Heavy teen marijuana use may cut life short by 60

CBS News reports that a new study shows that pot smokers have poorer health in general.  According to CBS, the drug is linked with lung cancer and increased heart problems.:

Heavy marijuana use in the late teen years puts men at a higher risk for death by age 60, a new long-term study suggests.

Swedish researchers analyzed the records of more than 45,000 men beginning in 1969 and 1970. The scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm reported that 4,000 died during the 42-year follow-up period, and men who’d used marijuana heavily at ages 18 and 19 were 40 percent more likely to die by age 60 compared to guys who hadn’t used the drug.

The authors of the new study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, said the findings contradict previous research involving the same group of men.

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When tests detect birth defects, babies can still be born healthy

According to World Magazine, a new study shows that “the embryo has an amazing ability to correct itself” in the womb.:

New research suggests women who terminate their pregnancies because of an abnormal prenatal test may be aborting perfectly healthy babies.

Doctors frequently offer birth defect tests to pregnant women whose babies are at increased risk of abnormalities. One of the tests that can be performed earliest in pregnancy, chorionic villus sampling (CVS) analyzes cells from the placenta between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation.

Physicians often believe the presence of abnormal cells indicates the baby will most likely be born with birth defects like Down syndrome. Some moms choose to abort their babies when the test results are abnormal.

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How GPS Came to Be—and How It May Be Altering Our Brains

Is the system changing the structure of our brains? Bloomberg Businessweek has the story:

GPSIn Pinpoint: How GPS Is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds, Greg Milner tells two stories. One’s about how the Global Positioning System became one of the 21st century’s most important technologies. The other’s about how it may be stunting the brains of the ingenious species that created it.

We use GPS today to guide airplanes, ships, and tractors. It keeps tabs on sex offenders and helps find oil deposits. “GPS surveys land, and builds bridges and tunnels,” Milner writes. “GPS knows when the earth deforms; it senses the movement of tectonic plates down to less than a millimeter.” GPS can tell you how long until your Uber arrives—and even let you know if someone nearby is interested in a one-night stand.

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Trump Wants Republican Platform Changed to Include Abortion Exceptions

Christian News Network reports:

During his appearance on NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Donal Trump said that he would like the Republican platform changed to include exceptions to abortion.

Co-host Savannah Guthrie noted to Trump during the broadcast that the current platform does not cite any exceptions, and asked Trump if he would like them to be included.

“The Republican platform, every four years, has a provision that states that the right of the unborn child shall not be infringed. And it makes no exceptions for rape, for incest, for the life of the mother. Would you want to change the Republican platform to include the exceptions that you have?” she asked.

“Yes, I would,” he replied. “Yes, I would. Absolutely. For the three exceptions, I would.”

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Cruz hits Trump for remarks that transgender people should “use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate.”

Fox News has the story:

Trump and CruzTed Cruz blasted Donald Trump on Thursday after the Republican presidential front-runner said transgender people should “use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate.”

Speaking at a “Today” show town hall Thursday morning, Trump said North Carolina’s so-called “bathroom law,” which directs transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificates, has caused unnecessary strife.

“There have been very few complaints the way it is,” Trump said. “People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble.”

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Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Virginia Girl Who Sued School District to Use Men’s Restroom

Christian News Network reports:

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Virginia girl who identifies as a boy who sued her school district out of her desire to use the men’s restroom at her high school.

As previously reported, Gavin Grimm, now 17, told reporters in December 2014 that she began using the men’s restroom after obtaining permission from the school principal when she expressed disapproval over being forced to use the nurse restroom.

“I’m not a girl. I’m not using the girl’s restroom,” Grimm stated. “So I said, ‘Hey, where can I use the restroom?’ … And so they said, ‘Use the nurse’s room,’ and at the time I was fine with that, because I was still afraid—I didn’t know how my peers would react. So, I didn’t want to push the envelope any further than I had to all at once.”

