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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – The United States has warned American citizens to leave Lebanon while they can, as Israel is expected to launch a forceful retaliatory response to Sunday’s missile strike by the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group which killed 12 Druze-Israeli children in the Golan Heights. In a video posted on July 29 by the US Embassy in Lebanon, Rena Bitter, US assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, advised: “We recommend US citizens develop a crisis plan of action and leave before a crisis begins.” “Regularly scheduled commercial transportation is always the best option while local communications and transportation infrastructure are intact and operating normally,” Bitter said. “Should commercial air not be available, individuals already in Lebanon should be prepared to shelter in place for long periods of time,” Bitter advised. “I want to assure you that Washington is laser-focused on Lebanon,” Bitter added. “The U.S. Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” she said. “And finally,” Bitter recommended, “if your relatives are planning to visit you in Lebanon this summer, please strongly encourage them to reconsider their travel given the difficulties that would hinder departure should conflict increase in the region.” The post US Advises Americans to Leave Lebanon Ahead of Israeli Retaliation for Hezbollah Attack appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News NEW DELHI (Worthy News) – Indian rescue workers struggled to find survivors Tuesday after landslides caused by torrential rains in southern India killed at least 49 people, officials said. “My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Several sources said the landslides hit hilly villages in Kerala state’s Wayanad district early Tuesday, destroying numerous houses and a bridge. Images published by the National Disaster Response Force showed rescue crews trudging through mud to search for survivors and carrying bodies out of the area on stretchers. Homes were caked with brown sludge, and the force of the landslide’s impact scattered cars, corrugated iron, and other debris around the disaster site. India’s army said it had deployed more than 200 soldiers to the area to assist state security forces and fire crews in search and rescue efforts. Kerala state excise minister M.B. Rajesh said more than 250 people had been rescued so far. COMPENSATION OFFERED Modi’s office said the families of victims would receive a compensation payment of $2,400 (200,000 rupees). More rainfall and strong winds were forecast in Kerala on Tuesday, the state’s disaster management agency said. The latest tragedy highlighted concerns about India’s infrastructure. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi told lawmakers that the scope of the devastation was “heartbreaking.” “Our country has witnessed an alarming rise in landslides in recent years,” he added. “The need of the hour is a comprehensive action plan to address the growing frequency of natural calamities.” The number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years in the crowded, mainly Hindu nation of some 1.4 billion people. Scientists fearing climate change say global warming exacerbates the problem, while other experts link the fatalities to urbanization. Monsoon rains across the region from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. They are vital for agriculture, the livelihoods of millions of farmers, and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people. But they also bring destruction in the form of landslides and floods. The post Dozens Killed In India’s Landslides appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s foreign minister has urged the NATO military alliance to expel Turkey after its President Tayyip Erdogan threatened his country might invade the Jewish nation. “In light of Turkish President Erdogan’s threats to invade Israel and his dangerous rhetoric, Foreign Minister Israel Katz instructed diplomats… to urgently engage with all NATO members, calling for the condemnation of Turkey and demanding its expulsion from the regional alliance,” the ministry said. Turkey also entered Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past. The statement came after in the Netherlands, the anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders, who won the Dutch parliamentary election, said Turkey should be kicked out of NATO in response to Turkish President Erdogan’s readiness to “enter” Israel. “Islamofascist Erdogan threatens to invade Israel. This guy is totally nuts. Turkey should be kicked out of NATO,” Wilders wrote on social platform X. Israeli Foreign Minister Katz agreed, saying that Erdogan is following the path of Iraq’s leader Saddam Hussein by threatening to attack Israel. However, Katz warned Israel should remember Hussein’s fate. The Iraqi leader was eventually executed after a U.S.-led coalition invaded the country. ALL OUT WAR The tensions came as Israel prepared for an all-out war with Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the ongoing battle against Hamas following its massacre of some 1,200 people in Israel. Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas, started discussing that war during a speech over the weekend praising his country’s defense industry. “We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party in his hometown of Rize. “There is no reason why we cannot do this… We must be strong so that we can take these steps,” Erdogan added in the televised address. Israeli commentators were quick to say that Erdogan “must play his cards carefully” as he underestimates Israel’s military might. Yet, with the Jewish nation already engaged in several armed conflicts, there has been concern within Israeli army circles about Israel’s capabilities. The post Turkey Threatens To Invade Israel appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

Friend, the faith of Abraham ... Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Have you ever considered why Abraham was called the father of faith? Why not Enoch, who was translated from this world? Or Noah, who by faith created an ark to save mankind in the days of the flood? Abraham didn't perform any miracles, signs, or wonders, which would qualify him by today's standards of spiritual performance, yet he is known as the Father of Faith, simply because he trusted in the Kingdom to come. Abraham's faith established a pattern for us believers today. He left his past behind, turned away from everything he knew, and embarked on a journey without knowing his destination, stepping out of his comfort zone and relying solely on God’s word and guidance. This passage informs us that, in some way, God had revealed the New Jerusalem to His servant and friend. What else could it be, "The city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God"? This eternal city is the final consummation of the Millenial Kingdom, lasting 1000 years [Revelation 20], but which will never end. If Abraham saw and waited for it, no doubt this was the inspiration that brought him through the many trials he faced--receiving his wife Sarah back from Pharoah's harem, rescuing his nephew Lot from the most powerful armies on Earth at the time, with 318 men; having to send a wife and a son into the desert; among others, including, finally the offering of his beloved firstborn, Isaac. Yes, Friend, the Father of Faith had his faith tested over and over again. Maybe you can relate? But this man saw something that unwaveringly egged him on in obedience, year after year, and it wasn't even The Promised Land. It was the Eternal City, the New Jerusalem with all those amazing pearl gates and jeweled foundations [Revelation 21:10-27]. When you "see" that place, your faith will take you through anything. Your family in the Lord with much agape love, George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Missouri) (Jacksonsville, Florida) Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. Be sure to check it out! Editor's Note: We are planning our summer Tour so if you would like us to minister at your congregation, home fellowship, or Israel focused event, be sure to let us know ASAP. You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information. Around the World WHO Announces Initiative to Advance Development of mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday an initiative to accelerate the development and accessibility of bird flu vaccines using advanced messenger RNA technology to better prepare for the next pandemic. Iranian-Backed Militia Groups Intensifies Attacks on US Forces in Syria and Iraq As Israel battles Iran-backed conflict on multiple fronts, Tehran has intensified its use of proxy terrorist groups to attack US forces in Syria and Iraq, the Jerusalem Post reports. The already-notable attacks by Iranian proxies on US bases have seen a marked uptick since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas. Venezuela’s President ‘Re-Elected’ As Tensions Rise Tensions rose Monday after Venezuela’s incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, 61, was declared the winner with just over half of the overall vote against Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. Fiber Optic Networks Sabotaged Across France Fiber optic networks have been sabotaged in six areas in France just days after high-speed train travel was impacted by attacks around the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, police confirmed Monday. Israel-Palestinian Conflict Netanyahu Vows Retaliation Against Hezbollah; U.S. Urges Restraint to Avoid Full-Blown War The Biden Administration spearheaded diplomatic efforts to prevent a full-blown regional war as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization in Lebanon, following a weekend rocket strike that killed at least 12 children in the Golan Heights. Inside the United States No Clear Path to Approval for Biden’s Proposed Supreme Court Changes President Biden has officially proposed changes to the Supreme Court of the United States, including a constitutional amendment, marking a shift in his position on court reform over the years. Harris Haunted by ‘Defund the Police’ Past Vice President Kamala Harris’ kickstart to her presidential campaign last week immediately faced a flurry of her most controversial stances and statements, not the least of which was her support of the “defund the police” movement in 2020. Biden Proposes Supreme Court Constitutional Amendment President Joe Biden published an op-ed in the Washington Post Monday explaining his proposal to make major changes to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling for a Constitutional amendment to “ensure no president is above the law.” Christian News India: House Church Members Violently Attacked by Hindu Extremists Members of a house church congregation in India’s Uttarakhand state were violently attacked by a mob of around 150 Hindu extremists on July 14, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Laos: Evangelist Murdered Execution-Style, “Despite Increased Persecution, the Church is Rapidly Growing” An evangelical pastor in Laos who had been told to cease his “Christian activities” was murdered execution-style at his home last week, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. View the full article

