Priests...

Roman Catholic bishops gathered at the Vatican on Saturday proposed allowing married deacons from a region of the Amazon to become ordained priests in order to help address a clergy shortage in the region.

Pope Francis still needs to affirm the proposal, but if approved, the change though limited in scope would represent a fundamental shift in what it has meant to be a Roman Catholic priest for nearly a millennia.

The proposal was offered at the end of a three-week summit of church leaders from countries across the Amazon region, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname. The group of men, called the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, voted 128-41 to allow married deacons to become priests.

The text of the proposal does not make it immediately clear whether the change would apply only to married deacons who wish to join the priesthood, or if those who are already priests would be allowed to marry. The plan would only apply to the Amazon region.

Trump-Pelosi...

House Ways and Means Committee approved Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug pricing bill, sending the legislation to the full House floor for a vote expected before the end of this month.

The legislation, which passed three committees along partisan lines, has a high chance of approval in the House. The Education and Labor Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee made few changes to the bill last week.

Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, criticized Pelosi's plan, saying it was highly partisan, secretly written and has no chance of becoming law.

That plan, would allow Medicare to negotiate prices on the most expensive  medication [Top 250 items] was backed by President Donald Trump and has been described by lawmakers as a "middle ground" approach to handling drug prices.

UMM...

Sleepy...

Former Vice President Joe Biden accused President Donald Trump of ignoring middle-class interests and endangering economic growth as he made his case for the White House in a key 2020 battleground state.

Biden returned to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to mount an argument against Trump's economy.

He said the president has looked out for the interests of the wealthy rather than the working class by passing a tax plan that largely benefits richer Americans and corporations and by watering down Obama administration rules designed to protect workers.

Trump has pointed to strong U.S. economic numbers like the unemployment rate and gross domestic product growth as he makes his case for reelection in 2020.  Democrats hoping to challenge him have argued the president's policies have not boosted prosperity for the middle class despite the statistics.

Sign of failure by sleepy Joe since this is an inaccurate assessment..

Throuple...

Rep. Katie Hill holds two leadership roles in the House, serving as freshman caucus representative and vice chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which is among the three panels conducting a closed-door impeachment inquiry into President Trump.    

Photographs and text messages obtained by RedState show that Rep. Hill was involved in a long-term sexual relationship with a female campaign staffer. The woman, whose name is not being released, was hired by Hill in late 2017 and quickly became involved in a ‘throuple’ relationship with Hill and her estranged husband, Kenny Heslep. 

Heslep and the staffer believed the polyamorous arrangement to be a long-term, committed relationship.

The piece includes several salacious photographs of the now-congresswoman with the female staffer, including one of the congresswoman in the nude brushing the young staffer’s hair.

What seems to be the problem?

Smuggling...

Fan Yang, a Navy lieutenant who held a top secret clearance and his wife, Yang Yang, endicted of attempting to transport inflatable boats through Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.

 The pair attempted to purchase engines specifically marked "for military use" through a shell company they set up.

Yang purchased a Sig Sauer hand gun with the Chinese national's initials on it with the inscription "Never out of the fight," engraved on the gun. The two helped get this man, Ge Songtao, firearms for more than two years.

Court documents also show that Yang lied on his background check to acquire the top secret security clearance.

Yang was listed as the Chief Consultant of BQ Tree Inc., the shell company,  And wired $205,000 over the course of the three years by Songtao's company.

Is there more...?

Psst...

Cable...

Lies...

Muscles...

Research shows that using your muscles also helps your mind. Animals who exercise regularly increase the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the region of the brain that is responsible for thought.      

 Exercise also spurs the development of new nerve cells and increases the connections between brain cells (synapses). This results in brains that are more efficient, plastic, and adaptive, which translates into better performance in aging animals.   

 Exercise also lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, helps blood sugar balance and reduces mental stress, all of which can help your brain as well as your heart.

Good nutrition can help your mind as well as your body. For example, people that eat a Mediterranean style diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, unsaturated oils (olive oil) and plant sources of proteins are less likely to develop cognitive impairment and dementia.

social ties have been associated with a lower risk of dementia, as well as lower blood pressure and longer life expectancy.