Top Stories

Happy Birthday to Now-Free Alabama Boy

We’d like to wish a happy birthday to Ethan today, the little Alabama boy that was freed on Monday after being held hostage for about a week.  After his release, Ethan was taken to a hospital to make sure he’s physically okay.  Doctors will surely be following up to make sure he and his family will have help with the mental and emotional issues from that experience.  Today, though, the family is glad to have him home for his sixth birthday.

Potential Federal Budget Cuts

If those big automatic cuts are allowed to happen to the Defense Department, it could directly eliminate one million jobs and have a ripple effect across the nation.  That’s according to a new analysis by USA Today.  Half of those cuts would be concentrated in about fifteen states.  And smaller contractors will be the hardest hit.  President Obama yesterday called for a handful of small cuts, but wants to put off larger cuts to allow Congress more time to craft a new budget.

Feds Sue S&P

The federal government is suing Standard and Poor’s over their 2007 ratings of sub-prime mortgages, which the Justice Department said helped lead to the housing collapse and the recession that followed.  S-and-P says the suit is “entirely without factual or legal merit” and not even the government predicted the housing collapse.

Killer of Former Navy Seal Had Previous Mental Issues

The suspect in the death of retired Navy Seal Chris Kyle had previously served time in a mental hospital.  Eddie Ray Routh is a 25 year old veteran from Lancaster, Texas.  He’d twice been evaluated in a psychiatric hospital for post traumatic stress disorder.  Kyle was, at one time, the nation’s most lethal sniper and author of the book “American Sniper.”  He and a friend had taken Routh to a gun range to try to help him deal with some of his stress issues.

Church Around the World

Persecution

China Aid is out with annual report on the situation for believers in China, and for the seventh year in a row they say persecution has increased.  In 2012, the Chinese government increased it targeting of house churches, with the intention of eradicating as many as possible.  The number of people sentenced for crimes relating to religious activities jumped 125-percent.  Even so, the church is standing firm.

Faith

Hobby Lobby Honored

You’ve heard a lot about Hobby Lobby lately because of their lawsuit over the HHS mandate in the president’s healthcare law.  Now their president is being honored with an award from the National Bible Association.  Steve Green is this year’s recipient of the John Templeton Biblical Values Award, which is given out every year in recognition of a business leader who exemplifies Biblical values in the marketplace.

Christian Content

Do you read a lot of Christian books? You can vote for your favorite. They come from smaller publishing houses. The books are evaluated by category.There are 12 categories. If you’d like to vote, click here.  

Family & Relationships

Pro-Life Bill in Arkansas

The House of Representatives in Arkansas has taken steps to protect life, passing a bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.  There would be exceptions for the life of the mother.  It’s now headed for the Senate.  Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe is said to be reviewing whether he would sign it.

Online Impact on Dating

The dating scene today is a whole lot different than it was 25 years ago.  That’s true of how people meet, but is it also true of what we look for in a potential date?  Yes, according to a new survey from www.Match.com. 38-percent said they would cancel a date based on something they found out doing research online.  Sadly, 42-percent in the survey said they would not consider dating someone who has kept themselves pure.  Oddly enough, the top four things that we judge others on are the same for men and women.  Teeth, grammar, clothes, and hair.

School Tax Credits

On the heels of School Choice week around the nation, folks in Arizona are blessed with a tax credit opportunity when they make that choice.  Nancy Lubeski with Faith Community Academy in Tucson: “it’s a program for anyone who pays state taxes to designate where they’d like a portion of their taxes to go. It’s based off their tax liability and there are limits on it.” It’s been pretty successful in Arizona, and now some other states are looking to use it as a blueprint for their own programs.

Finances & Economy

Wall Street

The see-saw continued on Wall Street yesterday.  After a big jump up Friday, and then down on Monday, the DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE was up almost 100 points on Tuesday, closing at 13,979.  United Health and Bank of America among the biggest gainers.  The S-and-P 500 was up 15 and the NASDAQ gained 40.

College Value

If Junior is heading to college this fall, there’s no doubt that you’re all about finding the best value.  Princeton Review is out with their list of the 150 Best Value Undergrad Colleges, and they say the key is screening.  The list is based on excellent academics of course, but also the total cost of attendance and available financial aid.  For example, some places have tens of thousands of dollars in grants that don’t have to be paid back.  There are even five schools on the list that show the average student, when they graduate, have zero debt.  Check out www.PrincetonReview.com for more.

Wasting Gas

I’m sure you’ve sat in traffic at least once and thought what a waste.  You’re right, not only of time but of money too.  A new study out of Texas A&M shows the amount of gas wasted in 2011 would fill the Superdome in New Orleans, where the Super Bowl was just played, four times!  That means each of us is burning about 818-dollars per year just sitting in traffic.

Health

Are You Healthy?

Baby boomers better get moving – and soon.  New research from the Heart and Stroke Foundation up in Canada shows that almost 80-percent of boomers there think their doctor would rate them as healthy – despite the fact they admit to not eating enough fruits & veggies or getting enough exercise.  More than half of those surveyed said they want to travel and be active when they retire, but had no idea that lifestyle changes now will make them healthier when that time comes.

End of Life Care

One of the reasons our health care system is so busy these days is that the baby boomers are getting older, and that has doctors looking harder at end of life care.  Dr. Howard Bauchner says more people are dying at home instead of a hospital: “Hospice use at the time of death in 2000 was 21.6%. That increased to 42.2 % in 2009. Health Care Transitions in the last three days of life, 10.3% in 2000, 2005 -12.4% & 14.2% in 2009.” More on that study in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.