California residents survey damage as historic floods recede

(Worthy News) – Residents awoke Thursday to sunshine and began assessing the damage while the water started receding. Orr, 48, was among those still unable to get into his house after the rain-swollen Russian River reached nearly 46 feet (14 meters) Wednesday night, its highest level in more than 20 years.

Sonoma County officials said they expected the communities of Guerneville and Monte Rio to be accessible by car Friday. The two-day storm rendered the towns reachable only by boat on Wednesday.

One National Weather Service station measured 20 inches of rain in 48 hours. [ Source: Sacramento Bee (Read More…) ]

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FBI: Crime Dropped in 2018

(Worthy News) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday violent crime dropped across the country in 2018.

The agency released the Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report comparing the first six months of 2018 with the first six months of 2017. In the report, the FBI said robberies, murders, non-negligent manslaughters, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and aggravated assaults were all down in that time period. However, it also found rape increased slightly.

The FBI report found violent crime decreased by 4.3 percent between 2017 and 2018. That represents a significant drop compared with last year when violent crime was down only by 0.8 percent. [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More…) ]

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UN Security Council Rejects U.S., Russia Resolutions On Venezuela

(Worthy News) – The UN Security Council has rejected rival resolutions on the crisis in Venezuela presented by the United States and Russia.

The United States supports opposition leader Juan Guaido, while Russia backs leftist President Nicolas Maduro, who has been criticized for alleged human rights abuses and for his handling of Venezuela’s economy.

The Russian draft voiced concern at threats to use force against Venezuela and interfere in the country’s domestic affairs. [ Source: Radio Free Europe (Read More…) ]

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Pentagon plan could have US troops out of Afghanistan in 3 to 5 years

(Worthy News) – All U.S. troops could exit Afghanistan within the next half-decade, according to a new report.

A plan under consideration as part of Afghanistan peace negotiations would pull all of the roughly 14,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan within three to five years, along with other international troops in the region, the New York Times reports. Portions of the plan was shared with the outlet by current and former U.S. and European officials.

The plan would halve the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan in the next few months. With European and Australian troops taking charge of training Afghan forces, remaining U.S. forces would be freed up to focus more attention on counterterrorism strikes. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

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MPAA Gives Pro-Life Film R-Rating

(Worthy News) – A pro-life film has been given an R-rating despite the absence of nudity, sex, violence, or curse words and filmmakers are convinced it’s the message that led to the prohibitive rating.

Unplanned is a biographical film about the life of Abby Johnson, the former Texas Planned Parenthood manager who has gone on to become a pro-life activist. The film details her conversion and, while depicting the abortion process, it is short on any sort of graphic scenes. That is why filmmakers were surprised when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) handed the film an R-rating. Producer Daryl C. Lefever said the rating, which restricts audience members below the age of 18 from attending without a guardian, would curtail the potential viewership of the film, and suspects the film’s pro-life message played a part in the decision.

“We really thought we had made a PG-13 film,” Lefever said in an email to the Washington Free Beacon. “There is no violence, no nudity, no sex, no profanity, and the only violence takes place in the womb, which most Hollywood folks don’t think is a person.” [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More…) ]

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Haiti: Aid groups implore Christians to pray, take action in time of crisis

(Worthy News) – Christian aid groups serving in Haiti have witnessed firsthand the devastation wrought by ongoing demonstrations spurred by allegations of government corruption and the country’s inflation crisis.

Haitians again took to the streets in Port-au-Prince and other cities this month calling for President Jovenel Moïse’s resignation over allegations the government misappropriated billions of dollars earmarked for reconstruction following a catastrophic 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2010 that killed an estimated 300,000 people and left between 1.5 million and 2 million homeless.

During the protests churches were closed, schools were shut down — including tutoring and other programs provided by Christian nonprofit groups — and parents who work as day laborers were unable to earn wages. [ Source: Christian Post (Read More…) ]

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Erdogan to push Mideast plan

(Worthy News) – White House adviser Jared Kushner continued a whirlwind overseas trip Wednesday aimed at rallying U.S. allies to support his still-unannounced Mideast peace plan.

Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met with leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman this week. He arrived in Turkey on Wednesday. He last toured the region for peace talks in June.

Palestinians have refused to discuss any peace blueprint with the United States in the wake of Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, while some Arab leaders have publicly rejected any deal that fails to address Jerusalem’s status or refugees’ right of return. [ Source: NBC News (Read More…) ]

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Turkey launches ‘Blue Homeland’ naval drill

(Worthy News) – Turkey has launched the largest maritime drill in the country’s history, testing its war fighting capabilities in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, and eastern Mediterranean simultaneously.

Dubbed “Mavi Vatan,” or “the Blue Homeland,” it will last between February 27 to March 8 and will see the participation of 103 military vessels and thousands of soldiers conducting operations in 462,000 square meters in three seas surrounding the country.

According to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, the naval vessels taking part will include destroyers, frigates, corvettes, assault boats, submarines, mine hunting vessels, patrol boats and as well as 20 fighter jets, military helicopters and drones. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

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Facing bribery charges, Netanyahu decries ‘political plot’ to topple him from power

(Worthy News) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out Thursday after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit called for him to be indicted on multiple corruption charges, accusing the country’s most senior judicial and law enforcement officials of being part of a witch hunt designed to bring him down.

In an appearance on national television, shortly after Mandelblit’s recommendations were released, Netanyahu called the timing of the announcement, six weeks ahead of elections, “outrageous” and accused his political opponents of carrying out an “unprecedented witch hunt.”

“The pressure of the left worked,” Netanyahu said, saying the attorney general’s recommendations threatened the country’s democracy. [ Source: Ynet News (Read More…) ]

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Netanyahu Being Indicted: Understanding the Accusations Against Israeli Prime Minister

(Worthy News) – Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit decided Thursday to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a series of corruption charges. The decision comes after more than two years of investigations and will significantly affect Israel’s national elections on April 9.

But what exactly is Netanyahu accused of?

Israeli police have recommended charging Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases – Case 4000, Case 1000, and Case 2000. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

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