WorthyNewsBot

(Worthy News) - Washington Republicans moved quickly Thursday to try to oust their candidate in the Alabama Senate race, former state Chief Justice Roy Moore, after a newspaper reported he had enticed an underage girl into a sexual encounter decades ago. The Washington Post reported that a woman says Mr. Moore initiated the encounter in 1979, when she was 14 and he was 32. Three other women told the newspaper Mr. Moore pursued them when they were 16 to 18 years of age. That was the last straw for Republicans who’d already been at odds with Mr. Moore, their nominee, on a host of other issues. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The resignation of Saad Hariri as Lebanon's prime minister has upended the country's political establishment and escalated a war of words between Saudi Arabia and Iran. In Riyadh, key government figures have accused the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah of destabilizing Lebanon. Gulf Affairs Minister Thamer al-Sabhan said Hezbollah had engaged in acts of "aggression" that amount to a "declaration of war against Saudi Arabia." Hezbollah has likewise accused the group's rivals in Riyadh of meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs, alleging that "the resignation was a Saudi decision that was imposed on Prime Minister Hariri." [ Source: Deutche Welle (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Britain on Thursday confirmed it has offered Saudi Aramco a $2 billion (1.71 billion euros) loan guarantee as the oil giant considers whether to launch possibly the world's largest ever stock market listing in London. The offer, which will help the energy giant buy British exports, is widely seen as part of lobbying efforts to secure an initial public offering (IPO) for the UK's financial hub, although the British government has denied this. "This (guarantee) has nothing to do with the potential float, it's about increasing UK exports," a Treasury spokesman told the Agence France-Presse news agency. [ Source: Deutche Welle (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - In a speech on the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called for special counsel Robert Mueller to resign or be fired over his “indisputable conflicts of interest.” “We are at risk of a coup d'état in this country if we allow an unaccountable person with no oversight to undermine the duly-elected President of the United States,” Gaetz said. “That is precisely what is happening right now with the indisputable conflicts of interest that are present with Mr. Mueller and others at the Department of Justice.” “I join … in calling for Mr. Mueller’s resignation or his firing,” Gaetz continued. [ Source: The Hill (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Judge Roy Moore (R-Ala.) released several tweets in response to a Washington Post report that he committed sexual misconduct on a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s. Moore, 70, was 32 at the time of the alleged incident. Moore, who is facing attorney Doug Jones (D) in the race to replace now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said the "Obama-Clinton machine" is predictably launching vile attacks against him. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] The Obama-Clinton Machine’s liberal media lapdogs just launched the most vicious and nasty round of attacks against me I’ve EVER faced! We are are in the midst of a spiritual battle with those who want to silence our message. (1/4) #ALSen — Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) November 9, 2017 The forces of evil will lie, cheat, steal –– even inflict physical harm –– if they believe it will silence and shut up Christian conservatives like you and me. (2/4) #ALSen — Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) November 9, 2017 I believe you and I have a duty to stand up and fight back against the forces of evil waging an all-out war on our conservative values! Our nation is at a crossroads right now — both spiritually and politically. (3/4) #ALSen — Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) November 9, 2017 Our children and grandchildren’s futures are on the line. So rest assured — I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight! (4/4) #ALSen pic.twitter.com/QfN0GM7EMh — Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) November 9, 2017 View the full article

(Worthy News) - Saudi Arabia has ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, escalating a regional standoff with Iran centred on the fragile state, which it claims is being run by Tehran’s proxy, Hezbollah. The move follows a week of bellicose rhetoric from the Sunni Arab powerhouse about its Shia rival, drawing strong support from Donald Trump and Israel, all three of whom insist Iran is forging strongholds across the region. The standoff has taken tensions between Riyadh and Tehran to new levels and raised fears that decades of distrust and manoeuvrings between the two may be building towards a military confrontation, underwritten by the Trump administration and joined by Israel. [ Source: UK Guardian (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Senate plans to introduce their version of tax reform today, which will give a typical American family a tax cut of nearly $1,500, according to a two-page summary of the bill. Named the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act like its corresponding House version, the bill attempts to give American companies a level playing field and reduce the tax burden on small businesses so more jobs are created in the United States. "This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to lower taxes and shift the economy into high gear," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on the Senate floor today. "In fact, tax reform represents the single most important thing we can do to spur growth and help American families." [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - U.S. President Donald Trump landed in Vietnam on Friday for a summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) nations, the fourth leg of his 12-day Asia trip. The White House has said Trump will set out a U.S. vision for a “free and open Indo-Pacific region” in a speech in the beach resort of Danang. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] Trump praises 'productive' China talks, but tough action seen ahead U.S. President Donald Trump lauded his Beijing meetings on trade and North Korea as “very productive”, ending a visit which Chinese media declared set a “new blueprint” for handling ties, even as the White House looks set for tougher action on China. Trump pressed China to do more to rein in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and said bilateral trade had been unfair to the United States, but also praised Xi’s pledge that China would be more open to foreign firms. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The European Union will make sure that the Iran nuclear deal “will continue to be fully implemented by all, in all its parts”, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Friday. Speaking at a conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the EU’s Federica Mogherini said the agreement was “a major achievement of European and international multilateral diplomacy that is delivering”. U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 13 dealt a blow to the pact by refusing to certify that Tehran was complying with the accord even though international inspectors said it was. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The U.S. has proposed another difficult change to the North American Free Trade Agreement that could eventually restrict long-haul Mexican truckers from operating in the country, according to people familiar with the discussions. American negotiators asked to remove Mexico’s long-haul industry from a Nafta chapter on cross-border services, according to an industry official familiar with the proposal who isn’t authorized to speak publicly. That could open the door to restrictions on truckers, as losing Nafta trade protections and advantages would make it harder for Mexico to challenge any future U.S. requirements on trucks such as new safety checks. One government official familiar with the text said the U.S. proposal would allow restrictions and limitations on Mexican trucking if certain conditions were reached, while another official described it as a broad industry exclusion that came during the last round of talks in October. Neither was authorized to speak publicly. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office declined to comment, and hasn’t made its proposals public. Reuters also reported last month that the U.S. was seeking fresh restrictions on long-haul trucks from Mexico, citing a person familiar with discussions. [ Source: Bloomberg (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Saudi Arabian officials said Thursday that more than 200 people have been arrested as the government investigates corruption and the misuse of billions of dollars. Those arrested include some of the country's elite, including members of the Saudi royal family. And the attorney general of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, said Saudi authorities believe at least $100 billion "had been misused though systematic corruption and embezzlement over several decades," The New York Times reported. No charges have been publicly released and all but seven people arrested remain in confinement. [ Source: UPI (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Repealing Obamacare’s individual mandate would save the government $338 billion over a decade and result in 13 million more uninsured Americans in 2027, according to a new CBO score. Congressional Republicans are considering axing Obamacare’s requirement that most Americans obtain health coverage as part of a tax reform package, although there is resistance from GOP leaders who fear the provision would be rejected in the Senate because it would also mean millions in coverage losses and revive the partisan debate on the rest of the Affordable Care Act. The CBO score was based on prior legislative text to repeal the mandate, not on new language related to tax reform. [ Source: Politico (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Masterpiece Cakeshop’s Jack Phillips may be an evangelical Christian, but he has a host of supporters from other faiths behind him as he takes his religious-freedom case next month to the Supreme Court. Leaders from the Catholic, Jewish and Mormon communities — as well as other evangelical small-business owners — came together Wednesday to offer their encouragement at a rally Wednesday at Colorado Christian University. Oral argument is scheduled Dec. 5 before the Supreme Court in the Masterpiece case, the first to be considered by the high court involving whether bakers, florists, filmmakers and other creative professionals who cater to weddings must serve same-sex ceremonies. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Vice President Mike Pence, visiting the Texas church where a gunman killed 26 worshippers, said Wednesday that “bureaucratic failures” contributed to the tragedy by allowing the murderer to purchase a weapon illegally. Mr. Pence said gunman Devin Patrick Kelley committed a crime simply by buying the semi-automatic rifle that he used in the slayings Sunday at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs. Kelley’s discharge from the Air Force on a domestic-violence court-martial was not reported to a federal database that should have prevented him from purchasing any firearms. “He lied on his application,” Mr. Pence said of the shooter. “He had a history of mental illness, and there were bureaucratic failures. We will find out why this information was not properly reported in 2012, and we are working with leaders in Congress to ensure this never happens again.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A decade after Muslims attacked and displaced Christians in a town in northern Nigeria, Kano state officials have forbidden church buildings to be rebuilt there, sources said. Eight church buildings destroyed in late September 2007 in predominantly Muslim Tudun Wada Dankadai, Kano state, are still in ruins, a Morning Star News correspondent observed earlier this month. The buildings of St. Mary’s Catholic, Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Baptist, Assemblies of God, Charismatic Renewal, Mountain of Fire and Miracle and Deeper Christian Life Bible churches, along with that of another church, have not been rebuilt because local Muslims have refused to allow it, Joseph Opeyemi Ibinkule, a 42-year-old a Christian resident of Tudun Wada Dankadai, told Morning Star News. [ Source: Morningstar News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Good Samaritan credited with causing the Texas church shooter to flee the scene was a churchgoing National Rifle Association (NRA) member, armed with an AR assault rifle. “I think my God, my Lord, protected me and gave me the skills to do what needed to be done,” said Stephen Willeford, who lived near First Baptist Church Sutherland Springs and rushed over when he heard the gunshots Sunday morning. “I just wish I could've gotten there faster.” Firearm ownership and concealed carry is the norm in this small Texas town; plus Willeford and his family had NRA training. As Americans again debate gun control policies following yet another deadly shooting, and as Christians reconsider the safety of their sanctuaries, the 55-year-old believer represents the view common among white evangelicals of guns as protection. [ Source: Christianity Today (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman on Wednesday about American peace efforts and reconciliation, the official PA news website Wafa reported. The visiting Abbas’s meeting with the prince came a day after he met with Saudi King Salman. “[The PA president] informed the Saudi crown prince of the Palestinian issue’s latest developments and American efforts to advance the peace process, and described for him developments related to Palestinian reconciliation,” the Wafa report said. Since US President Donald Trump assumed office in January, American officials have met with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders on dozens of occasions in an attempt to revive peace talks. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Syrian army has captured the last major Islamic State-held town, Albu Kamal, the country's media said. The pro-Assad alliance commander confirmed the last urban centre in Syria was now free. He said: "The last stronghold of Daesh (Islamic State), Albu Kamal, is free of the Daesh organisation." The army and its allies moved into the city and were driving out ISIS fighters throughout Wednesday. [ Source: Sky News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - U.S. Air Force fighter jets may soon be able to instantly disable enemy targets using invisible, energized beams of light shot from a small, compact laser cannon. The laser-equipped vehicles might call to mind the heavily armed "helicarriers" from Marvel's "Captain America" films. Yesterday (Nov 6), the U.S. Air Force Research Lab signed a $26.3 million contract with Lockheed Martin to develop high-energy laser weapons that are lightweight and compact enough to be mounted on fighter jets. Lockheed Martin is a defense, aerospace and technology company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. "Earlier this year, we delivered a 60-kW [kilowatt]-class laser to be installed on a U.S. Army ground vehicle," Rob Afzal, a senior fellow of laser weapon systems at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. "It's a completely new and different challenge to get a laser system into a smaller, airborne test platform. It's exciting to see this technology mature enough to embed in an aircraft." [ Source: Live Science (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned rival Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that it was making a mistake in aligning with Israel and the United States over Tehran. “You are making mistake if you think Iran is not your friend and the US and Israel are your friends,” Rouhani said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Rouhani criticized Saudi Arabia on Wednesday over what he called “unprecedented” interference in Lebanese affairs, adding his voice to those who suspect the Gulf kingdom forced Lebanon’s prime minister to resign. [ Source: UK Guardian (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Vietnam's deadliest storm this year, Typhoon Damrey, has killed 106 people, while dozens of dangerously full reservoirs release water as the southeast Asian nation prepares to host a regional summit. As of Wednesday, 106 people were known to have died because of the year's 12th major storm, which struck on Saturday, leaving 25 missing and 197 injured, the country's search and rescue committee said. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Three US aircraft carriers will stage joint drills in the western Pacific for the first time in a decade, the US Navy said Thursday (Nov 9), as tensions in the region over North Korea reach fever pitch. The USS Ronald Reagan, USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt will conduct "coordinated operations in international waters", the navy said, as US President Donald Trump's high-stakes trip through Asia takes him to China. The operation shows Washington's "ironclad commitment to the continued security and stability of the region," said Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, in a statement. [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Even for a country often used as a battleground by regional powers and their proxies, the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has opened a new period of political uncertainty and fear in Lebanon. The tiny nation has often been caught between the political agendas of more-powerful countries. But it now appears more vulnerable to conflict as Israel and Saudi Arabia try to isolate their shared enemy, the Iran-backed movement Hezbollah. Hariri, a Sunni politician backed by the Saudis, cited Iranian meddling in Lebanese politics as the reason for his decision to step down. [ Source: Washington Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Saudi-led military coalition's blockade of Yemen could lead to "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims," Mark Lowcock, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned on Wednesday. Lowcock's warning came as the UN Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the most recent escalation in the Yemen conflict after the Saudi Arabia closed off all land, sea and air borders to the Arab peninsula. The blockade has also grounded all UN humanitarian flights into Yemen and prevented ships carrying urgent supplies, such as medicine and food, from docking. [ Source: Deutche Welle (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Germany’s constitutional court has given the country’s parliament until Dec. 31, 2018, to pass legislation authorizing “intersex” birth certificates, the BBC reported Wednesday. The ruling comes after an intersex individual marked as female on their birth certificate brought a lawsuit over the matter. A DNA test conducted on the individual established that they were neither genetically male nor female. “Humans are born with 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs. The X and Y chromosomes determine a person’s sex. Most women are 46XX and most men are 46XY,” according to the website for the World Health Organization Genomic Resource Centre. “Research suggests, however, that in a few births per thousand some individuals will be born with a single sex chromosome (45X or 45Y) (sex monosomies) and some with three or more sex chromosomes (47XXX, 47XYY or 47XXY, etc.) (sex polysomies),” the WHO explained, adding that other intersex cases involve 46XY individuals being born female due to a mutation on the Y-chromosome. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article