A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – Wildfires barreled across the baking landscape of the western U.S. and Canada, destroying a smattering of homes, forcing thousands to flee and temporarily trapping children and counselors at a California campground.

Two major wildfires in California have sent nearly 8,000 people fleeing to safety.

In rural Arizona, fire officials say three homes were among 10 buildings that were burned. The wildfire there has led to the evacuation of the entire town of Dudleyville, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Phoenix.

Firefighters were contending with more than 200 wildfires burning in British Columbia that had destroyed dozens of buildings, including several homes and two airport hangars. The three biggest fires, which ranged in size from 5 to 8 square miles, had forced thousands of people to flee. [ Source:
Fox News ]

(Worthy News) – The number of Americans without health insurance has increased by nearly 2 million since the beginning of 2017, according to a report from Gallup.

In the third and fourth quarter of 2016, the percentage of the uninsured hit a record low of 10.9 percent. Since that time, the percentage has been increasing, hitting 11.3 percent in the first quarter of 2017 and 11.7 percent in the second quarter.

The report suggests that there may be factors in the Obamacare marketplace that are making the uninsured rate increase. [ Source: Washington Free Beacon ]

(Worthy News) – Turkish authorities have ordered the arrest of 105 people working in information technology who were believed to have been involved in the attempted military coup a year ago, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.

In the last year, there has been a steady stream of police operations targeting people suspected of links to the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the failed putsch on July 15.

Police have so far detained 52 people out of the 105 targeted by arrest warrants across eight provinces, including former staff from Turkey’s scientific research council TUBITAK and a telecommunications authority, Anadolu said. [ Source: Jerusalem Post ]

(Worthy News) – The senior US commander in Iraq has warned that the war against the so-called Islamic State (IS) is not over, despite a “historic” victory in Mosul.

“If we’re to keep… ISIS 2.0 from emerging, the Iraqi government is going to have to do something pretty significantly different,” Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said.  He continued by saying, “They’re going to have to reach out and reconcile with the Sunni population, and make them feel like their government in Baghdad represents them.”

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has formally declared victory over IS in Mosul, after a nearly nine-month battle that left large areas in ruins, killed thousands of civilians and displaced more than 920,000 others. [ Source: BBC ]

(Worthy News) – Israel’s foreign ministry has issued a statement denouncing U.S. billionaire George Soros, a move that appeared designed to align Israel more closely with Hungary ahead of a visit to Budapest next week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who has spent a large part of his fortune funding pro-democracy and human rights groups, has repeatedly been targeted by Hungary’s right-wing government, in particular over his support for more open immigration.

In the latest case, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has backed a campaign in which Soros is singled out as an enemy of the state. “Let’s not allow Soros to have the last laugh” say billboards next to a picture of the 86-year-old investor, a campaign that Jewish groups and others say foments anti-Semitism. [ Source: Reuters ]

(Worthy News) – A U.S. Marine aircraft crashed in Mississippi Monday night and all 16 passengers on board are dead.

Fred Randle, Leflore County emergency management director, confirmed that there were no survivors in the crash and all 16 victims were Marines.

The plane crashed in a soybean field in Leflore County, located about 100 miles north of Jackson, Miss. The debris from the crash scattered throughout a five-mile radius. [ Source: UPI ]

(Worthy News) – The Russian lawyer who met with President Trump’s eldest son during the presidential campaign last year has drawn the attention of U.S. investigators before — after she lobbied against a U.S. law despised by Vladimir Putin and made a questionable reimbursement request to federal prosecutors.

Donald Trump Jr. has admitted to meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya on a campaign-related matter. During the meeting, she offered to provide compromising information about Hillary Clinton.

It’s the latest controversy for a White House facing ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the presidential election and the possibility that campaign figures colluded with Moscow. [ Source: Washington Times ]

(Worthy News) – The Church of England’s governing body voted Sunday for bishops to consider special services for transgender people.

The motion, approved during a four-day General Synod meeting in York, said transgender people need to be “welcomed and affirmed in their parish church,” and that bishops should consider “preparing nationally commended liturgical materials to mark a person’s gender transition.”
The Rev. Christopher Newlands, who proposed the motion, opened Sunday’s debate by saying transgender people are God’s children, too.

The General Synod voted in favor of the move to publicly recognize a person’s gender transition by 284 votes to 78, The Guardian reported. [ Source: Washington Times ]