Top Stories
Supreme Court to Hear Marriage Cases
The Supreme Court has decided to hear the case of California’s Prop 8,
which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Voters passed it four years ago, but it’s
been wrapped up in legal challenges ever since.
Jim Campbell is an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom. He
says, “marriage between a man and a woman is a universal good that diverse
cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of western
civilization. Marriage expresses the truth that men and women bring distinct
and irreplaceable gifts to family life. The www.ProtectMarriage.Com legal team
looks forward to advocating before the U-S Supreme Court on behalf of the
people’s right to preserve this fundamental building block of society.”
Let’s join them in praying that the Biblical definition of
marriage is upheld.
North
Korea Still Plans Missile Test
North
Korea says technical problems have forced
them to extend the launch period for a controversial long-range rocket that
some say could reach the western US.
They now say it’ll be tested by December 29th, and the UN has told them
to call it off or face new sanctions.
However those sanctions didn’t do anything to dissuade them from testing
one earlier in the year.
RV Center in FLR Nation Stepping Up to Help for the Holidays
Speaking of RV’s, an RV center in Family Life Nation is
donating to a local homeless shelter this Christmas for every fan they get on
Facebook. Myers RV in Albuquerque is giving one-dollar to Joy
Junction for all the “likes” they get between now and December 21. Check it out at Facebook.com/MyersRV.
So… why Not Just Eat a Coconut?
I know you’ve been waiting for advancements in pineapple
technology. Scientists in Australia
say they’ve managed to create a new pineapple that tastes like coconut. They’re calling it “AusFestival” and say it’s
sweet, low acid, and very juicy.
Church Around the World
Christians Fear Worsening Conditions in Egypt
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi backed off his plan to
raise his authority above that of the nation’s judiciary, but that hasn’t
quelled the protests in Cairo. A blog shared by Open Doors USA from a
Christian inside Egypt says
many of them are afraid for their lives as sentiment among President Morsi’s
supporters is to apply Sharia law across the board – and turn Egypt into a radical Islamic
state. He goes on to say the nation is
deeply divided. At the same time, the
number of Coptic Christians leaving Egypt continues to grow.
Kazakhstan Churches Face Continuing Threats
Authorities in Kazakhstan are said to be using
intimidation and threats to try to prevent several churches there from
re-registering with the government.
Under their law, all churches must register every year, but members of
the Full Gospel
Church in Kazakhstan say officials from the
Department of Religion pressured them to remove their names from the
application, which was denied for lack of signatures. Members of God’s Victory Church
say they were harassed as well, and their application was denied when the
government added falsified information.
Family & Relationships
Keeping Kids Safe From Tobacco
How do the states stack up when it comes to protecting kids
from tobacco? A group of public health
organizations crunched the numbers, looking at how the states spent the money
from the big tobacco settlement back in 1998, and they ranked Alaska at the top of the list. They were the only state that spent more than
the government recommends. In Family
Life Nation, Florida
was best at number fourteen. New Mexico – 16; Arizona
– 18; California – 22; Michigan
– 42; Georgia
– 43.
Work
Seasonal Work-Ampers for Amazon
You’ve ordered the gift online and now you’re just praying
that it’ll get to your house by Christmas.
One of the ways that Amazon does it is through what they call
“Work-ampers” – temporary, seasonal workers who roam the country in Winnebagos,
stay at RV parks near Amazon distribution centers, and work for about
twelve-dollars an hour. Amazon has about
50,000 work-ampers, and pays the rent for them to stay at the RV parks.
Finances & Economy
Consumer Outlook Sours on Economy
The ongoing fiscal cliff talks appear to be cutting into our
sentiment, as Americans’ outlook on the economy has soured a bit in the first
part of December. An early look at the
Consumer Sentiment Index from Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan shows it
plunged from well over 82 all the way down to 74, it’s lowest level since
August. One in four people surveyed said
they’re worried about higher taxes.
Health
Should You Eat Less, But More Often, or ‘Three Squares?’
You may have heard that if you’re going to fight the battle
of the bulge, you should eat several small meals a day. That may not work after all. Researchers at the University of Missouri
now say just eating your three square meals a day is better. The study looked at how meal frequency
affects blood-sugar and blood-fat levels, and they found that people who eat
three times a day have significantly lower sugar and fat levels than those who
eat the same amount of calories, but spread it out over five or six smaller
meals.
Beware Holiday Sugar Shock
Have you had the time to make cookies with the kids or
grandkids yet? If that’s a tradition at
your house, the Vitamin Professor Doug Ingoldsby says be careful you don’t go
into sugar shock. He says, “You can always go for
anything in moderation because sugar really wreaks havoc on the system. They’re
actually thinking of putting a tax on sugar. Like they do with alcohol and
tobacco because of all the health problems sugar causes.” He does
suggest if you do get a sugar craving, mix a little fruit in instead of all the
cookies.
A Brain Broom?
It’s like a broom for your brain. Researchers at Eli Lilly say they’ve created
an antibody that sweeps away harmful brain plaque. This antibody uses the immune system to
target molecules that cause disease.
It’s used currently to help folks fend off Alzheimer’s, but this new
discovery may make it available to people who are already suffering from the
disease.
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