A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – The U.S. economy’s growth rate last quarter was revised upward to the fastest in three years on stronger investment from businesses and government agencies than previously estimated, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday.

The latest results for GDP, the value of all goods and services produced, show the economy withstood major hurricanes to reach a more solid footing as it entered the final stretch of the year, thanks to stronger business spending that’s helping cushion a softer pace of consumption.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday, just before the GDP report, that the expansion is “increasingly broad based across sectors as well as across much of the global economy.” [ Source: Bloomberg (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Senate voted Wednesday to open debate on a $1.4 trillion tax bill after Republican leaders worked out preliminary deals to the smooth over the concerns of several Republican lawmakers.

The final tally was 52-48, passing strictly along party lines. The vote means the bill is now open to debate and unlimited amendments, several of which are expected to win approval and become part of the base bill.

The base legislation lowers corporate and individual tax rates while ending many deductions. It also effectively repeals Obamacare’s mandate to purchase health insurance by eliminating the fine for not having coverage.

Senate Republicans hope to pass the bill this week. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – When the 50-year-old church elder and leader of Kano state’s Samaila village heard gunshots shortly before midnight, he rushed out of his house to try to find security agents.

It was a natural reaction for Mai’angwa Samaila, given recent Islamist attacks in northern Nigeria. What the elder for the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) did not know was that the armed Islamic extremists, having killed two Christians in front of their Catholic church building, were coming for him next.

Not finding him at home that night (Aug. 15), they instead kidnapped his wife, Safiya Samaila, 45. They then kidnapped two other women, 20-year-old Yaha Gabriel and Hauwa Bebi, 18, both members of the St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Samaila, in Tudun Wada Local Government Area (LGA). [ Source: Morningstar News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – A significant number of jobs could be completed by robots as early as 2030, according to a new report published Tuesday by the McKinsey Global Institute. The transition into a heavily automated workplace wouldn’t arrive right away, but it may affect up to 375 million workers globally.

The workforce has already begun to accommodate technological advancements, with robotics being no exception to this. Statistics have proven the potential benefits to automated workers, including its positive effects on the global economy. McKinsey suggested that physical laborers are most at risk of losing their positions with the rise of automation, which includes food preppers and machine operators, among other similar workers.

Individuals that work in data collection and processing would also likely need to be wary of losing their job to a robot. [ Source: International Business Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – If elections were held today, the ruling Likud would be in a dead head with the opposition Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party. Each of the top two parties would receive 24 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The center-left Zionist Union would win 17 seats, while the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party Shas would barely makes it over the threshold at four seats.

In a survey made public on Channel 10 news on Sunday, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party has strengthened considerably – more than doubling its current number of 11 Knesset members. Meanwhile, 24 seats for the Likud would mean a loss of over 20% of its mandate (down from the current 30).

As reported in the Hebrew-language Walla, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent slide and Lapid’s gain have been building steadily over the past year. Each time there was a new crisis – Israel Railway’s work on the Sabbath last year, the rash of corruption investigations involving Netanyahu that came to light at the beginning of this year, and the recent fiasco concerning the establishment of the new Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation – Yesh Atid seemed to gain at the Likud’s expense. The current surveys showed it may surpass the Likud altogether in the not-too-distant future.. [ Source: World Israel News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Hamas and Fatah on Wednesday asked Egypt to postpone the transfer of responsibility for the Gaza Strip from Hamas to the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

Under an agreement signed by Hamas and Fatah in Cairo in mid-October, the PA is supposed to take full responsibility for Gaza by Friday. Hamas has controlled Gaza since ousting the PA in 2007 from the territory.

“Hamas and Fatah requested that the Egyptian brothers postpone the completion of the government’s take over of its responsibilities in the Strip…from December 1 to December 10,” Fayez Abu Eitah, a Gaza-based Fatah official, said, reading a joint Hamas-Fatah statement. “This is to complete the arrangements to guarantee the achievement of reconciliation.” [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Europe’s Muslim population would continue to grow over the next several decades even if all immigration to the continent were halted, according to a study published Thursday.

The Pew Research Center report published Thursday modeled three scenarios for estimating the number of Muslims who will be living in Europe by 2050. All three used a mid-2016 estimate of 25.8 million as a baseline, but assumed different future migration rates.

Under the “zero migration” scenario, an estimated 30 million Muslims would make up 7.4 percent of Europe’s population by 2050 compared to the 4.9 percent they comprised last year, the report projected. The researchers say that’s mostly because Muslims are on average 13 years younger than other Europeans and also have a higher birthrate, the Pew researchers said. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called on North Korea on Wednesday to stop its missile and nuclear tests and for the United States and South Korea not to hold military drills in December as it would “inflame an already explosive situation.”

“We strongly call on all concerned parties to stop this spiral of tension,” he told the UN Security Council. “It is essential to take a step back and weigh the consequences of each move.” [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The United States warned North Korea’s leadership it would be “utterly destroyed” if war were to break out, after Pyongyang test fired its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile, putting the U.S. mainland within range.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said all options were on the table in dealing with North Korea’s ballistic and nuclear weapons program, including military ones, but that it still prefers a diplomatic option.

Still, speaking at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley warned:

“We have never sought war with North Korea, and still today we do not seek it. If war does come, it will be because of continued acts of aggression like we witnessed yesterday … And if war comes, make no mistake, the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.” [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – On the night of December 3, sky-watchers around the world will get a chance to revel under the first—and last—full supermoon of the year.

A supermoon is the popular term for a full or new moon that coincides with the lunar orb making an especially close approach to Earth. The moon’s orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle but is somewhat elongated. That means the moon changes its distance to Earth by a few thousand miles over time, reaching a closest point (perigee) and a farthest point (apogee) in any given month. [ Source: National Geographic (Read More…) ]