Passion to 22,000 Students: Be Free, Fully Alive in Jesus
People want to be here. That’s the sense you get when you come to the Passion 2011 conference that opened Saturday, New Year’s Day, with 22,000 students.

Beth Moore: Control Your Mind, Focus on ‘One Thing’

American Churches Begin 2011 with Prayer, Fasting

Atheists Declare Religions as ‘Scams’ in New Ad

Global Church Body Condemns ‘Vicious Attack’ in Egypt

Islamic Extremists Protest Efforts to Change Blasphemy Laws and Free Christian

Louie Giglio Surprises Passion Crowd with Haitian Family
Attendees of the Passion conference on Sunday heard about a family that survived the Haiti earthquake that destroyed their home and killed two family members. What the crowd did not expect was to see them walk out on stage.

Group: Anti-Christian Events of 2010 Point to Christophobia

Indian Pastor Injured in Murder Attempt by Hindu Extremists

Survey: Americans’ Resolutions All About Self

Pope Focuses on Christian Persecution for 2011 World Day of Prayer

Francis Chan Shares Details of Asia Trip at Passion

82 Percent of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan in 2010 Occurred in Provinces Bordering Pakistan
(CNSNews.com) - Eighty-two percent of the U.S. casualties in Afghanistan in 2010 took place in Afghan provinces adjacent to the Pakistan border, a border that a top U.S. military official said last week cannot be sealed.

U.S. Military Leader: It’s ‘Naïve’ to Say U.S. Can Stop Insurgents Coming Into Afghanistan
(CNSNews.com) – “As far as the (Afghan) border itself, you know, I think it’s naive to say that we can stop…forces coming through the border,” Col. Viet Luong said during a teleconference from Afghanistan on Dec. 28. Luong commands a U.S. Army Brigade that’s in charge of 162 miles of the Afghan border.

Obama Administration Expands Role of Homeland Security Department to Secure Borders of Afghanistan
(CNSNews.com) – A DHS spokesperson did not respond to questions about what posts CBP and ICE personnel would be pulled from in the U.S. in order to go to Afghanistan. Nor did the spokesperson say what expertise the Homeland Security Department could provide that NATO and U.S. military forces could not provide.

Republican Congressman: Ban Funding of Obamacare in Every Appropriations Bill This Year
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) says House Republicans should include language that prohibits any funding for implementation of Obamacare in literally every appropriations bill that passes the House of Representatives this year, thus forcing a showdown on the issue with the Democratic majority Senate and President Barack Obama.

George Washington Approved Soldier’s Dismissal for Attempt ‘To Commit Sodomy’ at Valley Forge
(CNSNews.com) - How times have changed: In 1778, at Valley Forge, Gen. George Washington approved the dismissal of a soldier for “attempting to commit sodomy,” with “abhorrence and detestation of such infamous crimes,” according to Washington’s papers at the Library of Congress.

Holder Should ‘Stop Hurting the Administration or Leave,’ Issa Says
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has claimed that Attorney General Eric Holder is “guilty” of not investigating ACORN and of failing to go after WikiLeaks. He should “stop hurting the administration or leave,” Issa said.

Steele Battles Opponents in Fight to Maintain RNC Chairmanship
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Michael Steele spent Monday afternoon doing what he has done for much of the past two years: fending off criticism about his job as chairman of the Republican National Committee. “My record stands for itself,” Steele said during a debate against four other contenders for the RNC chairmanship at the National Press Club. “We won.”

Gallup Poll: Majority of Americans Say Things Will Be Better in 2011, But Not For Me
(CNSNews.com) - According to Gallup, 55 percent of Americans believe their personal financial situation will stay the same in the coming year–or get worse.

Calif. War Memorial Cross Unconstitutional, Court Rules
The Circuit Court’s three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that the memorial cross at Mt. Soledad violates the U.S. Constitution.

Appeals Court Turns to State for Advice in Prop. 8 Case

Pakistan Mourns Slain Governor who Backed Christian

John Piper Gets to the Bottom of Why People Love God

Republicans Vow Vote on Health Care Repeal as Early as Next Week

2 Lesbian Episcopal Clergy Marry on New Year’s

Hoyer Blames Reagan and Bushes for Deficits, Says Policies Did Nothing to Grow Economy
(CNSNews.com) – In his last day as House Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) put much of the blame for America’s growing debt on past Republican administrations: “Ronald Reagan came in and adopted an economic program that created $1.4 trillion in deficits over the next eight years,” he said on Tuesday.

New Regulations Issued in 2010 Cost $28 Billion and Destroyed American Jobs, Republican Lawmaker Says
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to 150 different business trade associations and companies in December asking how new regulations adopted in 2010 had affected the nation’s employers and employment. The Obama administration estimated the cost of 43 major new regulations to be approximately $28 billion — on top of the $1.75 trillion estimated burden of existing regulations.

Pelosi: ‘We Have No Regrets’ About Debt Piled Up Over Last Two Years
(CNSNews.com) – Asked if she regrets not using the last two years with a Democrat-controlled Congress to do more about the national debt, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has “no regrets,” adding that “deficit reduction” has been a “high priority” for the Democratic Congress.

Bullied at School for Being Gay? The U.S. Justice Department ‘Won’t Stand for It,’ High School Students Told
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Justice Department went into a public high school on Tuesday with a message for students: If you’re “different,” if you’re gay, and if you’re being bullied – don’t feel alone, don’t be ashamed, and don’t hesitate to call on the federal government for help if your school doesn’t stop the bullying.

Incoming Majority Leader Doesn’t Rule Out Defense Cuts in Republican-Led House of Representatives
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) would not rule out cuts to the Defense Department budget with Republicans in control of the House. Republicans will focus on national security, he said. “But everybody is going to have to do more with less. That is where the private sector is, that’s where families are, and that’s where this government’s got to be,” he said.

New $1.4 Billion Food Safety Legislation Gives Gov’t Power to Order Recalls, Increase Inspections
(CNSNews.com) – The Food and Drug Administration will have the authority to order recalls of food products, increase inspections, and boost paperwork for food packaging companies under a bill President Obama will sign into law this week. But some see the new law as ineffective government overreach.

U.S. Contains Enough Reserves to Fuel Country for Decades, Petroleum Institute Says
(CNSNews.com) – Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said that if the Obama administration and Congress would allow the industry access to domestic oil and natural gas reserves, the United States would get the energy it needs, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and the government would add more than $1.7 trillion to its coffers.

Homeschooling Community Grows Beyond 2 Million
Over 2 million children are being homeschooled in the United States, a new study finds. “Just 30 years ago there were only an estimated 20,000 homeschooled children.”

Passion Ends with Call to Make Jesus Famous

Family Group: Gay Blog Gives Misleading Information About Chick-fil-A Co-Sponsorship

Human Rights Group Condemns Arrests of Christians in Iran

Iraq Jumps 9 Spots in World’s Worst Persecutors List

Evangelizing Beyond Invitations to a Cool Church Service

White House Defends Obama’s Senate Vote Against Raising Debt Ceiling, but Insists Republicans Must Raise It
Washington (CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration is warning of catastrophic consequences if Congress does not increase the debt ceiling, the legal limit on how much the federal government can borrow, but Barack Obama held a different view on the issue as a senator in 2006. “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure,” Obama said on March 16, 2006.

Federal Agency’s Claims of Jobs Saved by Stimulus Were ‘Unclear and Misleading,’ Says Inspector General
(CNSNews.com) - The Small Business Administration, which was given $730 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to increase the availability of credit to small businesses, is making claims about the number of saved jobs that are “unclear” and “misleading” and which cannot be verified, according to a report issued by the agency’s inspector general.

State Lawmakers Seek Court Fight Over ‘Birthright Citizenship’
(CNSNews.com) – The movement to prevent the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants from automatically becoming American citizens is gaining steam. At the federal level, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would end automatic citizenship for the children of illegal aliens. And a group of state lawmakers on Wednesday announced their intention to do the same thing.

Pelosi: Repealing Obamacare Would Do ‘Very Serious Violence to the National Debt’
(CNSNews.com) – “If everyone in America was very, very pleased with his or her health insurance and had no complaints, and had access to quality affordable health care in our country, it still would have been necessary for us to pass the health-care reform bill because we could not sustain the system,” Pelosi said on Tuesday.

Democrats Who Voted Against Final Passage of Obamacare Urged to Vote for Repeal Legislation
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Conservative groups are urging 13 House Democrats who voted against final passage of the $1 trillion health care overhaul legislation last March to now vote for its repeal. The House will vote on repeal next week.

Republicans Voted Unanimously for John Boehner to be Speaker of the House; 19 Democrats Did Not Vote for Pelosi
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was voted in as speaker of the House by his Republican colleagues on Wednesday, with all 241 Republicans voting in favor of the Ohio legislator and former House minority leader. Only 173 Democrats (out of 192), however, voted for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be minority leader.

Justice Department Forces Hairstyling School to Admit HIV-Positive Student
(CNSNews.com) – A hairstyling school in Puerto Rico has been forced by the Justice Department to offer enrollment to an HIV-positive applicant, pay that person $8,000 in damages, and also pay a $5,000 penalty to the United States as part of the settlement reached in the case.

VIDEO Q&A: Michele Bachmann Discusses the Welfare State, the Debt, Defunding Obamacare, Planned Parenthood, and A Wall at the Border
(CNSNews.com) - When CNSNews.com asked Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-Minn.) last month what she would do about the current fiscal situation if she were president of the United States, Bachmann said she would start by explaining to the American people that we were “standing on a precarious precipice” economically. She also explained where she stands on other issues.

U.S. Alleges Mexican Drug Cartel Rented Apartments in U.S. to Recruit Young Americans
(CNSNews.com) – An assistant U.S. attorney told CNSNews.com that a federal judge will hear a criminal case later this month involving an offshoot of the Tijuana cartel that is believed to be setting up operations in the United States to recruit young Americans for drug trafficking. The case shows that U.S. drug cartels are attempting to extend their operations into the United States.

Reid: Obamacare ‘Is Not Going to Be Repealed’; GOP ‘Should Get a New Lease on Life and Talk About Something Else’
(CNSNews.com) – CNSNews.com asked Reid if he would shut down the government to save the health care law if in fact the House sent the Senate appropriations bills that prohibited funding for implementing the law.

Final Tab for Pelosi’s Speakership: $5.34 Trillion in New Debt—Or $3.66 Billion Per Day
(CNSNews.com) - In the 1,461 days that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) served as speaker of the House, the national debt increased by a total of $5.343 trillion ($5,343,452,800,321.37) or $3.66 billion per day ($3.657,394,113.84), according to official debt numbers published by the U.S. Treasury. Pelosi was the 52nd speaker of the House. During her tenure, she amassed more debt than the first 49 speakers combined.

Report: No More Candy in Safe-Sex Kits for Students
(CNSNews.com) – An AIDS services group is removing candy from safe-sex kits distributed to high school students in Swanzey, N.H. The kits also contained condoms and “fruit-flavored lubricant,” the New Hampshire Union-Leader reported. Outraged parents complained after the kits were made available to students in December as part of a World AIDS Day presentation.

Artichoke-Eating Instructions and Electrolysis for Convicted Killer among ‘Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2010’
(CNSNews.com) – A lawsuit against a restaurant for failing to offer artichoke-eating instructions and a convicted killer’s lawsuit to receive electrolysis as part of a state-funded sex change are among the top five Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2010 compiled by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. The lawsuit-abuse campaign was launched by ILR to raise public awareness about the impact that abusive lawsuits have on small businesses, communities, and individuals.

Rep. West: ‘The American People are Not ‘Up’ For the Bureaucratic State’
Washington (CNSNews.com) – In his first interview after being sworn in as a U.S. congressman, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) told CNSNews.com on Wednesday he would support defunding Obamacare in the manner proposed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) — by specifically prohibiting any of the money contained within appropriations bills from being used to fund Obamacare.

GOP Reps. Fitzpatrick, Dold Won’t Say if They Support Defunding Health Care Law
(CNSNews.com) – Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Robert Dold (R-Ill.) have not committed to defunding the health care law by putting specific defunding language in every appropriations bill the House passes, as proposed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

Ted Haggard Recommends Documentary of His ‘Resurrection Story’
One would expect that the title of a new documentary, “Ted Haggard: Scandalous,” is enough to make the former head of the National Association of Evangelicals cringe but instead Ted Haggard said the special helps tell his “resurrection story.”

Bible Believers Can’t Shake Intolerant Image, Says Atheist

ECFA Forms Commission in Wake of Prosperity Probe

Hagee Says Dividing Israel Is Not God’s Will; Evangelicals Disagree

NH Supreme Court Hears Homeschool Case

Video Contest Asks Youths: Is Lifelong Marriage Possible?

2 More Christians Killed in Baghdad
Iraq’s Christian minority took another hit Sunday evening when gunmen shot and killed an elderly Christian couple in their home.

Prop. 8 Appeal Goes Before Federal Court

Pakistan Minister Condemns Reward for Killing Christian Woman

Colson: Prison Rate Up Due to Moral Breakdown

WCC Head, Pope Benedict Discuss Church Unity

Somali Teenage Girl Shot to Death for Embracing Christ

Veterinarian’s Oath Is Revised to Stress the Importance of Animal Welfare
(CNSNews.com) – Apparently feeling pressure from animal rights advocates within its ranks, the American Veterinary Medical Association has revised the oath taken by graduates of U.S. veterinary schools. “From today forward, every graduate entering our profession will swear an oath not only to protect animal health but also welfare; to not only relieve animal suffering but to prevent it,” said the incoming chair of AVMA’s Animal Welfare Committee.

Threats, Protests Surround Pakistani Christian Woman Convicted of ‘Blaspheming’ Mohammed
(CNSNews.com) – Thousands of Islamists gathered in the Pakistani capital on Sunday, warning the government not to touch the country’s blasphemy laws or to pardon a Christian woman on death row for allegedly blaspheming Mohammed. The case of Asia Bibi has triggered considerable debate in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan, where the federal government has been unwilling or unable to confront hard-line elements such as the fundamentalist cleric who has offered a reward to anyone who murders her.

As Nobel Ceremony Looms, Calls Grow for China to Free Peace Prize Winner
(CNSNews.com) – Ahead of this week’s Nobel peace prize award ceremony, supporters of this year’s winner, imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, held demonstrations in Hong Kong and elsewhere on Sunday calling for his release. Beijing is urging countries to boycott Friday’s ceremony and refusing to allow Chinese citizens associated with Liu to travel to Oslo.

Ban on Homosexuals in Military Should Not Be Overturned in Wartime, Say Three of Five Service Chiefs
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Given the U.S. involvement in the Afghanistan war, this is not the right time to repeal the law that bans homosexuals from serving in the military, Army, Air Force, and Marine chiefs told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday. At the same time, heads of the Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, while expressing concerns about possible backlash, joined the vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs in telling the Senate panel that Congress should move to repeal the law.

Pence, DeMint Push for Permanent Extension of Bush Tax Rates
(CNSNews.com) – Both conservative lawmakers said raising taxes on any American during a recession is bad economic policy.

YouTube Removes, Then Puts Age Restrictrition on Video of Ants Swarming Over Jesus
(CNSNews.com) – YouTube first removed and then reposted with age restrictions a differently edited version of the same video featuring ants crawling over the image Jesus that was removed last week from an exhibition at the federally funded National Portrait Gallery, a museum of the Smithsonian.

Michele Bachmann: Jesus Had a Right to Life from the Moment of Conception
(CNSNews.com) - In response to a question from CNSNews.com, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-Minn.) said that Jesus Christ had a right to life from the moment of conception and that all human beings deserve legal protection from the moment of conception.

Prop. 8 Debate Heard in Appeals Court
Proponents on Monday argued before a panel of federal judges that heterosexual marriage is an age-old institution that is vital to society.

Pro-Christian Message Shadows Atheist Ads in Texas

Study Measures Effect of Family Acceptance on Gay Teens

Group Threatens Suit Over Graduation at Georgia Megachurch

Attorneys Wrestle for Halt on Embryonic Stem Cell Funding

Iraqi Christian Survivor in France: I Don’t Want to Go Back

Number of Black Farmers Getting Payments in USDA Discrimination Settlement Tough to Determine, Attorneys Say
(CNSNews.com) – The number of African-American farmers claiming a portion of a $1.25-billion government settlement for alleged discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is almost impossible to determine at this point, said attorneys representing the second batch of complainants in the Pigford II case. “We’ve already paid out compensation to 16,000, and now we’re giving out $1.15 billion to an additional 94,000 claimants — there is obvious fraud here that can’t be accounted for,” Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) told CNSNews.com.

Medicare Director Who Said Health-Care Systems ‘Must’ Redistribute Wealth Says He’s Happy With Obamacare
(CNSNews.com) – “I don’t think I’ve seen a law with more help in it, more sense of responsibility than the Affordable Care Act–not in my time,” Dr. Donald Berwick told CNSNews.com in response to a question about whether Obamcare does enough to redistribute wealth. Berwick was recess-appointed as director of the Medicare system by President Obama without a Senate confirmation vote.

Upton’s Web Site Does Not Mention His Efforts Against Incandescent Light Bulb
(CNSNews.com) – Typing the words “light bulb,” “lighting efficiency,” and “incandescent” into the search box of Rep. Fred Upton’s official Web site produces no results. That’s undoubtedly the way the Michigan Republican wants it. His support for an amendment leading to the phase-out of the incandescent light bulb is one of the reasons Upton faces conservative opposition in his bid to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and now he’s quoted as saying he’d be willing to undo that law — if he gets the committee chairmanship.

Rep. Michele Bachmann: De-Fund Planned Parenthood
(CNSNews.com) – “Well, I think one thing that we can do, quite simply, is to withhold funding from Planned Parenthood,” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said when asked by CNSNews.com what practical steps she believed the in-coming House majority could take to protect unborn babies.
“It wouldn’t mean that Planned Parenthood would go out of existence, because they do have their own independent funding, but what it would mean is that the taxpayer would no longer be funding that,” said Bachmann.

Obama’s Claims About Auto Jobs Conflict with Some Government Data
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama and administration officials recently have boasted that their policies have revived the U.S. auto industry, but some of the supposed job growth is suspect, based on a government report last summer that said dealership losings put “tens of thousands” of workers’s jobs in immediate jeopardy.

U.N. Human Rights Chief to Skip Nobel Ceremony; Accused of Caving In to China
(CNSNews.com) - When the Nobel Committee awards its peace prize to an imprisoned Chinese dissident on Friday in Oslo, the U.N.’s top human rights official will not be there. Instead, Navi Pillay plans to deliver an address in Geneva at an annual event marking Human Rights Day.

Iran Will Lead Developing Nation Bloc at U.N. Nuclear Agency
(CNSNews.com) – Iran was handed another U.N. leadership position on Monday, when its ambassador in Vienna was appointed chairman of the group of developing nations interacting with U.N. agencies including the nuclear watchdog. As CNSNews has reported, Iran holds a number of leadership posts on various U.N. bodies, despite efforts by the U.S. and its allies to isolate it over its suspect nuclear activities.

Obama Administration Flip-Flops on Offshore Oil Drilling Expansion
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration has reversed itself on offshore oil drilling, rescinding an expansion of the areas that are open to offshore oil and gas development. The administration cited the Deepwater oil spill in its rationale for the change of course. Salazar said in a statement that the government needed more time to draft more regulations.

U.S. Postal Service Accrued Record Loss of $8.5 Billion in Fiscal 2010, GAO Says
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Postal Service accrued a record loss of $8.5 billion in fiscal year 2010, up $4.7 billion from 2009, highlighting financial pressures that are not expected to improve in 2011 or in the “foreseeable future,” according to the Government Accountability Office. The loss was mainly driven by a congressionally mandated retiree health benefits payment and a drop in mail volume.

NYC Taxi Drivers Urged to Use Racial Profiling in Passenger Pickups
(CNSNews.com) - Following an attack on a New York taxi driver, the head of the city’s taxi-drivers’ union is urging cabbies to “profile your passengers; it’s very important.”

Reality Show on Sex Industry and Jesus Christ to Premiere
A former sex trafficked teen, prostitute, call girl and stripper is starring in a new reality show about helping prostitutes on the street and bringing them to Jesus Christ.

Evangelical, Catholic Leaders Call for Approval of New START

Christians Must Not Forget Jailed Pakistani Woman, Says Ministry

Wachovia Bank Allows Christmas Trees in Branch Offices

Pro-Life Protesters Greet Late-Term Abortionist at New Clinic

Iran High Court Urged to Reverse Death Sentence for Christian

Meese: Southern Poverty Law Center ‘Despicable’ for Naming Conservative Organizations ‘Hate Groups’
(CNSNews.com) – Former Attorney General Edwin Meese says it is “despicable” for the Southern Poverty Law Center to classify the Family Research Council and a dozen other top conservative organizations as “hate groups” similar to the Ku Klux Klan. “I know the groups very well, I’ve worked with them over the years, and I think it actually undermines the credibility of the Southern Poverty Law Center to make such a statement,” Meese said.

USDA Denies Discrimination against Black Farmers But Pays Out $1.25 Billion Anyway
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture denied allegations that it discriminated against African-American farmers as detailed in a class-action lawsuit the farmers brought against the department, but the USDA has nonetheless agreed to pay those farmers $1.25 billion as part of a settlement agreement. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said the denial of discrimination seems exceptional, given the amount of taxpayer money that will be paid through the settlement.

