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(Worthy News) - Only four of out 100 teenagers have a true biblical worldview, according to a new survey from the Barna Group. The survey, “Gen Z: The Culture, Beliefs and Motivations Shaping the Next Generation,” said that teenagers who are part of Generation Z (born from 1999 to 2015) are the most non-Christian generation in U.S. history. The survey found that more teens today identify themselves as atheist, agnostic, or not religious affiliated. [ Source: Christian Headlines (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - This may come as a suprise to many, but Christianity is growing faster in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in any other country in the world. Tens of thousands in this overwhelmingly Muslim nation are abandoning that faith. Experts say the ongoing political crisis and economic challenges are fueling widespread anger against the regime. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A special full moon is expected on Jan. 31 and if you're in the western part of the U.S. you'll have the best view. It's being called a "Super Blue Blood Moon" and it's special for three reasons according to NASA: it's the third in a series of "supermoons," that's when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit and is brighter than usual. It's also the second full moon of the month which is known as a "blue moon." [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Philippine scientists say a volcano that's been erupting for almost two weeks still appears to be swelling with magma under the surface. More than 74,000 people are staying in dozens of emergency shelters as Mount Mayon continues to belch lava, ash and superheated gas and rocks. Officials are worried the eruption may become a humanitarian emergency that could last months. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said tremors, pyroclastic flows and emissions of sulfur dioxide were detected Wednesday and early Thursday. It said GPS and other measurements indicated a sustained swelling or inflation of the mountain surface, which was consistent with magma rising and creating pressure. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Chinese scientists have cloned monkeys using the same technique that produced Dolly the sheep two decades ago, breaking a technical barrier that could open the door to copying humans. Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, two identical long-tailed macaques, were born eight and six weeks ago, making them the first primates -- the order of mammals that includes monkeys, apes and humans -- to be cloned from a non-embryonic cell. It was achieved through a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which involves transferring the nucleus of a cell, which includes its DNA, into an egg which has had its nucleus removed. [ Source: NBC News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - New data from state geologists show that an earthquake fault runs below Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills’ shopping district, heightening the known seismic risk in an area famous for Cartier, Gucci, Prada and other luxury brands. The California Geological Survey’s final map has the Santa Monica fault zone cutting through the so-called Golden Triangle, running between Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards. The new map is a change from a draft version released last year that showed the fault zone ending on the western edge of Beverly Hills, near the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards. Based on more information, the state now says the fault zone extends a mile farther northeast, through Beverly Hills’ central district and into the city’s civic center area. [ Source: LA Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - President Trump on Monday will release his own framework for an immigration deal, the White House said Wednesday, saying he’s determined to lead Congress to a solution. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said there’s no agreement on the table right now that brings all sides into the conversation, and Mr. Trump’s plan will correct that. “After decades of inaction by Congress it’s time we work together to solve this issue once and for all,” she said. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday narrowly approved Sam Brownback’s bid to be U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom, setting the stage for him to resign the governorship in Kansas after seven contentious years in office. With two Republican senators absent, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Capitol Hill to cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm Brownback, a favorite of Christian conservatives for his views on same-sex marriage and abortion. The vote was along party lines, 50-49, underscoring the narrow margin Republicans hold. Pence’s vote also was needed earlier in the day to get Brownback’s nomination over a procedural hurdle. Fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer will be elevated to governor in Kansas once Brownback submits his resignation. That could come as early as next week. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - People in Alaska were jolted awake overnight Tuesday. First by a powerful earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska – then by sirens that warned of a possible tsunami. A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck at 12:32 a.m. off the Alaska coast. The quake itself -- far enough away not to cause major damage. But in the worst spot there was a potential tsunami. "Attention, a tsunami warning has been issued for this area," officials warned over loudspeakers. [ Source: CBS News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday a bipartisan bill on immigration that is central to clearing the way for a government spending deal next month is in serious jeopardy now that Democrats seem to be refusing to pay for a southern border wall. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Monday withdrew an offer he made to President Trump last week that in exchange for protecting so-called "Dreamers," Democrats would agree to $25 billion for border security, including a wall. The Senate minority leader made that offer after Trump invited him to the White House to try to negotiate an accord on federal funding that was hours away from expiring. Schumer said Tuesday the wall money offer was valid only if Trump came out publicly in favor of the deal, which Schumer believes would have pressured the House and Senate GOP to get behind it. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The weekly Bible study attended by members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet is once again under attack, this time from an atheist group. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is suing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), led by Secretary Ben Carson. The group has issued Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to agencies led by Cabinet secretaries who attend the Bible study to see if government resources are being used or if agency staffers feel "coerced into organizing or even participating in the religious event," according to a press release. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Gaza Strip is headed for a humanitarian breakdown, and Israel is the only country providing its residents with basic essentials, President Reuven Rivlin said on Sunday after touring the area around the coastal enclave. “Gaza is on the verge of collapse,” he warned. “The time is coming near when the infrastructure in Gaza will collapse, leaving many civilians in distress, with no sanitary conditions, exposed to pollution, impure water, and epidemics. “The entire world must know and understand that the ones who are preventing rehabilitation are Hamas. Israel is the only one in the region, that whatever the situation, transfers basic essentials to the residents of Gaza, so that they can sustain the body and mind,” Rivlin added. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency sent a ballistic missile alert to millions of people across the state January 13, sending people into a panic. Seventeen excruciating minutes went by before Hawaii governor David Ige alerted the public to the false alarm. All because he didn't know his Twitter password. [ Source: AZ Central (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Christians have been detained, and churches shut down or destroyed in China in the month before revised Regulations on Religious Affairs are due to come into effect on 1 February. Christians have been detained, and churches shut down or destroyed in China in the month before revised Regulations on Religious Affairs are due to come into effect on 1 February, which strengthen state control over religious activities in China and include special provisions on national security and foreign connections. On 18 January, six members of an unregistered church group in Yunnan Province were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for ‘using an evil cult to organize to undermine law enforcement’. The defendants were accused of belonging to a group called the Three Grades of Servants, which the government has labelled an ‘evil cult’. They deny being members of the group. According to China Aid, some 200 Christians have been detained in the province and falsely accused of being members of the group. [ Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - India may be the world's largest democracy, but the government often falls short when it comes to protecting Christians and other minorities from attack by militant Hindus. In 2017, Christians experienced almost as many attacks against them during the first half of the year than during all of 2016. So far this year, there are no signs that the religious intolerance and persecution is letting up. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A senior White House official, traveling with Vice President Mike Pence in the Middle East, revealed what an "ultimate" peace deal brokered by the Trump administration would look like. The official told reporters the Trump administration is working on a peace plan that will "spill over into the broader region and benefit Jordan, benefit Egypt, and will also create ties… between the region and Israel." "If we are lucky enough to achieve the ultimate deal, the ultimate deal would be one in which Israel and all of its neighbors have a deep, close and effective relationship," the official said. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Families in Syria are grieving after a barrage of mortars struck a predominately Christian district near Damascus Monday, killing nine and wounding 21 others. Just after 2 p.m., rebels fired several shells into the Bab Touma district, destroying several churches and buildings. The mortars instantly struck and killed three-year-old Elias Khoury. His parents were left severely wounded and both were rushed to intensive care. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - US Vice President Mike Pence’s speech at the Israeli Knesset on Monday was warmly praised by a number of major American-Jewish groups. “President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have proven time and again since entering office that the US administration today is a true friend of the State of Israel, dedicated to the well-being and security of the Jewish people, to the indisputable nature of Jerusalem as Israel’s historic capital, and to supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if agreed upon by both sides,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said in a statement. Zionist Organization of America President Morton A. Klein hailed Pence’s “extraordinary and powerful address.” [ Source (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The body of a pastor in southern India was found hung from the thatched roof of his house early Saturday morning (Jan. 20), a week after he complained to police about opposition from Hindu extremists, sources said. Congregation members said they found the body of pastor Gideon Periyaswamy of Maknayeem Church hanging from a rope in his one-room house beside the church building in