WorthyNewsBot

(Worthy News) - A federal judge on Thursday blocked the government from deporting dozens of Christian Indonesians who fear persecution if returned home, until they're given a chance to fight their removal. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston said 50 Indonesians living illegally in New Hampshire must be given time to reopen their immigration cases and argue that the conditions in their home country have changed. "This opinion may literally save lives," said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the Indonesians. "As the court recognized ... this country's laws do not permit the government to send people back to persecution or torture," said Gelernt, of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Israeli authorities inaugurated a nature park on Wednesday near Jerusalem after five years of archaeological excavations at Ein Hanya, the second-largest spring in the Judean Hills and a key site in the history of Christianity. Along with an announcement that the park will open to the public free of charge within months, the Israel Antiquities Authority revealed some major findings at the site, including a column capital typical of royal structures from the First Temple era and one of the oldest coins ever discovered in the Jerusalem area. Excavations and conservation and development work were conducted between 2012 and 2016 at the site, which is part of the Rephaim Valley National Park and located beyond the Green Line but within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries. “The result is an extraordinarily beautiful site incorporating archaeology, an ancient landscape and a unique visitor experience,” the IAA said in a statement. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - EU diplomats in the Middle East will try to undermine Donald Trump's plan to establish Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The blueprint for the EU counter-measures was contained in a confidential report filed by EU states' ambassadors in East Jerusalem and Ramallah, in Israeli-occupied Palestine, after the US president, on 6 December, unilaterally recognised Israel's claim to the holy city. Trump's decision was "a fundamental shift in US policy", the 49-page EU report, seen by EUobserver, said. [ Source: EU Observer (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Over the strong objections of his own Justice Department, President Donald Trump will clear the way for the publication of a classified memo on the Russia investigation that Republicans say shows improper use of surveillance by the FBI, White House officials said Thursday. The memo, prepared by Republicans on the House intelligence committee, is said to allege FBI misconduct in the initial stages of its investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump’s Justice Department and Democrats furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release, saying it could harm national security and mislead the public. A White House official said Congress would probably be informed of the decision Friday, adding Trump was “OK” with its release. A second White House official said Trump was likely to declassify the congressional memo but the precise method for making it public was still being figured out. The officials were not authorized to be quoted about private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Trump administration is prepared to again take military action against Syrian government forces if necessary to deter the use of chemical weapons and is concerned they may be developing new methods to deliver such weapons, senior US officials said on Thursday. Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have continued occasional use of chemical weapons in smaller amounts since a deadly attack last April that drew a US missile strike on a Syrian air base, the officials told reporters in a briefing. If the international community does not act quickly to step up pressure on Assad, Syria's chemical weapons could spread beyond Syria and possibly even to the United States, one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It will spread if we don't do something," the official warned. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The IDF struck a Hamas observation post in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday night in response to rocket fire into Israel, the IDF said. A rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel on Thursday evening, not causing damage. In response, the Israeli Air Force targeted Hamas infrastructure. Israel has repeatedly stated that it holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire emanating from the Gaza Strip. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Lebanon’s energy minister vowed Thursday that Beirut will go ahead with oil and gas exploration near its maritime border with Israel, despite Israeli claims to the field that provoked wide condemnation in the tiny Arab country. Cesar Abi Khalil’s comments to The Associated Press came a day after Israel’s defense minister described as “very provocative” Lebanon’s offshore oil and gas exploration on the countries’ maritime border and suggested that Lebanon had sought bids from international companies for a gas field “which is by all accounts ours.” The Israeli official’s comments drew sharp condemnation from the militant Hezbollah group and Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a Western ally, who described Lieberman’s comments as a “blatant provocation that Lebanon rejects.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russia does not believe there is a case for United Nations action against Iran, Russia’s U.N. ambassador said on Wednesday after traveling to Washington to view pieces of weapons that Washington says Tehran gave Yemen’s Houthi group. The Trump administration has for months been lobbying for Iran to be held accountable at the United Nations, while at the same time threatening to quit a 2015 deal among world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear program if “disastrous flaws” are not fixed. “We only heard some vague talk about some action,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Wednesday. “If there is something (proposed) we will see. How can we pass judgment prematurely before we know what it is about?” [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Pro-Life Groups are not giving up in their fight for unborn babies in the United States - despite the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act" failing in the Senate. They are determined to get the message across to Congress that this is a bill that must be passed. Live Action's Lila Rose recently shared a video on Facebook of a baby born prematurely at just 24 weeks. The viral video, which has been viewed over 14 million times, chronicles the life of Baby Toby from Sydney, Australia who was born on June 21, 2007, weighing one-pound, eight-ounces. Meanwhile, the video depicting Baby Toby's journey ends with clips of him at age 2, smiling, learning to swim and dancing during a trip to the playground. Another recent video shows Toby at age 10 - riding a bike. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A train carrying members of Congress to a Republican retreat in West Virginia slammed into a garbage truck Wednesday, throwing lawmakers from their seats and leaving at least one person dead, officials said. Authorities identified the person killed as Christopher Foley, 28, of Louisa County, Va., one of two passengers inside the truck. The other passenger, still unidentified, was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center with critical injuries. The truck's driver, also still unidentified, was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, according to Madeline Curott, public information officer of the Albemarle County, Va., police department. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The United States government has become the first country outside of Israel to categorize Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Ambassador Nathan A. Sales, the State Department coordinator for counterterrorism, told The Jerusalem Post. “Ismail Haniyeh has been involved in Hamas’s campaign of terrorism against Israel for years and even decades. The United States is not fooled by any attempt by Hamas to re-brand itself. We know it for what it is, a terror organization committed to the destruction of the State of Israel.” Haniyeh called for a violent uprising until “Jerusalem’s liberation” in response to US President Donald Trump’s declaration on December 6 in which he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Wednesday that should war erupt again with Lebanon, Beirut will “pay the full price” for Iran’s entrenchment in the country. Speaking at an annual conference held by Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, Liberman said that Lebanon will be held to account in a future war because, led by the terrorist Hezbollah group, it has “sacrificed its national interests by subjugating fully to Iran.” “Lebanon’s army and Hezbollah are the same — they will all pay the full price in the event of an escalation,” Liberman said. “If a conflict does break out in the north, ‘boots on the ground’ remains an option. We won’t allow scenes like in 2006, where we saw citizens of Beirut on the beach while Israelis in Tel Aviv sat in shelters.” View the full article

(Worthy News) - US forces are deploying in Israel ahead of a large-scale joint Israel-US military exercise, due to start next week, which will simulate a major conflict in which Israel is attacked with thousands of missiles. The biennial Juniper Cobra military exercise, which is being held for the ninth time, will take place amid an escalation of rhetoric between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group in southern Lebanon, which is believed to have an arsenal of between 100,000 and 150,000 short-, medium- and long-range missiles and a fighting force of some 50,000 soldiers, including reservists. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which seeks Israel’s destruction, has reportedly been threatening to open fire at IDF soldiers if Israel does not halt the construction of a barrier it is building along the Israel-Lebanon border. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday night that it will extend humanitarian protected status for the some 6,900 Syrians in the U.S. that already have it, but won’t allow newly arrived Syrians to apply. DHS, which is responsible for deciding the fate of the program, said it was issuing an 18-month extension for the program known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), but not a re-designation. An extension allows those who already have TPS to remain in the program and re-register, but more recent arrivals will not be granted protection under this program. [ Source: ABC News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Trey Gowdy is done with politics. The House Oversight Committee Chairman for years has joked privately about quitting Congress and returning home to South Carolina. On Wednesday, he finally pulled the plug — likely for good. A rising star that many Republicans once considered a dark-horse for speaker of the House, Gowdy announced Wednesday he would not seek reelection or any political office and would instead return to the justice system. Sources close to him say he wants to return home, practice law and maybe teach and write a book with his friend Sen. Tim Scott. [ Source: Politico (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Syria's Kurdish militias have grown frustrated with the United States and its stance over the assault by Turkish forces in Afrin, on mainly-Kurdish areas of northwestern Syria near the Turkish border. "How can they stand by and watch?" Aldar Khalil, a senior Kurdish politician, asked of the US-led coalition. "They should meet their obligations towards this force that participated with them (in the fight against terrorism). We consider their unclear and indecisive positions as a source of concern." Turkey began an offensive, dubbed Operation Olive Branch on January 20 with the stated aim of hitting positions held by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and "Islamic State" militants, although IS is not known to have a presence in Afrin. Turkey, a NATO ally to the United States, views the main Kurdish militia as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency it has battled for decades. [ Source: Deutche Welle (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - U.S. oil production surpassed 10 million barrels a day in November for the first time in nearly 50 years, a milestone that underscores the growing dominance of the U.S. oil industry. While global oil exporters once dismissed shale as a flash in the pan, the industry has