(Worthy News) – People in Alaska were jolted awake overnight Tuesday. First by a powerful earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska – then by sirens that warned of a possible tsunami.
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck at 12:32 a.m. off the Alaska coast. The quake itself — far enough away not to cause major damage.
But in the worst spot there was a potential tsunami.
“Attention, a tsunami warning has been issued for this area,” officials warned over loudspeakers. [ Source: CBS News (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday a bipartisan bill on immigration that is central to clearing the way for a government spending deal next month is in serious jeopardy now that Democrats seem to be refusing to pay for a southern border wall.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Monday withdrew an offer he made to President Trump last week that in exchange for protecting so-called “Dreamers,” Democrats would agree to $25 billion for border security, including a wall. The Senate minority leader made that offer after Trump invited him to the White House to try to negotiate an accord on federal funding that was hours away from expiring.
Schumer said Tuesday the wall money offer was valid only if Trump came out publicly in favor of the deal, which Schumer believes would have pressured the House and Senate GOP to get behind it. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – The weekly Bible study attended by members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet is once again under attack, this time from an atheist group.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is suing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), led by Secretary Ben Carson.
The group has issued Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to agencies led by Cabinet secretaries who attend the Bible study to see if government resources are being used or if agency staffers feel “coerced into organizing or even participating in the religious event,” according to a press release. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – The Gaza Strip is headed for a humanitarian breakdown, and Israel is the only country providing its residents with basic essentials, President Reuven Rivlin said on Sunday after touring the area around the coastal enclave.
“Gaza is on the verge of collapse,” he warned. “The time is coming near when the infrastructure in Gaza will collapse, leaving many civilians in distress, with no sanitary conditions, exposed to pollution, impure water, and epidemics.
“The entire world must know and understand that the ones who are preventing rehabilitation are Hamas. Israel is the only one in the region, that whatever the situation, transfers basic essentials to the residents of Gaza, so that they can sustain the body and mind,” Rivlin added. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency sent a ballistic missile alert to millions of people across the state January 13, sending people into a panic.
Seventeen excruciating minutes went by before Hawaii governor David Ige alerted the public to the false alarm.
All because he didn’t know his Twitter password. [ Source: AZ Central (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – Christians have been detained, and churches shut down or destroyed in China in the month before revised Regulations on Religious Affairs are due to come into effect on 1 February.
Christians have been detained, and churches shut down or destroyed in China in the month before revised Regulations on Religious Affairs are due to come into effect on 1 February, which strengthen state control over religious activities in China and include special provisions on national security and foreign connections.
On 18 January, six members of an unregistered church group in Yunnan Province were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for ‘using an evil cult to organize to undermine law enforcement’. The defendants were accused of belonging to a group called the Three Grades of Servants, which the government has labelled an ‘evil cult’. They deny being members of the group. According to China Aid, some 200 Christians have been detained in the province and falsely accused of being members of the group. [ Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – India may be the world’s largest democracy, but the government often falls short when it comes to protecting Christians and other minorities from attack by militant Hindus.
In 2017, Christians experienced almost as many attacks against them during the first half of the year than during all of 2016. So far this year, there are no signs that the religious intolerance and persecution is letting up. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – A senior White House official, traveling with Vice President Mike Pence in the Middle East, revealed what an “ultimate” peace deal brokered by the Trump administration would look like.
The official told reporters the Trump administration is working on a peace plan that will “spill over into the broader region and benefit Jordan, benefit Egypt, and will also create ties… between the region and Israel.”
“If we are lucky enough to achieve the ultimate deal, the ultimate deal would be one in which Israel and all of its neighbors have a deep, close and effective relationship,” the official said. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – Families in Syria are grieving after a barrage of mortars struck a predominately Christian district near Damascus Monday, killing nine and wounding 21 others.
Just after 2 p.m., rebels fired several shells into the Bab Touma district, destroying several churches and buildings.
The mortars instantly struck and killed three-year-old Elias Khoury. His parents were left severely wounded and both were rushed to intensive care. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]
(Worthy News) – US Vice President Mike Pence’s speech at the Israeli Knesset on Monday was warmly praised by a number of major American-Jewish groups.
“President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have proven time and again since entering office that the US administration today is a true friend of the State of Israel, dedicated to the well-being and security of the Jewish people, to the indisputable nature of Jerusalem as Israel’s historic capital, and to supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if agreed upon by both sides,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said in a statement.
Zionist Organization of America President Morton A. Klein hailed Pence’s “extraordinary and powerful address.” [ Source (Read More…) ]