Despite Conservatives’ Objections, Rep. Upton Will Chair Next Energy and Commerce Committee
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has been criticized by some Republicans for authoring a measure that will do away with the incandescent light bulb. On Tuesday, he said he looks forward to working with House Republican leaders “as we repeal Obamacare, fight rampant job-killing regulations, cut spending, and help put folks back to work.”

DeMint: GOP Will Filibuster DREAM Act Until Taxes and Government Funding Settled
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said on Tuesday that Republicans would filibuster a bill designed to grant legal status to illegal immigrants who either attend college or serve in the military. DeMint said that he and his colleagues are united in their opposition to the bill, known as the DREAM Act, and any other proposals that may be brought to the floor before taxes and government funding are agreed upon.

Fiscal Conservatives Say ‘No Deal’ to Obama-GOP Tax Compromise
(CNSNews.com) – A conservative public policy group says the bipartisan tax deal that President Obama has defended and liberals have denounced is “bad policy, bad politics, and a bad deal for the American people.”

Obama Defends Compromise to Skeptical Democrats, As Some See ‘Second Stimulus’
Washington (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama on Tuesday scolded his fellow Democrats for criticizing his compromise on taxes, and he accused Republicans of holding middle-class tax cuts hostage. Some conservatives, however, say President Obama has managed to get Republicans to agree to a second stimulus package, to the tune of $900 billion.

China Declares Christian ‘House Churches’ a ‘Cult,’ Advocacy Group Reports
(CNSNews.com) – China reportedly has launched a new crackdown on “house churches,” Protestant congregations that do not belong to the country’s state-sanctioned, “patriotic” church organization. “A long ‘blacklist’ of church leaders and influential believers reportedly has been drawn up,” said the China Aid Association (CAA), a U.S.-based group that advocates for Chinese Christians.

Retiring GOP Senator on Prospect of Financial Meltdown: ‘I Think We Are on the Edge of It Right Now’
(CNSNews.com) – Retiring Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) told CNSNews.com in a videotaped interview on Monday that he believes America is teetering on the edge of a financial meltdown and the policymakers in Washington must immediately work on policies to avert it.

IEDs Being Used Against Stable Governments Worldwide, Says Top U.S. Military Official
(CNSNews.com) - The homemade bombs known as improvised explosive devices are a threat to the world, not just to Afghanistan and Iraq where they are widely used against troops fighting terrorists, said Lt. Gen. Michael Oates, director of the U.S. Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). “We track about three- to four-hundred incidents a month occurring outside of Iraq and Afghanistan, where people are using Improvised Explosive Devices against law enforcement or against military security forces,” he said.

Iran’s Gulf Neighbors Stress ‘Peaceful’ Settlement of Nuclear Issue After WikiLeaks Disclosures
(CNSNews.com) – Iran’s Arab neighbors used a summit in Abu Dhabi this week to reiterate the need for a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear standoff, after recently leaked U.S. diplomatic cables revealed a deep distrust of Tehran among Gulf states. A communiqué released Tuesday by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council voiced “great concern” about the nuclear issue, but urged Iran to respond to international efforts to resolve the crisis “through peaceful means.”

Incoming Chair of House Foreign Affairs Committee Wants to Isolate Enemies, Make U.N. Accountable
(CNSNews.com) – The incoming Republican chairwoman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday identified U.S. funding of the United Nations as a target. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican ,also has her sights set on the administration’s budgets for the State Department and foreign aid. The comments are likely to chill those who support the Obama administration’s policy of diplomatic engagement.

Obama Signs Bill Settling Black Farmers’ Discrimination Claims Amid Calls for Congressional Probe
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a bill awarding more than a billion dollars to African American farmers to settle claims that the U.S. Agriculture Department discriminated against them. “Here in America, we believe that all of us are equal and that each of us deserves the chance to pursue our own version of happiness,” Obama said at the bill-signing. “I think all of us understand that we haven’t always lived up to those ideals.” Critics say the deal  has morphed into reparations.

Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Arizona Immigration Law, This One Signed by Former Gov. Janet Napolitano
(CNSNews.com) – Arizona’s Gov. Jan Brewer came to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to hear arguments on an Arizona immigration law signed in 2007 by then-Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. Both governors signed laws that the Obama administration opposes. Gov. Brewer told CNSNews.com that the “moccasin” is on the other foot now that Napolitano is President Obama’s Homeland Security Secretary.

Obama Economic Advisor Says Keeping Taxes Low Spurs Economic Growth, Leads to More Tax Revenue
Washington (CNSNews.com) – In an unusual argument from a Democratic administration, the director of President Obama’s National Economic Council, Larry Summers, contended Wednesday that a deal with Congressional leaders to keep taxes low for another two years will not only jumpstart the economy but increase government revenue in the long run. Summers said failure to pass the legislation – criticized by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress – could significantly increase the likelihood of a double-dip recession.

GOP Senator DeMint Opposes Current Tax Compromise
(CNSNews.com) – Republican Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) opposes the tax rate/unemployment benefits deal negotiated between Republican lawmakers and the White House “as currently structured,” because it includes huge new deficit spending and death tax hikes on small businesses that would kill hundreds of thousands of jobs,” spokesman Wesley Denton told CNSNews.com.

Inhofe: Playing Up China’s Green Energy Status Is ‘Pretext for Imposing Statist Vision on American Economy’
(CNSNews.com) – A report released by Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee details how little China relies on green energy, and it says the notion that China has an exemplary clean-energy record is being pushed as a pretext for more top-down control over the U.S. economy. “The lament that America is losing the ‘clean energy race’ to China is a mere pretext for imposing that statist vision on the American economy,” Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said.

Retiring Sen. Voinovich On Deficit And Tax Issues: ‘Blow Up The Place’
(CNSNews.com) - When asked about the White House deficit commission’s report, retiring GOP Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) offered his own recommendation on taxes and spending. “Well, I think we have to blow up the place. There’s a big debate going on right now and most people want to work an agreement, they’re going to extend it [the Bush tax cuts], some deal will be made,” said Voinovich.

Conyers, ACLU Claim Obama Furthering Bush Legacy of Executive Branch Power Grab, Military Expansion
(CNSNews.com) – House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), echoing others who testified on Thursday, said both the Bush and Obama administrations represent an “imperial presidency.” Obama, Conyers said, has broken his promises to shut down Guantanamo, end military operations abroad, and has continued to expand the power of the executive branch. Conyers said the Obama administration continues to use executive privilege as strategy for national security at the cost of Americans’ civil rights.

Gallup Poll: Obama’s Approval Hits All-Time Low With Liberals
(CNSNews.com) – For the week of November 29 to December 5, Obama’s approval rating was 70 percent among liberals, says Gallup. Although that was far higher than Obama’s overall approval rating of 46 percent, it was still the lowest of his presidency among liberals.

Clinton Promises ‘Review’ of Procedures After TSA Pat-down of Indian Envoy Causes Stir
(CNSNews.com) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday the administration would be “reviewing the policies” after an airport pat-down of India’s ambassador to the U.S. – who was wearing a traditional sari — brought a rebuke from New Delhi. India’s external affairs minister called for an apology, telling reporters at parliament in New Delhi Thursday that the incident was “unacceptable to India.”

Homeland Security Secretary: ‘Homegrown Terrorist Activity’ Connected With Al-Qaeda ‘Increasing’
(CNSNews.com) – “My assessment is that the threat environment now is increasingly active and that it is not restricted to plots that are hatched overseas and then flown into the United States but that it also now includes an increasing amount of hometown or homegrown terrorist activity, particularly by individuals who have become radicalized and associated with Al Qaeda or Islamist terrorism beliefs and techniques and tactics,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

USDA Employees Guilty of Discrimination Should Be Disciplined, Plaintiffs’ Attorney Says
(CNSNews.com) – “I think anybody who violates the rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture and the laws should be subject to some form of discipline,” David J. Frantz, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told CNSNews.com.

GOP-Obama-Tax-Deal Bill Is Posted Online; Cloture Vote Could Come Within 48 Hours
(CNSNews.com) – A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) says that compromise tax legislation worked out between President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders will be posted online on Thursday evening, and a cloture vote on the bill could be taken in the Senate as early as Saturday — 48 hours after the bill’s posting. In their Pledge to America, released prior to the 2010 mid-term election, House Republicans promised to post bills online at least three days prior to a vote.

Boehner: Timing of Tax Vote Up to Pelosi, But She Should Post Final Bill for Three Days
(CNSNews.com) - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), the next Speaker of the House, says it is up to current Speaker Nancy Pelosi to decide when the House will vote on legislation dealing with the Bush-era tax rates. Boehner said Pelosi should give members of Congress and the American people three days to read the final bill.

Defense Bill Includes Authorization for Abortions by Military Personnel
(CNSNews.com) – The Defense Department funding bill that failed to pass the Senate on Thursday not only includes a provision repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” it also would end a decades-long ban on military personnel performing abortions in military-run hospitals and facilities.

Hamas Leader Urges Resumption of Terror As Obama’s Peace Initiative Founders
(CNSNews.com) – As the Obama administration’s Mideast peace initiative crumbles, Hamas is calling on all Palestinian factions, including its Fatah rival, to resume an armed campaign aimed at seizing control over all of what it terms “historic Palestine.” The call to arms came amid uncertainty over the future of the “direct talks” launched with great fanfare by the Obama administration in early September.

Rep. Mike Pence: ‘Of Course’ Jesus Had Right To Life From Moment of Conception
(CNSNews.com) – At the lighting ceremony for the Capitol Christmas Tree on Tuesday, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said that Jesus Christ had the right to life from the moment of conception.

Iraqi Christians Remember Church Siege Victims, 40 Days Later
Iraqi Christians gathered in Our Lady of Salvation church Friday morning to remember the dozens of worshippers who died there 40 days ago. The morning mass followed an evening of prayers.

Republicans Block Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal from Floor Vote

DREAM Act Moves to Senate amid Some Opposition

Christians Submit Revised Manhattan Declaration App to Apple

Robert Park: Kim Jong-il’s Regime Is Disturbed by Me

Evangelical Politics Are Too Partisan, Say Authors

Global Church Leader Urges Koreas to Refrain from Use of Force
The United States and South Korea began naval exercises off the west coast of the peninsula Sunday to send a clear message to North Korea that its aggressive actions must stop.

Pakistan Gov’t Barred from Pardoning Christian on Death Row

2 Healthy Churches Merge for Bigger Impact in Ariz.

Religion Debate Pits Blair Against Hitchens

Don’t Do Christmas on Credit, Debt Charity Warns

Iraq Arrests 12 Suspected in Deadly Church Siege

Leak of State Dept Cables Could Impact Friends and Allies Around the World, White House Says
(CNSNews.com) – Sunday’s release by WikiLeaks of classified U.S. State Department cables provides a glimpse into the world where views are delivered directly and sometimes bluntly, far removed from bland diplomatic statements reserved for the cameras. The cables reveal frank evaluations of a range of issues and political leaders, offered not just by American officials but also by their foreign interlocutors speaking on the assumption of confidentiality.

Raising the Social Security Retirement Age Might Shift Older Workers Onto Disability Rolls, Report Says
(CNSNews.com) – Improvements in life expectancy have led to proposals to raise the earliest eligibility age for Social Security retirement benefits above 62, the full retirement age above 67, or both. But a recent government report found a downside to raising the retirement ages.

South Korea Warns North Korea of Retaliation As Naval Exercises Begin
(CNSNews.com) – South Korean President Lee Myun-bak on Monday vowed strong retaliation against the Stalinist state in the event of any further provocation. He spoke a day after the United States and South Korea launched a four-day joint naval exercise in the Yellow Sea. , the body of water located between China and the west coast of the Korean peninsula. China has complained about the U.S. Navy movements in its “exclusive economic zone.”

Alleged Christmas Tree Bomber Said He Wanted to Kill Americans While ‘They Were With Their Families Celebrating the Holidays,’ Says Affidavit
(CNSNews.com) - Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a 19-year-old Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen, allegedly made the statement in a video- and audio-taped conversation he had with two undercover FBI agents on Aug. 19 of this year in a Portland, Ore., hotel room.

Security Situation Seen as ‘Bad’ by One in Five Afghans; 80 Percent Say Corruption Affects Daily Life
(CNSNews.com) – “The number of Afghans rating their security situation as ‘bad’ is the highest since the nationwide survey began in September 2008,” the report stated. “This downward trend in security perception is likely due to the steady increase in total violence over the past nine months.”

Tea Party May Target Major Companies That Back Obama Agenda, Poll Shows
(CNSNews.com) – The results of the survey led the pollster to conclude that Tea Partiers could “realistically” lead a boycott of such companies.

Obama’s Agriculture Dept. Has Hired Consulting Firm to Advise It on ‘Diversity
(CNSNews.com) – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has “taken a number of actions to make his department more sensitive to civil rights issues,” The Hill newspaper reported on Monday.

Bush, Warren: It’s Not About You
Former President George W. Bush revealed on Monday that during his eight-year term, he had in tow the same words of wisdom that Pastor Rick Warren may be famous for: It’s not about you.

Catholic Bishops Back House Resolution to Protect Iraq’s Christians

Survey: Evangelicals Go Against the Tide on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Family Group Blasts Holiday Gift Certificates for Abortion

Man Without Limbs: Live Without Limits

Survey: 1 in 20 Christians Cite Accountability in Church

Mother of 13 Urges Adoption of HIV-Positive Children
Carolyn Twietmeyer, a suburban mother of 13 children – including six from Africa – has a message she wants to say on World AIDS Day: adopt HIV-positive kids.

Faith Leaders Back DREAM Act for Undocumented Youth

Christian Charity in India Educates Public on HIV and AIDS

Televangelist Admits Affair on TV

Christian Columnist: We’ve Won the War on Christmas

Pro-Family Groups Fight Against ‘Hate Group’ Label

Prison Ministry: Spiritual Revival Happening in Women’s Facilities
For unexplainable reasons, other than the Holy Spirit, women inmates are attending Bible meetings and coming to Christ like never before, a prison ministry reported.

Conservatives Warn: DADT Repeal Likely to Hurt Morale, Recruitment

Apple Urged to Restore Manhattan Declaration App

Kay Warren on HIV/AIDS: God Broke My Heart, Wiped Me Out

Poll: ‘Very Religious’ Americans Have Better Emotional Health

Wash. Football Player Flagged for Pointing to God

Drug Cartel-Related Murders Exceed 10,000 for Year So Far, According to a Mexican Newspaper Tally
(CNSNews.com) – Cartel-related murders in Mexico’s drug war have surpassed 10,000 so far this year, according to a tally kept by the Mexican newspaper Reforma. That figure is about twice the overall number of U.S. military fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

November 2010 Was Deadliest November for U.S. Forces in 9-Year Afghan War
(CNSNews.com) - At least 45 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan last month — up from the 17 killed in November 2009. That makes November 2010 the deadliest November since the war began more than nine years ago, according to CNSNews.com’s database. So far this year, 452 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan, more than was killed in any previous year of the war.

Hoyer Supports ‘Disciplinary Action’ Against USDA Employees Who ‘Consciously’ Discriminated Against Black Farmers
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) voted in favor of the huge settlement for black farmers who were discriminated against by the Agriculture Department from 1981-1996, but when asked whether “disciplinary action” should be taken against any USDA employees, Hoyer said he didn’t know enough about the case to endorse any specific action. “It’s pretty amazing to me that you can have 94,000 people likely discriminated against and you can’t find one single individual responsible for $2.3 billion worth of discrimination,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) told CNSNews.com Monday.

‘Misleading’ Andy Griffith Ads Cost Taxpayers $3 Million, Gov’t Documents Show
(CNSNews.com) – The federal government spent $3.1 million on TV ads in which actor Andy Griffith touts the new health care law, but a non-partisan watchdog group says those ads are misleading.

White House Deficit Commission Won’t Say If Federal Salaries Should Be Cut
(CNSNews.com) – The co-chairs of the White House deficit commission said they support “at least” a freeze of federal employees’ salaries but declined to say whether they support a cut in federal salaries. Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis for the year 2009 show that federal worker compensation including benefits averaged $123,049, which was more than double the private sector average (with benefits) of $61,051.

Now That Obama Administration Is Taking Terrorism ‘More Seriously,’ Airport Security ‘Significantly Improved’ This Christmas, Lawmaker Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said airport security has “significantly improved” since last year’s attempted Christmas bombing. “The federal government, Homeland Security and TSA have, I think, significantly improved since last Christmas, there’s more cohesion.”

Obama Administration Linking Arms Control Treaty With Russian Cooperation on Iran
(CNSNews.com) – Pushing to get the New START arms reduction treaty through the lame-duck Senate, the Obama administration and Democrats are looking to pro-Israel organizations, arguing that delaying ratification will jeopardize Russian support for international pressure on Iran. Many conservatives, including some Jewish groups, have deep reservations about the negotiated treaty, including concerns that it will constrain U.S. missile defense options.

EPA Shifting Its Emphasis to ‘Sustainability’
(CNSNews.com) - The Environmental Protection Agency, marking its 40th anniversary this week, has commissioned a National Research Council study that will help the agency “incorporate sustainability into the way the agency approaches environmental protection.” What does that mean? The EPA reaches all the way to Africa to provide an example.

‘Our Government Has a Role to Play’ in Reducing the Stigma of HIV/AIDS, Obama Says
(CNSNews.com) – In a message marking World AIDS Day on Wednesday, President Obama urged the American people to “join in appropriate activities to remember the men, women, and children who have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support and comfort to those living with this disease.” He reminded infected people that his new health care law will help them get “adequate health insurance coverage and quality care.”

Energy Secretary Bemoans ‘Downward’ Trend in Energy Budget
(CNSNews.com) – Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the “downward” budget trend for research and development at the Department of Energy is “alarming.”

Full-Scale Replica of Noah’s Ark Coming to Ky. Theme Park
Noah may have taken 400 years to build the ark but investors of a new biblical theme park in northern Kentucky plan to replicate a full-scale model in under 36 months.

Former Daystar Employee Sues Evangelist Over Affair

Late-Term Abortionist Moves to Maryland

Obama to Receive Christmas Cards Urging Mideast Peace

Americans Prefer ‘Merry Christmas’ to ‘Happy Holidays’

53rd Grammy Nominees for Gospel Music Announced

FCC Commissioner Wants to Test the ‘Public Value’ of Every Broadcast Station
(CNSNews.com) – American journalism is in “grave peril,” FCC Commissioner Michael Copps says, and to bolster “traditional media,” he said the Federal Communications Commission should conduct a “public value test” of every broadcast station at relicensing time. In a speech at the Columbia University School of Journalism on Thursday, Copps also said station relicensing should happen every four years instead of the current eight.

British Christian Group Raises Concerns About Shari’a-Compliant Food
(CNSNews.com) – A Christian organization in Britain has launched a petition campaign aimed at defending the right of those who do not want to eat meat slaughtered according to Islamic law (shari’a). Operation Nehemiah argues that the mainstreaming of halal across the world constitutes part of a global Islamization drive. While Muslims should be free to follow their own religious practices, the group objects to non-Muslims having little or no choice in the matter.

Bachmann: ‘There Needs To Be an Insurrection’ Against GOP Leaders If They Don’t Hold Straight Vote to Repeal Obamacare
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), founder and chairman of the House Tea Party Caucus, told CNSNews.com that there will be an “insurrection” against the House Republican leadership if it does not hold an independent, straight up-or-down vote on repealing the entire Obamacare law that does not tie this repeal to other policy initiatives including any effort to “replace” elements of Obamacare with new federal health-care reforms.

Q&A With Michele Bachmann: Zero Out Funding For Obama’s Czars and Obamacare
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), founder and chair of the House Tea Party Caucus, told CNSNews.com this week that when Republicans take control of the House in January they should kill Obamacare by zeroing-out funding for it. They should also remove funding for the non-Senate-confirmed “czars” President Barack Obama has named to his administration. “That’s the beauty of conservatives winning in this election, because the House has the power of the purse and we can zero that out in our budget,” she said.

Pence, DeMint Push for Permanent Extension of Bush Tax Rates
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) renewed their call on Wednesday for making the current tax rates permanent before they automatically reset to 1990’s-era levels at year’s end. “Higher taxes aren’t going to get anybody hired,” Pence said. “Raising taxes on job creators won’t create any jobs. Raising taxes during the worst economy in 25 years is just a phenomenally bad idea.”
“Uncertainty is the enemy of our prosperity,” Pence said.

Napolitano Says Granting Legal Status to Some Illegal Aliens Improves Immigration Law Enforcement
(CNSNews.com) – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said granting legal status to illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military will help the country target criminal illegal immigrants. She said the U.S. should “prioritize our enforcement resources on removing dangerous criminal aliens” rather than wasting time and effort prosecuting young people “brought here through no fault of their own.”

Congressman: Close Tax-Funded Smithsonian Exhibit Despite Removal of Ant-Covered Jesus
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said that removing a video with images of ants swarming over Jesus Christ on a crucifix is a “positive” step, but he said there are other elements of the show that make it inappropriate for display in a federal institution where families come to see iconic works of arts such as the portraits of U.S. presidents.

