Top Stories

CIA Director Story Gets Stranger

An investigation is expected to be underway soon in regards to former CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned last week after citing an extra-marital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Questions are arising as to whether that relationship put the nation’s security at risk, and whether Broadwell had access to classified information.  FBI agents were searching her home in North Carolina yesterday.

Now a new wrinkle has developed in this story. The Washington Post reports that according to a senior U.S. defense official, the FBI has uncovered between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of documents — most of them e-mails — that contain “potentially inappropriate” communication between Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, and Jill Kelley, the 37-year-old Tampa woman whose report of harassment by a person who turned out to be Petraeus’s mistress ultimately led to Petraeus’s downfall.

Judge Blocks Portion of CA Trafficking Law

A Federal judge has blocked a section of California’s new law that increases fines and penalties for those convicted of human trafficking.  The ACLU had sued over Prop 35’s requirement that all registered sex offenders disclose information about their website usernames.  It was approved last Tuesday by 81-percent of California voters.

Partnership for a Faster Internet Experience

Acer and Google are teaming up on a new, more affordable Chromebook.  The C7 runs Google’s Chrome operating system, which is designed to cut down on a lot of the extra background programs and run stuff online so that it boots up more quickly.  It’s being sold exclusively via Google Play and at Best Buy – for under 2-hundred dollars.

Church Around the World

Christians Released From Iranian Prison

Two more Christians have been released from prison in Iran after their families posted bail.  The two had been arrested recently at a church gathering along with five others.  Mohabat News, a Christian news service there, says a lot of times the government will target people of means for arrest just because they know they have the money to pay bail.

China Arrests Christians Without Announcing Charges

A house church leader in China has been sentenced to a labor camp for the third time.  China Aid says the 51 yr old woman, whose name is not being released, will have to serve eighteen months.  The odd thing this time is that police did not point to any specific wrong doing, they were simply looking to try to maintain order ahead of a Communist Party gathering.

31 Flavors of Help for Our Veterans

Baskin-Robbins is stepping up to provide a little hope for our heroes, waiving the initial franchise fee of 25-thousand dollars for some honorably discharged veterans so that they can own their own business.  Bill Mitchell is the senior Vice President at Baskin-Robbins, and a former officer in the Army.  He says he knows how hard it is to transfer back to civilian life, and he wants to try to help make that as smooth as possible.

Tensions Rise in Afghanistan

Our relationship with Afghanistan is becoming more strained, after a shooter wearing an Afghan uniform killed a member of the US led forces.  That soldier has been identified by British officials and is the latest in a series of insider attacks.

Secede?

People in over twenty states have filed petitions to secede from the United States.  There are various reasons given - one petition cites the economy, another suggests we’ve moved to far away from what the founding fathers intended.  The president does not have the authority to grant that, but the White House has launched a program called “We the People,” which will officially respond to any petition that receives 25-thousand or more signatures.  In Family Life Nation, petitions are being gathered in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas – which is getting close to that 25-thousand threshold.

Family & Relationships

Bullying Can Begin at Home

A lot of parents worry about their kids being bullied, but they may be encouraging their kids to be bullies without realizing it. Dr. Colleen Logan says parents need to examine their own behavior, citing studies that show us that parents who are inattentive or uninvolved, use harsh discipline or actually are bullies themselves are more likely to create an environment that is conducive to bullying. Dr. Logan also says as many as half of the children who are bullied never tell their parents, so you should look for signs like wanting to avoid school, or coming home hungry.

New Complaints About Facebook

Now that the elections are over, we can go back to complaining about Facebook on Facebook.  The latest update – Relationship Profiles.  If you have your profile linked to your spouse’s, you can now see your entire relationship laid out on a ready-made profile page.

Finances & Economy

Is Facebook making You Poor and Fat?

All that time you’re spending on Facebook is making you spend more at the store.  Marketing professors at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University say their research has found that social networking reduces self-control, which can lead some people to make bad decisions with their money.  They also found people who use Facebook tend to be heavier, carry more debt, and have lower credit scores.

Penney’s Losing Money

You would think that lower prices would mean more people coming in.  It doesn’t appear to be working for JC Penney.  Their stock has fallen 13-percent this year, and Standard and Poors cut their credit rating last Friday after Penney’s posted big 3rd quarter losses.  That new pricing plan was unveiled back in January, but got sidetracked when some pro-family groups boycotted Penney’s over new advertising that included homosexual couples.  Penney’s has since stopped that ad campaign.

Health

Squash Diabetes

If you’re trying to fend off type-2 diabetes, try squashing it instead.  Phil Lempert with www.SupermarketGuru.com says recent studies show squash has anti-diabetic properties, and can also supply antioxidants and help cut down on inflammation.  He says squash got a bad wrap because of the carbs, but it’s really high in vitamin C, potassium, B vitamins, and Omega-3s.

Thinking Clearly More Difficult in a Hurry

If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?  New research has confirmed that haste really does make waste, because the brain switches into a special mode when pushed to make rapid decisions.  That mode increases the likelihood that there will be mistakes.

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Super Storm Sandy

Clothed in Compassion

Nick Sippl is from Northern Michigan. He is in New York helping victims of Super Storm Sandy through his job.  Seeing the need first hand, he has organized a clothing drive. He says The police and the National guard were literally not knocking on doors, but kicking in doors to see if anyone was home. They had to be evacuated the water was rising so much. This lady I talked to was about five and a half feet tall. She told me when she came out of the house they were holding their children over their heads. When she came down to the street level, the water was up to her neck. They had pretty much lost everything. When they came in, we got them dried off. "That’s what got me thinking, these people have nothing." If you live in the area, please drop clothing off at Ogemaw Hills Free Methodist Church. Click here for their address and phone number. There's a trailer parked outside where you can place your donation.

Salvation Style

Pearl Foy is using one of the talents God has given her to raise money for Super Storm Sandy victims. She will give it to the victims by way of the Salvation Army. She's organizing a Hair Cut-A-Thon. It will be held on Sunday November 11th from 10am-5pm in the Phoenix Arizona area. There are two locations. One is located at the Turning Point Beauty College in Mesa. The other will be held at Kor Beauty Academy in Peoria. 

Help Salvation Army Relief Efforts with A Simple Text

Text the word "STORM" to 80888. Then respond with a "yes" when the text response comes to you.
 

Give Blood and Money Through Red Cross

Because many blood donation centers on the east coast are closed, it is even more important for we who are out of harm’s way to donate. www.RedCross.org has all you need to know. You may also give money via that web site, or you can give $10 via text message by texting the word “RedCross” to 90999.

Slice of Family Life Nation reaches Out to Sandy victims

Nick Sippl is from Northern Michigan, but he’s in New York right now helping the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  Nick has gone the extra mile to organize a clothing drive after seeing one family’s struggle. Nick told FLR News, “The police and the National guard were literally not knocking on doors, but kicking in doors to see if anyone was home. They had to be evacuated the water was rising so much. This lady I talked to was about five and a half feet tall. She told me when she came out of the house they were holding their children over their heads. When she came down to the street level, the water was up to her neck. They had pretty much lost everything. When they came in, we got them dried off. That’s what got me thinking, these people have nothing.” Nick says the National Guard had to literally kick in some people’s doors to see if they were home.  We’ve got more stories and links up on this page.