Did Jesus descend into hell before he rose?

During the Easter vigil, Christians anticipate the resurrection with the lighting of candles.

But between the crucifixion and the resurrection, where was Jesus?

After Jesus was crucified, did he "Descend into Hell," as millions of Christians recite during weekly church services in The Apostles' Creed?

Nearly 2,000 years of Christian tradition and a scriptural reference in 1 Peter 3:19-20 make the case:

"After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits - to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." (New International Version)

The "harrowing of hell" refers to what Christ did when he descended to Hades or hell between his death and his resurrection. The early church believed that after his death Christ descended into hell in order to rescue the souls of the righteous, such as Adam and Eve. Jesus descends and breaks down the doors of hell, unbinds the prisoners and leads the just to heaven.

In ancient paintings from the Eastern Orthodox Church, and in similar icons still used in Greek and Russian Orthodox churches now, the art depicts Christ standing over the broken gates of hell, angels binding Satan and Satan crushed under the gates of hell, while Christ pulls out two figures representing Adam and Eve who have been imprisoned because of sin.

The Apostles' Creed

An early version of the Apostles' Creed, the Interrogatory Creed of Hippolytus from about 215 A.D., refers to Christ's descent to the dead.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead (or "he descended into hell" or "hades" depending on the translation). On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Here are some more Bible verses that relate:

1 Peter 4
6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God.

Acts 2.27, 31
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.... Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

Ephesians 4
8 Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." 9 (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Revelation 1
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades."

What is Hell?

Human ideas about hell were still in ferment as the Bible was being written. The theological concept of hell has a rich cultural heritage, according to historian Alan Bernstein, author of "The Formation of Hell."

The ancient Hebrews focused on the afterlife following their Babylonian captivity, when they experienced the torment of ungodly enemies who seemed to have an unjustifiably good life on Earth. During the Babylonian exile, Jews were exposed to Zoroastrianism, which asserts there is an eternal struggle between good and evil, with good triumphing in the end.

The Hebrew concept of "Sheol" -- the realm of the dead -- may also have been influenced by the Greek mythology of Tartarus, a place of everlasting punishment for the Titans, a race of gods defeated by Zeus, Bernstein writes.

From about 300 B.C. to 300 A.D., those influences combined with Hebrew speculation about an eventual comeuppance to the worldly wicked.

In translating the Bible from Hebrew to Greek, the Greeks used the terms Tartarus, Hades and Gehenna. In Greek thought, Hades is not a place of punishment; it's where the dead are separated from the living.

The term Gehenna referred to a ravine outside Jerusalem that was used as a garbage dump. It had once been a place of child sacrifice and became a symbol of pain and suffering. As a garbage dump, it was probably often a place of fire as trash was burned, emphasizing the symbolism of the flames of eternal damnation.

The Bible contains a litany of colorful images of hell as both fire and darkness, as in the Gospel of Matthew, which refers to "the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" and "the outer darkness" where "men will weep and gnash their teeth."

In Revelation 20:14, it is described as a lake of fire: "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire."

How Christians Can Win Hearts and Minds This Easter

Recently, I was hired by a major bank in Arkansas to provide cross-cultural competence training for forty of the company’s highest level employees including its owners, presidents, and regional market CEOs. During one session in which we discussed the concept of white privilege, I suggested that those in positions of power and privilege should seek not only to give away fish or teach others to fish but help others own the pond. Later, during a break, one of the attendees approached me with a question couched in a concern.  “That’s tough for me to think about,” he said. “If I help others own the pond, then my pond will shrink.” In response, I said, “Maybe so, but consider this: you will then have two ponds in which to fish.” 

This weekend Christians throughout the world celebrate the life, death through crucifixion, burial and, most importantly, the resurrection of Jesus, whom we call Christ (which means Messiah or Savior), from the grave. The annual commemoration comes at a time when people in this country, and even world leaders, are at painful odds with one another, each in his or her own way striving or fighting either to attain or maintain power, position, and privilege; for their way to become the way things are done or understood. What we need to realize, however, and to learn from Jesus is counter-intuitive: if you want such things you must let them go.

In the apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, he explains both why and how we should, 

“(In our) relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)

Did you catch it?

