Tag Archives: United States

American Doctor “Cleared” of Ebola Finds Virus In His Eye

An American doctor who had been treated in Atlanta for Ebola and declared free of the virus by his doctors has now been found to have the virus in his eye two months after his release.

Dr. Ian Crozier was experiencing horrific pain in his left eye according to the New York Times.  The pressure in his eye kept increasing while vision decreased and the hue of his eye changed from blue to green.

Tests showed the virus was still living in his eye.

“It felt almost personal that the virus could be in my eye without me knowing it,” Crozier said.

The 44-year-old doctor contracted the disease while working at a hospital in Sierra Leone.  The doctors at Emory University Hospital called Crozier “the sickest of all the four Ebola patients” who they had treated.

Emory University has updated the treatment protocols for victims of the virus.

“Following recovery from Ebola virus disease, patients should be followed for the development of eye symptoms including pain, redness, light sensitivity and blurred vision, which may be signs of uveitis,” said Steven Yeh, associate professor of ophthalmology at Emory University School of Medicine.

Emory said in a statement that they did not find the virus in tears and the outer membranes of the eyes.

“These findings have implications for the thousands of Ebola virus disease survivors in West Africa and also for health care providers who have been evacuated to their home countries for ongoing care,” Jay Varkey, assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine said. “Surveillance for the development of eye disease in the post-Ebola period is needed.”

President Obama Brings Attention To National Day of Prayer

President Obama spoke about Thursday’s National Day of Prayer, saying that when “women and men of all backgrounds and beliefs” can “practice their faiths without fear or coercion, it bolsters our religious communities and helps to lift up diverse and vibrant societies throughout our world.”

The President’s proclamation notes that when “we celebrate the religious liberty we cherish here at home, and we recommit to standing up for religious freedom around the world.”

“Millions of individuals worldwide are subjected to discrimination, abuse, and sanctioned violence simply for exercising their religion or choosing not to claim a faith. Communities are threatened with genocide and driven from their homelands because of who they are or how they pray,” continued the Obama in the emailed proclamation that was emailed to The Christian Post by the White House Press Office.

“The United States will continue to stand against these reprehensible attacks, work to end them, and protect religious freedom throughout the world. And we remember those who are prisoners of conscience — who are held unjustly because of their faiths or beliefs — and we will take every action within our power to secure their release.”

Organizers of the National Day of Prayer say there were an estimated 43,000 gatherings to mark the day and cry out for the future of the nation.

Pro-Life Groups Vow To Defy D.C. Hiring Mandate

Pro-life groups in the nation’s capital are vowing to defy the local government’s mandate that they cannot consider an applicant’s beliefs about abortion when hiring them.

“Despite the enactment of this unjust law, we will continue to hire employees who share our commitment to the dignity of every member of the human family. We will not abandon the purpose of our organizations in order to comply with this illegal and unjust law. We will vigorously resist any effort under RHNDA (Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act) to violate our constitutionally protected fundamental rights,” the groups said in a mutual statement.

The Act amended a D.C. discrimination law.  The law says that all employers may not consider “reproductive health decision making, including a decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service, because of or on the basis of an employer’s personal beliefs about such services.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom has stated they will use their resources to defend the religious rights of the groups against the government’s attempt to strip them of a part of their religious freedom.

“Pro-life organizations in our nation’s capital should not be forced to pay for abortions or hire those who oppose their pro-life beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Casey Mattox. “While the D.C. Council has retreated from this law’s original goal, which was to force pro-life organizations to pay for abortions in violation of their conscience, RHNDA remains an unnecessary and illegal attack on pro-life conscience that Congress must stop and that we will fight, if necessary, in the courts.”

Nashville Sex Club Claims To Be Church To Locate Near Christian School

A Nashville club that allows adults to come in and commit acts of adultery and other sexual sins claims it’s going to be using a new facility as a church to try and avoid city zoning laws that prohibit adult-oriented businesses within 1,000 feet of schools and churches.

