A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – Amnesty International has accused the Assad regime of showing “utter contempt” of international law following a chlorine gas attack on the town of Saraqib Sunday. This latest chemical attack comes just one day before the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a U.S.-proposed statement Monday condemning the continued use of chemical weapons in the war-torn nation. Russia was blamed by some diplomats for its failure.

Amnesty International, in a press release issued earlier Tuesday, said that testimony gathered from the scene showed evidence that the Syrian government internationally used banned chemical weapons.

“Once again, Syria’s government has shown its utter contempt for international law by deploying illegal chemical weapons,” Lynn Malouf said in the press release. Malouf is the Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Trump said Tuesday that he would “love to see a shutdown” over immigration if Democrats don’t come to the table to negotiate on border security and other stiff enforcement measures, escalating the stakes with less than four weeks to go before a deadline for action.

“If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don’t want safety … let’s shut it down,” the president said at a White House roundtable discussion on MS-13 gang violence and illegal immigration.

The tough talk seemed to upend congressional Republicans’ carefully crafted strategy of avoiding shutdown threats, hoping to pin blame on Democrats if the government did tumble into another stoppage. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Christopher Steele, author of the infamous Trump-Russia dossier, misled the FBI into making false assertions to a judge to gain a wiretap on a Trump campaign volunteer, according to a Senate document released Tuesday evening.

The disclosure promises to tarnish further an FBI that was already under fire from Republicans for hiding the dossier’s Democratic financing.

The chain of events has to do with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant issued by a judge on Oct. 21, 2016, to spy on Carter Page. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – A California judge refused this week to order a baker to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, ruling that to do otherwise would be to trample on the baker’s free speech rights.

Superior Court Judge David R. Lampe said in his Monday ruling that wedding cakes run to the core of the First Amendment.

“It is an artistic expression by the person making it that is to be used traditionally as a centerpiece in the celebration of a marriage. There could not be a greater form of expressive conduct,” the judge wrote. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Syrian army said Israeli war planes fired a number of rockets from Lebanese airspace targeting an army position in a rural area near Damascus on Wednesday, a statement carried by Syrian state television said.

The army destroyed most of the missiles, it said, but did not give details of any damage or casualties.

“The general command of the armed forces holds Israel fully responsible for the dangerous consequences for its repeated, aggressive and uncalculated adventures,” the army statement said. [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The House voted Tuesday to avert another government shutdown, approving a bill to fund the military for the rest of the year and domestic operations for six more weeks, as all sides sounded optimistic about a broader deal.

The 245-182 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where Democratic leaders had said it was iffy — but said they were encouraged by ongoing talks on a two-year budget deal that would solve most of the spending fight that’s bedeviled Congress since December.

Something must pass by Thursday, or the government will fall into its second shutdown in weeks, after a three-day stoppage ensued last month. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]