Jesus, although God, himself, prior to human existence (the incarnation) and, as such, divinely powerful, positioned, and privileged, did not regard such things as self-serving. Rather, he emptied Himself of such things (the Greek word is kenosis) – willingly gave them up, laid them down – and came to us, as one of us, so that we, too, could own the spiritual pond; that we, too, could have power, position, and privilege in heavenly places; that we, too, could be called the children of God (I John 3:1) and “…if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,” (Romans 8:17). In this way, Jesus created many more ponds in which to fish. Thus, he was honored with even more recognition and glory…that is, to the degree it is possible for someone that already has it all to have even more in terms of power, position, and privilege. Indeed, this is what the Apostle Paul next explains:

“Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

Simply stated, to attain or maintain power, position, and privilege, we should learn from Jesus: to have such things, we must give them up; lay them down; leverage them – in whatever amount or measure you have been blessed – for the sake of others in need, especially those very different than us: our biblical neighbors (Luke 10:25-37).  

But therein lies the challenge.

For many today identifying as Christians, and more specifically as evangelicals in the United States, Christianity is enmeshed with the American way, the American dream, American life itself. Contrary to the national myth, however, America is not a Christian nation. So, “when winning or losing on one issue or another becomes more important than representing Christ well via social media, demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit in civil discourse, or remembering that we have been called to go and make disciples . . . Christ is not honored.”

For example, both in private conversations and on social media, far too many of us are quick to speak, slow to listen, and slow to advance peace, in direct violation of James 1:19. Far too many of us want to impose theocratic rule and ways on an otherwise constitutionally limited, representative democratic republic in an effort, somehow, to attain or maintain power, position, and privilege. Beyond that, we are far too easily “tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14), at times acting more like those without understanding, “in the futility of their mind,” with ignorance, callousness, or hardness of heart (4:17–19). Thus, we are often seen or portrayed as purveyors of fear, not faith. 

None of this is helpful for winning hearts and minds in what has been described as a post-Christian society.

The fact is, the apostle Paul expected much more of mature believers. In Ephesians 4:29 he wrote, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Notice Paul did not say we should not speak about or act on what we believe. Rather, we should do so in a way that is winsome; in a way that plays to more than our affective base; in a way that represent Christ well.

But this is not what most of us do, particularly on social media. More typically, we speak or write as if to those who already believe as they do. By doing so, our posts will receive many more likes, hearts, and shares, but only from those holding similar views…while people who do not agree are only further entrenched in their opinions or otherwise alienated by a particularly strong statement. 

Christians should learn, then, to speak to those beyond our affective base in language, tone, and tenor as to be heard and received. We should learn to ask good questions, shape the narrative, and influence conversations that move people toward one another, toward the church, and ultimately toward Christ, not drive them further away. At any given moment, we should be more interested in winning people to the faith than we are in winning an argument. At any given moment, we should be more interested in helping others own ponds, than concerned that our own ponds will shrink.

Clearly, Americans today are divided along the lines of race, class, and culture as well as religion and politics. Christians, too, are often at odds with one another over these very same things. In all such division, there is a jockeying for preeminence in thought, word, or respect. This is the time, then, to empty ourselves of any lingering pride and pursue paths of peace. Indeed, we should remember that the mission of the church is best fulfilled not through political reform but spiritual reform, not through legislation but transformation, not through coercion but through conversion in seeing others come to know Him as we do.

As a common prayer suggests, and in the spirit of the Easter season, let us seek more to serve than to be served in the days ahead; more to understand than to be understood; and not so much to be praised by others but to humble ourselves for the sake of others...that is, to help others own the pond.

Indeed, this is the way of Jesus. 

This is the gospel of Christ.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho hits out at his critics ahead of Chelsea reunion

Jose Mourinho believes he is held to a different standard to other Premier League managers, including Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.

Manchester United take on Mourinho 's former side Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon looking to close the gap on the top four, while their opponents lead the race for the title.

Bur while Conte has been hailed for the rapid change in fortunes at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho believes he would be criticised for employing a similar style to the Italian, while his record in his first season at United is analysed in a negative way.

The Portuguese pointed to United's strong away record, and League Cup victory, as positives quickly forgotten by his detractors.

He told Sky Sports: "I know that you like to criticise me, so when I was winning titles with Chelsea, you were criticising the style of play. In this moment to be the best counterattacking team in the country is not to be criticised anymore - it is an amazing thing.

"But the reality is the best team is the team that wins more matches and at the end of the season are champions, and obviously we are far from it."

Mourinho added: "It depends on how you analyse it. You could say my record at home is very bad, or my record away from home is very good. You say my home record is very bad.

"You could say I win a trophy in my first season but you forget it too soon."