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Target to Allow Transgender People to Use Bathroom of Their Choice

Fox News Insider reports:

Target StoresTarget Corp said on Tuesday that transgender employees and customers can now use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, becoming the first big retailer to weigh in on an issue at the center of a heated national debate.

This announcement comes amid the firestorm surrounding North Carolina’s controversial bathroom law, which requires people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in public facilities that correspond with their gender at birth.

In a blog post, Target said, “We welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.”

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“God Is Gay”: Blasphemous Saturday Night Live Skit Mocks Bakeries That Decline Same-Sex “Weddings”

Christian News Network reports:

A blasphemous skit mocking bakeries that decline forms of participation in same-sex “weddings” aired on Saturday Night Live this past weekend, portraying two homosexual men taking a baker to court to force her to say that “God is gay.”

The segment, entitled “God Is a B**b Man,” features comedienne Vanessa Bayer, who plays a small town baker named Beth Walsh.

In the movie trailer parody of the “God’s Not Dead” films, a man enters Walsh’s bakery and requests a wedding cake.

“Of course,” Walsh replies. “Where’s the lucky bride?”

“He’s right here,” the man responds as his male partner approaches. “Now make the cake.”

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Cuba officials call Obama’s visit an “attack,” Raul Castro labels U.S. as “enemy”

Fox News reports:

Weeks after President Barack Obama’s historic trip to Cuba, officials from the Communist island have ramped up their attacks on the U.S.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called Obama’s visit “an attack on the foundation of our history, our culture and our symbols.”

“Obama came here to dazzle the non-state sector, as if he wasn’t the representative of big corporations but the defender of hot dog vendors, of small businesses in the United States, which he isn’t,” Rodriguez said.

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IRS Is Rehiring Employees Fired for Misconduct

According to CNSNews:

House Republicans are aiming at the Internal Revenue Service this week, taking up four bills to ensure integrity in hiring and better customer service.

“We have recently learned…that IRS employees that have been fired for misconduct have been rehired” in the last several years, Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) told a news conference on Tuesday.

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“Transgender” Preacher Tells Baptist Gathering “Angel of Reason” Helped Affirm Desire to Be Woman

Christian News Network reports:

The nation’s first “transgender” Baptist preacher spoke to a national Baptist gathering on April 8, explaining that the doctor who delivered him as a baby was wrong in declaring him a boy, and that it was an “angel of reason” that caused him to accept his inclinations to identify as a woman.

Daniel Robinson, who goes by the name Allyson Robinson, had been studying to be a pastor at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary in 2005 when he began to wrestle with his gender identity as never before. He had struggled with his desire to be a man since childhood.

“I have known my entire life that the world was wrong about me, that on the day I was born, when the doctor took a cursory glance between my legs and authoritatively declared ‘It’s a boy,’ he was wrong—dead wrong,” Robinson told the Alliance of Baptists in St. Louis this month.

He said that one day in his early seminary days he contemplated suicide, but an “angel of the Lord” that he called “reason” stopped him.

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Video: College Students Polled on Identity Agree Short White Man Can Identify as Tall Chinese Woman

Christian News Network reports

A viral video released this week by the Family Policy Institute of Washington shows students at the University of Washington outlining that they have no issue with a short white man identifying as a tall Chinese woman, and would not tell him that he is wrong.

Joseph Backholm, the executive director of the Washington chapter of the Family Policy Institute, went to the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle to see if students believe that one can ever be wrong about their identity.

“If I told you that I was a woman, what would your response be?” he asked.

“Good for you,” one student replied.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” another answered.

Backholm then asked students what they would think if he told them that he identified as Chinese.

“I would say good for you,” one student stated. “Yeah, be who you are.”

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Mississippi Governor Signs Bill Banning Dismemberment Abortions, Leaving Other Methods Legal

Christian News Network reports:

The Republican governor of Mississippi has signed into law a bill that makes it illegal for abortionists to perform dilation and evacuation abortions (D&E) in the state, also known as dismemberment abortions.

