Pictures: Downtown foot-washing prayer service ahead of Easter weekend
MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Sister Ann Rowland, left, with Bishop David Maldonado, is greeted by a protester during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Bishop David Maldonado washes the feet of Sister Gail Grimes during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Sister Ann Rowland, right, hugs a friend during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Bishop William Cavins washes the feet of Bishop David Maldonado during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Bishop William Cavins washes the feet of Sister Ann Kendrick of the Hope CommUnity Center during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Protesters hold signs during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — A protester holds a sign during a Holy Thursday prayer service, in the baackground, presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Community Organizer Frank Rivera holds up a sign calling worshipers during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Protesters hold signs during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Protesters hold signs during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Protesters hold signs during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 12MAUNDY WASHING OF THE FEET — Bishop William Cavins washes the feet of Sister Ann Rowland, as Bishop David Maldonado looks on, during a Holy Thursday prayer service presented by the Faith Leader Network of the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition of Orlando and the Hope CommUnity Center of Apopka, outside the Federal Immigration Court in downtown Orlando, Thursday, April 17, 2025. Local pastors and clergy from multiple faiths, immigrant families, elected officials, and community advocates participated in The Washing of the Feet service, known as Maundy, a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations leading into Easter weekend. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)Expand
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Axios
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CNN
9 hours ago
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On social media, the Department of Homeland Security appeals to nostalgia — with motifs of White identity
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A Heritage to be proud of, a Homeland worth Progress - John Gast Patrick Fontes, a history professor at Clovis Community College in Fresno, California, who has lectured on 'American Progress,' described the painting as 'laden and saturated with racism.' 'And if you don't know the history, you wouldn't know that,' he added. 'But DHS knows the history behind this — it's a manifesto that's laden with racial connotations and bloody 19th century history against those who were not Anglo American.' The department said in its statement to CNN that the Trump administration 'is unapologetically proud of American history and American heritage.' DHS is not the only government agency trying new tactics to draw attention or solicit engagement. But government agencies typically 'avoid leaning into using those types of posts to explain policy decisions,' said Kristy Dalton, the founder and CEO of Government Social Media, a network of professionals who operate government social accounts. 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On July 14, DHS posted a painting by the artist Morgan Weistling titled 'A Prayer for a New Life,' which depicts a White pioneer family praying while holding a baby inside a covered wagon. The agency captioned the image: 'Remember your Homeland's Heritage,' and incorrectly titled the painting: 'New Life in a New Land.' Weistling told CNN in an email that he 'was never contacted by DHS and this was done completely without my permission.' 'They even changed the title of the painting to fit whatever they were trying to say,' he added. 'It's a complete misuse of my copyrighted material.' Another post features a painting by the artist Thomas Kinkade titled 'Morning Pledge,' which depicts schoolchildren gathered around an American flag in an idealist suburban setting. It is captioned: 'Protect the Homeland.' The family foundation for Kinkade, who died in 2012, said it strongly condemns 'the sentiment expressed in the post and the deplorable actions that DHS continues to carry out.' 'Like many of you, we were deeply troubled to see this image used to promote division and xenophobia associated with the ideals of DHS, as this is antithetical to our mission,' the foundation said in a statement, adding that it has asked the agency to remove the post and is exploring its legal options. One band whose song is featured in a recruitment video the agency posted to Instagram sent a cease and desist letter, only for it to be rebuffed. The video depicts law enforcement surveying the borderlands from a helicopter, accompanied by dialogue from a movie quoting Isaiah 6:8 — a verse in which the subject declares a willingness to serve God. It's also accompanied by the alternative rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's copyrighted rendition of 'God's Gonna Cut You Down,' a traditional American folk song that talks of divine punishment as the consequence of sin. The band was outraged and demanded DHS stop using its music. 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Business Insider
12 hours ago
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Ukraine studied drug cartels to learn how to sneak drones into Russia for its 'Operation Spiderweb' attack
The architects behind Ukraine's audacious "Operation Spiderweb" attack studied drug cartels to plan how to smuggle drones into Russia, Kyiv's security service chief said. Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine's internal security service and widely hailed as a driving force in the June attack, said in an interview aired on Tuesday that his team leveraged its experience battling international crime for the complex strike. "Operation Spiderweb" involved Ukraine sneaking hundreds of military quadcopters deep behind Russian lines, transporting the drones via wooden house-like structures mounted on trucks. These trucks were brought to four airbases, where the drones were then launched to wreak destruction on strategic bombers and early warning and control planes there. "Speaking of logistics," Malyuk told Ukrainian TV channel My-Ukrainia, "I should note that we drew on our experience in fighting transnational crime, when we studied in detail how international drug cartels secretly deliver various prohibited substances to different corners of the world without detection by customs and border authorities." The security service head alluded to an earlier covert attack that Ukraine carried out in October 2022, when its forces severely damaged a Russian-controlled bridge in Crimea with a truck filled with explosives. "If you read between the lines and look at it professionally, I think many have noticed certain parallels between the first strike on the Crimea bridge," Malyuk said. He said that in both situations, Ukraine didn't employ smugglers but relied on customs officials in Russia. "Who are, by their nature, very corrupt," Malyuk said. "At a certain stage, they actually played to our advantage in delivering the cabins I mentioned." A fake company with drivers in the dark Malyuk said that Ukraine, through its agents in Russia, created a logistics company that purchased five vehicles and rented warehouse space for the operation. One of these warehouses was even in the same city block as Russia's Federal Security Service headquarters in the Chelyabinsk region, the security service chief said. Malyuk added that the shell logistics company hired Russian citizens as truck drivers, sending them on multiple regular delivery jobs to avoid suspicion before springing the attack. The security service chief said these drivers were only told to deliver the cabins near the airbases, whereupon a customer was meant to arrive and pay for them. The drivers themselves were left in the dark, Malyuk added. The security chief said that when one of the drivers inadvertently saw the drones inside one cabin, Ukrainian agents told him the systems were hunting tools for observing animals. "In reality, they committed no illegal acts, and there was no intent in their actions," Malyuk said. The SBU chief also said that his team wanted to launch the attack in May but hit several delays, including the drivers getting drunk during the Easter holiday season. According to Malyuk, each truck-mounted cabin included solar panels and a battery to keep the drones charged and ready for deployment in cold weather; the quadcopters were launched in temperatures as low as 104 degrees Fahrenheit. "But at the same time, it created additional difficulties in bringing these cabins into the territory of the Russian Federation, because these types of goods simply can't be taken there, since Russia is under sanctions," Malyuk. The security service chief declined to share further details about the smuggling process, but said his team went "through seven circles of hell." He added that Ukraine had designed attack drones specifically for "Operation Spiderweb" and that each could carry a payload of 1.6 kg. Ukrainian officials have said that the attack hit about a third of Russia's strategic bomber capacity, inflicting damage on roughly $7 billion worth of equipment. Since the attack, satellite images show that Russia has begun constructing hardened shelters for its bombers. Ukraine has, in recent months, simultaneously stepped up long-range drone assaults via fixed-wing uncrewed systems.
