Latest news with #CandlelightVigil
Express Tribune
19-05-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
PNCA holds vigil for Marka-e-Haq martyrs
In a heartfelt tribute to the bravery and sacrifices of the martyrs of Marka-e-Haq and the courageous armed forces of Pakistan, the Punjab Council of the Arts (PNCA) Rawalpindi hosted a poignant Candlelight Vigil and Prayer Ceremony. The event, which aimed to honour the martyrs of Operation Bannyan ul Marsoos and pay homage to the landmark military operation against India, saw the participation of several distinguished individuals from different religious backgrounds, further reinforcing the spirit of unity, patriotism and interfaith solidarity in Pakistan. The candlelight vigil was a solemn event, commemorating the brave souls who laid down their lives in defence of Pakistan's sovereignty and honour. It was held in the heart of Rawalpindi, was attended by a large number of citizens, including military personnel, civilians and families of martyrs. The ambiance was filled with reverence as the soft glow of candles illuminated the evening, symbolising the eternal remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Among the martyrs particularly honoured during the ceremony were those who fought valiantly in the significant military operation, Operation Bannyan ul Marsoos.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Tupelo, Oxford and Booneville to host memorials for fallen police officers next week
TUPELO – At least three Northeast Mississippi communities will host ceremonies as part of National Law Enforcement Memorial Week. The Northeast Mississippi Law Enforcement Memorial Service, hosted by Wives of Warriors and C.O.P.S. (Concerns Of Police Survivors), will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 12, outside the theater at the Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo. The memorial service was started more than a quarter-century ago by John Harmon after his son, Casey Harmon, was shot and killed while working as a jailer at the Lee County Juvenile Detention Center in March 1998. Northeast Mississippi Community College Police Chief Jason Jackson will be the speaker at the event, which will include the playing of taps, the reading of the names of the area's officers who have been killed in the line of duty and a candlelight vigil. Thursday morning, the Lafayette County Law Enforcement Officers Association will host its annual ceremony on the courthouse lawn. Representatives from area agencies will report if any officers were killed or injured in the line of duty. Following the laying of a wreath at the Public Safety Memorial at the courthouse, the Oxford Police Department honor guard will give a 21-gun salute. The Prentiss County Sheriff's Office will hold their annual ceremony at the Prentiss County Justice Center at 6 p.m. Thursday. Recently appointed First Circuit District Attorney Jason Herring will be the guest speaker. The event will include the laying of a wreath on the memorial to the agency's only officer lost in the line of duty, Michael Hisaw. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy established May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The week around that day is National Police Week. There will be a pair of events in Jackson on Tuesday. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety will host their memorial service at 10 a.m. at their 1900 E. Woodrow Wilson Avenue headquarters. Lt. Col. Matt Lott will be the keynote speaker. Robin Whitfield will offer comments about the late Lee Tartt, an MBN agent who was killed during a February 2016 standoff. The same day at 6:30 p.m., the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police and the Mississippi Sheriff's Association will host their annual fallen officer candlelight vigil at the State Capitol Mall in downtown Jackson. The national memorial will also be held Tuesday night at 7 p.m. with a candlelight vigil on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. That event, which will be livestreamed on social media by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund, will include the reading of the names of fallen officers, including the 148 who died in 2024.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Danville commemorates fallen officers on Peace Officers Day
DANVILLE, Va. (WFXR) – The Danville Police Department and the Danville Sheriff's Office will honor and remember six officers who lost their lives in the line of duty with the annual Peace Officers Memorial Day Service. The event will occur on Thursday, May 15 at 10 a.m. at the Danville Police Department in the Annex Multipurpose Room. President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962, as National Police Week. This was established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962 to pay special recognition to those in law enforcement who lost their lives in the line of duty to protect others. Veteran's Voices: Largest Vietnam veterans parade held in Chicago in 1986 Each year, there are hundreds of names of officers killed in the line of duty that are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. Their names are read out loud during the annual Candlelight Vigil for those who made the sacrifice. 2025 will mark the 37th Annual Candlelight Vigil which will take place on Tuesday, May 13th, on the National Mall. It is between 4th and 7th Streets and Madison and Jefferson Drives in Washington, DC. To learn more visit, Candlelight Vigil – National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Elvis Week 2025 Schedule Announced; Tickets On Sale Now