Combat Troops’ Opposition Not an ‘Insurmountable Barrier’ to Letting Gays Serve in Military, Defense Secretary Says
(CNSNews.com) – Although up to 60 percent of U.S. combat troops oppose the idea of homosexuals serving in the military, those concerns do not pose a ‘insurmountable barrier’ to repealing the statute, Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate panel on Dec. 2. Gates indicated that the combat troops’ negative response to repealing the law stems from their lack of experience in serving with homosexuals. “I couldn’t disagree more,” responded Sen. John McCain.

Congress Should Look At Reducing Federal Workforce ‘Across the Board,’ Republican Says
(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Thursday declined to say whether salaries of federal employees should be cut, but he did say that Congress needs to look at “a reduction of federal employees across the board.”

Leaked Cable May Prompt Iran to Demand Resignation of Nuclear Watchdog Chief
(CNSNews.com) – Amid rumors that Iran will demand his resignation, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency denied any wrongdoing Thursday, following reports that leaked U.S. diplomatic cables indicated he sided with the U.S. on the Iranian nuclear standoff. Tehran has long accused International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano of lacking impartiality.

Church Planter Tackles Men Who Won’t Grow Up
A St. Louis pastor and respected church planter raised the alarm about a societal problem he calls “ban,” which are males that are not quite boys nor men in their maturity level.

Military Chiefs Ask Lawmakers to Delay DADT Repeal

Petition Asking Apple to Reinstate Christian App Gains Steam

Groups to Press Obama to Defend Iraqi Christians

Calif. Judge Refuses to Bow Out of Prop. 8 Appeals Panel

Wrong to Exclude God from Classroom, Says U.K. Think Tank

Obama’s Asia Trip Not Seen As a Success
(CNSNews.com) – As he ended a 10-day visit to Asia, President Obama told reporters on Air Force One he believed that “all of Asia is eager for American engagement and leadership,” but his upbeat assessment sharply contrasted with the view of critics who have characterized the trip as disappointing – if not a downright failure.

Q&A With Virginia Attorney General: State’s Lawsuit Against Obamacare ‘Is Not About Health Insurance, It’s About Liberty’
(CNSNews.com) – Virginia Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli told CNSNews.com that the lawsuit his state has filed against the health-care reform law signed by President Barack Obama in March is about preserving the liberty of individual Americans against a federal government that is over-reaching its legitimate constitutional authority.

Obama’s Claiming More Power Over Americans Than King George III, Says Virginia Attorney General
(CNSNews.com) – Virginia Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli, who has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the health-care law signed by President Barack Obama last March, says Obama and the Congress that enacted that law–which mandates that individuals must buy government-approved health insurance plans–are seeking a power over the lives of Americans that even King George III did not claim to possess.

‘Real Solution’ to U.S. Debt Crisis Is ‘Death Panels and Sales Taxes,’ Liberal Economist Says
(CNSNews.com) – A liberal economist who blasted Republican warnings about death panels as “smears” and “lies” is now using the term himself.

Obama’s Radio Address Highlights Earmarks.gov Web Site to Increase Transparency on Gov’t Wasting ‘Billions of Taxpayer Money’
(CNSNews.com) – In his weekly radio address, President Barack Obama announced an update of the administration’s earmarks.gov Web site, saying it will help shed light on “Washington’s habit that wastes billions of taxpayer dollars.”

Actor Kevin Spacey Says Networks Should Air ‘Legitimate’ Political Ads ‘For Free’
(CNSNews.com) – Emmy award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, star of the new film “Casino Jack,” says he blames television networks “to some degree” for lobbyist influence on the political process. He says television networks should run legitimate political ads “for free” as a public service.

Supporters Worry About Freed Burmese Leader’s Safety
(CNSNews.com) – As the newly released Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi prepares to travel around her military-ruled country to “hear the voice of the people” on the future of the pro-democracy movement, supporters are concerned about her safety. Suu Kyi said on Sunday that, like any other citizen, her safety depends on the authorities.

Aid Group Urges Prayer as Haiti’s Cholera Death Toll Passes 900
Cholera has claimed nearly 1,000 deaths in Haiti, the government reported Sunday. The outbreak continues to devastate the Caribbean nation that is still recovering from the 7.0-magnitude earthquake from early this year.

Football Star: God Will Take 999 Steps for You to Take One

Atheists Lose Another ‘God’ in Pledge Battle

Abortion Demand Drops in Wash.

Bishop Eddie Long Absent from Christian Rally in Atlanta

Last-Minute Finalist Wins First Place in National Bible Bee Contest

Napolitano: ‘More to Come’ on Women in Hijabs Undergoing Airport Full-Body Pat-Downs
(CNSNews.com) - When asked Monday if she will insist that Muslim women wearing hijabs go through full-body pat downs before boarding planes, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano did not say yes or no, but told CNSNews.com there will be “adjustments” and “more to come” on the issue. “With respect to that particular issue, I think there will be more to come,” she said.

McCain Worried About ‘Protectionism and Isolationism’ in GOP
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he is worried about protectionist and isolationist views taking root in the Republican Party, particularly among the newly elected group of conservative Republicans. McCain said these stances might contribute to dwindling GOP support for the war on terrorism.

At Turkey’s Insistence, NATO Will Not Name Iran As a Missile Threat
(CNSNews.com) – Ahead of a key summit this week, NATO’s secretary-general has confirmed that the alliance will not identify Iran as a threat requiring the deployment of a NATO-wide missile defense umbrella in Europe. Turkey’s Islamist-leaning government has deepening political and economic ties with Tehran, and it has insisted that Iran not be singled out in NATO documents.

Battle Begins Over Whether Tea-Party Backed Politicians Will Take on Social Issues
(CNSNews.com) – A gay Republican group and some Tea Party organizers want GOP leaders in the new Congress to concentrate on fiscal issues and not social ones such as same-sex marriage and abortion. “This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue,” said the letter, released Monday by GOProud, a group that “represents homosexual conservatives and their allies.”

Conservative Activists Rally on Capitol Hill As Lame Duck Session Begins
(CNSNews.com) – As Congress began its lame duck session on Monday, activists from around the country met at the Capitol to “keep the pressure on to ensure Congress does not pass radical legislation.” The grassroots conservatives enthusiastically welcomed to the podium several conservative leaders such as Reps. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Republican Bill Would Require Federal Reserve to Focus Solely on Inflation
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) says he’s introducing a bill on Tuesday that would require the Federal Reserve to focus solely on inflation. The bill would strike the “dual mandate” in the Federal Reserve Act of 1977, which directs the Fed to promote stable inflation and maximum employment.

DeMint Opposes Gov’t Mandate for Pre-Existing Conditions Coverage in Health Care
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) does not back a government mandate that would force insurance companies to cover individuals with pre-existing conditions. “We don’t need to do that,” said DeMint. “We have examples of what they call high-risk pools at the state level that create an option for people with pre-existing conditions…What we need to do is multiply that over all the states.”

DeMint: Obama, Pelosi Not ‘Free Market Americans As I Understand It’
(CNSNews.com) – In an interview with CNSNews.com on Monday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) would not say whether he thinks President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are “extremists,” but he said they are not free market Americans. “Freedom comes from millions of people making their own decisions. The folks in power now think that a few people should be making the decisions for everybody else, whether it’s education, health care, whatever. It’s just a different worldview that doesn’t fit with American philosophy.”

McCain Says He Will Oppose Repealing Law That Bans Homosexuals from Military
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Monday that he will continue to oppose a repeal of the law that bans homosexuals from serving in the U.S. military.

Many Supporters of U.N. Resolution against ‘Blasphemy’ Have Terrible Record on Religious Freedom
(CNSNews.com) - A group of nations on the State Department’s watch list for violators of religious freedom will vote at the U.N. General Assembly in December on a resolution to combat “defamation of religion.” This is the sixth consecutive year in which the General Assembly will vote on the resolution, which is being pushed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Joel and Victoria Osteen’s Latest Projects Get Support from NY Fans
Joel and Victoria Osteen received a warm reception from a group of loyal fans during their stop in New York City on Monday to promote their latest books.

Evangelical: We Don’t Need Rite of Exorcism, Just Jesus

N.J. Pushes for Controversial Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights

Head Catholic Bishop Defends Criticism of Health Care Reform

Number of N. Korean Defectors in South Rising, Says Official

Muslims Burn Christian Homes in Egypt over Romance Rumor

Republican Senator Challenges Medicare and Medicaid Director Donald Berwick on His Recess Appointment
(CNSNews.com) – Donald Berwick, President Obama’s Medicare and Medicaid administrator, told a Senate panel Wednesday that he accepted his recess appointment because he “wanted to serve his country” regardless of the controversy surrounding his appointment.

Obama Finally Names Nominee for U.N. Reform Post, But He Has No U.N. or Diplomatic Experience
(CNSNews.com) – Twenty-two months into his administration and almost a year since a previous effort failed, President Obama has nominated an envoy to the United Nations with a mandate focusing on reform. But the choice of nominee, a person whose resume includes no United Nations or diplomatic experience, may bring fresh criticism.

Researchers Create National Registry to Track Teen Weight Loss
(CNSNews.com) – Researchers at Brown University have created a national weight loss registry to document and track obese adolescents who have lost weight and managed to keep it off for at least one year. The program will, among other things, track factors that may have influenced young people’s weight loss, such as family structure, peer groups, and the family’s eating habits.

Man Denied Life-Saving Liver Transplant Because of Cuts in Arizona’s Medicaid Program
(CNSNews.com) - Arizona’s Medicaid agency announced earlier this year that it would no longer cover liver transplants for Hepatitis C patients, a move blasted at the time as “a death sentence” by one patient advocacy group. And now a Hep-C patient has been denied a life-saving liver transplant because he couldn’t afford to pay for it himself.

Eight People Who Refused Chlamydia Tests Face Police Roundup in Sweden
(CNSNews.com) – Eight people in northern Sweden who have refused to submit to a test for the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia could be forced to do so by police, a local newspaper (Norrlandska Socialdemokraten) reported. An administrative court on Monday authorized forcible examination of the eight refusniks.

Poll: Seniors See Bleak Future for Their Children, Grandchildren’s Retirement Future
(CNSNews.com) – A retiree health care advocacy group polled 1,996 retirees, and 83.8 percent agreed with the statement, “I have been afforded the opportunity to live and participate in the ‘American Dream.’” However, only 1.7 percent said it would be “easier” in the future for their children to achieve the same opportunities, while 89.2 percent said it would be “more difficult for my children to achieve” those opportunities.

Elton John On His Charity Work: Government Should Be Doing Our Job For Us But They’re Not
(CNSNews.com) – The World TeamTennis annual charitable exhibition, held this year in Washington, raised more than $500,000 to fight HIV and AIDS through Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation. When asked what the federal government should do to encourage more individuals to donate to charities like his, Sir Elton John told CNSNews.com that “government should be doing our job for us” but “they’re not.”

LifeChurch.tv: YouVersion Bible App Users Grow to 10.7 Million
Leaders of one of the top 10 largest churches in America announced Tuesday that the Bible app YouVersion has surpassed all expectations and now has 10.7 million users.

Ga. Baptist Convention Cuts Ties with Second Church with Woman Pastor

John Lennox Takes on Stephen Hawking after God Denial

Canadian Student Group Forced Off Campus for Pro-Life Views

Resurgence of Calvinism is Real Despite Survey, Pastors Say

Pro-Abortion Group Sues FDA to Expand Access to Plan B Drug

U.N. Torture Expert Says U.S. Should Probe Bush-Era Torture Claims With Intention to Prosecute
(CNSNews.com) – The U.N. Human Rights Council’s newly installed expert on torture says the Obama administration should investigate allegations of torture under President George W. Bush and prosecute those responsible – including those who gave the orders. In his newly published memoir, President Bush said he had personally approved the “waterboarding” of senior al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

Obama Sets Aside Only Two Hours to Meet With European Leaders at NATO Meeting in Portugal
(CNSNews.com) – Nine months after disappointing European leaders with a decision not to attend a scheduled United States-European Union summit, President Obama will meet with E.U. leaders on the sidelines of the NATO gathering in Lisbon this weekend. Two hours reportedly have been set aside for the meeting on Saturday afternoon, with a crammed agenda topped by economic issues and including security – especially in the light of recent terrorism alerts in Europe – trade, development aid and climate change.

Obama Administration Finalizes New Rules on ‘Equal Visitation Rights’ for Hospital Patients
(CNSNews.com) – In another bow to the homosexual community, the Obama administration on Wednesday issued news rules for hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid: Patients must be allowed to say who may visit them, and that includes same-sex partners. “Basic human rights…must not be checked at the door of America’s hospitals,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday, after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the final rules.

Sen. Hatch: ‘Pathetic’ That Senators Did Not Get Enough Time to Question Berwick During Senate Hearing
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) told CNSNews.com that members of the Senate Finance Committee did not have enough time Wednesday to fully question Dr. Donald Berwick, the recess-appointed head of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), during his first appearance before the committee. He told CNSNews.com that Democrats are “deathly afraid” that some of Berwick’s controversial ideas will emerge during a full-length hearing.

Medicare Chief Berwick Ducks Question of Whether Obamacare Redistributes Wealth
(CNSNews.com) – Dr. Donald Berwick, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), declined to answer a reporter’s question on Wednesday about whether the health-care law signed in March redistributes wealth, something that Berwick in the has insisted is a necessary element of any “just” health care system.

Cabinet Secretaries Support Diverting Food Stamp Money to Expand School Nutrition Programs
(CNSNews.com) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday he supports using stimulus money originally intended for the food stamps program to pay for a bill expanding child nutrition programs in the nation’s schools. But Vilsack did not tell CNSNews.com how the government, which now has a record number of people on food stamps, could replace the missing funds without raising the deficit.

Sen. Lindsey Graham Defends Certain Congressional Earmarks for U.S. Military
(CNSNews.com) - Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday defended certain spending earmarks that are set aside for the military on Tuesday. “Earmarks have been abused,” Graham told CNSNews.com. “There’s plenty of examples of times when money was wasted. But I’ll give you one example of where an earmark I think was wisely invoked. Remember the Up-Armored Humvee debate?”

Virginia High School Allows Cheating Students to Retake Tests
(CNSNews.com) – A Fairfax County high school last month told teachers to let cheating students retake tests so they wouldn’t receive zeros, the Washington Post reported.

TSA Administrator: ‘No Exceptions’ to Full Body Pat Downs–For Religious or Any Other Reasons
(CNSNews.com) – Transportation Security Administration Chief John S. Pistole told a Senate committee Wednesday that air passengers selected by the TSA for enhanced screening who decline to undergo either a full-body scan or a full body pat down will not be allowed to board planes in the United States. There will be no exceptions, Pistole said, even for people who cite religious reasons for refusing to undergo the scan or pat down.

U.S. Needs $2.1 Billion More for Water Projects in Afghanistan Despite Problems Managing Those Efforts, GAO Says
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. government estimates that from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2014, it will spend an additional $2.1 billion to fund water sector projects in Afghanistan — on top of the $250 million that has been spent since 2002 — and despite problems in sustaining, coordinating, and managing such projects, according to a government audit. Among other things, the U.S. government lacks “a centralized database that tracks all U.S. development projects in Afghanistan.”

Mexico’s Violent Murder Rate Is More Than Twice That of USA
(CNSNews.com) – Individuals run a greater risk of being violently murdered in Mexico than in the United States, where the population is more than three times larger than its southern neighbor. Mexico’s secretary of Interior, Francisco Blake Mora, said there currently are 12 violent homicides registered for every 100,000 Mexican residents, as reported in the Nov. 10 El Universal, a Spanish-language newspaper in Mexico.

Obama’s ‘War Czar’ Says U.S. Will Make ‘Enduring Longer-Term Commitment’ to Maintaining Forces in Afghanistan
(CNSNews.com) – At the NATO summit beginning Friday the United States will endorse turning over security responsibilities in Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the end of 2014–but also commit to “an enduring longer-term commitment,” President Obama’s “war czar” said this week…

Nineteen is the Number to Watch as UN Committee Prepares to Vote on Religious ‘Defamation’
(CNSNews.com) – As a U.N. General Assembly committee prepares to vote on a controversial religious “defamation” resolution – possibly as early as Friday – critics will be keen to see how successful their lobbying against the Islamic-led initiative has been…

Time for ‘Upgrade’ in Ties With European Union, Says Transatlantic Expert
(CNSNews.com) – The bilateral relationship between the United States and European Union is “one of the most important, and understated” in the world, but needs an “upgrade,” an expert in transatlantic ties says ahead of a U.S.-E.U. summit this weekend…

Sen. Barbara Boxer Likens U.S. to Iran, North Korea and Pakistan Because U.S. Bans Homosexuals From Military
(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) today likened the United States of America to Iran, North Korea and Pakistan because those nations also do not allow homosexuals in their militaries…

Some Christians Still Denounce Harry Potter as Dangerous
Another Harry Potter film hits theaters everywhere Friday and Steve Wohlberg, author of the new book Exposing Harry Potter and Witchcraft: The Menace Beneath the Magic, strongly advises against seeing it.

Marriage Is Not Obsolete, Family Expert Says

Depreciation of U.S. Dollar Gives Missionaries Hard Time

Texas Pastor Leads Evangelicals to Shake Off Isolationism

Burmese Officials Order Closure of Church in Chin State

Movie-Quality Audio Bible Now Online for Free

Creditors and Feds Object to Crystal Cathedral Salaries
The U.S. Trustee Program and creditors are objecting to salaries given out by the Crystal Cathedral to several of its employees as the Garden Grove, Calif., megachurch undergoes bankruptcy proceedings.

Christian Earthkeeping – Social Justice Over Climate Change

Disbelief Over Couple’s Poll on Whether to Abort Baby

U.N. Anti-Blasphemy Proposal Meets Firm Resistance

Filmmakers Try to Break Negative Stereotype of ‘Christian Films’

Saddleback Pastor Launches ‘Secret Questions Men Ask’ on YouTube

Sunday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

Republican Co-Author of Incandescent-Bulb Ban Seeks Chair of House Energy Committee
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) may have some explaining to do to fellow GOP colleagues as he seeks the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, given the incoming wave of new conservatives who may not appreciate some aspects of Upton’s voting record.

House G.O.P. Promises Open Amendment Process on all Spending Legislation
(CNSNews.com) – Once Republicans take control of the House of Representatives in January, even minority Democrats will be able to offer amendments to reduce spending for all spending legislation that comes before the chamber — something that was not allowed under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Planned Parenthood Seeks Donations after GOP Electoral Gains, Even as Group Gets Millions in Taxpayer Dollars
(CNSNews.com) – In a letter sent to supporters by e-mail on the day after Republicans were swept in as the new majority in the House of Representatives and gained seats in the Senate, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards used the election results to press for an “emergency donation” to help fight against “dangerous politicians who oppose women’s health and the right to choose.”

Pakistan Happier Than India With Obama’s Comments on Terror
(CNSNews.com) – In his comments on terrorism delivered at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel – the location of a deadly attack two year ago – President Obama dismayed many in India by making no mention of Pakistan.

Conservative Michele Bachmann vs. Conservative Jeb Hensarling in Battle for Republican Leadership Post
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has the support of many Tea Party supporters for a Republican leadership post, but most leaders of the newly-elected House majority are backing conservative Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. Bachmann and Hensarling appear headed for a showdown over the number four spot in the Republican leadership – that of chairman of the House Republican Conference. The position is being vacated by another Tea Party favorite, Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), who has endorsed the Texan.

White House Won’t Say If Administration Will Discipline USDA Officials for Alleged Discrimination Against Black Farmers
(CNSNews.com) – White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs did not have an answer when he was asked whether the administration will insist that U.S. Department of Agriculture officials who apparently practiced discrimination against black farmers be fired or discipline. Gibbs referred the issue back to the USDA.

Obama Wants Congress to Halt AMT Tax Hike on Middle Class by Dec. 31
Washington (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama believes that Congress must act before the end of the year to stop a tax hike that would disproportionately hit middle-class earners, said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

National Security Council Spokesman Says Cost of Obama’s Asia Trip ‘Wildly Inflated’
(CNSNews.com) – National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said the $200-million-a-day cost estimate for President Obama’s trip to Asia is “wildly inflated.” The Pentagon also dismissed the figures.

‘Positive Working Relationship’ Between Iran and Afghanistan Not ‘Problematic, Pentagon Says
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. is not opposed to a relationship between Afghanistan and its western neighbor Iran as longs as it fosters “a constructive role in bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and the region,” Pentagon Spokesman Geoff Morrell said at a Nov. 4 news conference. The Pentagon pointed out that Iran is playing “both sides of the fence” in Afghanistan by funding both the elected government and insurgents in that country.

Man Without Limbs: I Need God for More than Arms, Legs
Nick Vujicic, a Christian motivational speaker, said he gave his life to Jesus Christ at the age of 15 when he read the story of the blind man and Jesus in John 9.

Ministry Caters to Neglected Male Sex Abuse Victims

Judge Blocks Oklahoma’s Sharia Ban

Graham Festival Brings Over 3,000 to Christ in Latvia

First Gay Episcopal Bishop Announces Plan to Retire

Log Cabin Republicans Take DADT to Supreme Court

Bush Recounts Seeing Sibling’s Fetus
Former President George W. Bush kicked off his media blitz this week for his memoir Decision Points. What’s drawing attention is the miscarriage his mother had and that was never spoken of until the book was released.