Mourinho admits that United need to be challenging for titles rather than Champions League qualification, but has outlined five factors that he believes make up a successful first campaign in Manchester.

"For me a good season is to be ready for every match, to fight every match for the best result and to defend Man United prestige," he said. "To play for the fans, for the love they have for the team and for the club to play every match with a great attitude.

"We could have better results but we could also have worse results. The Europa League is one (competition), eight teams can win it and we are one of the eight teams.

"In the Premier League we are not fighting for the title, we are fighting for top four which is an important thing but the nature of this club is to fight for titles and the only title we can win now is the Europa League."

Lexus Previews Lane Valet, A Feature That Eliminates Left Lane Campers

Of all the semi-autonomous features out there, this is by far our favorite.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, the main assumption is that all men are created equal. Any differences in personal rights between one person or another are either swept under the rug or assumed to be due to financial status. Making a play on the latter of the two methods of being better than other people is Lexus, which has introduced a new feature for its vehicles as an April Fool’s day gag. Unfortunately, that means it's not actually something you can buy.

Dubbed Lane Valet, this Lexus feature is likely to become our favorite semi-autonomous feature to have once the autonomous revolution takes place, at least as long as self-driving cars still have the option to let the driver actually drive. The technology is simple. Just drive up behind a left-lane camper on the freeway and push the valet button.

Then, without the need to honk, flash high beams, or even tailgate, the system automatically takes over steering and moves the car in front to the right, clearing up the left lane for liberal use of the right foot. Us gearheads can only dream right? Too bad the technology will not come to fruition anytime soon, but what can be gathered from this spoof is that Lexus wants to make clear that it cares about drivers. Fittingly, it decided to use its upcoming LC grand tourer as the vehicle modeling the tech, giving us time to hear its exotic exhaust rasp and imagine, even if only for a moment, how good it must feel to live out your dreams.

Lates Xbox One Update Puts Microsoft On Direct Competition With Twitch

Microsoft has some big news for Xbox One gamers. The software company has just announced a major software update, bringing new features and bunch of improvements on board. Microsoft made the huge Xbox announcement this week.

According to Engadget, the Redmond-based software company has just released the latest Xbox One software update, bringing some new exciting features on board. The latest Xbox One update centers around a newly upgraded interface that are designed primarily for speed. The newly revamped interface now offers a much faster access to recent apps, background music controls, and game recording.


Some Xbox changes are made with multitasking in mind, these include a brand new achievement tracker and a new Cortana that puts the voice assistant into an overlay that won't make any disruption to the gamers. Additionally, the gameplay has also made more accessible thanks to a Copilot feature that splits controls between controllers, Engadget reported.

But the highlight of the Xbox One update is the new Beam Steaming feature, which allows gamers to broadcast their gaming adventure using Xbox built-in service instead of Twitch. With the Xbox's new gaming broadcasting service, Microsoft is mounting a challenge to Twitch, the undisputed leader in the fast-growing game streaming market.

Fortunately, Microsoft has some slight advantage in the upcoming livestreaming battle with Twitch. The new Beam Streaming service has been built in right into the user's Xbox Live account, which means that Xbox users won't need to load another app or software onto their game console before making their broadcasting.

In other Xbox One-related news, WWE 2K17 is now free to play this week on Xbox gaming console, GameSpot reported. The software giant has just announced a free play weekend for "WWE 2K17." The free play weekend will start on April 3, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Xbox Live Gold members can play "WWE 2K17" as much as they want at no cost.

Playing the free game will not be a problem. The "WWE 2K17" free download will appear in the Gold Member area of the Xbox One dashboard. Xbox One owners can also download the wrestling game directly from the Microsoft Xbox Store.

Grandmothers Can Detect Early Signs Of Autism Owing To Their Close Proximity With The Grandchild

Grandmothers Can Detect Early Signs Of Autism Owing To Their Close Proximity With The Grandchild

One of the most pure forms of relationships in the word is that of a grandchild and his grandparents. Number of studies have shown how children who have their grandparents playing an influential role in their upbringing tend to have an enhanced personality growth.

A recent study published in the journal Autism claims, children with autism who spend a considerable time with their grandmothers, can have their condition diagnosed at an early age.
Commenting on the importance of the finding author of the study Joseph Buxbaum of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York asserted that elderly grandparents have the potential to lower the age of diagnosis which can further set the process of treatment to a sooner pace.

