Meeting Places and Romance

Rose Madeline Mula writes: My other impulse purchases on Amazon include a string of mini, solar-powered lights to brighten my quarantined balcony; a label maker (which I have used to make two labels since buying it a year ago); a roll-up keyboard (in place of the Steinway I can’t afford and have no room for) which I immediately rolled up and put in a drawer before plinking even one melody; a five-pound bag of gum drops (yes, five pounds!); essential oils (which were certainly not essential); make up (too little, too late), and a garden kneeler. No, I don’t have a garden. I live in a third-floor condo. But I’m hoping it will help me get up when (not if) I fall so I don’t have to call the firemen (though, actually, their visits are the highlight of my social life). more »

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). For more information, see USCIS Policy Manual Citizenship and Naturalization Guidance. Most naturalization applicants are required to take a test on: English; Civics (U.S. history and government). For more information, visit our Naturalization Test page. Get study materials from the Citizenship Resource Center. more »

Tam Martinides Gray: My team is the San Francisco Giants ... and it always has been since it was The New York Giants in The Bronx. I started going to games with my father, Ernie, when I was a year or two older than kindergarten age ... I have rarely missed a season that I didn't see a game in person or on television, except when I lived in Europe for a couple of years. I've married two men who didn't grow up sitting on those hard, wooden-slatted seats. But my husband today understands my state of mourning regarding what could become 'the lost season.' My mother told me that she was thrilled that I had taken to the game; this now meant she would never have to attend another game, ever, especially those games that were double-headers. Pop and I loved those games.   more »

Scottsdale, Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom has represented 14 churches in lawsuits and assisted more than 2,500 churches and ministries. First Liberty Institute, based outside of Dallas, Texas, received more than a hundred requests for legal help in the first half of May, significantly more than the few dozen they would have expected so far this year, according to attorney Jeremy Dys. One client was On Fire Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, which sued the city after the mayor banned outdoor drive-in services leading up to Easter in April. A judge ruled the services could go on. “We believe that beyond any shadow of a doubt it is crucial to be able to congregate with one another,” church Pastor Chuck Salvo said in a recent interview. But judges also have ruled against such challenges. The US Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from a California church to strike down Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restriction of places of worship to 25% capacity or no more than 100 people. more »