National Gun-Carry Reciprocity Bill Moves to Mark Up in the House

National Gun-Carry Reciprocity Bill Moves to Mark Up in the House

(Worthy News) – The national gun-carry reciprocity bill will enter the next phase of the lawmaking process on Wednesday when it enters markup in the House.

The House Judiciary Committee announced on Monday it will mark up the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The bill would require states to acknowledge the legality of each other’s gun-carry permits. Under the bill, those with a valid gun-carry permit issued by any state and a valid government-issued photo ID would be able to carry a concealed gun in any state so long as they abide by that state’s laws on when and where gun carry is allowed.

The bill would nationalize gun-carry reciprocity, making it simpler for those who wish to legally carry a gun across state lines. Currently, each state decides which other states’ permits to honor. Some states, like Virginia, recognize all other states’ permits. Some states, like New Jersey, don’t recognize any other states’ permits. The majority of states fall somewhere in between. [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More…) ]

UK Politician: Christians Seen as ‘Dangerous and Offensive’

UK Politician: Christians Seen as ‘Dangerous and Offensive’

(Worthy News) – Tim Farron resigned his post at the helm of the left wing party in July, saying, ‘To be a political leader and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible’s teaching, has felt impossible to me.’

In prepared remarks to the ecumenical think tank Theos Tuesday, Farron said “If you actively hold a faith that is more than an expression of cultural identity… you are deemed to be far worse than eccentric. You are dangerous. You are offensive.”

Farron, who is often described in the British media as an evangelical Christian, quit as leader of the “Lib Dems” after two years because of badgering by the media over his positions on social issues. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

Australia Senate Squashes Attempts to Protect Religious Freedom During Same-Sex Marriage Vote

Australia Senate Squashes Attempts to Protect Religious Freedom During Same-Sex Marriage Vote

(Worthy News) – Australia’s left-leaning Labor Party defeated an attempt by senate conservatives to protect religious freedoms in the country’s new same-sex marriage bill.

Conservative Coalition senators presented five amendments that would shield religious institutions, charities, and public officials from being punished for supporting Biblical marriage. The protections would also allow these religious institutions to decline serving same-sex weddings.

However, The Guardian reports each of the amendments presented were voted down. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

Hawaii to begin testing nuclear attack warning system Friday

Hawaii to begin testing nuclear attack warning system Friday

(Worthy News) – Hawaiian officials implemented an alarm system to warn residents of a nuclear attack, the Hawaii Emergency Management System said Tuesday.

The statewide warning siren system will include an attack warning tone that is scheduled to begin testing Friday and will be added to the state’s monthly siren tests for tsunamis.

“On the first business day of every month, the state and the counties normally conduct a test of the attention alert signal, which is a steady tone,” HEM administrator Vern Miyagi said in a public service announcement for the system. “Starting Dec. 1, a second tone, the attack warning signal, a wailing tone, will be added. The attack warning signal advises everyone to take immediate shelter — get inside, stay inside, stay tuned.” [ Source: UPI (Read More…) ]

Senate Republicans aiming to advance tax bill Wednesday

Senate Republicans aiming to advance tax bill Wednesday

(Worthy News) – Senate Republicans on Wednesday plan to advance a $1.4 trillion tax cut bill by voting to begin debate on the measure that looks likely to pass in the coming days.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., adjourned the Senate Tuesday night without setting a firm time for the vote. But Republicans said the plan was to vote on a motion to proceed to the bill Wednesday.

But Republicans were still making changes to the bill Tuesday to shore up enough support for final passage of their tax code overhaul, even after they got a boost when two GOP holdouts helped advance the bill out of the Senate Budget Committee. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

Democrats skip Trump meeting, raising risk of government shutdown

Democrats skip Trump meeting, raising risk of government shutdown

(Worthy News) – Democratic leaders in Congress skipped a meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday that was to have focused on the budget, raising the risk of a government shutdown next month with both sides far apart on the terms of an agreement.

U.S. President Donald Trump, surrounded by empty chairs marked for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who chose not to meet with Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington, U.S. November 28, 2017.

After Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi informed Trump they would not attend the meeting at the White House, the president and Republican congressional leaders went ahead with the talks without them. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

Kerry: Israel, Egypt, Saudis pushed US to bomb Iran before nuke deal

Kerry: Israel, Egypt, Saudis pushed US to bomb Iran before nuke deal

(Worthy News) – Former Secretary of State John Kerry said both Israel and Egypt pushed the United States to “bomb Iran” before the 2015 nuclear deal was struck.

Kerry defended the deal during the Ignatius Forum in Washington, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “genuinely agitating towards action,” before he struck the accord with Tehran.

Kerry said when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he met with Saudi King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Netanyahu, who all lobbied for military action. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

Indonesia shuts Bali’s airport for third day due to volcanic ash

Indonesia shuts Bali’s airport for third day due to volcanic ash

(Worthy News) – Indonesia shut its airport on Bali for a third consecutive day on Wednesday due to a volcanic ash cloud, as the rumbling Mount Agung volcano continued to paralyze flights on the holiday island and cause a mass evacuation around the mountain.

A large plume of white and gray ash and smoke was visible above Agung after rain lashed the island by night and partially obscured the fiery glow at its peak seen in previous days.

Authorities have been continually assessing the risk the ash poses to flying after winds sent the cloud southwest across the island. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

U.K. close to an agreement on Brexit divorce bill with EU: sources

U.K. close to an agreement on Brexit divorce bill with EU: sources

(Worthy News) – Britain has offered to pay much of what the European Union was demanding to settle a Brexit “divorce bill,” bringing the two sides close to agreement on a key obstacle to opening talks on a future free trade pact, EU sources said on Tuesday.

The offer, which British newspapers valued at around 50 billion euros, reflected the bulk of outstanding EU demands that include London paying a share of post-Brexit EU spending on commitments made before Britain leaves in March 2019 as well as funding of EU staff pensions for decades to come.

A British government official said they “do not recognise” this account of the talks going on ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Theresa May to Brussels this coming Monday. [ Source: Globe and Mail (Read More…) ]

Russian fighter makes ‘unsafe’ interception of U.S. Navy plane over Black Sea

Russian fighter makes ‘unsafe’ interception of U.S. Navy plane over Black Sea

(Worthy News) – A Russian fighter jet flew within 50 feet of an American reconnaissance plane in an “unsafe” maneuver that caused “violent turbulence” for the U.S. aircraft, the military said late Monday.

The Russian Sukhoi Su-30 intercepted the P-8A Poseidon while it was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea Saturday, United States European Command said in a statement.

It crossed in front of the U.S. plane from left to right while using its afterburners, the statement said, adding the aircraft were so close that the American patrol plane crossed through the Russian fighter’s jet wash. [ Source: NBC News (Read More…) ]