While the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be identified in toddlers at around 2 years of age, in many cases the condition is not diagnosed they are closer to 4.
Younger kids have more adaptable brains than older children, therefore the earlier the condition is diagnosed the better.

An online survey of parents of children with autism as well as some friends and family members was conducted. It was reported that nearly 25 percent of the time another person close to the child noticed signs of autism first. As per the study, on a an average kids were diagnosed with the autistic condition when they were about 40 months old, however in the case of a close association with grandmother and the child, the condition was diagnosed about 5 months sooner.
 Around 50 percent of friends and family suspected something wrong with the child before they were aware that the parents themselves noticed something wary.

People diagnosed with Austism Spectrum disorder face difficulties in their overall social and emotional skills. Repetition of a certain typical behaviour or different ways of paying attention and learning are other common symptoms of ASD. Symptoms can be brought down considerably with early diagnosis and treatment.  For the study researchers examined data from 477 parents of children with autism and from 106 close friends and family members.

In their evaluation of family structure influences at the time of detection they found
that children having no siblings were diagnosed with autism about six months earlier on average than kids with siblings living in the same house at the time of their diagnosis. Another factor that plays the key role is birth order, kids with older siblings tend to get diagnosed about 9 to 10 months sooner than children who only have younger siblings.

27 percent of the time it was the child’s maternal grandmother who first identified the possibility of autism in the child, according to the survey, teachers came close second (24 percent of the cases).All together, grandparents on both sides of the family noticed the potential for autism before parents did about 59 percent of the time.

Admitting  to  the limitations of the study, the author noted that the families weren’t representative of the state’s population, a major chunk of the population was underrepresented in the study, and neither is the study an analysis of the direct impact of grandmothers and teachers on the children at the time of diagnosis,but the findings do indicate toward the pivotal role  that can be played by  close friends and family members. Parents need to open up to the concerns foreshadowed by their close relatives, friends and their own parents.

April Fools Day 2017 - The Best & Worst Pranks

April Fools Day 2017 - The Best & Worst Pranks

April 1st — a day colloquially known as “April Fools’ Day” or “the worst holiday ever” — isn’t even until tomorrow, but because the month of April starts on a Saturday this year, all the #brands are already out in force to pollute the internet celebrate the occasion with a bunch of tiresome fun pranks meant to thirstily self-promote their products bring some levity into our day-to-day lives.

So, as is tradition, we’ve rounded up the best goofs, gags, and gimmicks from around the web as we enjoy the antics of the various internet companies. And remember — if you see something tomorrow (or today, even though it’s still not even April Fools’ yet!) that sounds a little bizarre, strange, or too good to be true, it might be worth a second glance.

We’ll continue to keep this list updated through the day(s) as more clever (or “clever”) jokes emerge.

GOOGLE

Google tends to have a ton of (oddly functional) April Fools’ jokes, so for the sake of this list, I’m only including one for now. The rest can be found on their own dedicated roundup, so that other companies can get a chance to be included.

Of all Google’s pranks this year, the conversion of Google Maps into a functional game of Ms. Pac-Man is probably the best of them, if only because Ms. Pac-Man is a fantastic game. That said, Google did do this exact same thing with regular Pac-Man two years ago, so it’s possible the company might be running out of ideas.

T-MOBILE

T-Mobile’s April Fools’ joke was the T-Mobile ONEsie — because its latest plan is called T-Mobile One and onesies allow for a semi-clever portmanteau and okay you get it. The company claims that the Onesie is a full-body wearable packed with a variety of dubious tech, including thermal charging, nanofibers, and fitness tracking, which is obviously nonsense. I’m also deducting points for the entire concept, since Microsoft beat them to the One / onesie joke by a couple of months. Still, T-Mobile is actually selling the things for $40 each (sans-fictional tech, of course), should a bright magenta T-Mobile onesie be something you desire in your life.

HULU

Hulu’s April Fools’ gimmick is an alleged new service called “Hu,” which promises “TV abbreviated” by cutting down shows to just eight seconds to better match people’s shortened attention spans. To that end, the company has actually put together several playlists on both its own site and YouTube (for non-subscribers) of dramatically shortened episodes of Seinfeld, Black Sails, The Mindy Project, Empire, and others to show off the idea.

MASTER & DYNAMIC

Master & Dynamic is best known for it’s premium metal and leather headphones, and for its bit of April humor the company teased a pair of its MH40 Wireless On-Ear model made entirely out of concrete. Weighing in at a purported 10.6 pounds, the concrete cans are probably infeasible for, you know, wearing. Also, like everything else on this list, they’re not real.