Elvis Week, August 8-16, will welcome thousands of fans from around the world to Graceland to celebrate the life, music, and legacy of Elvis Presley. MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Graceland has announced the Elvis Week 2025 schedule and tickets for all events are now on sale at From August 8-16, Elvis fans and music lovers from around the world will make their pilgrimage to Memphis for a week of live performances, panels, contests, movie screenings, the annual Candlelight Vigil, and more, all celebrating the enduring legacy of Elvis Presley. Elvis Week 2025 features an unforgettable lineup. Highlights include Elvis: Live on Stage on August 16, a big-screen Elvis experience with a live band; A Night in Elvis' Hollywood on August 13, celebrating his film career with co-stars and live music; an Elvis Music Salute on August 14, featuring artists who shared the stage and studio with Elvis; and Conversations on Elvis on August 15, with intimate stories from his friends and colleagues. Plus, witness the excitement of the 2025 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest and more!" The cornerstone event of the week will be the annual Candlelight Vigil on August 15 at Graceland's front gate. Elvis music sets the tone of the evening as fans walk up the driveway to Meditation Garden. This event lasts throughout the night as thousands of participants gather on Elvis Presley Boulevard listening to music, remembering Elvis, and enjoying the memorials that are created by fans along the street. The Candlelight Vigil ceremony will also be streamed live online for fans around the world to watch. Confirmed Elvis Week guests include Elvis' friend Jerry Schilling, Elvis' girlfriend Linda Thompson, along with singer/songwriter Tony Orlando, who will share their favorite memories of spending time with Elvis; Larry Gatlin, singer/songwriter for Elvis' hits "Help Me" and "Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall"; singer Brenda Lee, who met Elvis while he was recording in Nashville; Charlie McCoy, Nashville studio legend; Peter Guralnick, author of Last Train to Memphis, Careless Love, and newest upcoming release The Colonel and The King; Elvis co-stars Pat Priest (Easy Come, Easy Go), Marlyn Mason (The Trouble with Girls), and Robin and Gavin Koon (Follow that Dream); former member of JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet Larry Strickland; members of Elvis' Imperials Terry Blackwood and Jim Murray; Sweet Inspiration Estelle Brown; and more. Elvis Week 2025 kicks off with the Ultimate Return on August 8, a high-energy tribute spanning Elvis' iconic decades. The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Semifinal and Final Round take place on August 9 and 10, where 19 semifinalists will compete for the title of Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist champion. Additional Elvis tribute artist events include Elvis Unplugged, Ultimate Gospel Celebration, Elvis: That's The Way It Is: A Tribute, and Elvis: The Other Side of the Tracks; featuring performances by Dean Z, Taylor Rodriguez, David Lee, Brandon Bennett, Jay Dupuis, Victor Trevino Jr., Emilio Santoro, and Cote Deonath. Additional Elvis Week 2025 events include Fan Celebration on August 12; Elvis: An Author's Perspective on August 13; Brunch and a Movie on August 16; Inspired by Elvis on August 16; plus after-parties, Moonshine dinners, fan meet-ups, meet 'n' greets, and more. Various event packages, ticket options, and tour experiences are available for purchase. Elvis Week packages offer the best seats to Graceland Soundstage events, can't-buy experiences, exclusive merchandise, special photo opportunities, and more. The Guest House at Graceland resort hotel is in the heart of the action and is home to many of the week's shows, offering free live lobby entertainment and complimentary shuttle service throughout the Graceland campus. Rooms are still available for select nights of Elvis Week. Visit to make your room reservations. For a complete line-up of all Elvis Week events and to purchase tickets or packages, go to Download press assets, including logo and images, at: All guests, times, prices, and details are subject to change. About Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. Elvis Presley's Graceland, in Memphis, is music's most important and beloved landmark, with hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world visiting the historic home each year. Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) manages the operations of Graceland and its related properties, including Elvis Presley's Memphis, Graceland's entertainment and exhibition complex over 200,000 square feet in size; the new 80,000 square feet Graceland Exhibition Center featuring rotating exhibits; the AAA Four Diamond Guest House at Graceland 450-room resort hotel; and the Graceland Archives, featuring thousands of artifacts from Elvis' home and career. EPE also produces and licenses Elvis-themed live events, tours, and attractions worldwide. Graceland Holdings LLC, led by managing partner Joel Weinshanker, is the majority owner of EPE. Graceland is the only attraction worldwide to ever receive 12 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards including "Best Holiday Historic Home Tour," "Best Tennessee Attraction and Iconic Landmark," "Best Musical Attraction," "Best Historic Southern Attraction," and the #1 "Iconic American Attraction." The TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards named Graceland the most popular attraction in Tennessee and one of the top 25 landmarks in the world and Rolling Stone named it one of 10 Great American Music Landmarks. For more information on EPE and Graceland, visit Stay connected to Elvis Presley's Graceland: Graceland Live Cam @ElvisPresleysGraceland on Facebook @VisitGraceland on Twitter (X) and Instagram @OfficialGraceland on YouTube @GracelandLive on Facebook @GracelandLiveConcerts on Instagram @LiveGraceland on Twitter SiriusXM's Elvis Radio, Channel 76 View source version on Contacts Alicia Dean | media@
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Memphis domestic violence center abruptly closes amid statewide fight for victim funding
An attendee looks at a series of banners for National Crime Victims' Rights Week Candlelight Vigil on the National Mall on April 24, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime held the event to pay tribute to victims and survivors of crime and individuals who provide service and support. (Photo by) A Memphis domestic violence agency has abruptly closed its doors amid an urgent fight for state funding by victim-serving organizations in Tennessee. The Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County shut down without warning or public explanation last week. The agency served as a 'one-stop shop' for victims of domestic violence, aiding victims in obtaining orders of protection in coordination with police and the District Attorney's office, and connecting families to housing, food and other resources. Its sudden closure has left a web of agencies that worked together to address domestic violence scrambling, said Marqulepta Odom, executive director of the YWCA Greater Memphis. 'We were all caught off guard by its closing in the middle of the week like that,' said Odom, whose agency operates a 78-bed domestic violence shelter, the largest in the state. Odom said the closure will have a 'great impact and a loss for our community for sure. It was that central place that survivors and victims knew where to go.' But Odom's agency — like victim-serving agencies across Tennessee this year — also faces an uncertain funding future: federal funding for victims of crime in Tennessee has dwindled in recent years from a peak of $68 million in 2018 to $16 million last year. The YWCA Greater Memphis experienced a 17% percent cut last year as a result and faces the prospect of crippling budget cuts this year if it cannot find a way to replace the lost federal dollars. Agencies that operate crisis hotlines, provide counseling to child abuse victims, conduct sexual assault exams and operate shelters are facing additional cuts in federal funding up to 40% more come July. Those ongoing cuts in federal dollars had already hit the Family Safety Center hard before it closed its doors. The agency received $742,000 in federal crime victim funding in 2020, according to the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OCJP), which distributes the federal funding to Tennessee nonprofits. This year, that funding had dwindled to about $132,000. The OCJP got notice March 6 that the Family Safety Center had shuttered the previous day. Ethel Hilliard, the center's executive director, 'stated that the closure was due to a board decision related to financial issues,' a spokesperson for the OCJP said. The most recent available tax records show the agency operated at a deficit in 2021 and 2022, when it reported a $289,000 deficit. Like other agencies funded through the federal Victims of Crimes Act, it faced steep cuts again in July. Tennessee victim-serving agencies warn cuts will be 'catastrophic' if Gov. Bill Lee fails to act And while 35 other states have taken action to provide their own state funding in the face of federal crime victim budget cuts, Tennessee is not one of them. Stephen Woerner, executive director of Tennessee Children's Advocacy Centers, said the Memphis agency's closure illustrates the vulnerability of agencies that aid victims of abuse. 'I do not know the details of why they closed, but it speaks to the fragility of the victim serving community, particularly those that have not truly invested in diversifying their funding,' Woerner said. Woerner's organization operates 46 centers across the state that employ specialized counselors who work with children who have been abused, neglected or sexually assaulted. The organization received $5.5 million annually from the federal crime victims fund at its peak; this year, it received $2.1 million, he said. Woerner is among hundreds of advocates across the state who are pressing Gov. Bill Lee to include $25 million in recurring state funding to crime victim agencies in the state's budget. Thus far, Lee has not committed. Lee's office did not respond to a question about the funding on Friday. Leaders of the Family Safety Center in Memphis have made no public statements about the reasons behind the closure and Ethele Hilliard, executive director, did not respond to emailed questions from the Lookout. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