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – The Biden Administration spearheaded diplomatic efforts to prevent a full-blown regional war as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization in Lebanon, following a weekend rocket strike that killed at least 12 children in the Golan Heights. Israel claimed that an Iranian rocket fired by Hezbollah slammed into a soccer field where children were playing in the predominantly Druze town of Majdal Shams. However, Hezbollah denied any involvement in the strike. “A Falaq-1 rocket struck here in the soccer field. It is an Iranian rocket, manufactured in Iran, with a warhead containing over 50 kilograms of explosives,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters. He continued, “This evening, the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon fired a rocket at children playing soccer on a soccer field in Majdal Shams in northern Israel. Hezbollah then lied to the whole world and claimed they did not carry out this attack. This is a lie.” According to a statement from the IDF, their operational systems’ analysis determined that the rocket originated from an area north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, and reliable intelligence indicated Hezbollah’s involvement in the attack. “From the analysis of the IDF’s operational systems, the rocket launch at the center of Majdal Shams was carried out from an area located north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said. “According to reliable intelligence information in the possession of the IDF, Hezbollah is behind the attack.” During a Monday visit to Majdal Shams, Netanyahu stated, “our response will come, and it will be difficult,” though the timing of the response remains uncertain. Later that evening, senior officials noted, “In the cabinet, it was agreed that there would be an Israeli response. How Hezbollah will react is unclear, and it is impossible to know if it will lead to war.” Washington is urgently working to prevent a full-scale war in Lebanon. In discussions with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the “importance of preventing escalation” and sought diplomatic solutions to end the conflict. A Western diplomat engaged in efforts to prevent serious escalation in Lebanon told the AP that he expects the Israeli response to remain below the threshold that would trigger a full-scale war, similar to Israel’s restrained response to Iran’s extensive drone and missile barrage. “It is clear that Israel wants to assert its stance without sparking a general confrontation,” the diplomat told AP. “There will undoubtedly be a response that could be symbolic, possibly even spectacular, but it will not escalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.” Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab, who has been in contact with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein since the Golan attack on Saturday, told Reuters that Israel could prevent a major escalation by avoiding strikes on Beirut and its suburbs. More than 70,000 residents are still evacuated from their homes in northern Israel, where Israeli leaders are advocating for the creation of a safe zone to push Hezbollah away from its northern border. This safe zone the leaders claim is in line with the goals of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which concluded the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In Lebanon, over 500 people, including 90 civilians, have been killed since the war broke out, along with 22 soldiers and 25 civilians in Israel. The post Netanyahu Vows Retaliation Against Hezbollah; U.S. Urges Restraint to Avoid Full-Blown War appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday an initiative to accelerate the development and accessibility of bird flu vaccines using advanced messenger RNA technology to better prepare for the next pandemic. In a press release, the WHO announced that Argentinian manufacturer Sinergium Biotech will lead this effort, utilizing the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). “This initiative exemplifies why WHO established the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme – to foster greater research, development and production in low- and middle-income countries, so that when the next pandemic arrives, the world will be better prepared to mount a more effective and more equitable response,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. The WHO claims that avian influenza viruses pose a significant public health risk due to their widespread circulation in animals and potential to cause a future pandemic. The H5N1 bird flu first emerged in 1996, but since 2020, the WHO claims there has been an exponential increase in outbreaks among birds. This surge has been accompanied by the virus increasingly jumping to mammals, including cattle on US farms, and a few human cases. Martin Friede, head of the WHO’s vaccine research unit, highlighted the advantages of developing mRNA-based vaccines for establishing sustainable production capacity. Previous efforts to boost influenza vaccine production in developing countries often faltered, with facilities focused on egg-based pandemic influenza jabs closing once the threat dissipated and governments stopped procuring doses. “The advantage of mRNA is that, in theory, we can make a COVID vaccine, we can make H5N1 vaccines, but also many other vaccines and importantly also therapeutics,” Friede told reporters. Friede stated that half of the manufacturers in the program have already started installing the necessary equipment to develop and produce mRNA-based vaccines, enabling them to respond much more swiftly if a disaster strikes again. The post WHO Announces Initiative to Advance Development of mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Members of a house church congregation in India’s Uttarakhand state were violently attacked by a mob of around 150 Hindu extremists on July 14, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Fifteen Christians were in the middle of a worship service at a house church in the Nawada area of Uttarakhand state when they were alerted that a large mob of suspected RSS [Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] activists were on their way. “We locked the gate and stayed indoors, not making any noise,” the congregation’s leader Pastor Bhomi told MSN. “Soon we found the mob with women leading in the front banging on the gate trying to break open the lock.” The Hindus said they had come to “talk,” Pastor Bhomi told MSN. “‘Why did you come as a mob of over 100?’ we questioned them, but they kept repeating that we must open the lock, and they would only talk to us.” “As they banged and pushed the gate, in that struggle the lock was let loose by us, and at once the mob of around 150 rushed inside the premises like flood waters,” Pastor Bhomi said. “They went all around the house vandalizing every object in their sight, and some of them were carrying lathis [sticks]. They beat wherever on the body badly.” The pastor’s wife, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and two other female members of the congregation were severely injured, he told MSN. “They received lathi blows in the stomach, neck, and hands,” Pastor Bhomi said. “As they continued beating us, some from among the mob snatched away our mobile phones, and laptop and damaged the musical instruments.” Although a full police report has been filed, and officers said they are investigating, no concrete action has yet been taken, Pastor Bhomi said. Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party for nearly 10 years, India now ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted. The post India: House Church Members Violently Attacked by Hindu Extremists appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Nolan Mckendry, Center Square Contributor (Worthy News) – President Biden has officially proposed changes to the Supreme Court of the United States, including a constitutional amendment, marking a shift in his position on court reform over the years. Biden’s opinion piece in the Washington Post cited the recent decision by the court which granted significant immunity to the Oval Office, limiting the likelihood of prosecution for former President Trump’s alleged role in the January 6th capitol riot. Much of the Republican party would require convincing. Senator Lindsay Graham, R-SC, warned that the Democrats’ court reforms reflect a disdain for the court’s refusal of their agenda, and are in reality meant to “marginalize” and “destroy” the court. “The Roberts court has brought constitutional balance back to the court, and the liberals in this country want to pack the court. They want to destroy the court,” Graham said in an interview with CBS. “So their initiatives coming from Biden will be dead on arrival in the Senate. They have no desire to make the court better. They’re just trying to make it more liberal.” Ted Cruz (R-TX) made similar remarks last week in his podcast “Verdict”, saying that Biden’s reforms are an attempt to “utterly politicize” the Court. He contrasted Democrats today with the Democrats who rejected FDR’s proposal. “There are no Democrats willing to stand up to the radicals now,” Cruz said. In an interview with MSNBC, Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, said that “these are ideas which don’t come from one side of the aisle.” “Giving term limits gives some regularity and predictability to our courts, and has people involved in the presidency in their elections knowing that if we elect a president they’re going to have two appointments to the highest court in the land, and prevents once president from having an outsized influence on the court,” Booker said. Booker said the supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act which would “require Supreme Court justices to adopt a binding code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations of the code of conduct and other laws, improve disclosure and transparency when a justice has a connection to a party or amicus before the Court, and require justices to explain their recusal decisions to the public.” Any constitutional amendment would require two-thirds approval in both the House and Senate. Republicans control the House with an eight-seat majority. “This dangerous gambit of the Biden-Harris Administration is dead on arrival in the house,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was a constitutional lawyer before his career in politics. The proposal would “tilt the balance of power and erode not only the rule of law, but the American people’s faith in our system of justice.” Democrats have been calling for court reform for decades, dating all the way back to the 1930s when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, often referred to as the “court-packing plan.” “The Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision betrays two centuries of commitment to the idea that no one is above the law,” Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, said in a post on X Sunday morning. “I’m proud to be leading a constitutional amendment with [Representative Joe Morelle] to reverse this outrageous ruling by a neo-monarchical Court.” Vice President Kamala Harris was quick to support Biden’s proposal. “In the course of our nation’s history, trust in the Supreme Court of the United States has been critical to achieving equal justice under law,” Harris wrote in a statement. “President Biden and I strongly believe that the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court. Yet today, there is a clear crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court as its fairness has been called into question after numerous ethics scandals and decision after decision overturning long-standing precedent.” In a panel discussion last Thursday, Justice Elena Kagan, appointed by President Obama, said that she supported the creation of a committee of judges to examine alleged violations of the court’s recently undertaken ethics-code. Representative Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also expressed his support for Biden’s proposal. “Over the last few years, we have witnessed our freedoms recede and presidential powers dramatically expand through the actions of a Supreme Court willing to cast aside all precedent in favor of its reactionary agenda,” Schiff wrote in a statement. ““I’m grateful to President Biden for his leadership on this key proposal. We must unite behind these common-sense reforms to preserve our system of checks and balances for generations to come.” Schiff has been a longtime advocate of court reform, recently creating a task force dedicated to increasing awareness in “the debate around key pieces of court reform legislation to fix and rebalance the court.” Such legislation includes Schiff’s Judiciary Integrity Act, which would prohibit Justices from presiding over cases in which they may have a financial conflict of interest. “The task force will be utilized as a platform to increase awareness and elevate the debate around key pieces of court reform legislation to fix and rebalance the court – The Judiciary Act to expand the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Ethics, Transparency & Recusal Act (SCERT) to require a binding code of ethics and transparency measures for justices, and the TERM Act setting term limits for justices. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also expressed support for court reform on X prior to Biden’s opinion on Monday. In response to the proposal, Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel for First Liberty Institute called it a “scheme” and a “desperate attack to subvert the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.” “Term limits are simply court-packing by another name and are designed to target Justices Thomas and Alito in an act of pure political revenge,” Shackelford said. “If successful, the judiciary will no longer be a safeguard of our civil liberties but will instead be little more than a political tool used to crush the freedom of Americans.” Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post No Clear Path to Approval for Biden’s Proposed Supreme Court Changes appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Casey Harper | The Center Square (Worthy News) – Vice President Kamala Harris’ kickstart to her presidential campaign last week immediately faced a flurry of her most controversial stances and statements, not the least of which was her support of the “defund the police” movement in 2020. “Defund the police” took off as a moment in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter riots in cities around the country. In June of 2020, Harris praised the movement, repeatedly saying we need to “reimagine” how we get safety in our cities and rework budgets instead of spending so much on police. “Defund the police, the issue behind it is that we need to reimagine how we are creating safety,” Harris told the radio show “Ebro in the Morning” in a clip now resurfaced by CNN. “When you have cities with one third of their entire city budget focused on policing, we know that is not the smart way or the best way or the right way to achieve safety. “This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out if it reflects the right priorities,” she continued. “For too long the status quo thinking has been, you get more safety by putting more cops on the street. Well, that’s wrong.” When Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti diverted $150 million from the police budget, Harris praised the decision. “I applaud Eric Garcetti for what he’s done,” Harris said on “Good Morning America” at the time. Many American cities saw a spike in violent crime in the months following the BLM riots. In 2022, Garcetti pushed for adding about $150 million to the city’s police budget, an apparently about-face turn on the policy. Again in June of 2020, Harris echoed her support for the “defund the police” movement during an appearance on ABC’s “The View.” Harris proposed diverting funding from police to social services. “We have confused the idea that to achieve safety you put more cops on the street instead of understanding to achieve safe and healthy communities you put more resources into the public education system of those communities, into affordable housing, into home ownership, into access for capital for small businesses, access for healthcare regardless of how much money people have,” Harris said. “That’s how you achieve safe and healthy communities.” President Joe Biden came out and distanced himself from the “defund the police” movement during its peak. Later in 2020, when the issue was less popular and Harris was grappling with being Biden’s pick for vice president, Harris’ press team reportedly claimed Harris did not support defunding police. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have hit Harris for her stance on the issue. Trump pushed out a clip of Harris’ comments praising defunding police to his followers over the weekend. “She’s a radical left lunatic, defund the police, all of the different things,” Trump said of Harris during remarks in Nashville over the weekend. Defunding police never had majority support, and after 2020, what support it did have dropped significantly, according to polling from Pew Research. “Support for reducing spending on police has fallen significantly: 15% of adults now say spending should be decreased, down from 25% in 2020,” Pew said in an October of 2021 release. “And only 6% now advocate decreasing spending a lot, down from 12% who said this last year. At the same time, 37% of adults now say spending on police should stay about the same, down from 42% in 2020.” Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post Harris Haunted by ‘Defund the Police’ Past appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Nolan Mckendry | The Center Square (Worthy News) – President Joe Biden published an op-ed in the Washington Post Monday explaining his proposal to make major changes to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling for a Constitutional amendment to “ensure no president is above the law.” “[T]he Supreme Courts decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do,” Biden wrote. “The only limits will be those that are self-imposed by the person occupying the Oval Office.” “If a future president incites a violent mob to storm the Capitol and stop the peaceful transfer of power – like we saw on Jan. 6, 2021 – there may be no legal consequences,” Biden continued. Biden’s proposal includes imposing term limits on Supreme Court justices, establishing a mandatory ethics code, and enacting a Constitutional amendment to eliminate presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for crimes committed while in office. The amendment, named the “No One Is Above the Law Amendment,” would address the Supreme Court’s recent controversial decision in July, which ruled that former President Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” carried out during his presidency. Rumors began of Biden’s intent to attempt to propose the changes following his campaign-imploding performance in the first presidential debate. Biden’s suggested ethics code follows controversies involving Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who reportedly had their way paid on luxury vacations with friends. “All three of these reforms are supported by a majority of Americans – as well as conservative and liberal constitutional scholars,” Biden continues. “We can and must prevent the abuse of presidential power. We can and must restore the public’s faith in the Supreme Court. We can and must strengthen the guardrails of democracy.” Aside from the ruling on presidential immunity, the conservative-majority court has done much to annoy Democrats in recent years. The court struck down federally protected abortion in a June 2022 decision, upheld bans on homeless encampments, and struck down Biden’s student-loan forgiveness program. Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post Biden Proposes Supreme Court Constitutional Amendment appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – As Israel battles Iran-backed conflict on multiple fronts, Tehran has intensified its use of proxy terrorist groups to attack US forces in Syria and Iraq, the Jerusalem Post reports. The already-notable attacks by Iranian proxies on US bases have seen a marked uptick since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas. Most recently, according to the IRNA pro-Iranian media outlet, “resistance groups” carried out missile strikes against a US military base with missiles in Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria on July 26. “The resistance fighters [Iranian-backed militias] targeted the US base in the Koniko gas field in Syria,” both the Al Mayadeen and IRNA said in the same report. “The missile attack hit the military base, and the sound of explosions was heard in the nearby villages,” IRNA reported. “Regional resistance groups have repeatedly targeted US and Israeli interests in the region since the onset of the US-backed Israeli war on the Gaza Strip last October,” IRNA said. Two days earlier, on July 24, militants struck US forces at Asad base. “It is one of two recent attacks in Iraq that illustrate Iran has ordered its militias to return to targeting the US,” JPost reports. “This is all part of a well-planned and orchestrated attempt by Iran to exert its own maximum pressure on the US and to open up a multiple-front war against Israel,” JPost noted in its report. The post Iranian-Backed Militia Groups Intensifies Attacks on US Forces in Syria and Iraq appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – An evangelical pastor in Laos who had been told to cease his “Christian activities” was murdered execution-style at his home last week, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. A tribal Khmu leader and provincial head of the Lao Evangelical Church (LEC), 40-year-old Pastor Thongkham Philavanh, was murdered outside his home in Vanghay village, Xai District, Oudomxay Province, on Monday, July 22, MSN reports. Warned by village officials to cease his evangelistic outreach, Pastor Thongham had actively shared the gospel, showed the Jesus Film, and hosted training sessions for pastors. On the day of his murder, the pastor had been feeding chickens behind his home, when two masked men arrived on motorcycles and spoke briefly to him, MSN reports. One of the masked men then fired seven shots into the evangelist’s head and body using a gun that had been fitted with a silencer. The killers escaped. Pastor Thongkham died upon arrival at the local hospital; he is survived by his wife and two teenage children. The killing of Pastor Thongham follows the torture and murder of Pastor Seetoud of Don Keo village in central Laos’ Khammouane Province in October 2022, MSN reports. “Despite a national law guaranteeing freedom of religion, persecution in Laos has been steadily increasing in the country,” MSN noted in its report. “Christians continue to be imprisoned in Laos, most of them held for a short period and then released. Local officials have been driving Protestant Christians from their villages, tearing down and burning their homes and rice silos, leaving families with no place to go. Even though the government has been informed about these incidents, it has allowed this to continue without any charges filed. Nevertheless, MSN added: “Despite the increased persecution, the church in Laos is rapidly growing every year, with hundreds of Khmu coming to the Lord. Daily live Christian broadcasts on the Khmu Facebook page continue to attract thousands; in one three-day period, 10,000 people were watching.” An oppressive communist government rules Buddhist-majority Laos; the southeast Asian nation ranks 21 on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted. The post Laos: Evangelist Murdered Execution-Style, “Despite Increased Persecution, the Church is Rapidly Growing” appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos and Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondents CARACAS (Worthy News) – Tensions rose Monday after Venezuela’s incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, 61, was declared the winner with just over half of the overall vote against Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was banned from running for office, said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 70 percent of the vote. She urged the military to “respect the will of the people,” but it was unclear whether the army would intervene. Venezuelans headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in a presidential election that could determine whether the economically troubled South American nation moves away from one-party rule. Some 21 million Venezuelans were registered to vote. Tens of thousands of security forces were deployed, with border control ramped up and public gatherings and protests banned. Ahead of the vote, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would not prejudge the results. However, he called on parties to “respect“ the democratic process, which would be closely watched during significant challenges for the Latin American nation. The UK expressed concern over allegations of irregularities in the Venezuelan election, urging a quick and transparent publication of the results to accurately reflect the Venezuelan people’s choice. Similarly, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric voiced skepticism about the credibility of the election results under Maduro’s regime, emphasizing the need for verifiable transparency and stating Chile’s refusal to recognize unverifiable results. Argentinian President Javier Milei declared, “Venezuelans chose to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The data announce a crushing victory for the opposition and the world is waiting for it to recognize defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence, and death.” In a resolute message on social media, Milei further emphasized, “DICTATOR MADURO, OUT!!!” He reinforced Argentina’s refusal to acknowledge any potential electoral fraud, underscoring the critical role of the armed forces in upholding democracy and the popular will. Additionally, the Peruvian government responded by recalling its ambassador from Caracas for consultations, indicating significant unease over the election outcomes. The Spanish government, represented by diplomat José Manuel Albares, also called for complete transparency in the electoral process, requesting the release of detailed and verifiable data. Echoing this sentiment, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed perplexity at Maduro’s claimed victory, doubting it reflected the true will of the Venezuelan people. These international reactions highlight a widespread demand for credibility and transparency in Venezuela’s electoral process. Videos that emerged on social media, as seen by Worthy News, depict alleged disruptions in the vote counting process attributed to the Maduro government. The footage also shows armed groups, known as “Colectivos,” who are supporters of Maduro’s regime, storming polling stations around Venezuela. These groups reportedly aimed to seize ballot boxes, with these incidents occurring before Maduro was declared the winner. UPHILL BATTLE With elections over, any president will face pressure to tackle struggles with rampant inflation, goods shortages, unemployment, and crime. Seven million Venezuelans have fled abroad to neighboring states, according to official estimates. The country is also involved in a long-running border dispute with neighboring Guyana over Essequibo, a disputed oil-rich territory that Guyana and British Guiana before it has administered since 1899. Late president Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013, portrayed himself as a champion of the poor during his 14 years in office, pouring billions of dollars of Venezuela’s oil wealth into social programs. Yet his successor, Maduro, struggled with plummeting oil prices and an economic and political crisis that left Venezuela in a state of near collapse. It has been one of the world’s leading oil exporters, but the country experienced poor economic management in the early decades of the 21st Century. The post Venezuela’s President ‘Re-Elected’ As Tensions Rise appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News PARIS (Worthy News) – Fiber optic networks have been sabotaged in six areas in France just days after high-speed train travel was impacted by attacks around the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, police confirmed Monday. Landlines are especially affected by the interruption, and mobile phones to a lesser extent, but authorities said the area around the French capital was not yet targeted in the latest attack. Internet problems were reported in at least 28 locations in France. The sabotage comes three days after vandalism at several high-speed connections in France. Officials and passengers said this led to significant delays and chaos on public transport on the day of the Olympic Games opening ceremony. RUSSIAN PLOT? It comes after French authorities announced last week they detained a Russian man for allegedly plotting acts of “destabilization” during the Paris Olympics, while a separate video emerged promising “rivers of blood” in Paris. The 40-year-old man was reportedly arrested Sunday for the possible passing of “intelligence to a foreign power to arouse hostilities in France.” The alleged plot was not believed to have been for a terror attack. However, it came while on social media, footage emerged of a man saying “rivers of blood will flow” at the upcoming Olympics in Paris, which Israel is set to compete in. In the minute-long clip, a masked Arabic-speaking man addressed “the people of France and the French President [Emmanuel] Macron” and warned them that they would be punished for supporting “the Zionist regime in its criminal war against the people of Palestine.” France has deployed tens of thousands of police officers each day of the event The post Fiber Optic Networks Sabotaged Across France appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Dan McCaleb | The Center Square (Worthy News) – Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have opposing views on a wide array of issues, among them Americans’ Second Amendment rights to own firearms. Trump, the Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election, has referred to himself as the “the most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president you’ve ever had in the White House.” Even after a would-be assassin attempted to kill Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month, his campaign said the Republican nominee for president would protect Americans’ constitutional rights to own and carry guns. Instead, the campaign said, policy positions on reducing gun violence should center on treating those with mental illness. Harris, on the other hand, has spent most of her political career supporting additional gun restrictions. “We, who believe that every person should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence, will finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks, and an assault weapons ban,” Harris said at her first campaign stop after President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed his vice president to be his successor, according to The Trace, a nonprofit news outlet that reports on gun violence. Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Several gun restriction groups joined in a joint news release last week to endorse Harris for president. They include GIFFORDS, Brady and Team ENOUGH, Community Justice Action Fund, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. “Gun extremists have a dream ticket with Trump and [Trump vice presidential running mate and U.S. Sen. J.D.] Vance, and our volunteers stand ready to do everything in our power to elect Vice President Harris back into the White House,” Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, said in the joint statement. The National Rifle Association, the nation’s largest pro-Second Amendment group, again endorsed Trump in 2024, as is it did in 2016 and 2020. “A second term for President Trump is a victory for the Second Amendment. NRA members recognize that we are the torchbearers for liberty, and we are in a generational fight for freedom,” the organization said in a statement. “With President Trump, we had a powerful champion in the White House who always fought for our constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and come November, we will return him to the Oval Office.” Harris’ support of gun ban laws isn’t limited to red flag laws and assault weapon bans, however. When she was San Francisco’s district attorney, Harris led a group of 18 prosecutors who urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Washington DC’s handgun ban, arguing the a total ban on handguns was not unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the handgun ban was in fact unconstitutional. And during a 2023 meeting with the Prime Minister of Australia, Harris praised Australia’s gun restriction laws, which state that gun ownership is a privilege and Australians must demonstrate a “genuine reason” for owning them. Self-defense does not qualify as a reason to own a firearm. “Gun violence has terrorized and traumatized so many of our communities in this country. And let us be clear, it does not have to be this way – as our friends in Australia have demonstrated,” Harris said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Polling has shown that a slight majority of Americans either own a gun or live with someone who does. A November 2023 poll from NBC News found that 52% of Americans do so. Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post Trump, Harris on Opposite Sides of 2nd Amendment Debate appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News PARIS (Worthy News) – Organizers of the Paris Olympics have apologized to Christians who were offended by a scene in the Friday opening ceremony, where drag queens portrayed artist Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural, The Last Supper. The depiction was seen by critics as a direct affront to over 2 billion Christians worldwide. The twelve apostles who share his last meal with Jesus Christ before the crucifixion consisted of a group of drag queens, a trans model, and a half-naked singer. The scene was part of a four-hour spectacle held along the Seine River in the French capital featuring global stars like Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, both of whom are considered icons for the queer community. Catholics and other Christians saw this as a mockery of their faith. The French Catholic Church said that. “Unfortunately, Christianity is being mocked.” Some French politicians also said they watched the spectacle in a rainy Paris with horror. France’s right-wing politician Marion Maréchal said on social media: “To all Christians in the world who watch the opening ceremony and feel insulted by this drag queen parody of The Last Supper: know that it is not France speaking, but a left-wing minority that always wants to provoke.” Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called “the insulting” of billions of Christians “a very bad start to the Games.” RADICAL IMAMS In the Netherlands, the anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders and ChristianUnion legislator Don Ceder described the scene as inappropriate. “So making fun of Christianity is fine, but if I publish some Mohammed cartoons, the left talks about sacrilege and radical imams issue fatwas,” Wilders stressed. The ChristianUnion’s Ceder compared the scene with the persecution of Christians. The politician called it “kicking against the most persecuted group of people on earth.” Christians, Ceder said, “are being murdered, wrongfully imprisoned, raped, kidnapped, hunted, expelled in large parts of the world, just because of their Christian faith.” Yet the director of the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, said that the intention was “never to offend” but that “inclusivity” was pursued. “In France, people are free to love how they want, to love who they want, to believe or not to believe,” Jolly added. Olympics spokesperson Anne Descamps said, “It was clearly never our intention to offend any religious group. On the contrary, we wanted to celebrate the community’s tolerance.” Despite questions about the LGBTQ+ ingredients added to The Last Supper, “We think we have achieved that. If people have been offended by it, we are sorry,” Descamps said. However, drag queen artist Hugo Bardin, better known as drag queen Paloma, condemned the apology. “Apologizing means admitting a mistake, admitting that you have deliberately done something wrong. That is not the case here,” Hu said. “We were there to celebrate the diversity of France. We also belong to France and its diversity.” DA VINCI Bardin noted that Da Vinci’s painting is one of the world’s most reproduced works of art. “You see it in music videos, films, photographs, the theater, and opera. This painting has been used in a religious context and a non-religious context. People are not angry because we recreate it, but because queer people recreated it.” Most French people claim to be Roman Catholic, but the country also has a tradition of secularism. Yet, with anger mounting, at least one major advertiser halted its campaign. Telecommunications and technology company C Spire announced on X that it had pulled all of its advertising from the Olympics over the ceremony’s mockery of a painting created to show a biblical moment crucial to the Christian faith. “We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics,” added the company based in the U.S. state of Mississippi. “C Spire will be pulling our advertising from the Olympics.” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican, praised the company’s decision, saying on social media platform X: “I am proud to see the private sector in Mississippi put their foot down. God will not be mocked. C Spire drew a common-sense, appropriate line.” Amid the controversy, the International Olympic Committee said a highlight video of the Paris Olympics’ controversial opening ceremony was not removed from the video-sharing YouTube service. It said it was blocked in some regions due to how broadcast rights were organized. Social media users wondered whether the IOC had deleted the video after the Christian protests. One X user wrote that the opening ceremony “sucked and was filled with blasphemy.” “There are over 2 billion Christians around the world, and many love to watch the games,” the user wrote. “Why would you make fun and open with that?” The post Paris Olympics Apologize For Mocking Christian Faith appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

Friend, understand Jerusalem! Psalms 122:5-7 For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces." Last week, we discussed the significance of Jerusalem in the culmination of the age. Here we'll continue to scratch that surface. The word "Jerusalem" is so rich with meaning, a single devotion will only begin to unpack it, there are so many etymological approaches. But most agree that the root letters at the end, שלם (shalem) spell a Hebrew word requiring numerous English words to fully comprehend including, "perfect", "complete", "sound", "whole", "harmony", "peace", etc. In addition, the concept of payment is present, as לשלם (leshalem), "to pay", also suggests "reward". There are two options of meaning for the letters at the beginning of the name, Yerushalayim, "ירה" (yara, with the letter "hey" ה at the end), means "to throw, cast, or shoot; to cause (cast) a particular effect or result by means of many small elements or impulses", (e.g. arrows, words, instructions, rain drops, etc.)". From this we infer that Jerusalem is a place where peace, wholeness, fulfillment and completion (shalom), are cast or released (yara) through a patient, repetitive process of instruction, a softening produced by a "rainfall" of God's word, or a piercing of sin and ignorance by "arrows" (of truth), etc. These processes describe the spiritual history and unique identity of Jerusalem, a central place of God's self revelation. Also this name testifies that the first appearance of the Prince of Peace (Sar Shalom) there, was preceded by an extended process of patient and repeated prophetic revelation cast over centuries. An alternative root beginning the name "Yerushalayim", ירא (yara' with "aleph", (א) instead of "hey" (ה), means "to revere", "to give heed", "to be in awe", or "to fear". In this case the name "Jerusalem" carries an exhortation to heed, revere, or be in awe of, (yara) perfection, wholeness, and peace, (shalom) and therefore, God Himself, who is the Author of all these. Both of these beginning roots express true characteristics of the "Holy City". Additionally, within "Yerushalayim", we find the Hebrew word “Yerusha", meaning "inheritance", the legal transfer of property across generations. This makes reference to the verses above concerning judgment and prosperity. In Jerusalem there are thrones of judgment set in the house of David; [Ps. 122:5]. Here we see a prophetic reference to the judgment seat of Christ, David's royal successor, Yeshua (Jesus). At His throne all the works of men will be judged, assessed and rewarded