emerged more efficient than ever from a three-year oil price rout and is poised to take advantage of prices that are at their highest levels since late 2014. In November, production rose to 10.038 million barrels a day, 4% more than the previous month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is just shy of the monthly record of 10.044 million barrels a day in November of 1970. [ Source: Wall Street Journal (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Injecting minute amounts of two immune-stimulating agents directly into solid tumors in mice can eliminate all traces of cancer in the animals, including distant, untreated metastases, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The approach works for many different types of cancers, including those that arise spontaneously, the study found. The researchers believe the local application of very small amounts of the agents could serve as a rapid and relatively inexpensive cancer therapy that is unlikely to cause the adverse side effects often seen with bodywide immune stimulation. "When we use these two agents together, we see the elimination of tumors all over the body," said Ronald Levy, MD, professor of oncology. "This approach bypasses the need to identify tumor-specific immune targets and doesn't require wholesale activation of the immune system or customization of a patient's immune cells." [ Source: Medical Express (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Republican National Committee raised $132.5 million in 2017, a record for a year without a presidential election, chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Wednesday. The RNC announced it received $11.1 million in receipts in December. A statement added that the RNC has $38.8 million on hand and zero debt. The statistics were revealed prior to a Federal Election Commission filing deadline. The organization develops and promotes the GOP political platform, coordinates the party's fundraising and election strategy and runs the Republican National Convention. [ Source:UPI (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Saudi Arabia's government has arranged to seize more than $100-billion (U.S.) through financial settlements with businessmen and officials detained in its crackdown on corruption, the attorney-general said on Tuesday. The announcement appeared to represent a political victory for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who launched the purge last November and predicted at the time that it would net about $100-billion in settlements. Dozens of top officials and businessmen were detained in the crackdown, many of them confined and interrogated at Riyadh's opulent Ritz-Carlton Hotel. [ Source: Globe and Mail (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Southern Yemeni separatists took control of the port city of Aden after two days of fighting, residents said on Tuesday, confining the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to the presidential palace. Fighting between southern separatists, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), against forces loyal to Saudi-based president Hadi, risk crippling their once united campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen's north. The UAE is a major component of a Saudi-led military coalition of Arab states that has supported Hadi's government since the Houthis seized much of the country, including the capital Sanaa, three years ago. Hadi's government operates out of Aden, while he lives in Saudi Arabia. [ Source: Globe and Mail(Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Branding North Korea’s leadership “depraved,” President Donald Trump told Americans on Tuesday that Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear missiles could “very soon threaten our homeland” and vowed a continued campaign of maximum pressure to keep that from happening. In his first State of the Union speech to the U.S. Congress, Trump’s tough rhetoric underscored persistent tensions despite recent talks between North and South Korea that led to Pyongyang’s agreement to participate in next month’s Winter Olympic games hosted by Seoul.“North Korea’s reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland,” Trump said. “We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening.” [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Plans by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to halt hurricane relief supplies to Puerto Rico drew criticism Tuesday from members of Congress and the mayor of the island’s largest city. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz said many people in the U.S. territory need the water and food they have been getting from FEMA more than four months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. The mayor said that in recent days officials have had to deliver powered milk and water to some parts of the island, where still about 35 percent of population still has no power. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A senior member of the Hamas terrorist organization has died, a Hamas spokesman said Tuesday, three weeks after he suffered what the terror organization claimed was an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in the head. On January 9th, Fawzy Barhoum, spokesman for the Gaza-based Islamist terror group, said that Imad al-Alami, one of the movement’s most senior officials, was critically wounded when his personal firearm accidentally discharged. Al-Alami, 61, was "inspecting his personal weapon in his home and is in critical condition,” Barhoum said at the time. [ Source: Arutz Sheva (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Gaza is beyond a “humanitarian crisis” and “on the verge of a total systems failure,” UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies annual conference in Tel Aviv, Mladenov defined a total systems failure as the “full collapse of the economy and social services,” with all the “political, humanitarian and security implications stemming from that.” The situation in Gaza needs to be high on the agenda for the Palestinian Authority’s donor countries which is meeting in Brussels on Wednesday for an emergency session of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee to address the Palestinian funding crisis, Gaza and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process, Mladenov said. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article