Christian Pakistani Woman Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy

Faith Groups Differ Over Mosque Near Ground Zero

Jason Castro: I’m a Christian in Whatever I Do

Okla. Christian Univ. President Will Not Seek Longer Term

China Prints 80 Millionth Bible; Demands Not Met

U.S. Torture Prosecutions on the Agenda at U.N. Human Rights Council
(CNSNews.com) – The disclosure that former President Bush personally approved the “waterboarding” of al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheik Mohammed is expected to bring calls for torture prosecutions – both in the U.S. and at the United Nations.

FDA Says it Will Take Vending Machine Owners an Extra 14 Million Hours a Year to Comply with Obamacare Calorie Mandate
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that it will take the food service industry 14 million additional hours each year to comply with a new regulation requiring chain restaurants and vending machine operators to label the products they sell with a calorie count visible to the consumer.

Senate Republican Leader Has No Opinion ‘At This Point’ on Fed Buying $600 Billion in U.S. Debt
(CNSNews.com) – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he does not have “an opinion at this point” on whether Republicans should try to stop or restrict the Federal Reserve from buying $600 billion in federal government debt. At the conservative Heritage Foundation on Thursday, CNSNews.com asked McConnell whether “Republicans will try to prevent or stop the Treasury from selling Treasury bonds to the Fed rather than putting them [up for sale] on the open market?”

Social Security Revision May Get Fresh Look Under Incoming House Budget Chairman
(CNSNews.com) – Prospective House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) may give Social Security reform a fresh look if he takes the gavel in January. Ryan has been a champion of entitlement reform before, most notably in his Roadmap for America budget reform proposal.

Millionaire Says Today’s Regulations, Taxes Would Have Killed Dad’s Business That Helped Send Him to College
(CNSNews.com) – Jay S. Fishman, one of the highest paid CEOs in the United States, told top business leaders gathered at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington that his father might not succeed in starting a small business if he were to do so today.

Despite Obama’s Endorsement, India Faces Uphill Battle in Bid for U.N. Security Council Seat
(CNSNews.com) – In his address to the Indian Parliament on Monday, President Obama said he looked forward “in the years ahead” to a reformed Security Council with India as a permanent member. His comment drew the expected enthusiastic reaction from his audience in New Delhi, but India’s quest remains a long way from being realized.

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer’s Re-Election Fueled by Tough Immigration Law, Spokesman Says
(CNSNews.com) – It is “very clear” that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s opposition to illegal immigration helped her win easy re-election last week, a spokesman from the governor’s office told CNSNews.com. “When the governor says, ‘I cannot tolerate the level of narco-terrorist activity, drug smuggling, human smuggling, and violence going on in my state on a daily basis, and if there’s not going to be action from the feds, I am going to take action myself,’ I think it certainly had an impact,” the spokesman said.

U.S. Commander: U.S. Will Be Fighting in Afghanistan in 2014
(CNSNews.com) – Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, indicated Tuesday that U.S. forces will still be fighting in Afghanistan in 2014, with current plans aiming to have “Afghan security forces in the lead” and U.S. forces in supporting roles by Dec. 31, 2014.

Liberal Group Joins Conservative Group in Calling for $600 Billion in Federal Spending Cuts
(CNSNews.com) – In a “strange bedfellows” confab, the right-leaning National Taxpayer’s Union and left-leaning US Public Interest Research Group have highlighted 31 specific examples of wasteful government spending that they say can be eliminated.

Bipartisan Group Warns of Dangers from Unsustainable Debt, Deficit
Washington (CNSNews.com) – “What we really need, I believe, is fundamental tax reform, and maybe it would help incentivize the movement in Congress, in the White House, for fundamental tax reform, if we were to let all the tax cuts expire,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said on Tuesday.

Obama Exempts Four Countries from Law Barring U.S. Military Assistance to Nations Using Child Soldiers
(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama has exempted four countries (Sudan, Chad, Yemen, and the Congo) from a law that restricts the United States from providing military aid to governments that employ child soldiers, and a Republican congressman who co-wrote the law wants to know why. A memorandum signed by Obama and released by the White House on Oct. 25 claims that the exemptions are due to “national interest.”

Ex-CIA Director Defends Okla. Ban on Judges Making Decisions Based on Shariah Law
(CNSNews.com) – Former CIA director James Woolsey is defending a measure that Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly passed last week barring state judges from relying on Islamic (Shariah) law as the basis for making court decisions. The ballot measure which is being challenged in federal court by a Muslim group.

Biden: Gov’t Will ‘Encourage People to Do What They Want to Do in the First Place’ To Retrofit Homes for Energy Efficiency
(CNSNews.com) – At a meeting of President Obama’s Middle Class Task Force on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden, the task force chairman, announced new initiatives that will “encourage” Americans to make their homes and appliances more energy efficient through low-cost or free energy audits, tax rebates and federal grants. “So, to encourage people to do what they want to do in the first place, to make it happen, to help those 100 [million] households … we’re announcing three new initiatives that could create tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of savings in energy bills,” Biden said.

National Electronic Health Records Database Focuses on ‘Patient Choice,’ Says HHS Technology Officer
(CNSNews.com) - Todd Park, the chief technology officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told CNSNews.com that the “definition of meaningful use” for the national electronic health records database puts “a whole host of requirements” for patient privacy on health care providers. He also said that the “operative principle” of the database is “patient choice.”

Late Entry May Undercut Iran’s Bid for Seat on Board of New UN Women’s Agency
(CNSNews.com) – Iran’s bid to be elected onto the executive board of U.N. Women – the new agency tasked to promote the equality of women — has been challenged by East Timor’s late entry into the race. East Timor’s candidacy offers countries that object to Iran being on the board the opportunity to direct their votes elsewhere.

Top Vatican Officials Hold Interfaith Dialogue With Iranian Gov’t Body
(CNSNews.com) – The head of an official Iranian religious body that is holding talks in Tehran with senior Vatican officials has called for the establishment of a “united front of monotheistic religions.”

Neb. Abortionist to Open Clinics in Iowa, Md., Ind.
In the wake of a newly passed 20-week, late-term abortion ban, a Nebraska abortionist is heading east to start up clinics in three other states. Meanwhile, pro-life groups are gathering this week to discuss strategy.

Baghdad is Gripped with Anti-Christian Terrorism, Says Moeller

Christian Filmmaker: America Not Founded as Christian Nation

Graham Lotz, Lucado, Platt Urge Prayers for the Nations

New Atheist Ads Go Head-to-Head with Bible, Quran

Conservatives Defend DOMA Amid More Lawsuits

Obama Has Visited Indonesian Mosque But No Synagogue Since Taking Office
(CNSNews.com) – President Obama has met with leaders of the American Jewish community as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. However, a search of the White House website and a review of Associated Press stories going back to Jan. 20, 2009 indicate he has not stepped into a synagogue or other Jewish facility.

Bill Gates: Capitalism Has ‘Systemic’ Problems Government Should Address
(CNSNews.com) – The CEO and Chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates said that capitalism’s “systemic” problems are not doing enough for research and “the needs of the poorest.” He advocated a system that is more driven by “human values.”

Incoming House Commerce Chairman Opposes Fed Buying $600 Billion in Gov’t Debt
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), slated to be chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee in the next Congress, said he opposes the Federal Reserve’s plan to purchase $600-billion in federal government debt (through Treasury bonds), but does not know if Congress can do anything to stop the Fed. He also said he is not prepared to call for the Fed chairman’s resignation over the issue.

A Million Prayers Requested for Conservative Republican Senator
(CNSNews.com) – The conservative Family Research Council has announced a nationwide initiative to gather one million Americans to pray on a regular basis for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and “other leaders of conviction.” FRC President Tony Perkins said the call to prayer follows attacks on DeMint’s character.

National Fiscal Commission Would Eliminate Federal Funding for Public Broadcasting
(CNSNews.com) – National Public Radio is getting too much money from the taxpayers, according the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. “The current [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] funding level is the highest it has ever been,” the draft report said. “This option would eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, saving just under $500 million in 2015.”

Obama’s Fiscal Commission Calls for Veterans to Make Co-Payments for Certain Non-Combat-Related Health Care
(CNSNews.com) – American veterans would have to cover at least a portion of their own medical costs under a proposal from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which released its draft report on Wednesday. Requiring veterans to pay for non-combat-related medical problems, instead of the government covering the entire cost, would save $700 million by 2015, the commission said.

Fiscal Commission Calls for Elimination of Safe Schools Czar’s Office
(CNSNews.com) – A draft report by the president’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform calls for eliminating a division of the Education Department run by one of the most controversial appointees in the Obama administration: Kevin Jennings, the safe schools czar. Eliminating that office would save taxpayers an estimated $1.8 billion.

Cut U.N. Funding, Obama’s Fiscal Commission Says in Draft Report
(CNSNews.com) – Cutting “voluntary” funding from the United Nations would trim $300 million from the federal budget deficit by 2015, according to a draft report from the president’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

Obama: Americans Don’t Want ‘A Classic, Traditional, Big-Government Liberal’
(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday that the American people do not want “a classic, traditional, big-government liberal,” suggesting that Republicans had inaccurately depicted him as just such a creature in the national debate leading up to the Nov. 2 election.

After Obama Criticizes Israel, Palestinians Push for Urgent U.N. Security Council Meeting
(CNSNews.com) – Buoyed by President Obama’s criticism of Israel during his visit to Indonesia, the Palestinian Authority is seeking an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting to confront Israel on its housing plans in Jerusalem. Israel’s confirmation this week of plans to build some 1,300 new apartments in its capital city triggered a fresh storm of protest, with P.A. negotiator Saeb Erekat calling for “dramatic international action for immediate recognition of the Palestinian state,” with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Iowa Governor-Elect Thumbs Nose at Iowa City’s Bid to Become ‘Sanctuary’ for Illegal Immigrants
(CNSNews.com) – The city council of Iowa City, Iowa, is considering whether to turn the municipality into a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens, but the state’s new governor-elect not only opposes the bid, he would like to see Iowa adopt a tough Arizona-style immigration statute.

Breakthrough Reported in Iraq’s Eight-Month Political Deadlock
(CNSNews.com) – Iraq’s parliament was due to meet Thursday to approve a tentative agreement setting up a new government, eight months after inconclusive elections and following a renewed wave of sectarian and anti-Christian violence. The breakthrough came ahead of a court-mandated deadline for lawmakers to meet on Nov. 11 to elect a new parliamentary speaker.

Obama’s Highest Approval Rating Lower Than Bush’s Highest Approval Rating after 9/11, Poll Reveals
(CNSNews.com) – The latest approval rating for Obama (651 days in office, polling taking place during the week of Nov. 1-7) show that 45 percent of Americans think the president is doing a good job.

Churches Urged to Speak Out on War, Moral Conscience
On the eve of Veterans Day, interfaith group Truth Commission on Conscience in War urged churches and religious leaders to break their silence regarding the moral conflict that America’s involvement in unjustified wars is putting religious soldiers through.

Groups Form Coalition to Advance Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Scripture in High Demand by Troops in Afghanistan, Says Ministry

Anglican Head to Visit Vatican for Unity Celebration

‘Point of Grace’ Encourages 1,200 Military Wives

Parent Organization of K-LOVE Buys Radio Station Serving NYC for $15M

Muslim Group Advises Women Wearing Hijabs to Allow TSA ‘Pat Downs’ Only on Head and Neck
(CNSNews.com) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations has issued a travel warning to Muslim airline passengers on U.S. aircraft in response to the TSA’s “enhanced pat down” policy that went into effect in late October. CAIR offered a “special recommendation” for Muslim women who wear a hijab, telling them that TSA officers “SHOULD NOT subject you to a full-body or partial-body pat-down.”

Stalled Trade Deal Puts Many American Jobs in Jeopardy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Warns
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce expressed disappointment Thursday that President Obama had been unable to finalize a long-stalled free-trade pact with South Korea during talks in Seoul. It urged speedy progress and warned that hundreds of thousands of “American jobs are on the line.”

U.S. Charity Builds Ten Permanent Houses in Haiti; More Coming, But Not Enough
(CNSNews.com) – Ten months after the earthquake in Haiti, at least ten permanent homes have been built in that country, where hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents. “The number looks a little modest until you realize that these are among the only permanent, affordable houses that have been built there since the earthquake,” said Fuller Center President David Snell, who recently returned from Haiti.

U.N. Population Fund Focuses on Pregnant Women, AIDS Patients in Haiti’s Cholera Outbreak
(CNSNews.com) - UNFPA, the U.N. Population Fund, said that as of Nov. 1, it has distributed nearly 7,000 of hygiene-cholera kits to pregnant women and people living with HIV/AIDS in Haiti. It plans to distribute thousands more to protect people in those groups.

Planned Parenthood Got $349.6 Million in Tax Dollars, Performed 324,008 Abortions, Paid Its President $385,163
(CNSNews.com) - Planned Parenthood received $349.6 million in tax dollars for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2008, and it paid its president, Cecile Richards, $385,163, plus another $11,876 in benefits and deferred compensation. According to a “fact sheet” published by the organization, Planned Parenthood Affiliate Health Centers performed 324,008 abortions in 2008.

Nearly $1 Trillion Net Tax Hike Proposed in Fiscal Commission’s ‘Tax Reform’ Plan
(CNSNews.com) – Over the next 10 years, Americans could see a net federal tax hike of $961 billion if the draft recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform are enacted. This proposed tax hike would include those earning below $250,000, the people that President Barack Obama repeatedly has pledged to shield from a tax hike.

Human Rights Advocate Who Wants Criminal Probe of Bush Has Defended ‘Defensive Jihad’
(CNSNews.com) – A leading human rights advocate who called this week for the U.S. to investigate whether former President Bush should be prosecuted for endorsing “waterboarding” of detained terrorists came under fire earlier this year for arguing that so-called “defensive jihad” is not antithetical to human rights.

Actor Gary Sinise On Afghanistan War: ‘Freedom Is Always A Worthy Cause To Defend’
(CNSNews.com) - Actor Gary Sinise told CNSNews.com that the Afghanistan war is a “worthy cause” because “freedom is always a worthy cause to defend.” He said U.S. troops are doing “incredible work,” as he’s seen for himself on his trips to the war zone.

Supreme Court Denies Petition to Lift DADT
The Supreme Court on Friday denied a petition to lift the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as the issue is being reviewed by a federal appeals court. Earlier this month, Log Cabin Republicans urged the high court to reinstate an injunction against DADT.

Christian Group Tries to Draw Int’l Attention to Persecuted Pakistani

Christian Apologist: Atheist Ads Criticizing Bible ‘Ridiculous’ Yet ‘Effective’

India Christians Still Face Boycott, Forced Conversion

Tenn. Residents Express More Sharia Fears

Teen Girls Speak Out Candidly on Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem

‘Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ Website Reaches Out to Pastors
A Christian website for ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ was recently launched to support pastors who want to preach on important themes found in the third movie installment of the Narnia series.

Burma’s Democracy Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Freed

Hillsong Church Expands Locations at Home and Abroad

Attorney Sanctioned for Abusing Judicial Process in Jews for Jesus Case

Evangelistic Rally Expected to Draw Thousands to Georgia Dome

Democratizing Evangelism in an eWorld

 Graham Festival in Japan Concludes with 1,765 Decisions for Christ
A three-day evangelistic festival in Japan headlined by U.S. preacher Franklin Graham concluded Sunday with 400 new commitments to Christ, bringing the weekend total to 1,765.

Male-Female Partnership Powerful for Mission, Says Ministry Couple

Africa is the Church of the Future, Says Lausanne Officer

Alpha – Reaching 100,000 People for Christ Without the Religion

High Court Asked to Review Scope of ‘Ministerial Exception’  

Bible.com Sued for Not Being Profitable Enough

Debt Has Increased $5 Trillion Since Speaker Pelosi Vowed, ‘No New Deficit Spending’
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the 60th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has added more to the national debt than the first 57 House speakers combined.

EPA Looking to Hire ‘Environmental Justice’ Advocate for $53,500-$84,146 A Year; No Degree Needed
(CNSNews.com) - The Environmental Protection Agency is looking to hire an environmental protection specialist who will help the agency accomplish its “environmental justice goals.” The job, in New York City, pays up to $84,146 a year, and according to the job listing on the government Web site, “You do not need a degree to qualify for this position.”

The Rise of China Looms Large as Hillary Clinton Heads for Meetings With Asian Allies
(CNSNews.com) - China’s rise and recent conduct is expected to feature prominently during Hillary Clinton’s trip to Asia this week — and during President Obama’s visit to the region immediately following Clinton’s. Obama is attending a summit of Asia-Pacific (APEC) leaders in Yokohama, Japan.

U.S. Navy Exercise in Waters Near China Reportedly Canceled
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. and South Korea have called off plans for joint naval exercises in the coming days involving a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea, according to South Korean media reports. The decision was made so as “not to unnecessarily antagonize neighboring countries,” the official Yonhap news agency quoted an official as saying on Sunday.

Statistics Show Women Fare Badly Under Islam, but U.N. Official Calls Data ‘Stereotyping’
(CNSNews.com) – The head of the U.N. Population Fund blames stereotyping for the perception that Islamic societies are “backward” when it comes to the treatment of women, but data released by other international agencies challenge that assertion. The World Economic Forum’s recently released Global Gender Gap Report reviews how 134 countries have succeeded in closing gaps between women and men, and the majority of the worst-scoring countries are Islamic, most of them Arab states.

Ag Secretary Defends Dropping Potatoes From Federal Food Program for Low-Income Mothers
(CNSNews.com) – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says there is nothing wrong with eating potatoes in moderation, even though the federal Women, Infants and Children program – one of the largest federal food assistance programs – is now finalizing an interim rule that bars participants from buying potatoes with their federal vouchers. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture also is limiting potatoes in the federal School Lunch Program.

Algae’ and ‘Grasses’ May Be Used to Reach Mandated Biofuels Goals for 2022, Says Obama Administration
(CNSNews.com) - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the former Democratic governor of Iowa, said that for the Obama administration to reach its goal of producing 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel every year by 2022, it may blend algae and grass, not just corn alcohol, with gasoline. He expects the government to spend “several hundreds of millions of dollars” on the biofuels effort.

The Reality of China’s One-Child Policy: A Forced Abortion at Eight Months
(CNSNews.com) – Critics of Beijing’s “one-child policy” say a televised clip showing a young mother enduring a forced abortion at eight months’ gestation calls for a worldwide response. But China’s communist government says the policy has been an essential factor in the country’s economic development, having successfully “prevented” 400 million births since 1979.

Schullers Express Positive Thinking After Chapter 11
Nearly a week after filing for bankruptcy, the founder of the Crystal Cathedral took the pulpit on Sunday assuring the congregation that tough times never last.

Poll: Evangelicals Admit Negative Contributions of Christians to Society

Lausanne III Closes with Renewed Zeal for Evangelism

Landmark Mideast Bishops Assembly Concludes with 44 Propositions

Ministry: Execution of Iranian Church Leader Delayed

Protests Persist Following Removal of ‘Christian Flag’ in N.C. City

CBO Director Says ObamaCare Will Drive People From the Workforce
(CNSNews.com) – Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf said the most significant economic effect of President Barack Obama’s health care reform package will be to drive people out of the job market. He explained that people would choose not to work because they could subsist on the generous federal insurance subsidies and Medicaid payments contained in the health care overhaul.

Campaign to Change U.S. Policy on Cuba May Face Hurdles After Midterm Election
(CNSNews.com) – Tuesday’s U.N. General Assembly vote condemning the U.S. embargo of Cuba serves as a reminder that those advocating an end to the policy introduced in 1962 can expect to face a tougher battle after next week’s congressional elections. The final decision on ending the embargo lies not at the U.N. – or indeed in the Oval Office – but on Capitol Hill.

White House: ‘Don’t Read Anything Into’ Obama’s Use or Omission of ‘Creator’ When Quoting Declaration of Independence
Washington (CNSNews.com) – No one should “read anything into” the fact that President Barack Obama repeatedly left out the word “Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence, nor should they read anything into the fact that he began using the word after the White House was questioned about the omission, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday. Gibbs did not say whether press reports about the omission prompted Obama to start using the term.

Stumping for Democrats, Obama Uses Three Words to Describe America: ‘Big, Messy Democracy’
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama repeatedly has called the United States a “big, messy Democracy” in his many campaign stops around the country in recent weeks. Obama apparently is using the expression to defend his administration’s difficulty in making “big changes” since he took office almost two years ago.

HHS Announces $3.9 Million to Support Families of Children With Special Health Care Needs
(CNSNews.com) – The Democrats’ new health care law authorizes millions of dollars in funding for nonprofit groups that cater to families of children with special health care needs.

Pro-Lifers Take On Ohio Congressman Over Abortion Billboard
Pro-life network Susan B. Anthony List is preparing to contest false statement charges in a hearing Thursday over a billboard ad that accuses an Ohio congressman of voting in favor of federally-funded abortion.