LYFT

Lyft made a very weird decision this April Fools’ Day by announcing a wacky, Power Glove style gadget to summon rides by raising your hand in the air, but also made them actual, real devices that are fully functional? So, not sure this is actually a “prank,” per-say. For more info, see my colleague Andrew Hawkins, who tried it out for himself.

NETFLIX

Netflix’s marking of the day took the form of “Netflix Live,” a remarkably peaceful video of Will Arnett narrating ordinary objects. Is it a joke? Deeper satire on live video trends? Who can say. Fellow Verge reporter Megan Farokhmanesh has the full details if you’d like to know more.

REDDIT

Reddit’s April Fools’ joke is less of a joke and more of a giant social experiment, similar to last year’s The Button. This year’s project, titled Place, is a large while pixel grid that each user can place a colored pixel on every five minutes. Reddit being Reddit, the grid has quickly been overtaken by a number of semi-religious cults and several crudely drawn images of genitalia, as the site’s community once again illustrates why we can’t have nice things.

DUOLINGO

The language learning site has made a special course for April Fools’, teaching not German or Spanish but Emoji, which might be helpful for adults trying to understand teens. And there actually is a flash card set to help you learn, so that’s something.

AMAZON

Amazon has an Alexa-themed joke for the day, with a new “Petlexa” integration, that purports to make your Echo capable of understanding queries from your pets. It mostly just consists of this video, since Amazon (understandably) didn’t build a functional version of this.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Not every joke is a winner. But we’ve collected a few that didn’t quite make the cut here anyway as a service to you, our dear readers, in case you’d like to verify that for yourselves.

The Triwa YNGVE DIY watch, which is modeled off Ikea and irritatingly not real.
Yo, the world’s most useless social media app, rose from the grave with a spark of wit to “announce” a mock “Yo Stories” feature.
Roku SnackSuggest, a mock Roku channel that suggests food to go with your content.
iFixit, with a fake Micro Tech Toolkit featuring even smaller tools for opening up your even smaller gadgets.
The Harambed — “the bed of your memes” — from Lucid Mattress. Stop. Just stop.

Conn. Girl Wins National Google Doodle Contest

Conn. Girl Wins National Google Doodle Contest

Chosen from among about 4,200 entries, a Connecticut teenager's doodle went up on Google Friday afternoon.

Sarah Harrison, of Stratford, won the national Doodle 4 Google contest with her illustrated vision of acceptance and respect.

Inspired by the prompt, "What I see for the future ..." Sarah, 15, drew kids of various skin hues lined up with arms over each others' shoulders. Six of the eight wear T-shirts that together spell "Google," with religious and other symbols promoting equality and tolerance substituted for letters. The drawing also includes a child in a wheelchair and another holding a cane.

"My future is a world where we can all learn to love each other despite our religion, gender, race, ethnicity, or sexuality," Sarah said. "I dream of a future where everyone is safe and accepted wherever they go, whoever they are."

Ultimately, Sarah's doodle captured the best of everything we saw, representing values like diversity, inclusion and respect in an inspiring and creative image," Google's head of external affairs, William Floyd, said.

The Bunnell High School sophomore had traveled to California with her family as a finalist. On Friday, she received a $30,000 college scholarship, and her doodle was to be showcased on the homepage through Saturday at 3 a.m. Sarah also will have the chance to work with the Doodle team at the Googleplex in Mountain View.

Google regularly updates the logo on the company home page to mark holidays, anniversaries and other notable events. A team of illustrators has created about 2,000 Google doodles since 1998, according to the company.

Sarah said her inspiration was the many divisions among people around the globe.

"When I started, I was thinking of how there's a lot of animosity toward diverse communities of people in the world right now," she said. "So I wanted to draw something that I hoped would show that we can all get along well, and that it's possible for us to be happy with each other."

The celebration was on at Bunnell High School, which is to receive a $50,000 Google for Education grant to advance STEM education.

"The email is blowing up; the phone is blowing up," school Principal Nancy Dowling said.

Dowling said she and some staff members celebrated after seeing Sarah's win announced at 1 p.m., but she could not tell students until 1:30 p.m. because testing was in progress.

"This could not happen to a nicer young woman/artist and her family," she said.

The Doodle 4 Google competition gives K-12 students across the country the opportunity to have their artwork featured on the Google homepage. This year, a panel of judges, including Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, selected the winners from the 50 states and three territories. Public voting over the course of two weeks then determined national finalists.

