my mostly Latin neighborhood in the middle of wind, rain, snow, day or night, and you'll see, somewhere nearby, earnest (usually white) Mormon youngsters speaking rapid Spanish and inviting people to church. truly remarkable outreach operation

The Shock of School Shooting Victims in a Minneapolis ER - Christianity Today A doctor prayed for God’s help and presence as he cared for wounded Annunciation students in the operating room.

earlier I talked to one of the doctors who handled the influx of shooting victims - this kid was the most severely injured of the survivors, and it was touch and go for a while www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/minn...

Girl shot in Minneapolis church returns home from the hospital MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sophia Forchas was the most seriously wounded child among those who survived the shooting at the Church of the Annunciation.

today's good news 😭 religionnews.com/2025/10/27/g...

Regan built his model for analyzing cheating intentionally so that it would not be too sensitive and risk flagging innocent people as cheaters.

Turns out that could be a life or death mathematical decision.

"Humility is a requisite of what I call doing science faithfully," he told me.

A Christian Chess Detective Faces a Mathematical Stalemate - Christianity Today Complexity theory remains one of the great unsolved mathematical puzzles. Kenneth Regan is trying to figure it out.

I profiled Regan a few months ago, on his work in chess and mathematics www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/math...

Did Cheating Accusations Have Anything to Do With the Death of a Chess Grandmaster?

NYT reporting on the swirl of unsubstantiated cheating accusations that surrounded the grandmaster Naroditsky quotes chess detective Kenneth Regan saying he analyzed Naroditsky's games and did not find evidence of cheating - www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/s...

Black enrollment is waning at many elite colleges after affirmative action ban, AP analysis finds An Associated Press analysis finds that the number of Black students enrolling at many elite colleges has dropped in the two years since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in admissions.

An Associated Press analysis finds that the number of Black students enrolling at many elite colleges has dropped in the two years since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in admissions.

The writer/editor is a position within the Center’s Religion research team, which seeks to promote a deeper understanding of religion and spirituality. The Religion research team conducts surveys, demographic analyses and other social science research in the United States and around the world, studying people’s religious beliefs and practices as well as their views on related issues, including religion’s role in public life. The ideal candidate will have a strong data journalism mindset, with the ability to translate complex quantitative findings into clear and engaging narratives that are nonpartisan and non-advocacy. This position will be embedded within the Religion research team, where the writer/editor will work collaboratively to shape the team’s research agenda, including identifying key research questions; contributing to survey development; and synthesizing findings into accessible and compelling storylines. The writer/editor will also evaluate drafts of research reports to determine whether there are shortcomings in the analysis; edit, rewrite and reorganize drafts as necessary to improve flow and clarity; and work with researchers and designers to create appropriate charts and tables. In addition, the writer/editor will provide guidance and training to the Religion team’s researchers and serve as a writing resource. Following the release of reports, the writer/editor may help disseminate research to the public through the Center’s social media channels, videos, newsletters, and virtual or in-person gatherings, always adhering to the Center’s independent, nonpartisan, non-advocacy stance. 

Please repost:

We're looking for an excellent writer/editor with strong data journalism skills to join the religion team at @pewresearch.org.

pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...

America’s Retreat From Aid Is Devastating Somalia’s Health System

"At Bay Regional Hospital, admissions for malnutrition were up by 40 percent by July compared with January" www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...

aside: @thecity.nyc is a great local news outlet!

Military-Style Immigration Sweep Hits NYC as Masked Federal Agents Arrest Canal Street Vendors Spontaneous protests were met with an armored military vehicle and assault rifles in a crackdown that escalated the Trump administration’s focus on NYC.

- two days ago a TPUSA staffer/influencer posted about a Chinatown corner where people sell purses (aka a normal day in NYC). She says ICE should come

- today: military-style ICE raid on that corner
www.thecity.nyc/2025/10/21/i...

Essay | Laurene Powell Jobs: Beware of Philanthropists Who Want Control in Exchange for Their Giving True generosity flows quietly to communities that already know what they need, building capacity not dependency.

interesting - "We are living in a moment when giving is too often used not to serve but to control ... Some of the loudest voices in public life now assert that their donations give them carte blanche to dictate the terms of belonging."

www.wsj.com/us-news/laur...

The same 24-hour span where the president posts a video of poop raining down on his political opponents, a Republican lawmaker says Trump is promoting the gospel bsky.app/profile/atru...

I hate this. Spent a lot of hours enjoying his commentary

haha. well, I felt the same way before the game started too! Even though I'm not a dodgers fan. Crazy, maybe the greatest performance ever

we're so lucky to live at the same time as Shohei Ohtani

Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People

This is not the America I once served and fought for.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

70 faith leaders across 5 boroughs endorse Cuomo in NYC mayoral race Three Staten Island religious leaders back the Democrat to lead New York City, Cuomo's campaign has announced.

one day we'll come up with a lineup of unique church names. "Church of the Meek Baptist" www.silive.com/politics/202...

breaking! notification sent to phones!

Mike Shildt says decision to retire was his own, but Padres questions remain

Padres manager Mike Shildt said he retired in part because of death threats from sports bettors:

Sam Altman says OpenAI will allow erotica for adult users In a post on X, Altman also said ChatGPT will engage more personally.

Sam Altman says OpenAI will allow erotica for adult users

Exclusive: Peter Thiel in talk on 'Antichrist' says he told Elon Musk not to give wealth to charity Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist and early supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, has urged long-time associate Elon Musk to quit the Giving Pledge under which signatories leave the majority of their wealth to charity.

Uh, the rest of us could definitely use the leaked audio of this talk www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...

11 hours of playoff baseball today, huh?

cc: Harvard Human Flourishing Program

I did "admin night" with some friends recently, and it was a huge success. We enjoyed each other's company while doing all the things we had been putting off, like asking your medical provider to right-size your bill