US Charitable Giving Surges Past $400B to Record High, and Religion Is the Top Category

(Worthy News) – Charitable giving in the US has surged to a record high, shattering the $400 billion benchmark for the first time.

And most of the money went to religious causes, according to Giving USA 2018: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2017, which was released Tuesday.

Giving amounted to an estimated $410.02 billion in 2017, increasing more than 5 percent (3 percent adjusted for inflation) over the revised total donated in 2016. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

The post US Charitable Giving Surges Past $400B to Record High, and Religion Is the Top Category appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

Federal Judge Rules Medication Abortions Not Allowed at Two MO Planned Parenthood Clinics

(Worthy News) – A federal judge has ruled Planned Parenthood will not be allowed to provide medication-induced abortions in its clinics in Columbia or Springfield, Missouri.

U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips ruled Monday that the organization has not proven that enough women will be denied access to abortions under state rules imposed last year, according to The Columbia Daily Tribune.

Philips denied a request from Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri for a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the regulations. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

The post Federal Judge Rules Medication Abortions Not Allowed at Two MO Planned Parenthood Clinics appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

‘Christians Are Not Your Enemies’: Franklin Graham’s Message to the North Korean Government

(Worthy News) – Evangelist Franklin Graham has a rich family history in North Korea. His mother, Ruth Graham, attended high school in Pyongyang in the 1930’s. His father, Billy Graham, visited the communist country in 1992 and 1994. Franklin Graham has also made four humanitarian trips to the North while leading Samaritan’s Purse in a variety of campaigns to help the North Korean people.

This engagement has led him to speak directly with President Trump on several occasions about North Korea, urging him to pay attention.

“This conflict needs to be settled,” he told CBN News during an interview Tuesday. “I’m 65 years old so my entire life we’ve basically been at war with North Korea.” [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

The post 'Christians Are Not Your Enemies': Franklin Graham's Message to the North Korean Government appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

Rosenstein threatened to ‘subpoena’ GOP-led committee in ‘chilling’ clash over records, emails show

(Worthy News) – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to “subpoena” emails, phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on a Republican-led House committee during a tense meeting earlier this year, according to emails reviewed by Fox News documenting the encounter and reflecting what aides described as a “personal attack.”

The emails memorialized a January 2018 closed-door meeting involving senior FBI and Justice Department officials as well as members of the House Intelligence Committee. The account claimed Rosenstein threatened to turn the tables on the committee’s inquiries regarding the Russia probe.

“The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for sending our requests in writing and was further critical of the Committee’s request to have DOJ/FBI do the same when responding,” the committee’s then-senior counsel for counterterrorism Kash Patel wrote to the House Office of General Counsel. “Going so far as to say that if the Committee likes being litigators, then ‘we [DOJ] too [are] litigators, and we will subpoena your records and your emails,’ referring to HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] and Congress overall.” [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

The post Rosenstein threatened to 'subpoena' GOP-led committee in 'chilling' clash over records, emails show appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

Proposal to split California into three states will be on November ballot

(Worthy News) – The six-state solution failed to catch on in California, but voters will now have an opportunity to decide whether the Golden State should be split three ways.

The “Cal 3” initiative sponsored by Silicon Valley billionaire Tim Draper qualified Tuesday for the November ballot, securing the necessary 365,880 valid signatures based on the state’s final random sample, according to Secretary of State Alex Padilla.

The ambitious longshot effort comes a few years after Mr. Draper failed to qualify his much-discussed “six Californians” initiative for the 2016 state ballot despite spending more than $5 million. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

The post Proposal to split California into three states will be on November ballot appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

Republican leaders promise vote on two separate immigration bills next week

(Worthy News) – Republicans leaders say they’ll put two immigration bills on the floor next week to satisfy GOP lawmakers divided over how to legalize Dreamers and reform the nation’s immigration system.

The House will vote on a bill favored by conservatives and authored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., which would legalize Dreamers, end the diversity visa program, require employers to use E-Verify, and establish a guest worker program. Lawmakers will also vote on a second bill that skews more toward moderates, who oppose E-Verify, do not want to reduce visas, and are seeking an eight-year pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.

The move ends the effort to bring a discharge petition to the House floor that would require a vote on a trio of bills, including two most of the GOP would not support. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

The post Republican leaders promise vote on two separate immigration bills next week appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

In a first, Haley proposes U.N. General Assembly vote to condemn Hamas

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration is responding to a scheduled Wednesday vote in the UN General Assembly condemning Israel’s recent actions in Gaza with a counter-vote, in which the 193-nation body would separately vote to condemn Hamas.

The General Assembly is set to vote on an Arab-backed resolution on “protection of the Palestinian civilian population,” after a similar measure, drafted by Kuwait, was vetoed by the US in the Security Council last week. After that vote, the US’ envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, proposed a second resolution that would condemn Hamas’ recent rocket firings on Israeli territory.

The US resolution failed, as well. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

The post In a first, Haley proposes U.N. General Assembly vote to condemn Hamas appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

EU Leaders Stress Need For a More United Europe after Trump’s Withdrawal From G7 Consensus

(Worthy News) – Europe must be ‘united’ in the wake of President Trump’s abrupt withdrawal from a G7 leaders’ communique, a senior European Union official told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

“It is the first time since 1945 that an American president has not seen it as an American strategic interest to work hard to ensure a vibrant and unified Europe and a robust transatlantic relationship,” said Frans Timmermans, first vice-president of the E.U.’s executive Commission.

“This means that the E.U. needs to take its destiny more into its own hands,” he continued. “And we should be confident about our ability to do so, because our foundations are strong. Our union is built upon member states that voluntarily and democratically decided to link their destinies and shape their future together.” [ Source: CNS News (Read More…) ]

The post EU Leaders Stress Need For a More United Europe after Trump’s Withdrawal From G7 Consensus appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

US changes tactics at UN: From defending Israel to offensive

(Worthy News) – The United States has decided to change tactics at the United Nations and instead of merely settling for defending Israel, it is now going on the offensive against countries that refuse to condemn the Hamas terror organization.

The UN General Assembly is expected to vote Wednesday on a similar resolution Kuwait tried to pass earlier this month at the UN Security Council, which condemned Israel for using “excessive force” against the Palestinians and called for a UN protection force to defend Gazans.

Kuwait’s resolution passed at the UN Security Council, but was vetoed by the US. Washington then presented its own resolution calling on the council to condemn Hamas. The resolution failed to pass, but focused the discussion on Hamas’s activities. [ Source: Ynet News (Read More…) ]

The post US changes tactics at UN: From defending Israel to offensive appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

US peace envoys to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt next week for talks

(Worthy News) – White House special adviser Jared Kushner and US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt will reportedly travel to Israel and other Middle East countries next week for talks with regional leaders on when to present a Trump administration peace plan, as well as to seek ideas on resolving the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The tour comes amid a nadir in relations between the United States and the Palestinians, with the Palestinian Authority refusing to speak to Washington over the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the subsequent relocation of the US embassy to the city last month.

Adding to the tensions, Greenblatt is mired in a spat with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who earlier this week accused the US envoy of parroting right-wing Israeli views. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

The post US peace envoys to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt next week for talks appeared first on Worthy Christian News.