Group Asks IRS to Probe Christian Voter Guides

Legalized Marijuana ‘Unnecessary,’ Christians Say

Court: Mich. Student Can Hand Out Church Flyers

Episcopal Head Touts Courage as Key to Good Leadership

‘Friendly Atheists’ Billboards Set to Go National

1,200 Children Killed by Cartel Violence in Mexico Since 2006
(CNSNews.com) – The drug war in Mexico has claimed the lives of at least 1,200 children under the age of 18 in that nation, according to a coalition of non-governmental organizations. The NGOs are asking the United Nations to intervene in Mexico’s drug war to help prevent more deaths of children.

Oil Spill Compensation Czar: 110,000 Claims Have ‘Zero Documentation,’ ‘Nothing’
(CNSNews.com) – Nearly two-thirds of the outstanding compensation claims from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have no documentation to back up the losses, according to the administrator in charge of distributing compensation money to the victims. At least 50 claims are considered “very suspicious” and could be referred to the Justice Department.

Education Dept. Tells Schools Homosexual Students May Be Protected by Federal Law Barring ‘Sex’ Discrimination
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration’s recent warning to the nation’s public schools – that some bullying may violate federal anti-discrimination law – is less about bullying than it is about advancing the homosexual agenda in public schools, some critics say. Others are calling for new laws to make sexual orientation a specific protected class under Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools.

Budget Outlays for 12 of 15 Cabinet-Level Federal Departments Have Dramatically Expanded Since Dems Took Control of Congress
(CNSNews.com) - Since 2007, when the Democrats regained control of Congress, budgetary outlays for 12 of the 15 Cabinet-level federal governmental departments have increased in almost straight-line fashion – in several case substantially. For all departments, outlays for Fiscal Year 2010 are higher than FY07 or in FY08.

Academic Alamo: Grad Students and Former Grad Students Form Obama’s Last Redoubt of Approval, Says Gallup Poll
(CNSNews.com) - In Gallup polling for the week of Oct. 18-24, Americans who have done some postgraduate studies (whether or not they have actually earned a postgraduate degree), give Obama a 55-percent job approval rating. Obama’s approval is lowest among Americans who have a college degree but never attended grad school.

Tea Party Brews in Israel, Prompted by Concerns About Obama
(CNSNews.com) – Conservative Israeli lawmakers plan to launch an Israeli version of the tea party this weekend. Sunday’s rally in Tel Aviv is headlined “Say no to Obama,” signaling the view held by many Israeli conservatives that the president is placing undue pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to make concessions in negotiations that are not in Israel’s national interest.

Investigators Attacked in Lebanon While Probing 2005 Hariri Assassination
(CNSNews.com) – An attack on international investigators probing the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is seen as part of a campaign by Hezbollah to obstruct the inquiry before it indicts members of the Shi’ite terrorist group. The United States and France have reiterated their support for the politically explosive investigation, which Hezbollah and Syria actively are trying to sabotage.

Christians, Celebrities Tell LGBT Youth: ‘It Gets Better’
Religious leaders are lending their voice to a newly launched video project, joining celebrities and political figures who assure young bullied gays and lesbians that “it gets better.”

Nat’l Day of Prayer Proclamation Upheld in Colorado

Experts: Religious Freedom Missing from National Security Strategy

Dallas Megachurch Makes Way for New Campus

Prosperity Gospel Treads Fine Line Between Blessing, Materialism, Say Theologians

Indian Church Leaders Denounce Caste-Based Discrimination as Sin

National Debt Increases for 53rd Straight Fiscal Year; Jumped $1.65 Trillion in FY 2010
(CNSNews.com) – The national debt increased for the 53rd straight fiscal year in fiscal 2010, when it jumped $1.65 trillion, according to data posted online by the Bureau of the Public Debt and confirmed by a spokesperson for the agency. The bureau says its reporting of the federal debt at the end of each fiscal year (as posted here) states exactly to the penny the full and actual amount the U.S. government has borrowed as of that date.

Value-Added Tax Would Hurt Economy, Kill Jobs, Business Group Study Finds
(CNSNews.com) – An economic analysis sponsored by the National Retail Federation shows that a Value-Added Tax would damage economic growth and kill hundreds of thousands of jobs. The study showed that a large reduction in federal spending would be better for the economy. President Obama’s Fiscal Commission reportedly is considering a VAT as one option for reigning in out-of-control federal deficits.

Iran Elected to Chair OPEC Next Year; Dismisses Western Energy Sanctions as Ineffective
(CNSNews.com) – For the first time since the Islamic revolution, Iran has been handed the rotating presidency of the OPEC cartel of oil-producing nations. The move comes at a time when Western governments are seeking to target Iran’s energy sector over its nuclear programs. Iran is pushing for oil to be priced against a currency, or basket of currencies, other than the U.S. dollar.

Warm Reception for Ahmadinejad Came From Lebanese Leaders As Well As Hezbollah
(CNSNews.com) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s provocative visit to Lebanon made headlines for a second day Thursday, but less attention has been given to the warm reception he received from Lebanese leaders and groups other than Hezbollah. Ahmadinejad also received expressions of support from top leaders including President Michel Suleiman and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, both of whom hosted events in the Iranian’s honor. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Ahmadinejad visit, calling the situation in Lebanon “volatile.”

George Clooney: ‘We Could Be Facing a Real Disaster Again’ in Sudan
(CNSNews.com) – Actor and activist George Clooney, who met with President Barack Obama and lawmakers about Sudan this week, told CNSNews.com that “both sides of the [political] aisle have been very strong on defending the defenseless.”

Evangelicals Optimistic as Major Int’l Conference Gets Underway
Mission-minded evangelicals from around the world were in high spirits Sunday as the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization got underway in Cape Town, South Africa.

Thousands Learn to Defend Christian Faith, Understand Obama

Chinese ‘Underground’ Church Leaders Lament Gov’t Travel Ban

Indonesia Islamists Decry ‘Christianization’ Project in West Java

Despite Appeal, Some Christians Fear Future Protection of DADT

Calif. Principal Disciplined for Endorsing Prayer Breakfast

DHS Alerted Arizona Sheriffs That Mexican Drug Cartel Was Sending Assassins Into U.S., But Did Little To Warn Travelers Away
(CNSNews.com) – The Department of Homeland Security warned Arizona law enforcement officials in May that Mexican drug cartels were deploying assassins to kill bandits hijacking their drug loads in the Vekol Valley, 70 miles inside Arizona. That local law enforcement would be left to confront agents of a foreign cartel coming across the U.S. border to carry out a deadly drug war on U.S. soil is further evidence that the federal government is not doing its duty to secure the border, said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

DOJ Awarded $324M to Subsidize Costs of Incarcerating Illegal Immigrants in FY2010
(CNSNews.com) – The Justice Department awarded $324 million in fiscal year 2010 to states and localities to help pay the salaries of corrections officers responsible for incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants. Those subsidies marked a decline of 18 percent from fiscal year 2009, when $394 million was distributed by the department.

Former DNC Chairman: ‘Elections Are Not the Time to Educate People’
(CNSNews.com) – Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said that Democrats campaigning for the Nov. 2 mid-term elections should wait until they win before “educating” constituents about the benefits they will derive from the new health care law. “You win the election, then you educate people afterwards,” Dean told National Public Radio on Saturday.

Obama Administration Uses Taxpayer Funding to Encourage ‘Sustainable Communities’
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. government is stepping in with millions of taxpayer dollars to create affordable places for Americans to work and live. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last week announced nearly $100 million in new grants for 45 regions “to support more livable and sustainable communities across the country.”

U.S. Government Funding Translation of Marquis de Sade
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. government is funding a translation of a novel by the Marquis de Sade that, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, “is replete with Sade’s black humor, unique philosophy, and original thought.”

The Golden Hookah Award: National Endowment for the Arts Funds Translation of Marquis de Sade
(CNSNews.com) – CNSNews.com presents its weekly “Golden Hookah” to the National Endowment for the Arts for spending $12,500 to fund the translation of a novel by the Marquis de Sade.

Average U.S. Hourly Wage Dropped in September, Has Been Virtually Flat for a Year, Says Labor Department
(CNSNews.com) – The inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings for all U.S. employees dropped in September by 0.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistic reported today. In fiscal year 2010, the average hourly wage in the United States remained virtually flat, increasing by only one half of one percent from September 2009 to September 2010.

Obama Administration Hails the OIC’s Growing Role in Afghanistan and Pakistan
(CNSNews.com) - Islamic nations – members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) — are playing an increasingly important role in the international effort to support “democracy” in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the Obama administration. Of the eight Islamic countries whose contributions it cites favorably, however, only three are viewed as electoral democracies – Turkey, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Turkey-U.S. Relations in the Spotlight As Conference Begins in Washington
(CNSNews.com) - An important conference on U.S.-Turkey ties is underway in Washington, D.C., on Monday, at a time when an apparent shift in Ankara’s foreign policy priorities has raised questions about the relationship between the longstanding NATO allies. The Islamist-leaning government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has drawn closer to Iran and Syria and away from Israel, voted against a U.N. Security Council Iran sanctions resolution last June, and recently held what is believed to be Turkey’s first ever joint military exercise with China.

Atheism Becoming the New Religion, Evangelicals Warned
Evangelicals heard the call on Monday to be guardians of the truth in the face of widespread indifference to religion and the “denial” of Scripture within parts of the church.

Students Celebrate Pro-Life Day, Mindful of Rights

Colo. County Files Petition to U.S. High Court Over Church Land Dispute

Appeals Court Upholds Ill. ‘Period of Silence’ in Schools

Kansas High Court Allows Planned Parenthood Criminal Case to Proceed

Coptic Rights Group Sounds Off Against ‘Dangerous Tide’ in Egypt

It’s Official: Obama Has Now Borrowed $3 Trillion
(CNSNews.com) - It took almost 200 years — from 1776 until 1990 — for the federal government to accumulate a total of $3 trillion in debt, according to the Treasury Department. But it took far less time — from Jan. 20, 2009, the day President Barack Obama was inaugurated, until Oct. 15, 2010 for the Obama administration to add $3 trillion to the federal debt.

Shots Fired at Pentagon on Tuesday and at National Marine Corps Museum Over the Weekend
(CNSNews.com) - Several bullets struck the Pentagon early Tuesday morning but did not penetrate the building. And in a similar incident that may or may not be connected, police also are investigating several shots fired at the National Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, Virginia — about 36 miles south of Washington — over the weekend. The bullets left holes in upper-level windows.

Obama’s Border Patrol Chief: Give Illegals ‘Road to Citizenship,’ Let Mexicans Work Here Legally
(CNSNews.com) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin, who oversees both the Customs Service and the Border Patrol, says the United States must create what he called “a legitimate labor market between the United States and Mexico.”

Maryland’s Democratic Governor Calls Illegal Immigrants ‘New Americans’
(CNSNews.com) – Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, in his first televised debate with Republican challenger Bob Ehrlich, repeatedly referred to people who come to this country illegally as “new Americans” on Monday night. “We should not blame new Americans for the problems that our country is going through right now. It’s wrong,” O’Malley said.

Moms Who Chose Life Over Abortion Become Activists on Capitol Hill
(CNSNews.com) – “I really didn’t realize how much people do not know about pregnancy centers,” one pro-life activist told CNSNews.com. And now that those centers are under attack by pro-abortion groups, “I really do want the senators and members of Congress to know the truth and to continue to support them.”

Vatican’s Chief Justice: Catholic Politicians Who Support Abortion or Gay Marriage Must Publicly Repent
(CNSNews.com) – Catholic politicians who publicly support abortion or homosexual marriage and then seek to turn away from such “gravely sinful acts” must perform “public” acts of “repentance,” said Raymond Burke, the archbishop emeritus of St. Louis and the current head of the highest court at the Vatican.

Howard Dean: ‘Racist Fringe’ Exists in Tea Party That ‘Media Hypes Up’
(CNSNews.com) - Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Republicans “think they’re on a mission. And I think their mission is well outside the mainstream.” But he said he views the tea party “differently.”

Federal Appeals Court Finds Ill. School ‘Moment of Silence’ Is Constitutional
(CNSNews.com) – A federal appeals court has overturned a 2009 lower court ruling that a mandatory moment of silence in Illinois public schools was unconstitutional. Judge Daniel Manion, writing for the majority, said that a moment of silence law does not violate the Establishment Clause “by favoring some religions.”

Fight Looms Over ‘Religious Defamation’ Measure at the United Nations
(CNSNews.com) – Supporters and opponents of the annual United Nations’ “defamation of religion” resolution are gearing up for what may be the biggest battle yet, with Islamic states roused by recent controversies in the U.S. and critics energized by growing awareness about blasphemy laws.

HHS Giving States Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to ‘Help Consumers File Complaints’ Against Their Health Plans
(CNSNews.com) – President Obama’s Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday announced nearly $30 million in grants to “help consumers see the benefits” of the Democrats’ new health care law. Those “benefits” include helping consumers file appeals and grievances against their existing health insurance plans.

Virginia AG Cuccinelli: Challenge to Federal Health Care Law Is About ‘Liberty’ and Containing Federal Power
(CNSNews.com) – Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says his state’s challenge to the Democrats’ new health care law is about defending liberty from a federal government that has overstepped its constitutional bounds. Cuccinelli also said the reason the federal government has never before enacted such a sweeping law was that “everybody, up to now” recognized that doing so was clearly unconstitutional.

U.S. Government Does Not Have ‘Effective Control’ of 1,081 Miles of the U.S.-Mexico Border, DHS Says
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. government does not have “effective control” of 1,081 miles of the 1,954-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency responsible for securing the border. A border mile is said to be under “effective control” when the U.S. government can be reasonably expected to intercept an illegal crosser at any given point.

NASA Head’s Visit to China Makes Republican Lawmakers Uneasy
(CNSNews.com) – NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is in China this week, on a five-day visit that has drawn opposition from some Republican lawmakers unhappy about the prospect of U.S.-Chinese cooperation in space. Republicans are pressing Bolden for his “personal assurance that at no time during your trip [were there] any discussions of cooperation on human space flight activities.”

Obama Strips the ‘Creator’ from Declaration of Independence — Again
(CNSNews.com) – Quoting the Declaration in a speech on Monday, Obama said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that each of us are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It’s the second time he’s left out the word “Creator.”

Homeland Security Dept. ‘Continues to Mislead American People’ About Drug Cartel Violence in U.S., Says AZ Sheriff
(CNSNews.com) – Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu says officials at the Department of Homeland Security are lying to the American people by denying the accuracy of an e-mail memo sent by the department to Arizona law enforcement in May warning of drug cartel operations in the state. The May 13 memo warned of assassins being sent into Arizona by Mexican drug cartels to “take out” other criminals trying to steal drug shipments.

Venezuela’s Chavez Affirms ‘Solidarity with the Iranian People’ Against Those Who Would Stop Iran’s Nuclear Program
(CNSNews.com) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, speaking in Tehran on Tuesday, affirmed his country’s solidarity with the Islamic Republic in opposing efforts to prevent Iran from developing what he called a peaceful nuclear energy program. Chavez’s comments came a few days after he secured an agreement with Russia to build Venezuela’s first nuclear power plant.

Christians Urged to Wake Up to Reality of GLBT Agenda
Dr. Michael Brown believes Christians have already lost the battle when it comes to public opinion on homosexuality and gender identity issues.

Calif. Megachurch Enters Bankruptcy amid Lawsuits

Tim Tebow’s Mom Endorses Colo. Personhood Amendment

Chinese Delegates Barred from Travel Send Greetings to Lausanne Congress

New Edition of ‘Operation World’ Prayer Guide Officially Out

MLK Anti-Gay Marriage Ad Sparks Debate

Tens of Thousands of Muslims Coming to Christ, Says Iranian Ministry Leader
The Middle East, which has become almost synonymous with violence and Islam, is experiencing an unprecedented level of Muslims becoming followers of Jesus Christ, said Sam Yeghnazar, founder of Iran-focused Elam Ministries.

Judge Denies Request for Stay on DADT Injunction

Congressional Candidate Launches Graphic Abortion TV Ads

Reformed Preachers Ponder the New Calvinism

Persecution Comes with Being a Christian in North Africa, Says Pastor

ACLJ Scores Two More for On-Campus Religious Freedom

In 15 of Last 25 Months, Treasury Needed to Borrow Money to Pay Social Security Benefits
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Treasury has needed to borrow money to pay Social Security benefits in 15 out of the last 25 months on record because the Social Security system was in deficit in those months, with the cost of monthly benefit payments exceeding the Social Security tax revenues flowing into the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance trust funds, according to data published by the Social Security Administration.

Obama May Cancel Visit to Sikh Shrine Because of Head-Covering Requirement
(CNSNews.com) – Reports that President Obama has decided not to visit a historic Sikh temple during his visit to India next month because of the head covering he would have to wear are sure to upset adherents of one of the world’s largest religions.

AZ Governor: Obama, Calderon Both Want Illegal Immigration to Continue to Increase Liberal Vote in U.S.
(CNSNews.com) - Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer told CNSNews.com she believes that neither President Barack Obama nor President Felipe Calderon of Mexico wants to secure the U.S.-Mexico border because they hope illegal aliens will swell the ranks of liberal voters in the United States.

White House: Obama Will Push Lame-Duck Congress to Legalize Homosexuality in U.S. Armed Forces
Washington (CNSNews.com) – In the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress, President Obama will push the Senate to pass a bill that includes an amendment to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, thus allowing homosexuality in the U.S. armed forces, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Sodomy Still Illegal Under Military Law
(CNSNews.com) – Regardless of the recent legal wrangling over homosexuals serving in the military, sodomy remains outlawed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And each branch of the military also prohibits fraternization between individual service members as well as any behavior that undermines the “good order and discipline in the armed forces.”

No Evidence Gulf Oil Spill Killed Fish, Says NOAA
(CNSNews.com) – There is no evidence the Deep Water Horizon oil spill killed any fish, according to federal and state officials overseeing the oil cleanup. But even with plenty of fish in the sea, the Gulf fishing industry is still suffering from a perception problem.

Satan at Work When Critics of Scandal are Ridiculed, Says Vatican’s American Chief Justice
(CNSNews.com) – In today’s culture, when people criticize immoral behavior or public scandal and are ridiculed by others for doing so, it is “the Father of Lies at work” — the devil, said Archbishop Raymond Burke, the head of the highest court at the Vatican who was named a cardinal of the Catholic Church on Wednesday.

UAE Official Tries to Explain Court Ruling Upholding Muslim Men’s Right to Beat Their Wives
(CNSNews.com) – A top judicial official in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday tried to allay concerns raised by a controversial ruling from the country’s highest court upholding the right of a Muslim to beat his wife and children. Islamic scholars cite the

Labor Department Grant Will Help 1,868 Jobless Virginians Pay Their Health Insurance Premiums
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Department of Labor is using taxpayer (stimulus) money to help 1,868 jobless Virginians – those affected by increased imports — pay part of their health insurance premiums. Funding for the $3-million National Emergency Grant was authorized under the stimulus law.

Hilfiger on Bush Tax Cuts: ‘Any Tax Cuts Are Beneficial to Business Owners’
(CNSNews.com) - Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, founder of the Tommy Hilfiger clothing brand, told CNSNews.com that “any tax cuts” are beneficial to business owners.

Tea Party Protest in Manhattan Calls Upon ‘Liberal Media’ to ‘Tell the Truth’
(CNSNews.com) – Tea Party activists gathered outside the offices of the New York Times and NBC in Manhattan to protest what they see as a liberal bias at those news outlets. The activists said they were inspired to hold the event because of the Media Research Center’s nationwide “Tell The Truth!” campaign, and some MRC members, including President Brent Bozell, attended the rally and spoke about bias in the media.

Federal Appeals Court Grants Stay on DADT Injunction
A day after a federal judge refused to issue a temporary stay on her order to lift DADT, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the request.

Few Americans Give Churches Good Grades for Handling of Homosexuality

Protestant Pastors Disapprove of Obama, Pulpit Endorsements

Christian Teens Urged to Take Lead Against Anti-Gay Bullying

Tim Keller: Churches Worldwide Need to Move into Cities

Anglican Head: U.S. Gay Ordination Set Us Back

Ecumenical Delegation to U.S. Wraps Up Sudan Awareness Visit
An ecumenical delegation from Sudan concluded its tour through the United States on Friday after 12 days of raising awareness on the situation in Africa’s largest nation, which may soon be divided into two.

Expelled Christians Remain Separated from Moroccan Foster Kids

Missionaries: Church Failing to Reach One-Fourth of the World

CMDA Cautions Stanford Against Use of Embryonic Stem Cells

Ohio Teacher Fired for Burning ‘Crosses’ Drops Lawsuit

Trin-i-tee Goes from Trio to Duo

Council on American-Islamic Relations Launches ‘Islamophobia’ Division
(CNSNews.com) – Spurred by the controversies over Quran-burning and the planned Ground Zero mosque, the most visible Islamic advocacy organization in the U.S. says it is launching a department to deal with “Islamophobia.” CAIR said the new “Islamophobia” department will produce an annual report tracking “trends in rhetorical attacks on Islam and Muslims,” and it will also “organize conferences, seminars, cultural exchanges, and other activities and events designed to provide opportunities for education and dialogue.”