Adayachery village, Kanchipuram District, but that his knees were bent stiff, as if others had placed him in the noose after his death. He was 43. A convert from Hinduism 25 years ago, Pastor Periyaswamy was single and served as pastor in Adayachery for more than 12 years, his close friend, pastor Azariah Reuben, told Morning Star News. [ Source: Morningstar News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A student opened fire Tuesday at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., killing two fellow students and injuring 18 others, officials said, in a shooting that caused panic and anguish in the school and across the community. During an evening news conference, Kentucky State Police Commissioner Richard Sanders said the suspect, a 15-year-old boy, was in custody and would be charged with two counts of murder and several counts of attempted murder. Authorities were seen escorting a handcuffed boy away from the scene earlier in the day. Details on a possible motive were unclear. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russia is ultimately to blame for any use of chemical weapons in Syria, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday amid reports of a suspected chemical attack this week near the capital, Damascus. Tillerson said Russia is violating a 2013 agreement it made with the U.S. on the removal of chemical weapons from Syria and is helping the Syrian government breach the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans their use. The secretary of state said Russia must stop vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions on holding those who use such weapons accountable. If it cannot support a future Security Council resolution to that end, it should abstain, Tillerson said. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that more than 80 Christians have been killed in Benue State, Nigeria by Fulani militants since January 1. These attacks have mainly taken place in two locations within the state, Logo and Guma Counties. Logo saw more than 50 deaths in just the first week of the new year by Fulani attacks, while Guma suffered more than 30. These attacks took place less than two months after the state of Benue enacted an anti-open grazing bill, which prevents the Fulani from nomadically moving their cattle throughout all of Nigeria. Benue passed this law in an attempt to end the violence that has been plaguing its people, but it has failed thus far. In an interview with the Punch, the Secretary-General of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Usman Ngelzerma, said that the new bill is the reason for these attacks. "We don't wish for the crisis to continue but let us give it (the law) another look. We don't like the killings; we will never condone the killing of people. Give the farmers their rights, but consider the pastoralists too." However, even those who were not from the area, but who were just trying to help others escape, were at the mercy of the Fulani attackers. A local from Makurdi, named Vershima, stated that he "had been called upon by some of the people fleeing Guma to come help convey them to Makurdi on Wednesday, January 3. I obliged. On our way out of Guma at about 7:00 p.m., we were ambushed by a company of armed Fulani herdsmen who opened fire on us, killing three of the people I was conveying and injuring me." Vershima was shot in the chest and left for dead by the Fulani, who accosted him and his vehicle. [ Source: Christian Headlines (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday said the U.S. may not be able fix the flaws in the Iran nuclear agreement in time to meet a White House deadline, a remark that comes shortly before talks on Iran with three European countries get underway next week. When President Trump waived sanctions against Iran earlier this month — a requirement under the Obama-era 2015 nuclear deal — he emphasized that he would not sign off on another wave of U.S. sanctions relief in May unless Europe agrees to help restrict Iranian missile testing and development as well as conduct inspections. "The U.S. is under a bit of a timetable to deliver on what the President is looking for, but we don’t — we can’t set timetables for others," Tillerson told reporters accompanying him on a flight from London to Paris. [ Source: The Hill (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday called on member states of the European Union to recognize “the State of Palestine,” saying such a move would encourage Palestinians to maintain hope for peace. Abbas made the remarks at a press conference at the EU headquarters in Brussels before meeting with 28 foreign ministers of EU member states and EU foreign affairs chief Frederica Mogherini. “We call on these states to recognize the State of Palestine,” Abbas said, referring to EU member countries. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Archaeologists are excavating a newfound cave in Qumran, with the hope of finding new Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 12 caves and date back around 2,000 years and consist of thousands of fragments from more than 900 manuscripts, including numerous copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible. The scrolls were written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, but who, exactly, wrote them is a matter of debate among scholars. Many experts believe that members of a Jewish sect called the Essenes wrote the scrolls at Qumran. Eleven of the Dead Sea Scroll caves were discovered between 1947 and 1956 near the newfound cave, in what is now the West Bank, near the shore of the Dead Sea. In 2017, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 12th cave, though they said the cave had been looted in the mid-20th century. Inside the cave, they discovered only one blank scroll, along with the remains of jars, cloth and a leather strap that would have been used to wrap and store the scrolls, according to the team, led by Oren Gutfeld, an archaeologist with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Institute of Archaeology. [ Source: Live Science (Read More...) ] View the full article