CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY
A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries
News selected and edited by Ray Mossholder
Monday, January 6, 2014
AMERICA’S WEATHER IS FEELING MIGHTY LOW
Chilling, killing, dense, frigid air descended upon much of the U.S. early this Monday, prompting horrid wind chill warnings from Montana to Alabama. But it was the Midwest that was due to bear the brunt of the bone-cutting cold. Forecasts called for temperatures to drop to 32 below zero in Fargo, N.D.; minus 21 in Madison, Wis.; and between 15 and 50 degrees below zero in Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Chicago. The lowest temperature anywhere in America at 10 AMEastern time was 36 degrees below zero in Crane Lake, Minnesota. Wind chills — what it feels like outside when high winds are factored into the temperature — could drop into the minus 80s.
It hasn’t been this cold for almost two decades in many parts of the country. Frostbite and hypothermia can set in quickly at 15 to 30 below zero.
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard upgraded the city’s travel emergency level to “red,” making it illegal for anyone to drive except for emergencies or seeking shelter. The last time the city issued such a travel warning was during the 1978 blizzard.
For several Midwestern states, the bitter cold was adding to problems caused by a weekend snow storm. The National Weather Service said the snowfall at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport totaled more than 11 inches as of 6 p.m. Sunday – the most since the Feb. 2, 2011, storm that shut down the city’s famed Lake Shore Drive. More than 1,000 flights were canceled Sunday at airports throughout the Midwest including Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis.
Many cities came to a virtual standstill. In St. Louis, where more than 10 inches of snow fell, the Gateway Arch, St. Louis Art Museum and St. Louis Zoo were part of the seemingly endless list of things closed. Shopping malls and movie theaters closed, too. Even Hidden Valley Ski Resort, the region’s only ski area, shut down.
Southern states are bracing for possible record temperatures, too, with single-digit highs expected Tuesday in Georgia and Alabama. Temperatures are even expected to dip into the 30s in parts of Florida tomorrow.
It must be at 28 degrees or lower four hours straight for fruit to freeze badly. With two freezing nights ahead, Southern citrus farmers could lose any fruit they cannot pick in time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MOVIEGOERS “FROZEN”
Wouldn’t you know that America’s number one hit at its box offices this weekend would be a movie called Frozen?! Paramount’s latest, Paranormal Activity, has been iced out by Disney’s unstoppable animated film. Paramount is blaming the bitter cold for its movie’s bitter cold opening.
Disney’s Tangled was a huge hit, topping out at $200 million. But “Frozen” is making even that look bad, taking first place at the box office in its seventh week – an incredibly rare feat.
Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street is all about excess. From orgies on a plane to cocaine and cash, this highly advertised movie is one to avoid. It should be no surprise that Paramount’s R-rated film sets the all-time record for the use of the f-word. According to Wikipedia, that word is used 506 times during “The Wolf of Wall Street’s” 180-minute running time. Previously, the record for a non-documentary was Spike Lee’s 1999 film Summer of Sam with 435 instances.
The Wolf of Wall Street isn’t the first time Scorsese, 71, has wallowed in the profane. The Oscar-winning director has two other projects that a previously used that word to hellish levels - Casino (422) andGoodfellas (300).
BASKETBALL HALL OF FAMER CLAIMS THE LEADER OF
NORTH KOREA “ISN’T EVIL”
Despite criticism from U.S. Officials, basketball player Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea Monday with a team of former NBA players in tow including Vin Baker and Cliff Robinson, as part of the next step of his program of self labeled “basketball diplomacy.”
The U.S. players are to compete in an exhibition game against a North Korean team on Wednesday, the birthday of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.
Rodman told the Associated Press, “Do you know what? Not every country in the world is that bad, especially not North Korea.”
When a reporter from Sky News suggested to Rodman that he had a responsibility to raise the issue of human rights as the only American with such access to the North Korea leader, Rodman responded “That’s not my job. I am only doing one thing: this game is for my friend’s birthday. I don’t give a (expletive) if the whole world knows he’s my (expletive) friend, I love him.”
When asked if he was aware of the estimated 200,000 political prisoners in North Korea, Rodman answered “Are you aware that lots of people in America is locked up like that too?”
The defectors have repeatedly testified about the government’s alleged use of indiscriminate killings, rapes, beatings and prison camps holding as many as 120,000 people deemed opponents of authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un, the third generation of his family to rule. Last week Kim locked his military uncle and mentor, plus twelve other North Korean leaders in a cage and fed them to a pack of starving dogs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
POPE FRANCIS TO VISIT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
Pope Francis announced Sunday he plans to visit biblical sites in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories in May, only the fourth pope to visit the Christian Holy Land since biblical times.
Pope Francis plans to visit Amman, Jerusalem and Bethlehem from May 24 to 26, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s historic trip. He has been invited to visit by both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
This weekend the Pope also addressed same-sex marriage, saying Saturday that the Church should reevaluate the way it deals with children of divorced, gay couples.
“On an educational level, gay unions raise challenges for us today, which for us are sometimes difficult to understand,” Francis said in an address to the Catholic Union of Superiors General in November, Agence France-Presse reported.
But the Vatican clarified Sunday that Pope Francis’ comments did not signal an openness to same-sex marriages.
EGYPT’S PRESIDENT ATTENDS CHURCH
In a rare move, Egypt’s interim president visited the head of the country’s Coptic Orthodox Church. Pope Tawadros II and Adly Mansour met Sunday at St. Mark’s Cathedral, the papal seat in central Cairo.
The visit is considered highly symbolic and comes ahead of the Coptic Christmas which is celebrated Tuesday. About 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million people are Christian.
CHRISTIAN LIBRARY DESTROYED IN TRIPOLI
A Christian library in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli was intentionally burned down on Friday night after its owner, a Greek Orthodox priest, was falsely accused of writing an article insulting Islam and the prophet Mohammed.
Assailants set fire to the Saeh Library, destroying two-thirds of the collection of 80,000 books and manuscripts, the French news agency Agence France-Presse reported.
Father Ibrahim Surouj, a Greek Orthodox priest who owns the library In an interview on Lebanese television on Saturday, said he forgivesthose responsible and prays for peace in Tripoli, Ya Libnan reported.
Lebanon’s Daily Star reported “civil defense teams struggled to put out the flames which engulfed the bookstore,” calling the site “one of Lebanon’s most renowned libraries.”
Even Muslim leaders defended the priest against the accusation he had written an anti-Muslim article. Salafist Sheikh Salem al-Rafei told reporters, “I call on [security agencies] to prosecute those who incited, ordered and issued a fatwa in favor of the attack rather than the fervent boys who carried out the attack,” Rafei said.
Hundreds of Lebanese citizens demonstrated Saturday in Lebanon’s second largest city in support of the priest, while others volunteered to try to salvage books and rebuild the library.
THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE
Among the thousands of federal laws that went into effect January 1st, one law is aimed to make you change the way your light your house. The federal government is now banning the production of all incandescent lightbulbs.
Lighting manufacturer Osram Sylvania released a survey stating only 4 in 10 Americans are aware that both the 60W and 40W bulbs are phasing out.
Other lighting options like the compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), halogen, and LED (light emitting diode) reduce energy use up to 80 percent compared to the incandescent. The move is meant to promote more energy-efficient alternatives.
HOW TO GET RID OF EVIL SPIRITS?
Thousands of young men are plunging into icy rivers and lakes across Bulgaria to retrieve crucifixes cast by priests in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany.
By tradition, a crucifix is cast into the waters of a lake or river, and it is believed that the person who retrieves it will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The power for miracles is as close as your lips are to God.
Monday, January 6, 2014