Obama Administration Gave General Electric—Parent Company of NBC–$24.9 Million in ‘Stimulus’ Grants
(CNSNews.com) - The Obama administration gave corporate giant General Electric, the parent company of NBC, $24.9 million in grants from the $787-billion economic “stimulus” law President Barack Obama signed in February 2009, according to records posted by the administration at Recovery.gov. Despite getting $24.9 million from U.S. taxpayers, GE decreased its U.S.-based employees by 18,000 in 2009, according to the company’s 2009 annual report.

U.S. Spending At Least $18.6 Million A Day to Incarcerate Illegal Aliens
(CNSNews.com) – U.S. taxpayers are spending at least $18.6 million per day to house an estimated 300,000 to 450,000 illegal immigrants who are incarcerated and eligible for deportation from the United States, according to data from the Homeland Security and Justice Departments. The prisoners are foreign nationals who have come into the United States, committed a crime, been captured, and imprisoned. Half of the undocumented aliens who were removed from the United States in fiscal 2010 (which ended on Sept. 30) had been convicted of a crime in the United States.

U.N. Leader Skips Opportunity to Reproach China on Human Rights
(CNSNews.com) – In a brief statement, carefully worded so as not to offend China, U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon avoided any direct criticism of Beijing’s human rights record, and he did not call on China to release the imprisoned Liu Xiaobo, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The U.N.’s top human rights official also made no call for Liu’s release.

U.S. May Not be Able to Maintain Nuclear Stockpile, GAO Reports
(CNSNews.com) – The National Nuclear Security Administration may not be able to reliably maintain the nation’s nuclear stockpile in the near future, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. At issue is the production of a rare radioactive element known as tritium. NNSA has not been able to reliably produce enough of it.

Gallup: ‘Too Big’ Is Most Common Description Americans Give Federal Government
(CNSNews.com) – When the USA Today/Gallup poll asked 981 Americans “if someone asked you to describe the federal government in one word or phrase,” there was one phrase people used far more frequently than any other: “Too big.”

Obama Urged to Appeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Ruling
Conservatives are calling on the Obama administration to appeal a federal judge’s decision that the military must halt the enforcement of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

White House Faith-Based Council Unchanged; Questions Linger

Court OKs Pro-Life Advocacy in Pittsburgh Amid Legal Battle

Hitchens Brothers Take Opposite Sides in Civilization, God Debate

Prayers Persist as World Witnesses Rescue of Chilean Miners

20-Year-Old Embryo Becomes Oldest to Result in Live Birth

Obama Wants $1.25 B to Compensate up to 66,000 African American Farmers for USDA Discrimination in 1981-96; Census Says African American Farmers Peaked at 33,000 in Those Years
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama is requesting $1.15 billion from Congress — to add to a $100-million earmark he pushed through Congress in 2008 when he was a senator — to create a $1.25 billion federal fund to settle discrimination claims by 66,000 African Americans who “farmed or attempted to farm” and were allegedly discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the period from Jan. 1, 1981 to Dec. 31, 1996. During that 16-year period, however, the number of African American farm operators in the United States peaked at 33,000 — in 1982, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

White House: Bottom Line, ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ Policy Will End, Only Question Is How
Washington (CNSNews.com) – The injunction against enforcing the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy barring homosexuals from openly serving in the military is just one step closer to ending, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday. “The president believes the policy should change, that it’s unjust, that it discriminates, and that it harms our national security,” Gibbs said.

Judge’s Order Bars Military from Enforcing Federal Law Against Homosexuals Serving in Military
(CNSNews.com) – A federal judge in California has issued an injunction barring the U.S. Defense Department from enforcing the law against homosexuals serving in the military. The ruling also orders the military to stop investigating any violations of the law that it may have begun prior to Oct. 12.

Republican Congressman Seeks to Protect Defense of Marriage Act in Court, Says Obama Administration ‘Not Adequately’ Defending Law
(CNSNews.com) – Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith has filed a motion in two separate cases seeking to intervene in defense of the federal marriage law, arguing that to preserve the Defense of Marriage Act, he must defend it himself because the U.S. Justice Department may not do so.

Gallup: 46 Percent Say U.S. Government ‘Poses Immediate Threat to the Rights and Freedoms’ of U.S. Citizens
(CNSNews.com) - The percentage of Americans who think the federal government poses “an immediate threat” to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens has increased significantly over the last seven years, rising from 30 percent to 46 percent, according to a Gallup poll conducted Sept. 13-16. Only 51 percent of Americans now say they do not think the federal government poses “an immediate threat” to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Similarly, the percentage of Americans who think the federal government has too much power has also significantly increased, from 39 percent in 2002 to 59 percent today.

Crisis Pregnancy Center Brings Life-Affirming Message to L.A. Neighborhood Saturated with Abortion Clinics
(CNSNews.com) – Astrid Bennett Gutierrez grew up in the Pico Union district of Los Angeles, where abortion clinics are commonplace. Gutierrez said competition for abortion and reproductive-services dollars in the area is so fierce that clinics pass out fliers and discount coupons to attract customers. It is in the center of this part of Los Angeles that a pregnancy resource center opened its doors 10 years ago.

U.S. Taxpayers Spend Twice as Much Globally on AIDS as on All Other Diseases, GAO Reports
(CNSNews.com) – U.S. taxpayers spend almost twice as much to combat HIV/AIDS worldwide as they do on all other global health-related assistance programs combined, says a new GAO report. IN addition, U.S. funding to other countries for HIV/AIDS has gone up sharply since 2004.

HHS Scrambles to Stop Insurers From Dropping Their ‘Child-Only’ Policies
(CNSNews.com) – “Nothing in the Affordable Care Act, or any other existing federal law, allows us to require insurance companies to offer a particular type of policy at this time,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Wednesday. In an Oct. 13 letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Sebelius complained that some insurance companies have decided to stop writing new policies in the “child-only” insurance market.

Non-Religious or ‘Unaffiliated’ Voters Losing Faith in Democrats, Research Shows
(CNSNews.com) - People who identify themselves as not religious or “unaffiliated” with a particular religion are as important to the Democratic base as religious conservatives are to the GOP. But this “non-religious or unaffiliated” demographic is turning away from Democrats, a senior researcher with the Pew Research Center said on Wednesday.

Canada’s Failure to Win A U.N. Security Council Seat Follows Years of Sparring With Islamic States
(CNSNews.com) – Canada’s unprecedented failure to win a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council triggered a wave of analysis and soul searching in the country, where many see it as payback by Islamic states and their allies for Ottawa’s strong pro-Israel stance in the world body.

Rescued Chilean Miner: God Won
The last of the 33 miners who were trapped underground for over two months was pulled out to safety Wednesday evening

Christian Groups Intensify Efforts Against U.N. Defamation Resolution

‘Under God’ in Texas Pledge Ruled Constitutional

Poll: Catholics, Protestants Leaning Right in 2010 Election

Crisis Pregnancy Centers Call NYC Bill a Political Attack

Colson, McDowell and D’Souza to Headline Apologetics Conference

Ecumenical Leader: Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel Win Affirms Respect for Human Rights
The decision to award Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo the Nobel Peace Prize is “heartening,” the head of the World Council of Churches has said.

PC(USA) Grieves Over Abuse on Mission Fields

Evangelicals Say Reform is Key to Tackling ‘Ungodly’ Immigration Effects

Miners Clad in Jesus Shirts Give Glory to God

China Church Leaders Blocked from Attending Major Int’l Christian Gathering

Church in Indonesia Forced to Accept Worship Terms of Islamists

Stephen Hawking Takes on Sir Isaac Newton; Christians Respond
Physicist Stephen Hawking made headlines this past week for taking on arguably the most influential scientist in human history, Sir Isaac Newton.

12-Hour Prayer, Fasting Rally Hits Sacramento

Emergency in Pakistan Will ‘Get Worse Before It Gets Better’

Church Mourns Loss of U.S. Army Chaplain in Afghanistan

Poll: 2 in 3 New Yorkers Want Park51 Mosque Moved

Parliament of the World’s Religions Calls for 9/11 Solidarity

GOP mole undermining defense of marriage
A traditional marriage advocacy organization is concerned about what former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman is doing to undermine traditional marriage, now that he has admitted he is a homosexual.

Eco-terrorism an ignored threat
A spokesperson for a Christian environmental think-tank says last week’s hostage situation inside the Discovery Channel headquarters could be labeled an act of eco-terrorism.

Church at odds with ‘zoning czar’
A small church in Illinois has won a preliminary injunction against its community and can continue holding services at its rented site.

Iraqi Christians – even harder times ahead
The ministry Open Doors USA believes life for believers in Iraq will only get worse now that American combat troops are being pulled out of the country.

T-shirts used as ‘billboard’ for Christ
A Christian apparel company is challenging students to take advantage of their religious freedoms by expressing their Christian faith through what they wear.

Fiery Preacher Takes on Project51 with Launch of Christian Center
A fiery preacher who plans to open a Christian center near New York City’s Ground Zero held the first worship service for it Sunday.

Vatican Expected to Seek Clemency for Death-Row Iranian Woman

Christian Leaders Repeat Calls to Halt 9/11 Qur’an Burnings

AG Leaders Mourn Death of Pastor Who Helped Plant 1,000 Churches

Calif. Court: State Does Not Need to Defend Prop. 8

Buddhists in India Assault Christian Aid Worker, Friend

No time for GOP to relax
Gary Bauer says despite encouraging poll numbers, a huge GOP victory in the upcoming mid-term elections is hardly a foregone conclusion.

Perspective: Political fables
When Barack Obama criticizes “the policies that created this mess in the first place,” let’s at least get the facts straight and the names right.

Attorney: Calif. AG needs to defend the law
A conservative legal defense organization has taken action to force the California governor and attorney general to back Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that protects traditional marriage.

Perspective: Sex is everywhere
How did we get to the point where everywhere we turn, we get smacked in the face by a sex-obsessed culture?

You can vote — but not for Jesus
A church in West Palm Beach has been told to alter wording on its sign or it will no longer be an election polling site.

Hitchens: Don’t Trouble ‘Deaf Heaven’ With Prayers for Me
With less than two weeks before “Everybody Pray for Hitchens Day,” cancer-stricken Christopher Hitchens is encouraging believers to hold off on praying for him.

Gen. Petraeus: Church Burning Quran Could Endanger Troops

U.S. Muslims Give Pakistan Flood Donation to Christian Agency

Cuban Church Leader Released, Cleared of Charges

Azerbaijan Gov’t Hassles Unregistered Evangelical Church

Severe Flooding Compounds West Africa Food Crisis

Backlash against Christians feared
Open Doors USA says Christians around the world will be in danger if a Florida church goes ahead with its plans to burn Qurans on the upcoming anniversary of September 11.

Mosque opposition spawns death threats
A greater Nashville resident and outspoken opponent of the construction of a Murfreesboro mega-mosque in Tennessee has received two death threats after an appearance on the comedy program The Daily Show.

Media mum on Muslim opposition to mosque
A conservative media watchdog organization says the mainstream media is virtually ignoring the Muslims who are speaking out in opposition to the proposed “Ground Zero” mosque in New York City.

.Perspective: A $50-billion boondoggle
President Obama’s latest infrastructure spending binge guarantees only two results — taxpayers lose, unions win.

Arizona: Obama’s ‘whipping boy’
An Arizona sheriff thinks the Obama administration is intent on pursuing anything that moves in Arizona’s defense against illegal immigration.

Evangelicals, Other Faith Leaders Condemn Anti-Muslim Bigotry
Christian and Jewish leaders expressed deep distress and sadness Tuesday against recent incidents of violence and the desecration of Islamic houses of worship.

World Evangelical Alliance Steps Into Quran Burning Fray

Massive Jailbreak Sparks Concern Among Nigerian Christian Leaders

Judge Refuses to Lift Block on Embryonic Stem Cell Funding

AAP Calls Abstinence-Only Sex Ed ‘Unwise’

Texas Pastor: Worship is About Christ, Not Impressing Crowds

Hillary Clinton: United Nations is ‘Single Most Important Global Institution’
(CNSNews.com) – In a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the work of the United Nations and said it is “the single most important global institution.” She mentioned the U.N. Security Council enacting sanctions against Iran and North Korea, peacekeepers patrolling the streets of Monrovia and Port-au-Prince, and aid workers assisting flood victims in Pakistan and displaced people in Darfur.

Hillary Clinton Compares Mexican Drug Violence to Colombia’s, But No Call for Securing Border
(CNSNews.com) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said Mexico, with its drug violence, is “looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago when the narco-traffickers controlled certain parts of the country.” But she did not say that securing the U.S.-Mexico border was necessary to curtail the violence.

Obama Added More to National Debt in First 19 Months Than All Presidents from Washington Through Reagan Combined, Says Gov’t Data
(CNSNews.com) – In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan.

Hoyer: ‘You’re Going to be Chasing Your Tail Down a Rat Hole’ Unless More Taxpayer Dollars Go for Stimulus
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that spending $50 billion more in taxpayer money on economic stimulus is an “investment” that will “grow” the economy, but that “withdrawing” that investment would send the economy tumbling down a “rat hole.” You can’t deal with the deficit unless you grow the economy, he said in an appearance with labor union leaders.

EPA Required Promotional Signs at All Stimulus-Funded Projects
(CNSNews.com) – The Environmental Protection Agency required all contractors and grant recipients to post signs informing the public that the projects they were carrying out had been funded with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus package). The admission comes from an EPA Inspector General’s report answering questions from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Cardinal McCarrick: I Cannot Say, ‘Don’t Embrace The Quran’
(CNSNews.com) - Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Catholic archbishop emeritus of Washington, told CNSNews.com that if “someone sees the Gospel as the truth of God’s presence in our world, that person should embrace the Gospel.” He also said, however, “If a person sees the Quran as proof of God’s presence in the world, then I cannot say, ‘Don’t embrace the Quran.’”

Original Quran Burning Took Place in the Mid-Seventh Century
(CNSNews.com) – Muslims have killed, died, protested and boycotted over the real, perceived or rumored mistreatment of the Quran, but the book they revere as the final revelation of Allah to Mohammed was a version compiled by an early caliph almost two decades after Mohammed’s death. According to major Islamic sources, the caliph ordered all rival versions burned.

HHS Launches Health Care Web Site for Spanish-Speakers
(CNSNews.com) - The Health and Human Services Department has unveiled a Spanish-language Web site intended to help non-English-speaking U.S. residents “take control of their health.”

Burn Qurans – wrong…torch Bibles – OK
A pro-family organization says it’s hypocritical for high-ranking officials in the Pentagon to condemn a Florida church’s plans to burn Qurans when U.S. military personnel burned Bibles last year in Afghanistan.

Can the Quran burning be headed off?
W.L. Cati, the head of a Christian ministry dedicated to helping those trying to escape Islam, hopes to convince the pastor of a small church in Florida not to go through with plans to burn Qurans on Saturday.

Obama pushing for ‘culture transformation’
FRC’s Ken Blackwell says despite President Obama’s low approval ratings, he shows no sign of detouring from his message promoting big-government solutions.

Out-of-wedlock births double in EU
The European Union says the number of children born out of wedlock in the 27-nation bloc has doubled over the past two decades and now accounts for over one-third of the region’s births.

Perspectives: The stimulus ‘clearly helped’?
A lesson to be learned about Obamanomics: conservatives believe what they see — and liberals see what they believe.

Fla. Preacher: Quran Burning Plan ‘Back to Square One’
Just hours after canceling “International Burn A Quran Day,” the Florida church behind the controversial event said Thursday it could move forward with its original plan if the deal it thought it struck turns out to be non-existent.

Calif. Gov. Remains Resolute – No Prop. 8 Appeal

Luis Palau: Youth Need Clear Gospel Confrontation

Lausanne Leader: Movement Validated by Value Placed, Added by People

Happy People More Likely to Give, Survey Finds

S. Korean Pastor Indicted After Trip to N. Korea

To burn or not to burn Qurans
A pastor and an imam are at odds about whether a deal was struck to stop a Quran-burning at a tiny church in Florida.

Perspective: The eternal flame of Muslim outrage
An imam warns the “Muslim world” will “explode” if Qurans are burned. Excuse me — but when is the Muslim world not ready to “explode”?

Judge orders stop to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
A federal judge said she will issue an order to halt the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, after she declared the ban on openly homosexual service members unconstitutional.

Stem-cell funding reinstated … for now
An appeals court has overturned a lower court’s decision to halt federal funding of research on human embryos.

Home schoolers victims of U.N. treaty
The U.S.-based Home School Legal Defense group fears a U.N. treaty is causing increasing problems for home schoolers in various countries — Botswana, for example.

Citing Quran-Burning Threat, Islamic Body Wants U.N. to Outlaw ‘Offenses Against Religion’
(CNSNews.com) – Following the uproar over the threatened burning of the Quran by a small Florida church, a leading international Islamic body said Thursday that the United Nations should outlaw “all forms of offense against religions.” ISESCO, an arm of the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, called on the U.N. “to issue an international law criminalizing all forms of offense against religions under any circumstances.”

CBO Predicts U.S. Debt Crisis If Deficits Are Not Controlled
(CNSNews.com) – The Congressional Budget Office is warning that unless the federal government can control its appetite for deficit spending, the accumulated national debt could spark a fiscal crisis similar to those experienced by Greece and Ireland earlier this year. The non-partisan congressional accounting office – in a little-noticed July report – said the combination of a massive national debt and another fiscal downturn could spark the debt crisis.

EXCLUSIVE: ICE Says It’s Caught-and-Released 506,232 Illegal Aliens Who Are Now Fugitives
(CNSNews.com) – As of Sunday, Sept. 5, the Department of Homeland Security’s backlog of fugitive illegal aliens totaled 506,232 people — slightly more than the population of Sacramento, California. Fugitive illegal aliens are individuals who were apprehended for being in the U.S. illegally, were released ahead of their court proceedings, and deemed fugitive when they failed to appear in court.

U.S. Government Loaned Mexican Government More Than $1 Billion to Drill Oil in Gulf of Mexico Last Year
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Export-Import Bank, an independent federal agency, loaned more than $1 billion to the Mexican state oil company PEMEX in 2009 to support the company’s oil drilling in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The bank has another $1 billion in loans in the pipeline for 2010, unless Congress objects.

Despite 9.6% Unemployment Rate, White House Says Economy Is Stronger Today by ‘Virtually Any Measure’
Washington (CNSNews.com) – “By virtually any measure, our economy is in a better place than it was two years ago,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters at the White House Tuesday.

Obama Used ‘Invest,’ ‘Investing,’ or ‘Investment’ Seven Times in Labor Day Speech to Describe Federal Spending and Special-Interest Tax Loopholes
(CNSNews.com) - In his Labor Day speech, President Barack Obama used the words “invest,” “investing” or “investment” seven times to describe situations in which the government takes money via taxes from one person or institution and gives it to another person or institution, a situation that seems to comport better with the Merriam-Webster Online definition of “redistribution” than “investment.”

Iran Shrugs Off Atomic Agency Criticism, Looks to Allies for Backing
(CNSNews.com) – Iran on Monday dismissed criticism from the U.N. nuclear watchdog and said it expected its allies in the developing world to rally around, again, in support of its nuclear program. In a report released Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran “has not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is for peaceful activities.”

9/11 Quran Burning Again Called Off
Saturday’s scheduled “Burn a Quran Day” is off but the preacher behind the controversial event has yet received the “sign from God” that would finally put an end to it – the moving of the proposed Islamic center near New York City’s Ground Zero.

Judge Strikes Down Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Federal Appeals Court: Gov’t Can Fund Stem Cell Research for Now

Christians Challenged to Stop Ignoring Innovators, Early Adopters

India Court Convicts Legislator in Second Christian Murder Case

Operation Mobilization USA Welcomes New President

On 9/11 Anniversary, Americans Encouraged to Overcome Evil
At least for a while, Americans across the nation felt a sense of togetherness in recalling the blows that were dealt to the nation nine years ago and the acts of courage and selflessness that followed within minutes.

Christians Warn Against Double Standard in Wake of Quran Burning Row

Fla. Preacher Says He Won’t ‘Ever’ Burn Qurans

Christians Avoid Controversy, Focus on Spiritual Revival at 9/11 Event

British Missionary Freed From Hard Labor in Gambian Prison

500,000 Greeting Cards Given Away for Day of Encouragement

Conservatives Say They Will Hold the Next Republican Majority Accountable
Washington (CNSNews.com) – If Republicans regain a majority in Congress, grassroots conservatives will not let them go astray again, said former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, a leading figure in the 1994 Republican takeover of the House. Tea parties and conservative rallies will not end if Republicans take power, Armey said at a rally on Sunday.

Mike Pence: ‘Enough Is Enough. We Are Tired of Borrowing and Spending’
Washington (CNSNews.com) – “Left unchecked, within a matter of 15 years, the U.S. will be like Greece where debt as a percentage of GDP will essentially be the same as theirs,” Rep. Mike Pence, the chairman of the House Republican Conference, told CNSNews.com after speaking at the 9/12 Taxpayer March on Washington.

Health Care Law Could Mean End of Federalism If It Is Upheld, Virginia AG Warns
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Federalism is on the line in Virginia’s lawsuit to invalidate the federal mandate to purchase health insurance, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said. Cuccinelli is one of several state attorneys-general who is suing the federal government to drop the mandate.