The group, called The Social Club, recently purchased a former medical office next to the Goodpasture Christian School.  The leaders of the school and parents of the students who attend protested at a Metro Nashville Council meeting where an amendment to the bill was made that prohibits the club from opening.

The Christian school is less than 1,000 feet from the building as are two other churches.

The Club then submitted new paperwork to the city calling themselves the United Fellowship Center.  A former dance room is now called the “sanctuary.”  Other rooms that had sexually oriented names now are being called the “handbell rooms” or  “prayer rooms.”

“They can sue us and say they want an injunction to stop us from operating, and we can say we have some tenets of the church sort of like the Ten Commandments,” club attorney Larry Roberts told Washington Post.

Roberts also claims the head of the organization has become an ordained minister.

“As of right now, a church is a use that is allowed by right at this location under the zoning classification, and if it has passed all relevant codes then we will have to issue the use and occupancy letter,” city Zoning Administrator Bill Herbert told the Christian Post.

If the club is found not to be operating as a church after it is allowed to open, the Council would then have to take action to close the club.

ISIS Warning Claims Terror Cells In 15 States

A man who clams to be an “American jihadist” says Sunday’s terror attack in Texas was the work of ISIS and that “trained soldiers” are currently positioned in 15 states and planning more attacks.

The post on a file-sharing site was signed by Abu Ibrahim Al Ameriki, a man that intelligence sources admit joined a Pakistani terrorist group several years ago.  He has been seen in propaganda videos for ISIS in the past.

“Out of the 71 trained soldiers 23 have signed up for missions like Sunday, we are increasing in number,” read the warning. “Of the 15 states, 5 we will name… Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan.”

The posting appeared to claim the attack at the Draw the Prophet Muhammad contest in Texas was successful despite the fact the attackers were shot dead by security at the event before they could reach anyone actually involved in the event.

The terrorist group posted a video Tuesday night with clips of praise for the two jihadists who committed the attempted assault on the contest.

The attack in Texas seems to back up comments earlier this year from FBI head James Comey who said they had reports of radicalized Americans in 49 states.

“We are focused keenly on who would be looking to travel to join this band of murderers who will have come back from Iraq and Syria and to the United States,” Comey said in a speech to law enforcement officers in Mississippi. “We have opened cases all over the place focused on this threat, so it is not … a Washington thing – it is something we focus on throughout the FBI.”

Huckabee Officially Announces Run For President

Mike Huckabee made it official Tuesday.

Huckabee made his announcement in front of a crowd in Hope, Arkansas, where he was raised.  He said that he wanted to take America “from hope to higher ground.”

Huckabee was unashamed of his Christian upbringing and love for the Lord in his announcement.

“We prayed at the start of each day [in school], and we prayed again before lunch,” Huckabee recalled. “And I learned that this exceptional country could only be explained by the providence of almighty God.”

Huckabee said that Americans have generally lost their way morally and that government leaders have made judges their God rather than the Lord.

“We’ve lost our way morally,” he said. “We’ve witnessed the slaughter of over 55 million babies in the name of choice, and we are now threatening our religious liberty by criminalizing Christianity and demanding that we abandon biblical principals of natural marriage.”

“Many of our politicians have surrendered to the false god of judicial supremacy, which would allow black-robed and unelected judges the power to make law as well as enforce it,” Huckabee continued, “upending the equality of our three branches of government as well as the separation of powers so central to the Constitution.”

Huckabee said that the Supreme Court is not the Supreme Being.

“My friends, the Supreme Court is not the Supreme Being and they cannot overturn the laws of nature or of nature’s God,” Huckabee proclaimed, receiving applause.

Iowa Bird Flu Cases Hit 25

Four new cases of bird flu have been found in Iowa including one farm with 2.8 million laying hens.  Three of the new cases are at commercial turkey farms in Buena Vista and Cherokee Counties.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture says that 19.4 million birds will be destroyed because of the virus, although that estimate did not include the number birds from the commercial turkey farms.

The farms will be quarantined and all the turkeys destroyed according to officials.  Every flock within 6.2 miles of the infected farms will be quarantined and tested to see if the virus has spread beyond the four new infected locations.