“We’re making Mississippi the safest place in America for an unborn child,” Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement on Twitter on Friday.

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Some couples in Canada practising prenatal sex selection in favour of male fetuses, studies suggest

According to The Globe Mail:

Baby in the wombIt is rarely openly discussed and difficult to prove, but new research suggests that some couples in Canada are practising prenatal sex selection, aborting female fetuses out of a preference for male children.

Two related studies, published on Monday in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), found a higher-than-expected ratio of boys to girls born to immigrants from India over the past two decades, which researchers linked to preceding abortions. This gender imbalance was particularly striking among families that already had two.

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Darrin Patrick Removed from Acts 29 Megachurch for “Historical Pattern of Sin”

Darrin Patrick was also fired from his job as pastor of the multisite church The Journey in St. Louis.  Patrick had a lot of irons in the fire.  He served as a “council member for The Gospel Coalition, St. Louis Cardinals chaplain, and Acts 29 podcast host.” Christianity Today has the full story.

The Journey cited a range of ongoing sinful behaviors over the past few years including manipulation, domineering, lack of biblical community, and “a history of building his identity through ministry and media platforms.”

In a letter announcing its lead pastor’s removal after 14 years of leadership, the church clarified that adultery was not a factor, though elders looked into inappropriate interactions with two women.

“In short, I am a completely devastated man, utterly broken by my sin and in need of deep healing,” said Patrick in an apology to his 3,000-person congregation. “The way that the Journey elders have demonstrated their desire to see me restored to Jesus, as well as their love for me, Amie, and our family is nothing short of miraculous and beyond gracious.”

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ISIS Urges Supporters to Kill Muslim “Infidels” in West, Including Congressman and Top Clinton Aide

CNSNews reports:

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) is urging its followers to kill identified Muslim figures in the West, saying they are “obligatory” targets unless they “openly repent from kufr [disbelief] before they are apprehended.”

The threats are contained in the 14th and latest edition of the terrorist group’s online propaganda publication, Dabiq.

The edition’s main theme appears to be an attempt to label Muslim leaders, individuals and organizations across the world that do not actively support ISIS as infidels and apostates.

The cover story focuses on the “murtadd” (apostate) Muslim Brotherhood, while another article, illustrated with a grisly photo of a blood-covered knife, is entitled, “Kill the imams of kufr in the West.”

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Kasich Condemns Mississippi’s Religious Freedom Law: “What the [Expletive] Are We Doing?”

Christian News Network reports:

Republican presidential candidate John Kasich condemned Mississippi’s religious freedom law this week, just a day after telling reporters that he would not have signed North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” requiring residents to use the restroom that correlates with their biological gender in government buildings.

“I read about this thing they did in Mississippi, where apparently you can deny somebody service because they’re gay,” Kasich stated during a town hall event in New York, which was hosted by CNN. “What the H*ll are we doing in this country?”

“I mean, look, I may not appreciate a certain lifestyle or even approve of it, but it doesn’t mean I’ve got to go write a law and try to figure out how to have another wedge issue,” he said.

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Missouri House Committee Approves Amendment Declaring Personhood of Unborn

According to Christian News Network:

A House committee in Missouri has approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would recognize the unborn as persons, sending it on to the full House for a vote.

House Joint Resolution 98 was introduced by Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, as a ballot initiative to be presented to the people of Missouri in November.

“[A]ll constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; … all persons, including unborn human children at every stage of biological development, have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry,” it reads in part.

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Rev. Graham to Bruce Springsteen: “A Nation Embracing Sin” And “Political Correctness Is Not Progress”

CNSNews reports:

Reverend Franklin Graham criticized rocker Bruce Springsteen for canceling a concert in North Carolina because he opposes the new state law there that prohibits biological males from using women’s locker rooms, showers, and bathrooms, stating that Springsteen’s pro-homosexual views are not progressive, but conducive to “embracing sin” and worshipping “godless secularism and political correctness.”