Google was the most visited website in the world in 2016, according to web traffic data and analytic company Alexa Internet Inc.

A HOSPITAL in Lincolnshire his understood to have been evacuated this morning after a ‘major incident’ broke out on site. Emergency services were called to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston shortly before 6am this morning. Fire crews sent eight vehicles to the scene. A fire broke out at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincs, this morning All day case appointments and elective operations have been cancelled for the day Posting on Twitter this morning, the hospital said that due to a fire “day case appointments and elective operations have been cancelled today”. According to Licolnshire Police, who are also at the scene, the fire was reported at 6.15am today and appears to have started on the 9thfloor of the hospital Cops say early indications are it could have been caused by a kitchen microwave.

A HOSPITAL in Lincolnshire his understood to have been evacuated this morning after a ‘major incident’ broke out on site.

Emergency services were called to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston shortly before 6am this morning.

Fire crews sent eight vehicles to the scene.

A fire broke out at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincs, this morning

All day case appointments and elective operations have been cancelled for the day

Posting on Twitter this morning, the hospital said that due to a fire “day case appointments and elective operations have been cancelled today”.

According to Licolnshire Police, who are also at the scene, the fire was reported at 6.15am today and appears to have started on the 9thfloor of the hospital

Cops say early indications are it could have been caused by a kitchen microwave.

The Trump administration won't ban a common pesticide used on food, reversing efforts by the Obama administration to bar the chemical based on findings it could hinder development of children's brains.

In announcing the decision late Wednesday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said that by not banning chlorpyrifos, he was providing "regulatory certainty" to thousands of American farmers that rely on the pesticide.

"By reversing the previous administration's steps to ban one of the most widely used pesticides in the world, we are returning to using sound science in decision-making — rather than predetermined results," Pruitt said Wednesday.

In approving the continued use of chlorpyrifos on citrus fruits, apples, cherries and other crops, Pruitt is overriding the scientific findings of his own agency's experts. Pruitt, a Republican lawyer who took the lead at EPA last month, gave no indication of what process he used to determine chlorpyrifos is safe.

Environmental groups accused Pruitt of putting the profits of big business over public safety.

"EPA's refusal to ban this dangerous pesticide is unconscionable," said Patti Goldman, an attorney at Earthjustice. "EPA is defying its legal obligation to protect children from unsafe pesticides."

Goldman said her group will seek a court to order to countermand Pruitt's decision.

First developed as a chemical weapon prior to World War II, chlorpyrifos has been sold as a pesticide since 1965 and has been blamed for sickening dozens of farmworkers in recent years. Traces have been found in waterways, threatening fish, and experts say overuse could make targeted insects immune to the pesticide.

U.S. farms use more than 6 million pounds of the chemical each year — about 25 percent of it in California.

Under pressure from federal regulators over safety concerns, Dow withdrew chlorpyrifos for use as a home insecticide in 2000. EPA also placed "no-spray" buffer zones around sensitive sites, such as schools, in 2012.

But environmental and public health groups said those proposals don't go far enough and filed a federal lawsuit seeking a national ban on the pesticide.

In October 2015, the Obama administration proposed revoking the pesticide's use in response to a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council and Pesticide Action Network North America.

EPA's subsequent findings relied on three, peer-reviewed human health studies indicating that even minuscule amounts of chlorpyrifos, sold by Dow Chemical, can interfere with brain development of fetuses, infants and children.

"There is a breadth of information available on the potential adverse neurodevelopmental effects in infants and children as a result of prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos," said a risk assessment memo issued in November by nine EPA scientists.

The EPA said then that its analysis did not suggest risks from residual exposure to chlorpyrifos in food. But when those exposures are combined with estimated exposure from drinking water in certain watersheds, "EPA cannot conclude that the risk from aggregate exposure meets the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act safety standard," it said.

Now under new management, the EPA said Wednesday that the previous administration's proposal relied on a study "whose application is novel and uncertain, to reach its conclusions."

"The public record lays out serious scientific concerns and substantive process gaps in the proposal," the agency said. "Reliable data, overwhelming in both quantity and quality, contradicts the reliance on — and misapplication of — studies to establish the end points and conclusions used to rationalize the proposal."

The Dow Chemical subsidiary that sells chlorpyrifos quickly issued a statement praising Pruitt's decision.

"Dow AgroSciences remains confident that authorized uses of chlorpyrifos products offer wide margins of protection for human health and safety," the company said in a statement.