with an inheritance in the age to come; [Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10]. Yerushalayim thus holds a promise for prospering, as believers who, understanding its significance, serve faithfully, and endure to become co-heirs with Messiah and reign with Him; [Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12 ]. Finally, "May they prosper who love you", [verse 6], reaffirms the prosperous reward for all who love and appreciate YHVH's Holy City and its purpose in history and eternity. So much of the Gospel message of Messiah is found in the name of the city where it happened, Jerusalem. Here, the raindrops, the water of God's Word, repeatedly and patiently fell onto both the fertile and fallow soil of men's hearts. Here YHVH's prophetic "arrows" repeatedly pierced both the tender and hardened hearts of men, in the hope of repentance for acceptance in God's Kingdom. Here, the awesome nature of God Himself was revealed in His Word and Personal Image, Yeshua the Messiah. Finally, in Yerushalayim, perfect redemption and peace with humankind were fulfilled and completed by the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Yet, Friend, before this took place Yeshua gave a final word to His beloved Jerusalem; "You shall see me no more until you say, 'Baruch haba b'shem Adonai', ('Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD') [Matthew 23:37-39], a most serious word of warning and hope in light of His rejection by Israel. In this light, praying for the peace of Jerusalem takes on a dimension of significance which includes Israel's final redemption and acceptance of their Messiah, and becomes a "last days" participation in the Lord's eternal purposes, with the expectation of rejoicing with Him for Israel's salvation and the fulfillment of Jerusalem's eternal destiny. Your family in the Lord with much agape love, George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Missouri) (North Carolina) Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. Be sure to check it out! Editor's Note: We are planning our summer Tour so if you would like us to minister at your congregation, home fellowship, or Israel focused event, be sure to let us know ASAP. You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information. Around the World Paris Olympics Apologize For Mocking Christian Faith Organizers of the Paris Olympics have apologized to Christians who were offended by a scene in the Friday opening ceremony, where drag queens portrayed artist Leonardo da Vinci's famous mural, The Last Supper. The depiction was seen by critics as a direct affront to over 2 billion Christians worldwide. Moscow’s War Ships In Cuba In Warning To Nearby US In what is seen as another warning to the United States and its allies, at least three Russian warships have arrived in Cuban waters, Moscow’s second such maritime voyage in as many months. Ukraine Athletes In Paris As War Continues Ukrainian athletes are participating in the Summer Olympics while leaving behind a nation in turmoil. Ethiopia Mourns Many Killed In Mudslide Ethiopia plunged into mourning Saturday as diggers continued their search for bodies of victims of a mudslide that reportedly killed hundreds of people. Jordan’s King Dissolves Parliament At Sensitive Time (Worthy News In-depth) Jordan's King Abdullah II has dissolved the Middle East nation's lower house of parliament ahead of new legislative elections scheduled for September at a time of growing concerns that neighboring Israel's war against Hamas will turn into a broader regional armed conflict. France Trains Paralyzed By Sabotage As Olympics Get Underway French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Friday that the “intelligence services are mobilized” after authorities said train services in France, including the international Eurostar service, were disrupted in a “coordinated sabotage effort.” Israel-Palestinian Conflict Israel Hits Hezbollah Targets In Lebanon After Attack Kills 12 Israel’s military confirmed it struck Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanon and in the country’s southern region on Sunday in response to a rocket strike from Lebanon that killed 12 people, mostly teenagers and children, on a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Hezbollah Hits Israel, Killing 10 Threatening Regional War Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked northern Israel on Saturday, killing at least ten people, threatening a full-scale war between the Lebanon-based group and Israel. Palestinian Authority Using Western Donations For ‘Funding Terrorism’ (Worthy News Investigation) The Palestinian Authority (PA) pays millions of dollars monthly to imprisoned fighters or their families, raising concerns that donations from the United States and the European Union are used to fund terrorism, according to data and documents obtained by Worthy News. Inside the United States Trump, Harris on Opposite Sides of 2nd Amendment Debate Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have opposing views on a wide array of issues, among them Americans' Second Amendment rights to own firearms. FACT CHECK: Biden’s Claim That Illegal Border Crossings Lower Than Trump’s Is False During President Joe Biden’s address to the American public Wednesday night, he said his administration secured the border. Trump’s Former Physician Says FBI Director ‘Wrong’ to Suggest Trump Wasn’t Hit by bullet Ronny Jackson, the former physician to the president for Donald Trump and a U.S. representative from Texas, wrote a letter to Congress admonishing FBI Director Christopher Wray for suggesting Trump wasn’t hit by a bullet. Christian News Nigeria: Fulani Terrorists Massacre 18 Christians in Their Beds Fulani Islamic terrorists massacred a further 18 Christians in central Nigeria on Friday (July 19), Morning Star News (MSN) reports. With Islamic extremism taking root in Nigeria since 2009, tens of thousands of Christians have been murdered with impunity by jihadist terrorists including Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, and Islamic State West Africa Province. Turkey: Christian Group Denied the Right to Buy Land for Worship Center In a move that Christian leaders consider an expression of increased hostility to Christendom in their country, Turkish authorities have denied a request by an established protestant church group to buy land that has already been zoned for religious use to build a worship center, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s military confirmed it struck Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanon and in the country’s southern region on Sunday in response to a rocket strike from Lebanon that killed 12 people, mostly teenagers and children, on a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to retaliate against what military officials said was the “deadliest single attack on Israel” since the October 7 massacre by Hamas. He returned from the United States early to Israel early to deal with the crisis and was due to chair an emergency Security Cabinet meeting. Israel blamed Hezbollah, which it designated as a terrorist organization, for Saturday’s attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams, but Hezbollah denied any involvement. Early on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had conducted air strikes against seven Hezbollah targets “deep inside Lebanese territory” It was unclear whether there were any casualties. ‘HEFTY PRICE’ “Overnight, the [Israeli Air Force] IAF struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said. The targets included “weapons caches and terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Chabriha, Borj El Chmali, and Beqaa, Kfarkela, Rab El Thalathine, Khiam, and Tayr Harfa,” the Israeli military added. Netanyahu vowed that Iran-backed Hezbollah would “pay a hefty price” after the deadly strike on the football pitch in the remote town in the Golan Heights, which came amid a day-long barrage of rocket fire from Lebanon. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said “large numbers” of ambulances were dispatched to the scene to treat the casualties, all aged between 10 and 20 years old. Video and imagery showed young casualties strewn across the grass, some wearing sports shirts. The rising tensions have the potential to trigger an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, whose forces have regularly exchanged fire since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in October. The post Israel Hits Hezbollah Targets In Lebanon After Atrack Kills 12 appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor (Worthy News) – During President Joe Biden’s address to the American public Wednesday night, he said his administration secured the border. Without discussing border policies in his 10-minute address, he touted his efforts in two sentences, saying, “We are also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office.” Several news outlets made similar claims. “July is on track to see the fifth consecutive monthly drop in migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border and the lowest level in illegal immigration there since the fall of 2020,” CBS News reported. “Migrant crossings plunge 55%” Newsweek reported; they dropped “over 40% since Biden announced asylum restrictions,” CNN reported. “Biden finally got border numbers down,” The New York Times reported. PolitiFact labeled Biden’s claim that “migrants coming to our … border unlawfully … dropped dramatically,” as “mostly true” in its so-called “Truth-O-Meter.” Accounting for all the data, including new ways the Biden administration is allowing foreign nationals to enter the country, the claims are verifiably false. As The Center Square has reported every month since early 2021, after Biden took office, the number of illegal border crossers has increased, not gone down. