A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – The majority of households paying the Obamacare penalty in 2015 were low- and middle-income households, according to the most recent data from the Internal Revenue Service.

The Affordable Care Act individual mandate requires that Americans pay the individual shared responsibility payment, otherwise known as a penalty or a tax, if a household or individual fails to have health care coverage.

There were 6,665,480 households who chose to pay the Obamacare penalty in that year rather than signing up for Affordable Care Act coverage. They paid a total of $3,079,255,000.

Of the 6.7 million households who chose to pay a penalty, 37 percent—2.5 million households—earned a salary less than $25,000 per year. There were 5.2 million households that earned a salary less than $50,000 per year who decided to pay the penalty, which totaled 79 percent of households paying the penalty. Finally, 92 percent of the households—6.1 million households—paid the penalty and earned less than $75,000 a year. [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The mass trials of over 6,600 suspects believed to be members of Islamic radical group Boko Haram have begun in Nigeria, and are being carried out in secret by civilian court judges at a military facility in Kainji town.

As BBC News reported, close to 20,000 people have been slaughtered in Boko Haram’s insurgency in the country, which began in 2009.

The terror group has slaughtered Christians, Muslims, children, and many other civilians in their war against the government, with a driven mission to eradicate Christianity from the country.

Up to 1,670 people suspected of being part of the terror group are being tried in the coming weeks, with another 5,000 people awaiting trial after that. [ Source: Christian Post (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – On the nights when the winds are light and the skies are dark, hundreds of helium-filled balloons are sent up and away from multiple points in South Korea, destined a few miles away and into North Korea. Only these are no ordinary balloons — they are considered “Bible Balloons,” adorned with the Words of God printed in Korean or flash drives featuring the entire texts of the Testament.

It is one of the few creative — and inherently dangerous — ways bibles are smuggled into the oppressive dictatorship in the hopes that impoverished North Koreans will know that they aren’t forgotten. Other activists, such as American pastor Eric Foley, have opted for a much larger hydrogen-fueled 40-foot balloon brimming with bibles and testimonials. These are then dropped into rural areas with the help of GPS technology, in the hopes that even just one will be picked up.

“Growth in Christianity does not happen in waves but always one at a time,” Foley — CEO of Voice of the Martyrs Korea — told Fox News. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald Trump asked Congress on Tuesday for a loan of $4.9 billion to help the cash-strapped Puerto Rican government pay urgent bills as the U.S. territory struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria, an administration official said.

The request came as the oversight board charged with resolving Puerto Rico’s debt crisis warned the U.S. territory was at risk of being unable to pay for essential services such as salaries for teachers, first responders and healthcare providers.

“The best estimate of the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) and government is that the commonwealth will run out of money at the end of this month,” the board told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a letter on Tuesday evening. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Israel’s defense minister says the Hezbollah militant group controls Lebanon’s army.

Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that “the Lebanese army has become an integral part of Hezbollah under Hezbollah command,” without providing any evidence to support the claim.

Hezbollah is a member of Lebanon’s coalition government, and its armed wing has long been seen as more powerful than the country’s security forces. There was no immediate comment from Lebanon.

The United States has given the Lebanese military more than $1 billion in aid over the past decade, viewing it as a counterbalance to Hezbollah and a partner in fighting extremist groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Tens of thousands of participants from 80 different countries took part Tuesday in the annual march in Jerusalem marking the 50th anniversary of the city’s unification.

Israeli tourists, IDF soldiers, representatives of the security and rescue forces, street artists, dancers, musicians and dozens of groups representing public bodies were seen walking side by side.

“The Jerusalem march is a tradition which lasted for more than 60 years. Every year it is exciting again, though as this year we celebrate 50 years of unification it is even more exciting than ever,” said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. [ Source: Ynet News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Amid reports that the US military is considering purchasing Israel’s Iron Dome to plug a gap in its European defenses, the missile-defense system is on display in the US capital this week as part of the Association of the US Army (AUSA) annual meeting.

Israel’s state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the main contractor of Iron Dome, and Raytheon, its US partner for the system’s production, are reported to be working to transform the Israeli interceptor into an American system to defend forward-deployed US forces.

While the US has its THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase, it does not have any short-range air-defense solutions. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – A brigade of more than 80 Abrams tanks belonging to the US military are expected to be deployed to Europe in 2020 armed with Israel’s Trophy active-protection system to counter the growing threat from Russia.

According to a report by Military.com, US Army officials made the comments Monday at the Association of the US Army’s annual convention and exhibition in Washington.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who gave the keynote address, said the international arena is the most complex and demanding he had seen in more than four decades of service and that the US military must be “fit for their purpose, fit for their time in these days of emerging challenges.” [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Israeli intelligence officials spying on Russian government hackers found they were using Kaspersky Lab antivirus software that is also used by 400 million people globally, including U.S. government agencies, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The Israeli officials who had hacked into Kaspersky’s network over two years ago then warned their U.S. counterparts of the Russian intrusion, said The New York Times, which first reported the story. 

That led to a decision in Washington only last month to order Kaspersky software removed from government computers. [ Source: Ha’aretz (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Tuesday, three U.S. officials told Reuters, even as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.

The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. But it was not as provocative as previous ones carried out since Trump took office in January.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chafee, a guided-missile destroyer, carried out normal maneuvering operations that challenged “excessive maritime claims” near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors. [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More…) ]