WorthyNewsBot

(Worthy News) - The Senate's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will reduce taxes for most households and will give the biggest cuts to those with moderate incomes and those with children, according to an analysis from the Tax Foundation. "To help provide a sense of how the Senate's amended version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would impact real taxpayers, we've run the taxes of nine example households," the foundation states. "Our results indicate a reduction in tax liability for every scenario we modeled, with some of the largest cuts accruing to moderate-income families with children." The foundation says that each type of family it scored had realistic characteristics so it could show how the bill's individual income tax provisions would impact various types of families with different incomes. [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), issued new threats against Israel on Thursday, vowing that any future conflict will be the Jewish state's last. "It is a proven claim that today we say any new war will lead to the eradication of the Zionist regime," said Jafari at a Tehran press conference, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. Jafari also told reporters that Lebanon is Israel's primary target today and that "resistance" experienced by Israel in previous conflicts with Iran-backed Hezbollah and Hamas was minor in comparison to their current capabilities. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - An Iranian convert to Christianity has had his 10-year prison sentence upheld after losing his appeal. Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced in May alongside three Azerbaijanis. All four men were given 10-year sentences for “missionary activities” and “actions against national security” in Iran. However, the three Azerbaijanis – Eldar Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov and Bahram Nasibov – were allowed to leave Iran in November 2016 and are unlikely to be forced to return, despite their representatives also failing to overturn their verdicts during the 12 November hearing, World Watch Monitor understands. [ Source: World Watch Monitor (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince vowed to "pursue terrorists until they are wiped from the face of the earth" as officials from 40 Muslim countries gathered Sunday in the first meeting of an Islamic counter-terrorism alliance. "In past years, terrorism has been functioning in all of our countries ... with no coordination" among national authorities, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also the Saudi defence minister, said in his keynote speech at the gathering in Riyadh. "This ends today, with this alliance." [ Source: Times of India (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Prosecutors say several acts of vandalism committed at five predominantly black churches in northern New Jersey are no longer being investigated as possible bias crimes. Officials announced Sunday that a 45-year-old Morristown man has been arrested and charged with criminal mischief for breaking windows and damaging signs at the Morris Township and Morristown churches The damage was discovered Saturday and Zuri C. Towns told officials he acted alone. Officials say he had previously attended services as a minor at one of the vandalized churches. He was arrested near his home that's close to some of the churches. [ Source: Fox News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that allows the government to list any foreign media operating in the country as a foreign agent. The bill, in retaliation for Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT being told to register as a foreign agent in the US, was earlier approved by parliament. At least nine US-funded broadcasters, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty could be hit. [ Source : BBC (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned Europe that if it threatens Tehran, the Guards will increase the range of missiles to above 2,000 kilometers, the Fars news agency reported on Saturday. France has called for an “uncompromising” dialogue with Iran about its ballistic missile program and a possible negotiation over the issue separate from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. “So far we have felt that Europe is not a threat, so we did not increase the range of our missiles. But if Europe wants to turn into a threat, we will increase the range of our missiles,” Brigadier General Hossein Salami said. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Church of Sweden is making a few changes when it comes to how clergy refer to God the Father. According to the Telegraph, the church’s 251 member board voted to switch out terms like “Lord” and “He” and incorporate the more gender neutral term “God.” According the board, those changes will go into effect in May of 2018. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The FBI failed to notify scores of US officials that Russian hackers were trying to break into their personal Gmail accounts despite having evidence for at least a year that the targets were in the Kremlin’s crosshairs, The Associated Press has found. Nearly 80 interviews with Americans targeted by Fancy Bear, a Russian government-aligned cyberespionage group, turned up only two cases in which the FBI had provided a heads-up. Even senior policymakers discovered they were targets only when the AP told them, a situation some described as bizarre and dispiriting. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The UK has ten days to make progress in Brexit negotiations for the EU leaders to unlock the next phase of talks on trade and future relations. "Sufficient progress in Brexit talks at December's European Council is possible. But still a huge challenge. We need to see progress from UK within 10 days on all issues, including on Ireland," European Council president Donald Tusk tweeted on Friday (24 November). Tusk met with British prime minister Theresa May after the EU's Eastern Partnership summit. [ Source: EU Observer (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said on Monday it had raised the alert to the highest level four on Bali's Mount Agung volcano and warned residents in a 8-10 km (5-6 miles) radius around the volcano to evacuate immediately. "Grey ash and occasional weak blasts can be heard 12 km (seven miles) from the peak. Flames were visible at night which indicates a potential eruption could happen anytime," Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said in a statement. "In anticipation of the possibility and imminent risk of disaster, PVMBG (the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center) raised Mount Agung alert level from three to four starting from 6 a.m. local time," it said in a statement. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The FBI received more than 200,000 background check requests for gun purchases on Black Friday, the bureau reported. In total the FBI received 203,086 gun background check requests, required for purchases at federally licensed firearm dealers, on the major U.S. shopping day, USA Today reported. The requests broke previous single-day records of 185,713 and 185,345 on Black Friday in 2016 and 2015 respectively, according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database. [ Source:UPI (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Iran's new naval commander has vowed to send warships to America's backyard. Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi said plans were being drawn up for vessels to be deployed to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean "in the near future." They would also visit South American countries, he added. Tehran has long complained about U.S. ships being based in the Persian Gulf. Speaking at his first press conference since being appointed, Khanzadi promised his navy would "wave the flag of our country in the Gulf of Mexico." [ Source: NBC News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The locations of some of Iran’s military installations in Syria, including some within 30 miles of Israeli territory in the Golan Heights, may be motivated more by Tehran’s desire to provoke an Islamic end-of-the-world cataclysm than for strategic value, contends an expert on Shiite religious dogma. Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project argues the bases near Israel don’t pose an imminent threat of a conventional military strike or even an asymmetrical attack. But he said the motivation is rather a desire to fulfill Shia prophecy of a showdown with the Jewish state that Iran’s religious leadership believes will prompt the coming of a messianic figure, or “Mahdi.” Iran has frequently stated its desire to destroy Israel, claiming the Jewish state is the focus of its nuclear and long-range missile program. Iran has also funneled millions of dollars into proxy enemies of Israel. There are now some 13 Iranian military installations in Syria – some manned by Hezbollah terrorists and others by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces. [ Source: World Net Daily (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The intelligence that President Donald Trump leaked to top Russian officials in an Oval Office meeting in May concerned a highly sensitive Israeli special forces mission, it has been revealed. The operation, which took place in February 2017, involved commandos infiltrating an area under the control of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), to place a surveilance device. The intelligence obtained through the device prompted a short-term ban on laptops on flights from several majority-Muslim countries to the US and the UK. The target of the operation, according to a Vanity Fair report published on Wednesday, was an ISIS cell attempting to recreate a weapon developed by a top Al-Qaeda bombmaker. The weapon consisted of an explosive device that could be concealed inside a laptop and smuggled past airport security checks, raising the spectre of high-casualty attacks against civilian airlines. Trump’s disclosure at the May 10 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia's then-ambassador to Washington Sergei Kislyak has been widely publicised at the time, but details of the operation itself have not previously been disclosed. In particular, Trump is alleged to have revealed the name of the city where the operation took place, leading to fears that the source who alerted the Israelis to ISIS's intentions may be compromised. [ Source: Newsweek (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Abortion numbers fell again in 2014, sinking to their lowest in more than four decades, according to a new Centers for Disease Control report. The CDC reports 652,639 abortions were performed in the United States in 2014, a 2-percent decrease from 2014. Abortions are down 21 percent across the past decade. The abortion rate – the number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age – also dropped to 12.1, a 2-percent decrease from the previous year. [ Source: Life News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Republicans and Democrats in Washington are vying to appear the more outraged by sexual harassment on Capitol Hill. Don't be fooled. Groping, suggestive remarks and quid pro quos are business as usual on the Hill, thanks to a cover-up scheme devised by Congress itself using taxpayer dollars. The real scandal is that we the people pay the settlement costs and legal fees when members of Congress get caught with their pants down. On Monday, the website BuzzFeed reported that in 2015 Michigan Rep. John Conyers, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and the longest-serving current House member, used taxpayer funds to settle a complaint from a staff member about unwanted sexual advances. The $27,000 was paid in exchange for a confidentiality agreement. On Tuesday, Conyers denied harassing anyone, but acknowledged the settlement. This year alone, the U.S. Treasury has confidentially paid $934,754 to settle sexual harassment and other complaints against members of Congress and their staff. Similar hush money has been paid out yearly, since Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act. The 1995 law makes members and their employees anything but accountable. If they're accused of discrimination or harassment, their settlement costs get bankrolled by taxpayers. Secretly. [ Source: Real Clear Politics (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A U.S. district judge on Wednesday struck down parts of a Texas law that would ban the most common type of second-trimester abortions in the state, after plaintiffs argued the procedure was safe, legal and necessary for women’s health. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin issued a permanent injunction against the provisions that were in legislation known as Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) and set to take effect this year, saying they “are facially unconstitutional.” He added: “The act intervenes in the medical process of abortion prior to viability in an unduly burdensome manner.” [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russia’s UN ambassador said Wednesday the expert body that has determined responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria “is dead” — but Moscow is ready to discuss “a new mechanism.” Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after a closed Security Council discussion that the Joint Investigative Mechanism, or JIM, “has discredited itself completely.” “But we are ready to talk about establishing a new mechanism that would replace the JIM and do the work in … a truly professional and objective” way, he said. Russia vetoed two council resolutions last week to keep the JIM in operation, and this week it rejected a Swedish-Uruguayan draft resolution before it went to a vote to revive the joint investigative body of the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - An attempt to smuggle tons of explosive material into the Gaza Strip has been thwarted by the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Crossing Authority, it was announced on Wednesday. The attempt was foiled thanks to a new, advanced chemistry laboratory that was set up in recent weeks at Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza. The new laboratory is a joint project of the Ministry of Defense's Crossing Authority, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Israel sees Iranian activity in Syria as “a target” for its forces, and may carry out strikes against Iranian objectives if security needs require it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this week. Channel 10 reported Wednesday that it had obtained a transcript of Sunday’s call. In it, Netanyahu is said to have told the French leader that “from now on, Israel sees Iran’s activities in Syria as a target. We will not hesitate to act, if our security needs require us to do so.” “Israel has tried up until now not to intervene in what is going on in Syria. But after the victory over Islamic State, the situation has changed because the pro-Iranian forces have taken control,” the prime minister went on. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Justice Department is battling in the courts to preserve President Trump’s anti-sanctuary city agenda, but it’s already notched some successes just by raising the issue. Several major jurisdictions have said they’ll work with federal deportation officers, forgoing previous uncooperative policies, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to withhold federal grant money. “Just telling people they are getting serious about it has already helped,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. “In some ways it gives any politicians who were lukewarm on the sanctuary policies some leverage with the city council or whoever it was who imposed the policies.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked Saudi Arabia to ease its blockade of Yemen, two sources said, just days before the Saudi-led military coalition announced on Wednesday it would let aid flow through the Yemeni port of Hodeidah and allow U.N. flights to the capital. It was not clear if pressure from Washington was the direct cause of the Saudi change of heart but the request from Tillerson to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was one of several U.S. attempts this month to have Riyadh soften its hawkish foreign policy. Tillerson asked for a loosening of the blockade on Yemen during a roughly 45-minute phone call at the beginning of this week, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Vice President of the US Mike Pence is set to give a speech in the Knesset next month, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein’s office confirmed Wednesday. Pence, an Evangelical Christian who has been very supportive of Israel, will address the Knesset on December 18, after a meeting with Edelstein. The two are considered to be on the same diplomatic rank, because the Vice President of the US presides over the Senate. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is in talks with leaders of Turkey and Iran to end the civil war in Syria that has been raging since 2011. Putin held a summit in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Wednesday with Iran's Hassan Rouhani and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Two days prior, he hosted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to discuss the possibility of a peace deal. The Russian leader has also had conversations with other parties involved in the conflict, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The militants in Syria have sustained a decisive blow and now there is a realistic chance to end the multi-year civil war," Putin said during the summit with Rouhani and Erdogan. "The Syrian people will have to determine their own future and agree on the principles of their own statehood. It is obvious that the process of reform will not be easy and will require compromises and concessions from all participants, including of course the government of Syria." [ Source: UPI (Read More...) ] View the full article