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and several corporate media outlets cite incomplete apprehension data, excluding at least 2 million gotaways, those who evaded capture and are in the country illegally. It is unknown how many gotaways are violent criminals or potential terrorists. The data they cite also excludes millions of foreign nationals who were unlawfully released into the country instead of detaining and removing them, former border officials have explained, including through parole programs that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas created, which Republicans attorneys general and other elected officials maintain are illegal. “Biden and Harris cannot hide the truth about our open border. To this day, they are still encountering on a daily basis, almost four times what the Trump administration did after Trump implemented his policies,” former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan, who served under six presidents, told The Center Square. Harris, who Biden tapped as his “border czar” in 2021, and the president “are simply playing a shell game by bringing thousands of illegal aliens into the country through the CBP One program and the CHNV program,” Homan said. “They claim they are ‘lawful pathways’ so they don’t have to count them as illegal between the ports of entry,” which are referred to as apprehensions. Those entering through the parole programs, at the ports of entry and between ports of entry “are the same exact population,” Homan said, regardless if the administration labels them otherwise. The processes Harris and Mayorkas created are “an illegal abuse of the federal parole statute and they know it,” Homan said. Homan also repeated a previous warning, saying, “The most important data point is this: how many illegal aliens has this administration released into the U.S. despite the legal requirement to detain them? At least 8 million. “That is a horrendous data point that is far beyond many administrations combined. Historic.” By apprehension data alone, Biden’s claims are verifiably false. In June, for example, apprehensions totaled nearly 206,000, compared to nearly 212,000 in June 2023, nearly 248,000 in June 2022 and nearly 209,000 in June 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Monthly encounters at ports of entry of foreign nationals with no lawful basis to enter increased from nearly 20,000 in January 2021 to more than 117,000 in June 2024. Last month, the greatest number of illegal foreign nationals were apprehended at the northern border for the month of June in U.S. history, more than 17,700. Since January 2021, nearly every month and every year, new records are made with the greatest number of apprehensions at the southwest and northern borders, the most apprehensions of known or suspected terrorists, criminal noncitizens and gang members, and largest seizures of weapons and drugs reported in U.S. history. Under Trump, there were nearly 527,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2017, 683,000 in fiscal 2018 and over 1.1 million in fiscal 2019, according to CBP data. Under Biden, there were over 1.95 million in fiscal 2021, over 2.7 million in fiscal 2022 and over 3.2 million in fiscal 2023, according to the data. This fiscal year’s numbers so far total more than 2.5 million apprehensions, dwarfing any year under Trump. The apprehension totals also exclude 680,500 foreign nationals brought into the U.S. using a CBP app, which Homan and attorneys general who sued to block the app’s use say is illegal. The totals also exclude 104,130 Cubans, 194,027 Haitians, 86,101 Nicaraguans, and 110,541 Venezuelans released into the U.S. through (CHNV) parole programs contrary to federal law prohibiting their entry. The CHNV process is directly linked to violent crimes committed against Americans by the parolees, The Center Square reported. Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post FACT CHECK: Biden’s Claim That Illegal Border Crossings Lower Than Trump’s Is False appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Tom Gantert | The Center Square (Worthy News) – Ronny Jackson, the former physician to the president for Donald Trump and a U.S. representative from Texas, wrote a letter to Congress admonishing FBI Director Christopher Wray for suggesting Trump wasn’t hit by a bullet. “During the Congressional Hearing two days ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested that it could be a bullet, shrapnel, or glass. There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet. Congress should correct the record as confirmed by both the hospital and myself. Director Wray is wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else,” Jackson wrote in his letter. In testimony before Congress on July 24, Wray said, “there is some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.” Jackson said he reviewed Trump’s medical records from Butler Memorial Hospital and it said Trump was treated for a “Gunshot Wound to the Right Ear.” Jackson said he served as a combat physician on the battlefield in Iraq and has treated many gunshot victims. “I completely concur with the initial assessment and treatment provided by the doctors and nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital on the day of the shooting,” Jackson wrote. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, released a letter Thursday telling Wray he should correct his testimony. “I believe it is very important for you to correct your testimony before Congress on Wednesday when you indicated it is uncertain whether President Donald J. Trump was hit by a bullet, glass or shrapnel,” Graham wrote. “It is clear to everyone that President Trump survived an assassination attempt by millimeters, as the attempted assassin’s bullet ripped the upper part of his ear. This was made clear in briefings my office received and should not be a point of contention. … As head of the FBI, you should not be creating confusion about such matters, as it further undercuts the agency’s credibility with millions of Americans. Please correct this statement immediately.” The Associated Press reported Friday evening that the FBI acknowledged Trump was shot by a bullet. “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the FBI said in a statement. Trump attacked Wray on Thursday on his social media platform. “FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively ‘uneventful’ – Wrong! That’s why he knows nothing about the terrorists and other criminals pouring into our Country at record levels. His only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments – with zero retribution,” Trump posted. “No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!” The post Trump’s Former Physician Says FBI Director ‘Wrong’ to Suggest Trump Wasn’t Hit by bullet appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News HAVANA (Worthy News) – In what is seen as another warning to the United States and its allies, at least three Russian warships have arrived in Cuban waters, Moscow’s second such maritime voyage in as many months. The naval group, consisting of a training ship, patrol frigate, and refueling tanker, was due to remain docked in Cuba’s port of Havana until July 30. They arrived weeks after another squadron of Russian warships, including a powerful nuclear-powered submarine, visited Havana as part of planned military exercises last month. It highlighted growing cooperation between Russia and Communist-run Cuba as East-West tensions have risen to the worst standoff since the Cuban missile crisis brought the world close to nuclear warfare. American officials were closely monitoring the latest arrival of Russian warships just 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Key West, the southernmost point of the U.S. state of Florida. ‘SYMBOLIC SHOW’ Experts have described the warships’ Caribbean tour as a symbolic show of strength in response to continued U.S. and Western support for Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022. Cuban defense officials called the arrival of the Russian warships a “historical practice” and a show of “friendship and collaboration.” However, neither government elaborated on the purpose of this latest deployment, raising concerns among Western officials. The arrival of warships also follows other potential military threats, with Chinese and Russian warplanes approaching North American air space recently, adding pressure on the frail US President Joe Biden. Both Russia and China have made it clear that they seek a new world order that the United States no longer dominates. Access to a Cuban port near the U.S. is part of Russian endeavors to increase its regional influence. The post Moscow’s War Ships In Cuba In Warning To Nearby US appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked northern Israel on Saturday, killing at least ten people, threatening a full-scale war between the Lebanon-based group and Israel. The ten people were killed when a Hezbollah rocket struck a soccer field in Majdal Shams, a large Druze town, Israel’s military said. Among the victims were children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 20, according to Israeli authorities. At least 19 were wounded to varying degrees, including six seriously injured, three moderately, and ten lightly injured, including those suffering from anxiety attacks, rescue workers said. The injured were reportedly transported to hospitals by Israel’s medical rescue group Magen David Adom teams and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) helicopters. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, said: “This evening, the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon fired a rocket at children playing soccer on a soccer field in Majdal Shams in northern Israel. Hezbollah then lied to the whole world and claimed they did not carry out this attack. This is a lie.” Calling it a “horrific act,” the spokesman said that the Israeli military “extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and stand with the Druze community during this difficult time. Our thoughts are with the injured, and we wish them a swift recovery.” HAMAS COMPOUND It came after Israel’s military struck a school near Deir al-Balah, a city in central Gaza, killing at least 30 Palestinians and injuring more than 100, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. Those figures could not be verified independently. The IDF said a Hamas command and control center was embedded inside the Khadija School. The IDF added that Hamas used the compound as a hiding place to direct and plan attacks and store weapons. The bloodshed raised fears the armed conflict would further undermine efforts to come to a long-lasting cease-fire in the region. With clashes ongoing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday met former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, the first such meeting between the two men since Trump left the White House more than three years ago. The meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was requested by Netanyahu and came on the heels of the prime minister’s address to the U.S. Congress, as well as meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House. Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee conveyed a forcefulness on “civilian suffering” in Gaza and ending the war following her time with the prime minister. CEASEFIRE DEAL Netanyahu said he hoped Harris’ comments would not make a ceasefire deal harder to reach. “I think to the extent that Hamas understands there’s no daylight between Israel and the United States, that expedites the deal,” Netanyahu said to reporters at his meeting with Trump. And I would hope that those comments don’t change that.” Trump said Harris was “disrespectful to Israel” in her remarks to reporters after she met with Netanyahu. “I think her remarks were disrespectful,” Trump added. “They weren’t very nice about Israel. I actually don’t know how a person who is Jewish could vote for her, but that’s up to them,” the ex-president stressed. Netanyahu left the United States earlier than planned to deal with the latest crisis impacting Israel following the attacks by Hezbollah and the strike in Gaza. Netanyahu, in a conversation with the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muafek Tarif, reportedly said that Hezbollah “will pay a heavy price for this that it has not paid so far.” However, in a sign of rapidly escalating tensions, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that “Any infringement by Israel on Lebanon’s national sovereignty will be met with a decisive and united response across the entire axis of resistance. I repeat, a firm and united response, make no mistake.” Israel’s Security Cabinet was to meet on Sunday to discuss the crisis in Tel Aviv. The post Hezbollah Hits Israel, Killing 10 Threatening Regional War appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News PARIS/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukrainian athletes are participating in the Summer Olympics while leaving behind a nation in turmoil. For Ukrainian athletes at the Paris Olympics, joy is mixed with sorrow. Athletes strive to enjoy the dream of competing at one of the world’s most prestigious sports events. But they have told journalists they also realize they represent a war-torn nation where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured With men fighting at the front lines, Ukraine will be represented by the smallest number of athletes participating in the Summer Games, with 140 competitors in 26 sports. The most are in athletics, at 25, while there’s just one—Buhrova—in badminton. The Olympic Village’s living accommodations for athletes from around the world are adorned with flags and slogans. The Ukrainian house features children’s drawings with messages like: “The resilient do not give up and strive for victory” and “Glory to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” MOUNTING DEATH TOLL These drawings, a tradition to support Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline, have extended to cheering for their athletes. Yet, with the death toll mounting, pressure has been increasing on both Ukraine and Russia to agree on a ceasefire and peace deal to end a war that is now lasting for more than two years. Yet a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said inking an agreement with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine would amount to signing a deal with the devil. Mykhailo Podolyak said a deal would only buy Russian President Vladimir Putin time to strengthen his army and usher in another potentially more violent chapter in the war. With no peace deal in sight, clashes continue, with Kyiv saying Ukrainian missile forces hit a Russian military airfield in the Crimea peninsula that had been used for long-range attacks. There was no immediate comment from Russia’s defense ministry or local Moscow-installed officials. Ukraine claims to have struck a string of Russian air defense systems deployed in Crimea, such as S-300 and S-400 units, in recent months. PRISON TERMS However, the latest attacks were not believed to have caused severe casualties. Additionally, Russia issued sentences of up to 22 years to a string of people convicted of treason and “terrorism” charges linked to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. Also, two men were convicted in separate cases of trying to join the Freedom of Russia Legion, a unit of pro-Kyiv fighters. The unit includes Russian citizens and has made armed border incursions into Russian territory throughout the war. It suggested that the armed conflict will continueunless a peace deal is signed. The post Ukraine Athletes In Paris As War Continues appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News ADDIS ABABA (Worthy News) – Ethiopia plunged into mourning Saturday as diggers continued their search for bodies of victims of a mudslide that reportedly killed hundreds of people. Heavy rain triggered deadly slides on Sunday and Monday in Ethiopia’s south, killing at least 257 people, according to the United Nations humanitarian office, known as OCHA It said in its latest update that the death toll could rise to as many as 500, citing local officials. “More than 15,000 affected people need to be evacuated” from the area, OCHA said. The national assembly announced that three days of national mourning would begin on Saturday. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said earlier in the week that he was “deeply saddened by this terrible loss” Many people were buried in the Gofa Zone of Kencho Shacha Gozdi district on Monday, which followed heavy rains in the area roughly 480 kilometers (270 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, officials and witnesses said. HEAVY RAINS Authorities said most victims were buried when they rushed to help after the first landslide, which followed heavy rains Sunday in the area. Resident Getachew Geza told reporters that he and his son rushed to help after hearing two houses had been buried. “When we got there …a massive mudslide overwhelmed everyone, including my son,” Geza added. In one graphic scene shown on social media by the local authority, dozens of men surrounded a pit where human limbs were exposed in the mud. Other villagers carried bodies on makeshift stretchers while in a nearby tent, women wailed as they sat near a row of bodies wrapped in shrouds being prepared for burial, reporters said. Despite these setbacks, rescue workers searched the steep terrain for survivors from mudslides the previous day. DISPATCHING FOOD Footage from the scene showed residents standing over the shrouded bodies of mudslide victims who were being pulled, one by one, from the muddy earth. Diggers were seen using hand shovels to pick through the mud. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, said on the social platform X that U.N. agencies were dispatching food and other critical supplies to help affected people in the troubled nation of some 120 million people. Landslides are common during Ethiopia’s rainy season, which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September. Deadly mudslides often occur in the wider East African region, from Uganda’s mountainous east to central Kenya’s highlands, impacting many impoverished areas. The post Ethiopia Mourns Many Killed In Mudslide appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News AMMAN (Worthy News) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II has dissolved the Middle East nation’s lower house of parliament ahead of new legislative elections scheduled for September at a time of growing concerns that neighboring Israel’s war against Hamas will turn into a broader regional armed conflict. Under the Jordanian Constitution, parliamentary elections must be held within four months before the current parliament’s term ends, which concludes in November. The new elections are set for September 10 and will be conducted under a revised election law which allocates 41 of the 138 seats in the assembly to political parties, officials said. Jordan’s bicameral parliament consists of the Senate, whose members are appointed by the king, and an elected lower chamber known as the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives was dissolved on Thursday by royal decree, the Royal Hashemite Court announced. According to official figures, turnout in the last parliamentary election in 2020 was 30 percent, compared with 36 percent in 2016. The 130-member parliament consisted mainly of deputies who belonged to tribes in what became the British Protectorate of Transjordan in 1921. The population of Jordan has since been increased by the arrival of refugees and migrants, mainly from Palestine but also from Iraq, Syria, and other countries. For decades, the central role of the Hashemite monarchy has been maintaining the balance between the various ethnic and tribal groups in the country of some 11 million people. SENSITIVE TIME Yet the September elections come at a sensitive time for Jordan’s king. Most of Jordan’s people are of Palestinian origin after the nation took in millions of what it called “Palestinian refugees fleeing their homeland” following the founding of Israel. The Gaza crisis has put King Abdullah II in a challenging position as he struggles to reconcile support for an independent Palestinian state with a long-standing U.S. alliance and decades-old recognition of Israel. The war has sparked widespread public anger, with calls by protesters to cut ties with Israel. With the growing influence of parties expected after the elections, the issue of future relations with Israel was due to be high on the political agenda. Jordan also faces pressure from Iran, which seeks Israel’s destruction. In May, Jordan foiled a suspected Iranian-led plot to smuggle weapons into the U.S.-allied kingdom to help opponents of the ruling monarchy carry out acts of sabotage, sources said. The weapons were reportedly sent by Iranian-backed militias in Syria to a cell of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan that has links to the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas. The cache was seized when members of the cell, Jordanians of Palestinian descent, were arrested in late March, officials said. The alleged plot and arrests came amid the raging American-backed Israel war in Gaza with Hamas, which is part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” network of proxy groups built up over decades to oppose Hamas said it had “no ties to any acts targeting Jordan” and that it only sought to target the Jewish nation. However, the arrests underscored broader concerns about the security challenges faced by Jordan’s king and legislators. The post Jordan’s King Dissolves Parliament At Sensitive Time (Worthy News In-depth) appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article