Author: Admin

Catholic News Agency On the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief (Aug.22), a European watchdog warned of serious anti-Christian violence in Europe and called on governments to protect converts from Islam in particular.  The Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) has reported an increase in anti-Christian hate crimes by 44%.  Though the OIDAC Europe 2022/23 Annual Report reports the majority of the 749 cases of anti-Christian hate crimes were acts of vandalism or arson, the religious freedom watchdog noted a marked increase in violent attacks against individual people.  READ THE FULL STORY                   

Washington Examiner The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the state’s rejection of petition signatures for an abortion-rights ballot initiative on Thursday, blocking the proposal from heading to the polls on Election Day in November. The ruling affirms the decision from Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston to reject the ballot measure because the group spearheading the effort failed to disclose critical information about the paid canvassers hired to collect citizen signatures.  The proposed abortion amendment would have prohibited the state legislature from passing an abortion ban within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, approximately the halfway mark in a typical 40-week pregnancy.  READ THE FULL STORY                   

CBS News  Baby foods, from snack pouches to jarred purees found in grocery stores across the United States, may be less healthy than you think, according to new research.  In the study, published in the journal Nutrients Wednesday, researchers at The George Institute for Global Health analyzed 651 commercially produced infant and toddler foods across 10 different grocery chains in the U.S. They found nearly 60% of the foods failed to meet nutritional standards set by the World Health Organization. Among all products, 70% failed to meet protein requirements and 44% exceeded total sugar recommendations. In addition, 1 in 4 products didn’t meet calorie requirements and 1 in 5 exceeded recommended sodium limits. READ THE FULL STORY 

Breitbart The recently-installed Labour Party government in the UK is facing accusations of plotting to betray Brexit by reportedly considering a reinstitution of the open borders “free movement of people” with the European Union for those under the age of 30. A report from paper of record The Times of London has claimed that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is mulling a deal with Brussels that would allow EU nationals under 30 to live and work in the UK for up to three years, and the same for young Britons seeking to move to the bloc. The move would reportedly come as a compromise measure amid the left-wing government’s desire to “reset” relations with Brussels, including a desire to see trade barriers reduced between Britain and the EU and clear obstacles for British professionals across the Channel. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Axios New survey data shows an elevated share of workers are looking for jobs alongside rising expectations of unemployment in the months ahead. Economic data suggests the job market is softening. Consumers’ expectations about the health of the labor market are following suit. The share of workers who looked for a job in the last month rose to 28% in July, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of consumer labor market expectations. That is the largest share since 2014 and a nearly 10 percentage point jump from the same time a year ago. READ THE FULL STORY                 

Fox News President Biden in March reportedly approved in secret a change to the highly classified U.S. nuclear posture in the wake of growing aggression from nations like Russia and China, but the White House on Tuesday said this step was just business as usual.  In response to a report by the New York Times that suggested Washington’s nuclear posture had been altered to address Beijing’s expanding nuclear arsenal, a White House spokesperson told reporters the “guidance issued earlier this year is not a response to any single entity, country, nor threat.” “This administration, like the four administrations before it, issued a Nuclear Posture Review and Nuclear Weapons Employment Planning Guidance,” White House spokesperson Sean Savett said. READ THE FULL STORY                   

NBC Montana Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen on Tuesday certified that Constitutional Initiative 128, the proposal to create a specific protection for abortion rights in the Montana Constitution, has received the required number of signatures and can appear on the November ballot. The announcement, two days before an Aug. 22 deadline to certify ballot issues, launches the multi-month fight over whether to solidify abortion access in Montana into a new phase. Similar campaigns in other states, including Arizona and Missouri, have also recently received certification to bring the issue to voters this fall. While abortion is currently legal in Montana under the state Constitution’s right of privacy, backers of the proposal say it will further safeguard access in a national legal landscape roiled by the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Breitbart Pro-Palestinian protests will take place nearly every day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) next week, while demonstrators will descend on the city for other causes as well. As the Democratic Party remains deeply fractured due to the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, Pro-Palestinian protests are set for Sunday, the eve of the convention, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the final day of the convention. On Thursday, Harris will accept the nomination at the convention. Below is a list of scheduled demonstrations that will protest against the Democratic Party over the Israel-Hamas war and other causes. The Chicago Sun-Times first compiled the list. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Washington Examiner The Biden administration is aiming to see Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal by the end of next week after negotiators made significant progress this week in Doha, Qatar. U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari leaders met in Doha on Thursday and Friday and discussed the latest proposal with the Israeli and Hamas sides. The meetings, according to a senior Biden administration official, “probably were the most constructive 48 hours that we’ve had in this process in many months.” These leaders will meet “again in Cairo before the end of next week, we will gather again at this level with an aim to conclude this. That is the goal,” the official added. “This is kind of the final stage, end game of the process.” READ THE FULL STORY                   

Axios Two of former President Trump’s major donors, Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick, will be co-chairs of his transition team for his potential return to the White House, his campaign announced Friday. Trump also selected his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, to serve as honorary chairs of his transition team. They’re expected to play key roles in vetting potential hires for ideology and loyalty. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will also serve as an honorary chair of the transition operation. READ THE FULL STORY                 

