A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – Sixty percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, the most in ABC News/Washington Post polls since 1995. More also say their state should make it easier, rather than harder, for women to have access to abortion, with a plurality favoring no change in the status quo.

Most of the change in support for legal abortion is among Americans who say it should be legal “in all cases,” now 27%, matching the high 24 years ago and up 11 percentage points from its low in early 2007. An additional 33% say it should be legal in most cases in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.

The rest, 36%, say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, down from 45% as recently as 2010 and a high of 48% in 2001. This includes 14% who say abortion should be illegal in all cases, about half as many as say it always should be legal. [ Source: ABC News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – U.S. lawmakers weighed reforming pot laws in what advocates called a “historic” hearing Wednesday, with numerous members of Congress saying they wanted to loosen federal laws, even legalize marijuana.

“Marijuana decriminalization may be one of the very few issues upon which bipartisan agreement can still be reached in this session,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., adding “it ought to be crystal clear to everyone that our laws have not accomplished their goals.”

Eleven states have legalized adult recreational use and a majority of Americans support legalization. A number of bills are on the table that would reform federal marijuana laws. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security sought input on how to reform federal laws in a hearing Wednesday titled “Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform.” [ Source: CNBC (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made a point of reminding a conference of Christian Zionists that Israel permits conversions to Christianity, just weeks after his department reported on the difficulties converts face there.

Pompeo, speaking Monday to the annual Washington summit of Christians United For Israel, drew a contrast between Israel and its neighbors.

“Modern Israel is the only truly free nation throughout the entire Middle East,” he said. “No country is perfect, but Israel, like America, holds itself to an incredibly high standard. Israel is a majority Jewish nation, but the government doesn’t force Jewish beliefs on others.” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Turkey said on Wednesday it rejected Greek and European Union assertions that Turkish drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus was illegitimate, and said they showed the EU could not be an impartial mediator on the Cyprus problem.

The foreign ministry said Turkey’s Fatih ship had started drilling to the west of the Mediterranean island at the start of May and its Yavuz ship had recently arrived east of Cyprus and would also carry out drilling.

Cyprus says Turkey’s actions are contrary to international law. Turkey and the internationally-recognized government of the divided island have overlapping claims in that part of the Mediterranean, an area thought to be rich in natural gas. [ Source: YNet News (Read More…) ]

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by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Turkey remained firm in its commitment to purchase the Russian S-400 missile defense system Wednesday, saying the US ought to look out if it went ahead with its threatened sanctions against the sole Middle East NATO member.

Currently a participant in the F-35 fighter jet program with which the US has sought to update all its NATO allies with Lockheed’s most recent technology, Turkey frightened experts in the US when it announced its purchase of the Russian anti-aircraft system, which would allow Russian technicians on the ground in Turkey “access to the genius of the F-35,” in the words of Trump.

“We are inviting the US to avoid taking the wrong steps which would exclude diplomacy and dialogue and harm relations,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

Tensions seem to be increasing along officials lines, but a more informal dialogue between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Trump at the G20 summit in late June seems to have yielded a mutual understanding between the two leaders, with Trump apparently believing Erdogan’s claim that the Obama administration had shortchanged the Turks of an opportunity to purchase the US-built Patriot missile defense system.

“Honestly, it’s not really Erdogan’s fault,” Trump said after the convening of the 20 major economic powers in late June. “We’ll see what we can do.”

If the US follows through with its threat of a sanctions package—which will include expulsion of Turkish fighter pilots from the F-35 program and the loss of major contracts by Turkish defense companies—the Turkish economy is likely to lose $12 billion, aside from any potential rift that might be created in an already tenuous NATO alliance.

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(Worthy News) – A closed-door meeting of the UN atomic watchdog agency in Vienna Wednesday determined that Iran had indeed breached the 3.76% uranium enrichment limit of the 2015 nuclear deal, confirming reports from Iran Monday that it had ramped up its enrichment to 4.5%.

The meeting, originally convened as an emergency measure by US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Jackie Wolcott, came as US President Donald Trump claimed Iran had been secretly enriching uranium beyond the nuclear accord limits for years.

“Sanctions will soon be increased, substantially!” Trump warned on Twitter Wednesday.

Seemingly in step with Washington’s own impatience toward the Islamic Republic, Britain, France, and Germany, the European signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), said in a statement along with European Union top diplomat Federica Mogherini Tuesday that “a Joint Commission should be convened urgently” to address Iran’s refusal to reverse course on abandoning its nuclear commitments.

In the meantime, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford is seeking an international military coalition to wrest control of critical Middle Eastern oil arteries the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab from Iran.

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(Worthy News) – Britain said Thursday that three Iranian vessels unsuccessfully tried to impede the passage of a British commercial vessel through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling a further escalation of tensions over a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

The Iranian vessels only turned away after receiving “verbal warnings” from a U.K. navy vessel accompanying the commercial vessel British Heritage, the U.K. government said in a statement. “We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region,” it said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard denied the allegations, saying if it had received orders to seize any ships it would have executed them immediately. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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