Obama Urged to Confront Islamic States on Religious Freedom
(CNSNews.com) – At a time when religious tolerance is in the spotlight globally, President Obama should challenge Islamic governments to lift restrictions on religious freedom that target non-Muslim minorities, some activists say. Ali Al-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, said Washington should publicly call on the Saudis to permit churches.

Judge Cites Obama in Overturning ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
(CNSNews.com) – The California-based federal judge who declared the military’s ban on homosexual conduct unconstitutional based her decision in part on statements made by President Barack Obama himself.

Feds Spent $800,000 of Economic Stimulus on African Genital-Washing Program
(CNSNews.com) – The National Institute of Mental Health spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009 on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to wash their genitals after having sex. The genitalia-washing program is part of a larger $12-million UCLA study examining how to better encourage Africans to undergo voluntary HIV testing and counseling.

Boehner: Repeal Obamacare or It Will ‘Ruin’ Health System and ‘Bankrupt Our Country’
(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who likely would become speaker of the House if the Republicans take back control of the House of Representatives in the November elections, said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he wants to repeal the health-care law that President Barack Obama signed in March and replace it with less intrusive health-care reforms proposed by the Republican Party because he believes Obamacare will ruin the nation’s health care system while bankrupting the country.

Reducing Number of Fat People Would Cut Per Capita Health Spending 4% in 10 Years, Says CBO
(CNSNews.com) - Reducing the number of Americans who have a Body Mass Index that rates them as “obese” would cut per capita health care spending by 4 percent in the United States over the next 10 years, says a new study from the Congressional Budget Office.

In Deeply Divided Turkey, Voters Approve Constitutional Changes
(CNSNews.com) – A referendum on far-reaching constitutional changes has ended with victory for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan but revealed a country deeply divided, with many suspicious about his religious agenda. Opposition parties are particularly unhappy about proposed changes to the way judges are appointed.

Dems’ agenda slows, thanks to American people
A conservative congressman says the wheels have come off for Democrats when it comes to their policies.

Perspective: ACLU sour on targeting terrorists
The American Civil Liberties Union has discovered the right to life. Seriously.

Opportunities abound for Rifqa
The head of a Christian ministry that is dedicated to exposing the truth about Islam feels it’s absolutely awesome that Christian convert Rifqa Bary has obtained her green card and can eventually apply for U.S. citizenship.

Minnesota: The ‘Islamic Republic’
A Messianic Jewish leader is outraged that officials at the Minnesota State Fair recently gave a group of Muslims great access to fairgoers so they could distribute Islamic propaganda.

Is Craigslist clean? Not so fast…
A media watchdog group isn’t convinced that the popular website Craigslist is permanently out of the business of running prostitution ads.

Christian School in Kashmir Attacked Over Reported Quran Desecrations
Hundreds of Muslims in the divided region of Kashmir took to the streets Monday night in violent protest over the reported desecration of Qurans in the United States.

Zimbabwe Releases Jailed U.S. Church Aid Workers on Bail

2 Indonesia Church Leaders Attacked on Way to Service

Situation in Flood-Hit Pakistan Still ‘Critical’, Say Relief Groups

Thousands Rally Against Park51 Mosque on 9/11 Anniversary

Politicians, Religious Leaders Mobilize Conservative Voters

First Lady Calls for Kids’ Menus With Healthy Choices; Says French Fries Should Be Special ‘Request’
(CNSNews.com) – In remarks to the National Restaurant Association on Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama challenged every restaurant “to offer healthy menu options” for children — and “provide them up front so that parents don’t have to hunt around and read the small print to find an appropriately sized portion that doesn’t contain high levels of fat, salt and sugar.” Parents should “know that they can go into any restaurant in this country and choose a genuinely healthy meal for their kids.”

Government Spending Millions of Dollars on Public Health Training Centers
(CNSNews.com) – HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday announced the award of $16.8 million to support 27 Public Health Training Centers at accredited schools of public health across the country. Most of the funding – $15.4 million – will flow from the Prevention and Public Health Fund established by the Democrats’ recently passed health care law. Among other things, Public Health Training Centers organize community based health programs.

Conservative Leaders Call for Repeal of Obamacare
(CNSNews.com) – Conservative leaders gathered at a Faith and Freedom conference in Washington said the Democrats’ health care law is unconstitutional and called for its repeal.

U.S. Faces Growing Terror Threat from ‘Indigenous Muslims,’ Experts Find
(CNSNews.com) – The United States faces a new and growing threat from Islamic extremists radicalized in America, a new report finds. The conventional wisdom – that America can avoid the problem of increased domestic radicalization plaguing Europe – is wrong, according to the report published by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Security Preparedness Group, which is headed by 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton.

Tax-Funded Richmond Visitors Bureau Promotes Campaign to Attract Homosexuals to Virginia’s Capital
(CNSNews.com) – The Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is funded in part by hotel taxes, is promoting an initiative by local businesses to attract homosexuals to Virginia’s capital. The “Rainbow over Richmond” campaign is an attempt to boost tourism at a time when hotel occupancy rates and tourism are declining.

One in Four Democrats Disapprove of Dems’ Performance in Congress, Quinnipiac Poll Finds
(CNSNews.com) – One in every four Democrats now disapproves of the job their own party is doing in Congress. Peter A. Brown, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, had a simple explanation for the statistic: “Everybody hates Congress,” he told CNSNews.com.

Newt Gingrich Predicts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Will Retire
(CNSNews.com) – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) predicted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will retire after the midterm elections when John Boehner takes over as speaker. He also predicted that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will lose re-election.

Tea Party Must Stand Up to Liberal Smear Tactics, Conservative Activist Say
Washington (CNSNews.com) – The continued strength of the tea party movement is a testament to the increasing ineffectiveness of the mainstream media, says conservative activist Andrew Breitbart. He says conservatives should follow Sarah Palin’s example in standing up to big media outlets and liberal groups that have tried to intimidate and discredit those involved in the conservative tea party movement.

As Floodwaters Ebb, Violence Increases in Pakistan
(CNSNews.com) – The month of August brought a marked drop in terror-related fatalities in flood-hit Pakistan, but with the receding waters, the first two weeks of September have brought an increase in violent deaths. September already is the second-deadliest month this year for Pakistani civilians – and it is on track to surpass July’s highest monthly total of 220.

Obama groomed to have ‘grudge against America’
Author David Limbaugh says there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that President Obama’s foreign policy thus far has been decidedly anti-American.

Criticism of Islam – media’s ‘hypersensitive’ topic
A conservative media watchdog says the recent coverage of the threatened Quran burnings by a small Florida church demonstrates that the mainstream liberal media have a “hypersensitivity” to criticism of Islam.

Analyst: Fire Obama
A former senior staff member at the White House says Republicans have an election-winning approach in attacking Barack Obama’s economic policies.

Religion – ‘a great good for humanity’
It may be elementary for most Christians, but new research shows that religious practice in the home has a significant, positive effect on a child’s level of academic achievement.

Perspective: The money of fools
Instead of thinking, too many people simply accept “catchwords” — leaving themselves wide open to people who are clever at spinning words.

Park51 Imam Says Proposed Site Not Sacred
The proposed site for the Islamic center and mosque near the former World Trade Center is not sacred, says the Muslim cleric who envisioned the project.

Global Hunger Figure Drops for First Time in 15 Years

U.K. Evangelical Body Urges ‘All’ Christians to Welcome Pope’s Visit

Reformed Christian School Rescinds Invite to ‘New Pornographers’

Piper Still Working on Soul, Family During Leave

Church in India Set on Fire After Quran-Burning Reports

Change brewing — big night for tea party
It’s tea time in America. Tea party-backed candidates in Delaware and New York dealt the GOP establishment shocks in Tuesday’s primaries — and in the Senate primary in New Hampshire, where it’s still too close to call, the tea party’s favorite trails only slightly.

A ‘tipping point’ in the NYC mosque debate?
Terrorism expert Robert Spencer says no one should be surprised that a radical Muslim close to the imam of the “Ground Zero” mosque would call the 9/11 terrorist attacks an “inside job.”

Court, White House team up against ‘gay’ ban
Military watchdog Elaine Donnelly argues that a recent court ruling makes it more difficult for the U.S. military to defend its decision to kick a lesbian nurse out of the Air Force Reserve.

Big gains ahead for GOP?
With President Obama’s approval ratings declining and his policy positions becoming less popular, some political analysts believe the GOP could garner sizable victories in the upcoming midterm elections.

Perspective: The ObamaCare inquisitions
The White House figures that the only way to quell the ObamaCare backlash is through a campaign to demonize, marginalize, and silence nationwide dissent.

Justice Breyer Suggests Quran-Burning May Test First Amendment
(CNSNews.com) – Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer said on Tuesday that globalization may change the way the First Amendment applies in the United States, and he suggested that Pastor Terry Jones’ proposed Quran-burning may or may not be protected under the First Amendment.

Ohio Town Won’t Allow Tea Party to Celebrate U.S. Constitution in Town Square
(CNSNews.com) – Local officials in Ohio’s Andover Township have denied the use of their public square for a celebration of Constitution Day because of the “political affiliation” of its organizers. The Andover Tea Party asked to use the square for a rally celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.

O’Donnell Says She’ll Listen to the People, Not the ‘Experts’
(CNSNews.com) – Not only does Republican U.S. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell have the support of Sarah Palin and Reagan Democrats, “I have the support of the people here in Delaware, and that’s who I’m counting on to win this general election,” she said in a Wednesday-morning interview.

Democrat Party Leader Seizes on Republican Criticism of Christine O’Donnell
(CNSNews.com) – Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine says he now expects to win seats in November that he previously thought Democrats would lose. In the case of Delaware, Democrats simply need to quote what Republicans have said about Christine O’Donnell, the conservative Republican supported by the tea party.

Senate Small Business Chair Ducks Questions on Bush Tax Cuts
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) would not say whether a proposal from President Barack Obama to allow taxes to rise on top income earners would hinder small businesses from expanding and hiring new workers.

Poll: Voters Disapprove of How Obama’s Handling of Illegal Immigration
(CNSNews.com) – American voters by a wide margin, 60 to 28 percent, disapprove of the way President Barack Obama is handling illegal immigration, and by an even wider margin, 68 to 25 percent, they favor stricter enforcement over integrating illegal immigrants into U.S. society, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University.

Defections Point to Dissent in Iran’s Diplomatic Corps
(CNSNews.com) – Five years after a newly installed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered a purge of dozens of Iranian diplomats considered too “liberal,” a slow trickle of defections suggests growing unhappiness with his hard-line policies within the diplomatic corps. A diplomat based at the Iranian Embassy in Brussels said Tuesday he was seeking asylum in Norway, to “take a stand in support of the Iranian people.”

Killings in Kashmir Top Summer of Deadly Protests
(CNSNews.com) - This week’s deadly violence in the Indian-ruled part of Kashmir has been blamed on Muslim anger over reports of Quran-burning in the U.S., but it follows a summer of protests stemming from a longtime dispute. Some observers predict that jihadists and other elements supportive of Jammu and Kashmir’s secession will ensure that tensions escalate in the run-up to President Obama’s scheduled visit to India in November, in the hope of drawing Washington into some sort of mediation.

Violent Crime Down As Gun Sales Climbed in 2009
(CNSNews.com) – The trend is “proof positive that gun prohibitionists have been consistently and undeniably wrong,” said the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

First Lady Cites Push for Healthy Produce, Even in Some Liquor Stores
Washington (CNSNews.com) – First Lady Michelle Obama said her “Let’s Move!” campaign to end childhood obesity requires grassroots efforts such as planting community gardens and making fresh produce readily available, even in liquor stores. She hailed a Detroit program in which a truck drives through the city selling “fresh, affordable produce.”

‘Gingrich: Public Should Not Trust the Republicans But ‘Loan Them Power’
(CNSNews.com) – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told CNSNews.com that the American public should not “trust” the Republicans but “loan them power” and “be very clear” that they expect the GOP to “control spending and change things.”

White House Science Czar: “‘Global Warming’ Is a Dangerous Misnomer”
(CNSNews.com) – John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, says the term “global warming” should be replaced with “global climate disruption.”

Libyan Membership Under Fire As U.N. Human Rights Council Gets Poor Grades
(CNSNews.com) – Four months after the world’s governments elected Libya to the U.N.’s top human rights body, victims of Libyan abuses joined human rights advocates Thursday in appealing for Muammar Gaddafi’s regime to be expelled. The push to eject Libya comes amid a continuing effort by the Obama administration to justify its decision to join the 47-nation council last year, after the Bush administration shunned it.

Quran-Burning Cartoons Sought in Iran
(CNSNews.com) – As Iran continues to react angrily over desecration of the Quran, it is turning to cartoons as an outlet for its outrage over perceived “Islamophobia.” Iranian House of Cartoons director Massoud Shojai Tabatabai said Wednesday that dozens of cartoons already have been submitted since the contest was first advertised on Monday. Several of the cartoons submitted include symbolic references to Israel as well as to Britain, another country reviled by the Iranian establishment.

Insurgents Attack Civilians Praying at Mosque in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province
(CNSNews.com) – Insurgents attacked Afghan civilians who were praying in a mosque in the city of Marjah in the Helmand province in Afghanistan, according to the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force in that country. Two civilians were killed and another wounded as a result of the attack, which took place on Aug. 30.

Harry Reid Pushes Amendment to Defense Bill that Would Allow Illegal Aliens to Attend State Colleges, Get Amnesty
(CNSNews.com) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday he intends to bring the DREAM Act as an amendment to the Defense authorization bill expected to be taken up by the Senate next week. Reid said Congress is unable to pass comprehensive immigration reform because Republicans who supported such legislation during the last session “left us.”

GOP and tea party – combatants or collaborators?
A political scientist says it’s imperative that the tea party and the GOP stop their bickering and get behind the candidates who are trying to wrestle control of Congress from liberal Democrats.

Conservative summit to focus on values, character
Prominent conservatives from across the U.S. will meet this weekend in Washington, D.C. at an event that has grown to be the leading gathering for pro-family policies and other important issues facing the nation.

Perspective: Obama asks thug nations to judge America
Does America engage in massive and widespread violations of human rights? The Obama administration thinks so.

NJ train conductor fired after burning Quran
A New Jersey train conductor who burned pages from the Quran outside a planned mosque near ground zero on Saturday has been fired by NJ Transit.

Immigration issue factor in NV Senate race
A political action committee favoring enforcement of U.S. immigration law is endorsing Harry Reid’s opponent Sharron Angle in the Nevada Senate race.

Israeli, Palestinian Leaders ‘Serious’ About Peace Deal, Says Clinton
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted Wednesday that the leaders of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority were “serious” about a peace deal, despite no visible evidence that the closed-door negotiations were going well.

Probe of Attack on Indonesian Church Leaders Leads to 10 Arrests

NAMB Names Kevin Ezell as New President

Report Reveals Salaries of Megachurch Pastors

French Senate Passes Ban on Full Muslim Veils

Church of Scotland Backs Campaign for Fair Education

Colson: Christianity Does Not Stop with Salvation
Too many Christians have truncated the Gospel and dumbed the faith down to just being a relationship with Jesus Christ, lamented evangelical author and commentator Chuck Colson.

U.S. Episcopal Church Leader Calls for ‘Season of Prayer for Sudan’

School Burning Prompts Call for India President to Protect Christians

Prodigal Son to Launch Global Effort to Reach Lost Ravers

‘Pride and Joy’ Surround Pope’s Visit to Britain

‘Top 100′ Churches List Released amid Some Criticism

Europeans Push Global Tax to Fund Poverty-Reduction, Climate Change Causes
(CNSNews.com) – A group of 60 nations will meet next week at the United Nations to push for a tax on foreign currency transactions as a way to generate revenue to meet global poverty-reduction goals, including “climate change” mitigation. Spearheaded by European Union countries, the so-called “innovative financing” proposal envisages a tax of 0.005 percent (five cents per $1,000), which experts estimate could produce more than $30 billion a year worldwide for priority causes.

Taxpayers Paid at Least $9 Million for Signs Identifying Stimulus Projects; Republican Questions ‘Lowball’ Estimates
(CNSNews.com) – At a minimum, taxpayers have spent $9.1 million as of July 2010 on signs advertising the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus law, according to federal officials who reported cost estimates to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board. While the Obama administration contends the signs provide transparency, Republicans believe the signs amount to taxpayer-subsidized propaganda.

White House Science Czar Says He Would Use ‘Free Market’ to ‘De-Develop the United States’
(CNSNews.com) – White House Office of Science and Technology Director John P. Holdren says he would use the “free market economy” to “de-develop” the United States. “What we meant by that was stopping the kinds of activities that are destroying the environment and replacing them with activities that would produce both prosperity and environmental quality,” Holdren told CNSNews.com.

Border District Congressman: DREAM Act Ought To Be ‘Part of a Comprehensive Immigration Reform Package’
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), a former border patrol chief who represents the largest community along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, told CNSNews.com that the DREAM Act is necessary but “it’s got to be part of a comprehensive immigration reform package.”

Sanchez ‘Can’t Answer in 30 Seconds’ Whether She’s Committed to Securing Border Against Drugs
(CNSNews.com) – When asked whether she was committed to securing the U.S.-Mexico border against drug trafficking and other crimes — and when Congress could accomplish this goal — Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) told CNSNews.com, “If you call my office I’ll be happy to sit down and talk to you about it.”

Muslim-American Soldier at Fort Hood Tells Al Jazeera: U.S. Army Training is ‘Propaganda Against Islam’
(CNSNews.com) - Zachari Klawonn, a Muslim U.S. Army specialist stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, told the Arabic-language television network Al Jazeera in a recent interview that training he had undergone in the U.S. military was “propaganda against Islam.” Klawonn said he was subject to harassment from fellow soldiers and from the Army command itself. A spokesman for Fort Hood told CNSNews.com that, as an American, Klawonn had a right to express his views and that he had informed his commanding officer that he was going to appear on Al-Jazeera.

Bozell Declares War on Liberal Media; Launches ‘Tell the Truth’ Campaign
(CNSNews.com) – Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell III is calling on members of the liberal media to “Tell the Truth” about the administration’s efforts to push the U.S. toward socialism. On a Wednesday evening Webcast, Bozell announced the kick-off of a $2.1-million campaign designed to fight “the outrageous levels of liberal bias in the media today.”

Defund Obamacare? Boehner Says: ‘I Am Committed To Doing Everything’ to Stop It
(CNSNews.com) - House Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) said he is “committed to doing everything” to prevent the health care legislation Obama signed in March from actually being implemented.

Federal Contracts Set Aside for Small Businesses Going to Large Firms
(CNSNews.com) – The Small Business Set-Aside Program is intended to help small businesses get a certain percentage of government contracts, but for nearly a decade, the federal government has counted contracts with large businesses — in some cases, Fortune 500 firms and other publicly traded companies — toward meeting its legally required small-business contract goals. The Government Accountability Office and the SBA Office of Inspector General both issued reports in recent months citing problems with the program.

Judge Temporarily Stops Ohio Township from Blocking Tea Party Constitution Day Rally
(CNSNews.com) – An Ohio judge ruled late Wednesday that Tea Party activists may celebrate Constitution Day on Sept. 17 with a rally in Andover Township, Ohio. The town initially tried to block the event because it was too political.

China-Japan Maritime Dispute Suggests China May Sense a Weakening in U.S.-Japan Ties
(CNSNews.com) – China on Friday appeared to be ramping up its most serious diplomatic dispute with Japan in years, by preparing to drill in a long-disputed gas field in the East China Sea. A former Bush administration official said in Tokyo Wednesday that China may have sensed a chill in U.S.-Japan relations, and was attempting to exploit it.

Obama weak on domestic terrorism
A terrorism expert agrees with the assessment of a new report that shows the Obama administration is not adequately dealing with the threats of homegrown terrorism attacks.

Perspective: Harry Reid’s illegal alien student bailout
The so-called DREAM Act is not about protecting “children.” It’s about preserving electoral power through cap-and-gown amnesty.

Senators ready to fight Defense Authorization Act
A Mississippi senator says he will fight against the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats to break a GOP filibuster of the Defense Authorization bill because it contains an amendment designed to repeal the 1993 law that bans homosexuals from serving in the military.

Education reform and politics don’t mix
An education expert says the defeat of the incumbent in Tuesday’s Washington, D.C. mayoral primary goes to show that true education reform and politics don’t mix.

Is recession nearing an end?
With retail sales up some 4/10 of a percent, and as the U.S. is seeing more signs of modest economic growth, some investors recently declared that the recession is over, but others feel a word of caution is in order.

‘Values Voter’ Crowd Excited by November Prospects
The crowd at the Values Voter Summit Friday morning was clearly excited as speakers – one after another – spoke about the power shift from the government to the people and the return of America back to the foundational values of the founding fathers.

Pope Decries ‘Marginalization’ of Religion

Religious Freedom Watchdog to Egypt: Bring Christmas Eve Killers to Justice

Human Rights Group Welcomes 1-Day Ceasefire in Burma

Christians Respond to Higher U.S. Poverty Rate

New Threats, Old Enmity Pummel Nepal’s Christians

Work of Humanitarian Agencies Praised on 5th Anniversary of Katrina
Five years after Hurricanes Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, survivors and those working on their behalf say work is far from finished.  increasing demand.