Governor Terry Branstad has declared a state of emergency so that state agencies can take strong measures to stop the virus from continuing to spread.  Cherokee, Clay, Kossuth, Madison, O’Brien, Osceola, Pocahontas, Sac and Sioux counties have all been impacted by the virus.

Scientists speculate that migratory birds such as ducks and geese have spread the virus through their droppings on the farms.  Farm workers then unknowingly spread the virus through dust or bird feathers.

The risk to humans is considered low according to health officials.

The outbreak is also causing concern among grocers because there is only seven months to Thanksgiving and it’s possible the farms will not be able to meet the demand for turkeys on the holiday.  The cost of turkey could skyrocket because of short supply.

Lord, Hear Our Cry on National Day of Prayer

The 64th annual National Day of Prayer has thousands of Christian leaders across the nation asking “Lord, hear our cry!”

The cry, from 1 Kings 8:28, is the focus verse for the event.

“Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day,” – 1 Kings 8:28 (ESV)

“We are anticipating the largest day of prayer from coast to coast with more than 43,000 prayer gatherings,” John Bornschein, vice chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force and an executive member of the National Prayer Committee, told The Christian Post.

“This coming year marks the 64th anniversary of this important day and we fully expect that the president will sign a proclamation as well as all 50 state governors. Already nearly 40 proclamations have been received and counting.”

The National Day of Prayer began in 1952 as an act of Congress and has stood despite the actions of anti-religion organizations and others to have a court order it unconstitutional.

“The Almighty is waiting for Americans to turn back to Him in a posture of prayer and repentance. May we, this day, determine to surrender our ways to Him, giving God the honor He deserves so that, as Psalm 85 states, ‘His glory may dwell in our land,'” said Bornschein.

The National Day of Prayer is this Thursday, May 7th.

Minority of Americans Believe The President Strongly Supports Israel

A new survey shows that a majority of Americans believe the President of the United States should be a “strong supporter” of the nation of Israel, but only a minority believe the current President is a supporter.

The poll by Quinnipiac University said that 2 in 3 Americans believe that the President should be strongly supportive of Israel.  Only 20 percent said that the President should not be a supporter of the country.

Only 48% believe that President Obama is a strong supporter, although that is up from 42% from the poll taken in 2010.  The poll of 1,353 eligible voters ran from April 16th to the 21st.

The poll showed that younger demographics were less likely to believe the President should be a supporter of Israel.  Those over 55 had a 77% response rate to support for Israel to only 57% of those 18-34.

The political parties also showed a difference, with 87% of Republicans believing the President should be a strong supporter while only 56% of Democrats shared that view.

The poll also queried the voters about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  The PM had a 38% favorable rating, 22% unfavorable and the remaining 37% said they did not know enough about him to make an opinion.  He was supported by 68% of Republicans in the poll and only 14% of Democrats.

The poll also showed that 62% do not believe the currently proposed deal with Iran over nuclear weapons would stop them from eventually developing a nuclear bomb.

Huckabee: Christianity Is Almost Criminalized

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee spoke to a group of Hispanic evangelicals in Texas and said that Christians are seeing their beliefs criminalized.

“We are living in perilous times where people who are Christian are on the brink of being criminalized for their convictions,” stated Huckabee.

“You are told that if you continue to hold to your Christian witness and belief that you ought to be put out of business, that you are going to be fined, you are going to be punished.”

He also emphasized his belief that the nation of Israel needs to have our full support and that there is no other way to believe than pro-life because “there is no such thing as a disposable person.”

Huckabee was speaking to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference in Houston.  He was one of several speakers to talk about their faith to the group of over 1,000 attendees that included former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

“There is no more powerful or liberating influence on this earth than the Christian conscience in action and today in America it is important to respect and to protect Christians acting on their faith,” said Bush.

“Not just talking about their faith, but there is a constitutional right and more importantly for a loving society Christians need to have the space to be able to act on their conscience.”