Breitbart Former President Donald Trump is dominating Vice President Kamala Harris among white working class voters, as they find themselves neck and neck in the presidential race, according to a national Pew Research/SSRS poll. The poll, conducted August 5-11 with a massive sample size of more than 7,500 registered voters, finds that 45 percent of respondents support or lean toward Trump, while 46 percent back Harris or lean her way. Independent Robert F Kennedy Jr. follows in third place with seven percent. The one-percent gap between Trump and Haarris falls within the ±1.4 percent margin of error. For reference, in a Pew Research poll conducted in April, before Biden’s disastrous debate performance in late June, found he was in a tight race with Trump rationally. Trump led by one point in that poll (49 percent to 48 percent), though that sample did not include Kennedy. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Breitbart A 61-year-old English man has been jailed for 18 months in relation to an anti-migration protest-turned-riot in London in which he was filmed shouting, “Who the f*** is Allah?” Despite not being accused of engaging in any actual violent actions himself, David Spring, of Longfellow Road in Sutton, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for comments he made during a Downing Street anti-mass migration protest that descended into a riot in the wake of the Southport mass stabbing that left three young girls dead. Spring, a 61-year-old former train driver, pleaded guilty to “violent disorder” after the court was shown footage of him making “threatening gestures” towards police and chanting, “Who the f*** is Allah?” READ THE FULL STORY                   

Fox News Vice President Harris is doing an about-face on several far-left policies as she distances herself from President Biden and attempts to make a name of her own as the Democratic presidential nominee.  In her first policy speech in North Carolina later this week and then next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris plans to present to Americans who she is and how she will govern essentially for the first time since Biden backed out of the race and endorsed her presidential campaign.  In recent weeks, Harris has shifted on at least five major policy stances: mandatory assault rifle buybacks, fracking, immigration, health care and a federal jobs guarantee. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Axios Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said Thursday that he accepted an invitation from CBS News for a vice presidential debate on Oct. 1. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said earlier this week that he had accepted the Oct. 1 invitation, meaning the two running mates will share the stage at least once before the election. Vance also said that he accepted an invite from CNN for a VP debate on Sept. 18. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Fox News President Biden remains bitter toward the top Democrats who organized his ouster from the 2024 presidential race, even as the party prepares a massive sendoff at the Democratic National Convention, according to a report. Biden remains frustrated that former President Obama did not tell him to drop out face to face, but rather relied on his influence behind the scenes, Politico reported Tuesday. Biden is also angry at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who he believes played the major role in forcing him to withdraw, alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the outlet reported, citing three sources familiar with Biden’s thinking. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. READ THE FULL STORY        

Axios The number of Americans applying for a mortgage hit its highest level since January 2023 last week, while the number of refinance applications surged to a level not seen since May 2022. The number of Americans taking out new mortgages is still extremely low — but at least it’s growing. Lower long-term interest rates means lower mortgage rates, and an opportunity for folks who took out expensive mortgages to see a little bit of relief on their monthly payments. READ THE FULL STORY                 

Washington Examiner Mars‘s crusty interior may harbor massive reservoirs of water, enough to fill an ocean, according to a recent study of seismic data. Scientists have long though that Mars’s surface was once covered by water, most likely stretching across at least one third of the terrain in a massive northern ocean. But the water dried up a millennia ago, and those studying the red planet have debated whether the water simply evaporated due to the planet’s size or was absorbed beneath the surface to be held in vast underground reservoirs. A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests the latter after an analysis of seismic data showed that the speed of waves traveling through the planet’s crust indicates similar reservoirs to ones that can be found below the Earth’s surface, according to Reuters. Scientists have also debated whether such water would be frozen or whether Mars’s active crust would keep the water warm enough to be liquid. The study suggests the latter. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Breitbart The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Trump campaign have surpassed 150,000 poll watchers and workers after setting out for their goal of 100,000 for their election integrity program, the RNC announced Monday. “The RNC and Trump Campaign set out to build an unprecedented 100,000-person-strong election integrity program,” the GOP announced on X. “We have already passed 150,000 poll watchers and poll workers! Americans are ready to save our country.” The RNC and Trump campaign announced the launch of the massive election integrity program earlier in 2024, describing it as the “most extensive and monumental election integrity program in the nation’s history.” READ THE FULL STORY                   

Washington Examiner A ballot measure in Missouri that would establish a right to make decisions about reproductive care, including abortion, will appear before voters in November, the office of Missouri’s secretary of state confirmed Tuesday. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft confirmed that the measure had received the necessary signatures to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. The announcement sets up the Show Me State as one of the places where voters will decide on an abortion ballot measure, two years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned lawmaking on abortion to the states. The ballot measure would overturn the state’s current abortion law, which bans the act except in medical emergencies, and instead restrict the state government from making laws on the matter but allow it to pass a law banning abortion after fetal viability with exceptions for the mother’s life or physical or mental health. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Breitbart Vice President Kamala Harris is vowing to sign legislation as president that would have millions of illegal aliens eventually securing naturalized American citizenship and imposing nationwide no-excuse mail-in voting. During a rally in Glendale, Arizona, Harris said she would back amnesty for the nation’s 11 to 22 million illegal aliens through so-called “comprehensive reform.” “We know our immigration system is broken and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform. That includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship,” Harris said. READ THE FULL STORY                   

Washington Examiner The Biden administration has lifted a weapons sale ban on Saudi Arabia, which had been in place since 2021. The ban was originally put in place in response to Saudi Arabia’s war with the Houthis in Yemen. The administration was displaying their disapproval of Saudi Arabia targeting civilians in their attacks. Since then, officials said they are satisfied with the country’s conduct changes — and there have been no airstrikes in Yemen since 2022. “So the Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours, returning these cases to regular order through appropriate congressional notification and consultation,” one official told the Washington Post. READ THE FULL STORY           

CBS News Susan Wojcicki, who served as CEO of YouTube for nine years and was one of Google’s first hires, died on Friday at age 56 after a battle with cancer, her family announced. Wojcicki’s husband, Dennis Troper, announced her death in a post on Friday evening on Facebook. “It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non-small cell lung cancer,” Troper wrote in the post. “Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable.” “We are heartbroken, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time,” he added. READ THE FULL STORY