A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – The White House is considering eight potential Syrian targets in retaliation for a chemical weapons assault, a US official told CNBC Thursday.

The targets included two airfields and a chemical weapons facility, according to the source, who requested anonymity.

The report came hours after US President Donald Trump, who this week threatened to attack Syria, told reporters that a decision on the matter would be made “fairly soon.” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said no decision had been reached Thursday by President Trump about a strike on Syria and that the U.S. was still waiting to see the evidence of a chemical attack.

He said the administration is still awaiting evidence that may depend on Syria allowing a team of inspectors into the country to survey the Damascus suburb where the alleged attack last weekend killed dozens, including children.

“We are not engaged on the ground there, so I cannot tell you that we have evidence, though we certainly had a lot of media and social media indicators that either chlorine or sarin were used,” he said. “I believe there was a chemical attack. We’re looking for the actual evidence.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Dozens of Southern Baptist megachurch pastors and their wives met with Vice President Mike Pence and senior White House officials on Wednesday to cap off the annual Southern Baptist Convention MegaMetro retreat.

Organized by former SBC President and Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd, as many as 68 megachurch pastors and 65 of their wives traveled to the nation’s capital on Monday to partake in the annual invite-only retreat, which was attended only by pastors with Sunday church attendance of 2,000-plus.

“Folks wanted to come to Washington, D.C. so that we can pray for our country and be in the environment of Washington,” Floyd told The Christian Post. [ Source: Christian Post (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – CIA Director Mike Pompeo confirmed Thursday that U.S. forces killed “a couple hundred” Russian mercenary troops in Syria in a strike earlier this year that he said sent a distinct signal to Moscow.

Mr. Pompeo was testifying to the Senate as he seeks to win the top post at the State Department, after President Trump nominated him to replace outgoing Secretary Rex Tillerson.

Being prodded on U.S. policy toward Russia and what Democrats said appeared to be a weak approach to Moscow, Mr. Pompeo said lawmakers need to look beyond sanctions to understand the full array of conflict and pressure. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump and his national security aides on Thursday discussed U.S. options on Syria, where he has threatened missile strikes in response to a suspected poison gas attack, as a Russian envoy voiced fears of wider conflict between Washington and Moscow.

Worries about a confrontation between Russia, Syria’s big ally, and the West have been running high since Trump said on Wednesday that missiles “will be coming” in response to the attack in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7, and lambasted Moscow for standing by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Trump tempered those remarks on Thursday and even as he consulted allies such and Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling out of control. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – President Trump huddled with his national security team Thursday amid mounting speculation of a military attack in response to Syria’s suspected use of chemical weapons, while Britain’s Cabinet gave the green light to join the U.S. and France in planning a strike.

Top officials in Russia, along with Iran a prime backer of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, voiced fears of a wider conflict between the West and Moscow.

Despite Twitter posts this week from Mr. Trump suggesting a missile strike was imminent, the White House said late Thursday that Mr. Trump and his advisers had not made a final decision on an attack. Defense Secretary James Mattis has said U.S. intelligence officials were still assessing Saturday’s suspected chemical attack, and Mr. Trump was consulting with British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday night. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating an outbreak of a particularly nasty strain of E. coli that’s sickened people in seven states. The illnesses from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 has landed six people in the hospital.

So far, the CDC reports 17 people have been affected in Washington, Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Health officials have not yet been able to identify the source of the outbreak. [ Source: CBS News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – France has proof the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack last week and will decide whether to strike back when all the necessary information has been gathered, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.

France is expected to join the United States and Britain in carrying out air strikes or some other form of attack in response to the use of the weapons but it remains unclear when that might happen or even if it definitely will.

“We have proof that last week, now 10 days ago, that chemical weapons were used, at least with chlorine, and that they were used by the regime of (President) Bashar al-Assad,” Macron said, without giving details on the evidence or how it was acquired. [ Source: France24 (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Researchers have found hundreds of years’ worth of critical rare-earth metals beneath Japanese waters — enough to supply to the world on a “semi-infinite basis,” according to a study published on Tuesday.

The materials sit in a roughly 965-square-mile Pacific Ocean seabed near Minamitorishima Island, which is located 1,150 miles southeast of Tokyo, according to the study published in Nature Publishing Group’s Scientific Reports.

Rare-earth metals are crucial in the making of high-tech products such as electric vehicles, mobile phones and batteries, and the world has relied on China for almost all of its rare-earth material. [ Source: CNBC (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – President Trump directed U.S. trade officials Thursday to explore rejoining the Obama administration’s free-trade deal with Pacific Rim nations, an agreement that Mr. Trump withdrew from last year, as he sought to ease farmers’ concerns about a tariff feud with China.

The decision came in a White House meeting with farm-state lawmakers and governors, who said Mr. Trump “deputized” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer to investigate the U.S. rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

While Mr. Trump’s agricultural base praised the move, other conservatives and liberals joined in a chorus of criticism reminding the president he campaigned forcefully against the U.S. joining the trade deal. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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