Disaffected Lutherans Constitute New Body

Presbyterian Court Rebukes Minister for Gay Weddings

D’Souza: Christians Need to Tackle Secular Culture from ‘Belly of Beast’

Beck: Most Americans Don’t Recognize Obama’s Christianity

Gov’t-Funded Study on Sex, Abstinence Released Following Protest

Tell the Truth and Turn to God, Glenn Beck Tells Hundreds of Thousands at His Restoring Honor Rally
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Americans may disagree on their politics, and that’s okay, Glenn Beck told a crowd numbering in the hundreds of thousands on Saturday. But for the sake of the nation, Americans must agree on their values and principles. Change for the better begins in each one of us, Beck said, as he urged Americans to turn to God – just as the Founding Fathers did. Your country needs you, he said.

FDA: Obamacare’s Calorie-Count Mandate Now In Effect—But Not Enforceable
(CNSNews.com) - A mandate buried in the health-care bill President Barack Obama signed in March is now confounding not only the vending-machine operators who are supposed to follow it but also the federal regulators who are supposed to enforce it.

Civil Rights Leader Says KKK and Tea Party Have to Be Used ‘Interchangeably’
(CNSNews.com) - Civil rights activist Rev. Dr. Walter Fauntroy criticized Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally and said the Ku Klux Klan and the Tea Party have to be used “interchangeably.”

Project 21 Chairman Blasts Sharpton over Glenn Beck Rally
(CNSNews.com) - Glenn Beck, in holding his “Restoring Honor” rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous speech, “is not in any way taking advantage of a day or in any way being unfair or in any way maligning the history of Martin Luther King,” the leader of a conservative black group told CNSNews.com on Friday.

Gallup: Obama’s Approval Highest Among Muslims—78 Percent
(CNSNews.com) - While President Barack Obama’s overall approval rating averaged 48 percent for the first seven months of 2010, it was 78 percent among Muslim Americans, according to the Gallup Poll. That gave the president a higher approval rating among Muslims than among any other religious category reported by the poll.

U.N. Data Refutes Claim That Muslim Nations Have Pledged Nearly $1 Billion for Pakistan Crisis 
(CNSNews.com) – The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) says Muslim countries, organizations and individuals have pledged nearly $1 billion in response to the Pakistan flood emergency, and Pakistan’s prime minister says Saudi Arabia has overtaken the U.S. in responding to the crisis. But figures released by the United Nations call both claims into question.

Iranian Newspaper, Lashing Out at Critics of Stoning Sentence, Calls France’s First Lady A Prostitute 
(CNSNews.com) – Iran risked unleashing a new diplomatic row with a Western government at the weekend when a newspaper closely linked to the regime called France’s first lady a “prostitute.” Carla Bruni-Sarkozy had earlier criticized the sentencing of an Iranian woman accused of adultery to death by stoning.

Feds listen, release pro-abstinence study
In response to heavy criticism, the Department of Health and Human Services has reluctantly released the full results of a national study that favors abstinence education.

.Perspective: God, the gospel, and Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck, the new leader of America’s Christian conservative movement? Thousands of gullible Christian conservatives may have no problem with that — but I do.

Bauer: Mosque money needs to stop
Gary Bauer says it’s an absolute outrage that U.S. taxpayers will soon be footing the bill for rebuilding Islamic mosques in foreign countries.

Right idea + wrong approach = bad idea
Conservative columnist Marcia Segelstein is skeptical about the National Association of Evangelicals’ program to get churches on the front line in the fight to reduce abortions.

.Perspective: Let the death panels commence
Panned by critics for her reference to “death panels,” Sarah Palin’s take on bureaucratic-laden ObamaCare — unfortunately — is looking to be dead-on.

Iraqis Approved of U.S. Leadership Under Bush More Than Obama, Says Gallup Poll
(CNSNews.com) - With President Barack Obama preparing to give a speech Tuesday night from the Oval Office announcing the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, recently released polling data from the Gallup indicates that the Iraqi people approved of U.S. leadership more under President George W. Bush, who invaded their country and overthrew the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, then they do under Obama, who opposed the invasion of Iraq and has repeatedly vowing to have all U.S. troop out of that country by the end of 2011.

One American Died Every 15 Hours, on Average, in Operation Iraqi Freedom
(CNSNews.com) – One U.S. soldier, Marine, airman or sailor died every 15 hours, on average, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which officially ends on Tuesday — almost seven-and-a-half years after U.S.-led forces invaded to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime. The Bush administration’s surge strategy under Gen. David Petraeus during the first half of 2007 produced a clear and steady drop in U.S. fatalities.

Obama Administration Submits Arizona Immigration Law to U.N. Review, Reviving Questions About U.S. Engagement With Flawed U.N. Body
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration’s reference to Arizona’s immigration law in a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council has caused a stir, but its decision to engage with the body in the first place has drawn criticism for a lot longer. “The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a state of the United States to ‘review’ by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional,” Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

HHS Took More Than A Year to Release Its Abstinence-Education Study, Which Contradicts Obama’s Stance
(CNSNews.com) - A majority of adolescents and 70 percent of their parents believe sex should be confined to marriage, according to a federally funded study released Monday by an agency within the Health and Human Services Department. Although the report on the taxpayer-funded study was completed by February 2009, HHS did not release it until last week, prompting speculation that the Obama administration did not like the report’s conclusions.

Education Secretary Says Teachers Should Be ‘Revered’
(CNSNews.com) – Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the larger challenge in education is to improve the status of the teaching profession so that teachers feel respected and valued. “Teaching must be a much more revered profession,” he told a group of educators at Keene State College in Keene, N.H. on Monday night. He’s also making nice with teachers unions.

Conservative Black Leaders Praise Glenn Beck Rally at Lincoln Memorial, Criticize Al Sharpton’s Counter-Rally
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Conservative black leaders who participated in the rally hosted by radio and TV personality Glenn Beck at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday said the event honored the legacy and vision the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. His niece, Alveda King, said her uncle would have approved of the “Restoring Honor” rally. Another black conservative said Al Sharpton should have been at Beck’s rally.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Chair: Republicans Are ‘Popping the Champagne’ Prematurely
(CNSNews.com) - Democratic Congressional Campaign Chairman Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told CNSNews.com that America is experiencing a “very, very fragile” economic recovery thanks to the $787 billion economic stimulus package, which has “stabilized” the economy. Van Hollen also claims that House Republicans are prematurely celebrating anticipated gains in the upcoming midterm election.

Redesigned Labels on New Cars Will Include Pollution Information
(CNSNews.com) - The Obama administration is changing the fuel economy labels placed on the windows of new cars and light trucks so consumers can “make the best economic and environmental decisions when buying a new car.” On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation proposed two new label designs for public comment.

CA lawmakers hope to repeal DOMA
California’s legislature has officially endorsed repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

.Perspective: A 15-story insult
Do those who are planning a Ground Zero mosque want to be part of American society — or to see how much they can get away with in American society?

Obama’s relationship with GOP up in the air
A member of a conservative think-tank says the jury is out on whether President Obama will work with Republicans if they take control of Congress this November.

District pays big in laptop spy scandal
A federal judge says a suburban Philadelphia school district embroiled in a laptop spying scandal must pay a family’s lawyer more than a quarter-million dollars.

‘Big bucks’ boost for home schoolers
LeTourneau University has received a $5 million gift to establish an endowed scholarship fund for home-schooled students — the single largest donation ever given for that purpose.

Interfaith Center Suggested to Heal Divide on Mosque Near Ground Zero
Rather than move the mosque further away from the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, the chairwoman of the city’s community board has suggested adding an interfaith component to help heal the divide.

Church Leaders Press Obama on Mideast Peace Talks

Islamic Think Tank Awards Hartford Seminary $1M Gift

Calif. Gov. Urged to Veto Bill ‘Strengthening’ Religious Freedom

Judge Declines to Dismiss Charges Against Christian Street Preachers

Samaritan’s Purse Sends Relief Supplies to Flood-Hit N. Korea

RNC chairman subverted marriage amendment
Peter LaBarbera finds it absolutely appalling that former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman was able to “beat back” Republican efforts against homosexual “marriage” while hiding his own homosexual lifestyle.

Perspective: Uprooting crosses, one by one
At the same time politicians are extolling the merits of a mosque in downtown Manhattan, crosses are being systematically erased from public view in America.

Kidnappers release Christian aid worker
There’s good news concerning an international aid worker with Samaritan’s Purse who had been held hostage in Sudan.

Single-gender glasses challenged
A school board in Louisiana is fighting the ACLU over the right to have single-gender classes at a middle school.

Exposing the ‘real’ Quran
A minister wants to help Americans learn the “real” Quran and bring Muslims to Christ.

After the Speech: Obama’s Commitment to Victory Questioned
(CNSNews.com) – President Obama’s prime-time speech to the nation announcing the end of combat operations in Iraq is getting generally poor reviews from Republicans and conservatives, not only for what Obama said, but for what he did not say.

GOP Leaders Quick to Credit Bush Strategy for Victory in Iraq
(CNSNews.com) – Hours before President Barack Obama delivered a speech on the troop withdrawal and transition in Iraq, Republican leaders reminded voters that Democrats had taken a defeatist tack prior to the success of Bush’s troop surge in 2007 and had criticized the 2008 agreement negotiated by Bush that set the timetable for the current withdrawal and transition. 

Obama, in Announcing End of Combat in Iraq, Does Not Credit the Timetable Put in Place by the Bush Administration
(CNSNews.com) - ‘Consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops will leave (Iraq) by the end of next year,’ Obama said Tuesday night in his prime-time televised speech. However, he did not give the Bush administration credit for ‘our agreement with the Iraqi government.’

2010 Already Deadliest Year for U.S. in Nine-Year Afghan War
(CNSNews.com) - 2010 already has become the deadliest year for U.S. troop in the nine-year-long war in Afghanistan. The majority of all American deaths — 612 — have occurred since Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009, or about 52 percent of the overall 1,181 fatalities (which includes both combat-related casualties and non-combat fatalities).

American Muslims Release PSA to Combat ‘Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Stemming From’ Ground Zero Mosque Issue
(CNSNews.com) - A coalition of American Muslims has released a Public Service Announcement to combat what they call “anti-Muslim rhetoric stemming from the Islamic center issue” in New York City. The PSA says Muslims do not want to “take over this country” and do not “support terrorism of any form.”

Gov’t Study Finds Consumer-Driven Health Plans Control Costs Better Than Traditional Insurance
(CNSNews.com) – Consumer-driven health care plans, which are being offered by more companies, cost less than traditional health insurance and are better at controlling the growth in health care spending, according to a new study.

Top Economist Warns Congress: Passing Union-Backed Bills Would Create a ‘Ponzi Scheme as Bad as Bernie Madoff’ 
(CNSNews.com) – An economist at the nonpartisan Hudson Institute says that if House and Senate Democrats pass the the “card check bill” (unions call it the Employee Free Choice Act — in this Congress, it would create a “ponzi scheme” environment. EFCA would do away with secret ballot elections for unions, which critics say would open the door to employees being pressured into voting to unionize.

AZ Border Sheriff: ‘I Have About As Much Regard for the U.N. as I Do the Vermin’
(CNSNews.com) – Sheriff Larry Dever, whose officers patrol Cochise County along the border between Arizona and Mexico, said he finds it “amazing” that the U.S. State Department would refer the recently passed immigration law in his state to the United Nations Human Rights Council for review. “Course, I have about as much regard for the U.N. as I do the vermin that hides in the rocks around my house here and reaches out and tries to bite me every now and then.”

Tensions Simmer Between Asian Giants Over China’s Regional Intentions
(CNSNews.com) – “India has come to realize that China has been showing more than the normal interest in Indian Ocean affairs,” Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna told lawmakers in New Delhi on Tuesday. “So we are closely monitoring the Chinese intentions.” Analysts view the Chinese moves in Asia as part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at expanding its influence in Asia while securing alternative sources of and routes for vital energy supplies.

Over 8 in 10 Worldwide See Religion as Important
More than eight in ten adults in the world say religion is an important part of their daily lives, according to Gallup surveys conducted last year in 114 countries.

Christian Doctors Blast Obama Administration for Stem Cell Appeal

Texas Court Rejects Gay Couple’s Divorce Petition

Evangelical Scholar Troubled by Theological Ambiguity at Beck Rally

World Vision Sees Spike in Corporate Giving in Aftermath of Haiti Quake

Caritas Launches Campaign to Save Millennium Development Goals

Obama’s ‘crimes against liberty’
Author David Limbaugh believes Barack Obama’s presidency is the most destructive administration the U.S. has ever known and warns that it will do far-reaching damage if it is not stopped and reversed.

Perspective: Evangelicals and Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck is being used by God — mightily. He is not perfect, but his exposé on America’s sins is stellar. I am convinced his motives are pure.

Court decision spurs Iowans to action
An organization in Iowa is hard at work to get new faces on that state’s highest court.

U.S. Hamas fundraisers caught on camera
A Florida group has caught on video an Orlando mosque in the act of raising money for a supporter of Hamas.

.Perspective: Who is intolerant?
The drum beat of those who preach the religion of “tolerance” in our time has been growing louder and louder every day.

Arizona Now Has ‘Whopping 30’ National Guard Troops and 15 Billboards Warning Citizens About Drug Cartels on Public Lands
(CNSNews.com) – Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said requests by Arizona law enforcement personnel and elected official for 3,000 National Guard troops to be deployed along the border have been answered with just 1 percent of that number: “We have a whopping 30 [National Guard troops] this week that are showing up,” Babeu told CNSNews.com. “It’s less than a half-hearted measure designed to fail.”

Westerners Urged to Earmark Aid for Pakistan’s Marginalized Christians 
(CNSNews.com) – According to the Pakistan Christian Congress, Muslim relief organizations and government agencies have been denying assistance to Christians affected by the flooding in Punjab province.

CAIR Suggests Tea Party, GOP Are Behind Nationwide Anti-Muslim Campaign
(CNSNews.com) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is putting some of the blame on both the Tea Party and the Republican Party for what it sees as a growing tide of anti-Muslim anger. “We’ve seen a really strong uptick in Islamophobia recently – primarily sparked by the controversy over the Manhattan Islamic center,” Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s chief spokesman, told reporters at a press conference Wednesday. 

Ground Zero Mosque Would Convince Muslims Not to Join Al Qaeda, Former Military Interrogator Says 
(CNSNews.com) - Building the Ground Zero mosque is a necessary gesture of goodwill to keep the growth of terrorism in the Muslim world at bay, according to a former senior Air Force interrogator. 

Departing White House Economic Adviser Urges More Stimulus Spending
(CNSNews.com) - Christina Romer, the departing chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, said that the “only surefire ways” to boost the economy are for “the government to spend more and tax less.” She also said that concern about the federal deficit cannot be an “excuse for leaving unemployed Americans to suffer.” 

HHS Awards $17 Million for ‘Patient-Centered Outcomes Research’
(CNSNews.com) – The stimulus law, signed by President Barack Obama in February 2009, authorized $1.1 billion for research on what medical treatments work best for which people. On Wednesday, the Health and Human Services Department announced that $17 million of that taxpayer money will be used to establish a network of PCOR centers. PCOR stands for “patient-centered outcomes research,” also known as “comparative effectiveness research.” 

Reports of Christian Aid Workers Killed by Taliban in Pakistan Still Unconfirmed
(CNSNews.com) – Mystery surrounds reports that three Western Christian relief workers were kidnapped and killed by the Pakistan Taliban last week while helping people affected by severe flooding in the country’s northwest. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad has categorically denied the reports, and no aid agency has announced the deaths of staff members. But the head of a Pakistani Christian human rights advocacy group called Life for All insists the report is true.

David Limbaugh: Obama is a Narcissist
(CNSNews.com) - In his new best-selling book, “Crimes Against Liberty: An Indictment of President Barack Obama,” author David Limbaugh argues that Obama’s ego is outsized even compared to others who have sought and won the presidency. As an example of Obama’s grandiose self-assessment, Limbaugh pointed to Obama’s comment on the night when he clinched the Democratic nomination: “This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” “Can you imagine…the conceit of that statement!” said Limbaugh.

Pastors Question Francis Chan’s Decision to Leave Megachurch
Popular author and preacher Francis Chan was recently questioned by fellow pastors who tried to wrap their heads around Chan’s decision to leave his megachurch.

Ill. High Court Rejects Request to Transfer Parental Notice Case

N.Y. School District Changes Its Anti-Rosary Policy

Va. School Principal Rebuked Over ‘Candid’ Response to New Christian Club

Rights Group: Cuban Church Leader Arrested on ‘False’ Charges

NYC Mosque Rhetoric May Harm Persecuted Christians

Disconnect + discontent = deja vu
A sitting congressman is suggesting that current voter discontent may be even stronger than it was when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in the 1994 mid-term elections.

‘Same-sex divorce’ revoked
A Texas court has reversed a judge’s decision to grant a divorce in a case that involves two men.

ACLU sues FBI, helps ‘country’s enemies’
Gary Bauer thinks the ACLU should be helping national security and law enforcement agencies protect the citizens of the U.S. instead of aiding the country’s enemies.

Wedlock irrelevant to teens
There appears to be a growing acceptance of children being conceived out of wedlock among the nation’s youth.

Israelis adopt American sport
Whether it be college or professional, Texas is known for producing good football. But a Dallas businessman has invested in a team located far away from The Lone Star State.

EXCLUSIVE: Intel Report Confirmed 18 Released Gitmo Detainees Returned to Terror Before Obama Ordered Closing of Prison
(CNSNews.com) – On Jan. 7, 2009, less than two weeks before Barack Obama was sworn in as president, a Defense Intelligence Agency report indicated that up until that date there had been 18 confirmed and 43 suspected cases of detainees who had been released from the Guantanamo Bay prison and who had returned to terrorism. The DIA released the report to CNSNews.com in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

American Academy of Pediatrics Says Media Portrayal of Sex ‘Unhealthy’
(CNSNews.com) – The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new guidelines calling on all media outlets to present human sexuality in a healthy, scientifically accurate manner. “Television, film, music, and the Internet are all becoming increasingly sexually explicit, yet information on abstinence, sexual responsibility, and birth control remains rare,” said the AAP.

Chief White House Economic Advisor Admits Her Forecast on Unemployment Was ‘So Far Off’
(CNSNews.com) - Christina Romer, the departing chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, said America’s economic “turnaround has been insufficient,” and she said the current 9.5 percent unemployment rate is “an unacceptable level by any metric.” 

Palestinian Leader Rebuffs Netanyahu’s Call for A ‘Jewish State’ 
(CNSNews.com) – Behind the polite talk at Thursday’s re-launch of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations was a deep gulf on what Israel calls a make-or-break issue – Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian leaders repeatedly have rejected this Israeli requirement.

HUD Offers Millions in Grants to Remove Lead-Based Paint in Lower-Income Homes
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making $110 million in grants available to help eliminate lead-based paint from lower-income homes to protect young children from lead poisoning. “While we have made remarkable progress toward eliminating lead poisoning in children nationwide, now is the time to focus on reaching the finish line,” one HUD official said.

Global Church Head Urges ‘Just Peace’ amid Mideast Talks
As peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders continue, the head of a global church body sent a message Thursday to negotiators to stress the concerns of Palestinian Christians.

Conservative Leaders Mobilizing Christians to ‘Pray & A.C.T.’ for America

Thousands Expected to Attend End Times Scholar’s 5th Annual Prophecy Conference

Survey Examines Phenomenon of Multisite Churches

Conservatives Encouraged to be Good Neighbors to NYC Mosque Builders

SBC Leaders ‘Excited’ About Nominee for NAMB President

NY mosque investor also Hamas terrorist supporter
One of the investors in a proposed Islamic center near ground zero is a Long Island medical clinic owner whose expressions of sympathy for Palestinians included a donation to a charity later shut down for links to Hamas.

Nice vs. good – a dilemma for Christian women
The title of Paul Coughlin and Jennifer Degler’s new book – No More Christian Nice Girl – may come off as surprising, but that is exactly what the two wanted to communicate.

‘Dancing’ promoting immorality
A popular television competition has invited another contestant with a questionable past.

Marriage fee increase tied to domestic violence
Democrats in the California legislature recently passed a Republican-opposed measure that would boost marriage license fees to help fund the state’s domestic violence shelters.

Stricter regulations in store for VA abortuaries
Virginia’s attorney general has issued a legal opinion that would allow greater enforcement of regulations on abortion clinics.

Craigslist drops ads for adult services
Craigslist appears to have surrendered in a legal fight over erotic ads posted on its website, shutting down its adult services section Saturday and replacing it with a black bar that simply says “censored.”

Church fights for right to bear arms
As it is legal in Georgia to carry a gun only in a church parking lot — not in the church — some supporters of bearing arms are working to have that law changed.

NY mosque investor also Hamas terrorist supporter
One of the investors in a proposed Islamic center near ground zero is a Long Island medical clinic owner whose expressions of sympathy for Palestinians included a donation to a charity later shut down for links to Hamas.

First it was burqas, now it’s burgers
A popular French fast food chain has begun serving halal-only food in 22 of its French outlets, targeting France’s large Muslim population.