Earthquakes Expected To Double In Number In 2018 As Earth’s Rotation Slows

Earthquakes Expected To Double In Number In 2018 As Earth’s Rotation Slows

(Worthy News) – A team of scientists presented a research paper to the Geological Society of America, revealing some ground shaking information. The paper has warned that there could be a big increase in numbers of devastating earthquakes around the world next year caused by the slowing down of the Earth’s rotation.

The research was conducted and presented by Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado in Boulder and Rebecca Bendick of the University of Montana in Missoula at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. They found that variations in the speed of the Earth’s rotation could set off intense seismic activity, particularly in the tropical-equatorial regions where the population density is very high.

Any change is the Earth’s rotation speed is minuscule. It is affected by a factor of milliseconds and the changes in the length of day and night cannot be perceived, only calculated. But these small changes set off a seismic rumble that can release vast amounts of underground energy. [ Source: IBT Times (Read More…) ]

White House puts the cost of the opioid crisis at $504 billion in 2015

White House puts the cost of the opioid crisis at $504 billion in 2015

(Worthy News) – The economic cost of the opioid crisis was $504 billion in 2015 — more than six times the most recently estimated cost of the epidemic, according to a new White House report.

According to the Council of Economic Advisers report, more than 50,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015, of which 63 percent reportedly involved opioids.

Opioids are prescribed to reduce pain for people recovering from surgery or undergoing medical treatment, but also have a high potential for abuse. Users often move to other lethal, non-medicinal drugs such as heroin, which produces a similar effect but is much less expensive. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

7.0 earthquake triggers tsunami warnings for New Caledonia and Vanuatu

7.0 earthquake triggers tsunami warnings for New Caledonia and Vanuatu

(Worthy News) – An undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck in the South Pacific on Monday, sending small tsunami waves towards New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

The quake, initially reported as magnitude 7.3, struck 51 miles east of the Loyalty Islands and was the second major tremor in the same area in less than 24 hours and the third in the past month.

Monday’s quake struck at 9.43 am local time (2243 Sunday GMT) at a shallow depth of six miles, east of the remote Loyalty Islands, the United States Geological Survey said. [ Source: UK Telegraph (Read More…) ]

Trump open to dropping healthcare provision in Senate tax bill

Trump open to dropping healthcare provision in Senate tax bill

(Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald Trump would not insist on including repeal of an Obama-era health insurance mandate in a bill intended to enact the biggest overhaul of the tax code since the 1980s, a senior White House aide said on Sunday.

The version of tax legislation put forward by Senate Republican leaders would remove a requirement in former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law that taxes Americans who decline to buy health insurance.

“If we can repeal part of Obamacare as part of a tax bill … that can pass, that’s great,” White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “If it becomes an impediment to getting the best tax bill we can, then we are OK with taking it out.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

ISIS Militants in Philippines Targeted Christians for Worst Abuse: Report

ISIS Militants in Philippines Targeted Christians for Worst Abuse: Report

(Worthy News) – Dozens of Christian civilians were killed while others in the community bore the brunt of the six-month conflict on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao between the country’s military and militants allied to the Islamic State group, which ended last month, according to a detailed report by Amnesty International.

During the conflict, from May to October, “militants regularly targeted civilians and carried out numerous extrajudicial executions. The civilian victims were nearly all Christians, and most – if not all – were targeted because they were not Muslim,” says the report, “The Battle of Marawi’: Death and Destruction in the Philippines.”

Marawi is a city of 200,000 on the island of Mindanao in the Southeast Asian Catholic-majority country. The conflict began in May, as about 200 people, many of them Christian, were taken hostage in the city after hundreds of militants seized commercial buildings, mosques and houses in the predominantly Muslim city. The entire island of Mindanao was placed under military rule after the siege, and the United States government supported the Philippines for counterterror efforts. [ Source: Christian Post (Read More…) ]

German coalition talks break down, raising prospect of new election

German coalition talks break down, raising prospect of new election

(Worthy News) – High-stakes talks to form a new German government collapsed Sunday as the pro-business FDP party walked out, plunging Europe’s biggest economy into a political crisis and potentially precipitating the end of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s career.

After more than a month of grueling negotiations, Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democratic Party said there was no “basis of trust” to forge a government with Merkel’s conservative alliance CDU-CSU and ecologist Greens.

“It is better not to govern than to govern badly,” said Lindner, adding that “we cannot and will not answer for the spirit of the exploratory papers.” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

Ohio Senate Says ‘No’ to Abortion Based on Down Syndrome Diagnosis

Ohio Senate Says ‘No’ to Abortion Based on Down Syndrome Diagnosis

(Worthy News) – The Ohio Senate passed the Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act this week. It prohibits abortion based solely on a doctor’s diagnosis of Down Syndrome.

The bill would make performing abortions based solely on the basis of a Down Syndrome diagnosis, a fourth-degree felony. It also gives the power to the state medical board to revoke a doctor’s license if convicted.

The Ohio House passed a similar bill two weeks ago. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

Family’s Home Quickly Burns to the Ground — but the One Item Left Totally Unscathed is Giving Them Hope

Family’s Home Quickly Burns to the Ground — but the One Item Left Totally Unscathed is Giving Them Hope

(Worthy News) – A family in Rockhouse, Kentucky, lost absolutely everything during a horrific fire this week — everything aside from one prized possession: a Bible.

The family went out for a doctor appointment and came back to their beloved house engulfed in flames, as oxygen tanks that were inside reportedly helped fuel the fire, according to WYMT-TV.

“It just went,” Alisha Clevinger, daughter-in-law of homeowner John Clevinger, told the outlet. “It was gone in no time.” [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

Methodist Church in Great Britain welcomes a new first: a transgender minister

Methodist Church in Great Britain welcomes a new first: a transgender minister

(Worthy News) – The Methodist Church in Great Britain has its first transgender minister.

Joy Everingham, a chaplain at the University of Kent Canterbury, has two sons and a wife named Ruth. The 46-year-old minister also is undergoing a transitioning process that involves hormone therapy and wearing women’s clothing full-time — all approved by church leaders.

“People sat down and started reading [my letter on transition], and then I could see them looking up and around,” the minister said, Kent Online reported Friday. “I was scared to death, but people kept coming up to me and saying ‘well done.’ A couple of people didn’t speak to me for a bit, but they had to work it out for themselves. I was expecting it to be a long hard trek to justify who I was, but it’s not been like that.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

Israeli minister reveals covert contacts with Saudi Arabia

Israeli minister reveals covert contacts with Saudi Arabia

(Worthy News) – An Israeli cabinet minister said on Sunday that Israel has had covert contacts with Saudi Arabia amid common concerns over Iran, a first disclosure by a senior Israeli official of such contacts.

In an interview on Army Radio, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz was asked why Israel was hiding its ties with Saudi Arabia.

Steinitz replied: “We have ties that are indeed partly covert with many Muslim and Arab countries, and usually (we are) the party that is not ashamed. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]