WorthyNewsBot

(Worthy News) - The Senate voted Wednesday to open debate on a $1.4 trillion tax bill after Republican leaders worked out preliminary deals to the smooth over the concerns of several Republican lawmakers. The final tally was 52-48, passing strictly along party lines. The vote means the bill is now open to debate and unlimited amendments, several of which are expected to win approval and become part of the base bill. The base legislation lowers corporate and individual tax rates while ending many deductions. It also effectively repeals Obamacare’s mandate to purchase health insurance by eliminating the fine for not having coverage. Senate Republicans hope to pass the bill this week. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - When the 50-year-old church elder and leader of Kano state’s Samaila village heard gunshots shortly before midnight, he rushed out of his house to try to find security agents. It was a natural reaction for Mai’angwa Samaila, given recent Islamist attacks in northern Nigeria. What the elder for the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) did not know was that the armed Islamic extremists, having killed two Christians in front of their Catholic church building, were coming for him next. Not finding him at home that night (Aug. 15), they instead kidnapped his wife, Safiya Samaila, 45. They then kidnapped two other women, 20-year-old Yaha Gabriel and Hauwa Bebi, 18, both members of the St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Samaila, in Tudun Wada Local Government Area (LGA). [ Source: Morningstar News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A significant number of jobs could be completed by robots as early as 2030, according to a new report published Tuesday by the McKinsey Global Institute. The transition into a heavily automated workplace wouldn't arrive right away, but it may affect up to 375 million workers globally. The workforce has already begun to accommodate technological advancements, with robotics being no exception to this. Statistics have proven the potential benefits to automated workers, including its positive effects on the global economy. McKinsey suggested that physical laborers are most at risk of losing their positions with the rise of automation, which includes food preppers and machine operators, among other similar workers. Individuals that work in data collection and processing would also likely need to be wary of losing their job to a robot. [ Source: International Business Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - If elections were held today, the ruling Likud would be in a dead head with the opposition Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party. Each of the top two parties would receive 24 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The center-left Zionist Union would win 17 seats, while the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party Shas would barely makes it over the threshold at four seats. In a survey made public on Channel 10 news on Sunday, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party has strengthened considerably – more than doubling its current number of 11 Knesset members. Meanwhile, 24 seats for the Likud would mean a loss of over 20% of its mandate (down from the current 30). As reported in the Hebrew-language Walla, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent slide and Lapid’s gain have been building steadily over the past year. Each time there was a new crisis – Israel Railway’s work on the Sabbath last year, the rash of corruption investigations involving Netanyahu that came to light at the beginning of this year, and the recent fiasco concerning the establishment of the new Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation – Yesh Atid seemed to gain at the Likud’s expense. The current surveys showed it may surpass the Likud altogether in the not-too-distant future.. [ Source: World Israel News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Hamas and Fatah on Wednesday asked Egypt to postpone the transfer of responsibility for the Gaza Strip from Hamas to the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority. Under an agreement signed by Hamas and Fatah in Cairo in mid-October, the PA is supposed to take full responsibility for Gaza by Friday. Hamas has controlled Gaza since ousting the PA in 2007 from the territory. “Hamas and Fatah requested that the Egyptian brothers postpone the completion of the government’s take over of its responsibilities in the Strip…from December 1 to December 10,” Fayez Abu Eitah, a Gaza-based Fatah official, said, reading a joint Hamas-Fatah statement. “This is to complete the arrangements to guarantee the achievement of reconciliation.” [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Europe's Muslim population would continue to grow over the next several decades even if all immigration to the continent were halted, according to a study published Thursday. The Pew Research Center report published Thursday modeled three scenarios for estimating the number of Muslims who will be living in Europe by 2050. All three used a mid-2016 estimate of 25.8 million as a baseline, but assumed different future migration rates. Under the "zero migration" scenario, an estimated 30 million Muslims would make up 7.4 percent of Europe's population by 2050 compared to the 4.9 percent they comprised last year, the report projected. The researchers say that's mostly because Muslims are on average 13 years younger than other Europeans and also have a higher birthrate, the Pew researchers said. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called on North Korea on Wednesday to stop its missile and nuclear tests and for the United States and South Korea not to hold military drills in December as it would "inflame an already explosive situation." "We strongly call on all concerned parties to stop this spiral of tension," he told the UN Security Council. "It is essential to take a step back and weigh the consequences of each move." [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The United States warned North Korea’s leadership it would be “utterly destroyed” if war were to break out, after Pyongyang test fired its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile, putting the U.S. mainland within range. The Trump administration has repeatedly said all options were on the table in dealing with North Korea’s ballistic and nuclear weapons program, including military ones, but that it still prefers a diplomatic option. Still, speaking at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley warned: “We have never sought war with North Korea, and still today we do not seek it. If war does come, it will be because of continued acts of aggression like we witnessed yesterday ... And if war comes, make no mistake, the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.” [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - On the night of December 3, sky-watchers around the world will get a chance to revel under the first—and last—full supermoon of the year. A supermoon is the popular term for a full or new moon that coincides with the lunar orb making an especially close approach to Earth. The moon’s orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle but is somewhat elongated. That means the moon changes its distance to Earth by a few thousand miles over time, reaching a closest point (perigee) and a farthest point (apogee) in any given month. [ Source: National Geographic (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The national gun-carry reciprocity bill will enter the next phase of the lawmaking process on Wednesday when it enters markup in the House. The House Judiciary Committee announced on Monday it will mark up the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The bill would require states to acknowledge the legality of each other's gun-carry permits. Under the bill, those with a valid gun-carry permit issued by any state and a valid government-issued photo ID would be able to carry a concealed gun in any state so long as they abide by that state's laws on when and where gun carry is allowed. The bill would nationalize gun-carry reciprocity, making it simpler for those who wish to legally carry a gun across state lines. Currently, each state decides which other states' permits to honor. Some states, like Virginia, recognize all other states' permits. Some states, like New Jersey, don't recognize any other states' permits. The majority of states fall somewhere in between. [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Tim Farron resigned his post at the helm of the left wing party in July, saying, 'To be a political leader and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible to me.' In prepared remarks to the ecumenical think tank Theos Tuesday, Farron said "If you actively hold a faith that is more than an expression of cultural identity… you are deemed to be far worse than eccentric. You are dangerous. You are offensive." Farron, who is often described in the British media as an evangelical Christian, quit as leader of the "Lib Dems" after two years because of badgering by the media over his positions on social issues. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Australia's left-leaning Labor Party defeated an attempt by senate conservatives to protect religious freedoms in the country's new same-sex marriage bill. Conservative Coalition senators presented five amendments that would shield religious institutions, charities, and public officials from being punished for supporting Biblical marriage. The protections would also allow these religious institutions to decline serving same-sex weddings. However, The Guardian reports each of the amendments presented were voted down. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Hawaiian officials implemented an alarm system to warn residents of a nuclear attack, the Hawaii Emergency Management System said Tuesday. The statewide warning siren system will include an attack warning tone that is scheduled to begin testing Friday and will be added to the state's monthly siren tests for tsunamis. "On the first business day of every month, the state and the counties normally conduct a test of the attention alert signal, which is a steady tone," HEM administrator Vern Miyagi said in a public service announcement for the system. "Starting Dec. 1, a second tone, the attack warning signal, a wailing tone, will be added. The attack warning signal advises everyone to take immediate shelter -- get inside, stay inside, stay tuned." [ Source: UPI (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Senate Republicans on Wednesday plan to advance a $1.4 trillion tax cut bill by voting to begin debate on the measure that looks likely to pass in the coming days. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., adjourned the Senate Tuesday night without setting a firm time for the vote. But Republicans said the plan was to vote on a motion to proceed to the bill Wednesday. But Republicans were still making changes to the bill Tuesday to shore up enough support for final passage of their tax code overhaul, even after they got a boost when two GOP holdouts helped advance the bill out of the Senate Budget Committee. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Democratic leaders in Congress skipped a meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday that was to have focused on the budget, raising the risk of a government shutdown next month with both sides far apart on the terms of an agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump, surrounded by empty chairs marked for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who chose not to meet with Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington, U.S. November 28, 2017. After Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi informed Trump they would not attend the meeting at the White House, the president and Republican congressional leaders went ahead with the talks without them. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Former Secretary of State John Kerry said both Israel and Egypt pushed the United States to “bomb Iran” before the 2015 nuclear deal was struck. Kerry defended the deal during the Ignatius Forum in Washington, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “genuinely agitating towards action,” before he struck the accord with Tehran. Kerry said when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he met with Saudi King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Netanyahu, who all lobbied for military action. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Indonesia shut its airport on Bali for a third consecutive day on Wednesday due to a volcanic ash cloud, as the rumbling Mount Agung volcano continued to paralyze flights on the holiday island and cause a mass evacuation around the mountain. A large plume of white and gray ash and smoke was visible above Agung after rain lashed the island by night and partially obscured the fiery glow at its peak seen in previous days. Authorities have been continually assessing the risk the ash poses to flying after winds sent the cloud southwest across the island. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Britain has offered to pay much of what the European Union was demanding to settle a Brexit "divorce bill," bringing the two sides close to agreement on a key obstacle to opening talks on a future free trade pact, EU sources said on Tuesday. The offer, which British newspapers valued at around 50 billion euros, reflected the bulk of outstanding EU demands that include London paying a share of post-Brexit EU spending on commitments made before Britain leaves in March 2019 as well as funding of EU staff pensions for decades to come. A British government official said they "do not recognise" this account of the talks going on ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Theresa May to Brussels this coming Monday. [ Source: Globe and Mail (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A Russian fighter jet flew within 50 feet of an American reconnaissance plane in an "unsafe" maneuver that caused "violent turbulence" for the U.S. aircraft, the military said late Monday. The Russian Sukhoi Su-30 intercepted the P-8A Poseidon while it was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea Saturday, United States European Command said in a statement. It crossed in front of the U.S. plane from left to right while using its afterburners, the statement said, adding the aircraft were so close that the American patrol plane crossed through the Russian fighter's jet wash. [ Source: NBC News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The UN Security Council will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday (Nov 29) to discuss North Korea's latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the US mission to the United Nations said. The United States, Japan and South Korea moved quickly to request the meeting to address Pyongyang's launch of the ICBM which the Japanese defence ministry said probably fell within Japan's exclusive economic zone. The council was already scheduled to discuss progress in implementing three recently-adopted rounds of sanctions aimed at choking off revenue to Pyongyang's military programmes. [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - North Korea fired what may be its most sophisticated ballistic missile ever Tuesday, flouting President Trump’s threats and international efforts to halt the rogue nation’s nuclear weapons program and kicking off what national security analysts say is likely the first in a surge of new tests from the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the coming months. The missile was tested in the wake of a 12-day East Asian tour by Mr. Trump focused largely on the North Korean threat, and just days after a top-level Chinese emissary traveled to Pyongyang for four days of talks, the first by a senior Chinese diplomat in two years. The timing suggests U.S. hopes that Beijing would rein in its troublesome neighbor and trading partner are fading. While Mr. Trump at the White House tersely vowed that he would “take care of” the increasing North Korean threat, regional analysts said tensions will likely grow through February, when South Korea hosts the Winter Olympics. Pyongyang may seek to disrupt the international event with either a nuclear or major missile test. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - After 2 ½ months of relative peace, North Korea launched its most powerful weapon yet early Wednesday, a presumed intercontinental ballistic missile that could put Washington and the entire eastern U.S. seaboard within range. Resuming its torrid testing pace in pursuit of its goal of a viable arsenal of nuclear-tipped missiles that can hit the U.S. mainland had been widely expected, but the apparent power and suddenness of the new test still jolted the Korean Peninsula and Washington. The launch at 3:17 a.m. local time and midday in the U.S. capital indicated an effort to perfect the element of surprise and to obtain maximum attention in the United States. The firing is a clear message of defiance aimed at the Trump administration, which had just restored the North to a U.S. list of terror sponsors. It also ruins nascent diplomatic efforts, raises fears of war or a pre-emptive U.S. strike and casts a deeper shadow over the security of the Winter Olympics early next year in South Korea. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday that President Trump is “actively considering” moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the divided city of Jerusalem. In a speech commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.N. vote that led to the founding of the state of Israel, Mr. Pence told the audience that Mr. Trump’s campaign promise about the embassy move is still being debated. “President Trump is actively considering when and how to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” the vice president said to applause. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A Christian missionary was shot dead in Nigeria after playing "Amazing Grace" on his guitar, two of the British survivors who were rescued earlier in November revealed. Previous reports suggested that 57-year-old Ian Squire had died from asthma while held by kidnappers in Nigeria's southern Delta region. But new accounts from rescued hostages David and Shirley Donovan reveal that he was killed. "Ian was a man of faith, humor, music and invention," David Donovan told The Telegraph on Friday. [ Source: Chistian Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Senate Republicans negotiated changes to their tax reform legislation Monday, with leadership working to alter the bill to win the support of their conference members and then quickly pass it later this week. Two Senate Republicans have said they are "nos" on the bill as currently written, on the grounds that it doesn’t provide tax breaks large enough to small businesses: Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana, who declared his opposition Monday. At least a handful of other Republicans, including ones who say they’re worried the tax cut could ramp up the federal debt, are uncommitted and seeking significant changes. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More...) ] View the full article