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Oxford theology students can skip Christianity lessons

According to The Telegraph:

Theology students at Oxford will no longer be required to study Christianity throughout the course for the first time in 800 years after undergraduates complained about lack of diversity.

Changes are being made to the degree to mirror shifts in religious beliefs and culture in the wider British society, according to academics.

Instead, those in second year will have the option to take papers which will include “feminist approaches to religion and theology”, the Times Higher Education magazine reported. Johannes Zachhuber, professor of historical and systematic theology and the theology faculty’s board chairman, suggested students could avoid studying Christianity altogether and instead favour subject such as “Buddhism in space and time”.

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“This Is Not Incest”: Colorado Man Leaves Wife for Sexual Relationship With Mother

According to Christian News Network:

An Colorado man who found his biological mother three years ago after being put up for adoption as a child has left his wife to marry his mother and have children together.

“This is not incest. It is [Genetic Sexual Attraction] GSA,” Kim West, 51, told the outlet New Day. “We are like peas in a pod and meant to be together.”

“I know people will say we’re disgusting, that we should be able to control our feelings, but when you’re hit by a love so consuming you are willing to give up everything for it, you have to fight for it,” she said.

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Lou Engle of The Call Prostrates Himself, Kisses Foot of Catholic Leader as Act of “Reconciliation”

Christian News Network reports:

Lou Engle of The Call is again raising concerns after a Roman Catholic leader prostrated at his feet on Saturday in declaring that he wanted to “kiss his feet” in an act of reconciliation between Christians and Catholics, and Engle returned the act by likewise kissing the man’s shoe.

The gesture took place during “Azusa Now,” an event hosted by The Call, which was attended by over 100,000 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“Believing that decades of globe-spanning prayer have saturated the heavens, we will boldly ask God for the rain of revival,” a description of the event states. “We will consecrate an entire day—15 hours—for the purpose of unity, miracles, healing, and the proclamation of the gospel.”

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See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

Rev. Graham: PayPal Hypocrite, Does Business in Countries Where Homosexual Behavior Is Illegal

CNSNews has the story:

In response to PayPal’s decision to not open a new center in North Carolina because of the state’s law against men using women’s bathrooms and locker rooms, Rev. Franklin Graham said PayPal is a “hypocrite” and noted that PayPal does business in countries where homosexual behavior is illegal, but it decided to fault North Carolina.

“PayPal gets the hypocrite of the year award!” said Rev. Graham in an April 6 post on Facebook. “This company says they’re not coming to North Carolina because the legislators and Gov. Pat McCrory have passed a law to protect women and children against sexual predators by not allowing men to use women’s restrooms and locker rooms.”

Graham continued,  “Congressman Robert Pittenger made a great point yesterday: ‘PayPal does business in 25 countries where homosexual behavior is illegal, including 5 countries where the penalty is death, yet they object to the North Carolina legislature overturning a misguided ordinance about letting men in to the women’s bathroom? Perhaps PayPal would like to try and clarify this seemingly very hypocritical position.’”

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Planned Parenthood Files Lawsuit Over Indiana Law Banning Abortion of Down Syndrome Children

Christian News Network reports:

The abortion giant Planned Parenthood has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new Indiana law that bans the murder of unborn children based on a Down Syndrome diagnosis or any other disability, but stops short of ending all abortion in the state.

As previously reportedH.B. 1337 was signed into law last month to protect babies that would otherwise be killed because of an adverse diagnosis.

“Indiana does not allow a fetus to be aborted solely because of the fetus’s race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, or diagnosis or potential diagnosis of the fetus having Down syndrome or any other disability,” the bill, introduced by Rep. Casey Cox, R-Fort Wayne, reads.

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“Star Wars” will have gay characters

According to LifeSiteNews:

Star WarsIf J.J. Abrams, the director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has his way with future scripts, expect homosexual characters.

Abrams was hosting a pre-Academy Awards event at his production company Bad Robot when asked about prospects for homosexual characters. He responded, “Of course, of course. When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters. It’s about inclusivity. So of course.”

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