The next Bishop of Sodor & Man has been announced as the Ven. Patricia Hillas, at present Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons and Archdeacon of Westminster.

She became Chaplain to the Speaker in 2020, while serving also as Priest-in-Charge of St-Mary-at-Hill, in the City of London. Before this, she served as Canon Pastor at St Paul’s Cathedral for six years.

Born in 1966 in Kuala Lumpur to an Indian mother and a British father, she moved to the UK with her family in 1971. She was educated at the University of East London and Birkbeck College, University of London, and trained for ministry by completing the North Thames Ministerial Training Course validated by Middlesex University.

Before ordination in 2002, she worked as a youth and social worker, specialising in supporting those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS. She served her title at St Mark’s, Kensal Rise, and moved on to be Vicar of St Barnabas, Northolt Park, from 2005 to 2014.

Read it all.

"I hope we shall treasure the traditions of the past whilst looking to the new opportunities ahead."

The Venerable Tricia Hillas, @mountainskies, is to become the next Bishop of Sodor and Man.

Read more at https://t.co/uDc4wnLeOt.

📷: ©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) May 16, 2024

The Brennan Centre, a think-tank, lists 135 extraordinary powers a president can claim by calling a national emergency—some of the most serious freeze bank accounts and shut down the internet. The president can decide what counts as an emergency. Over 40 remain in force, some years old. Donald Trump invoked one to fund his border wall; Joe Biden, to forgive student loans. Congress is supposed to consider terminating emergencies every six months. It never has. Neither has it removed a president through impeachment.

That makes complacency a danger. And yet so is alarmism, because an emergency, real or confected, is the strongman’s ally. When they believed the American project was at stake, even great presidents asserted extra-constitutional powers. During the civil war Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus; Franklin Roosevelt interned Americans without trial.

Among the biggest constitutional obstacles to dictatorship is the 22nd Amendment, which limits a president to two terms. But what would happen if an iron-willed autocrat stacked the Pentagon with lackeys and, with an army at his shoulder, refused to go? The United States has 247 years of history, but its constitution was copied by several young Latin American republics in the 19th century and they succumbed to strongmen.

Read it all.

Is America dictator-proof? In the worst case, the constitutional order is vulnerable to a despot—yet the republic has many enduring strengths https://t.co/RvM5EZXG6r pic.twitter.com/MU5jxDVhD8

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) May 16, 2024

Overdose deaths in the United States declined slightly last year, the first decrease in five years, according to preliminary federal data released Wednesday.

The rare good news in the decades-old addiction crisis was attributable mostly to a drop in deaths from synthetic opioids, chiefly fentanyl, said researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics, who compiled the numbers.

But the full portrait of the death toll from street drugs remains grim. Even as opioid deaths fell, deaths from stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine rose. And some states, including Oregon and Washington, continued to experience sharp rises in overall overdose fatalities.

Drug overdoses overall in 2023 were estimated at 107,543, down from 111,029 in 2022, a 3 percent drop. Opioid deaths fell 3.7 percent while deaths from cocaine rose 5 percent and deaths from meth rose 2 percent.

Read it all (emphasis mine).

U.S. drug overdose deaths dropped slightly in 2023, the first annual decrease in drug overdose deaths since 2018.

But the overall number of deaths is still extremely high. https://t.co/ptdF17zxED

— The Hill (@thehill) May 16, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin pledged to intensify cooperation against US “containment” of their countries, as they warned of growing nuclear tensions between rival powers.

Putin and Xi accused the US of planning to station missile systems around the world that “pose a direct threat to the security of Russia and China,” in a joint declaration after more than two hours of talks in Beijing on Thursday. They agreed to tighten coordination, including between their militaries, against what they called Washington’s “destructive and hostile course.”

Putin’s in China on the first foreign visit since his inauguration last week for a fifth presidential term, indicating the importance of the relationship with Xi in enabling Moscow to resist unprecedented sanctions from the US and its allies over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Read it all.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping signaled to Vladimir Putin that ties between the two nations remain strong, as the Russian leader embarks on a new term with the war in Ukraine dragging into its third year https://t.co/xvrekfJjxl pic.twitter.com/xAGy7MdqkI

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) May 16, 2024

O God, steadfast in the midst of persecution, by whose providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: As the martyrs of the Sudan refused to abandon Christ even in the face of torture and death, and so by their sacrifice brought forth a plenteous harvest, may we, too, be steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O Christ, the King of Glory, who through the everlasting gates didst ascend to thy Father’s throne, and open the Kingdom of heaven to all believers: Grant that, whilst thou dost reign in heaven, we may not be bowed down to the things of earth, but that our hearts may be lifted up whither thou, our redemption, art gone before; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, ever one God, world without end.

🍃Guten Morgen ☀️ pic.twitter.com/H0rNfFHAeQ

— 💫Stein_harmonie🍀🧚‍♀️ (@SteinHarmonie) May 16, 2024

And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

–Matthew 9:1-8

Morning everyone hope you are well. The smallest of all the Wainwright's, but a beautiful walk in Borrowdale and as for the views! Have a great day. #lakedistrict @keswickbootco pic.twitter.com/4JWyBPVQKQ

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) May 16, 2024