The 63rd annual National Day of Prayer took place on May 1st.
Over 40,000 events were scheduled to take place nationwide over the court of the day including many at local and national government buildings. While government officials do not officially sponsor the events, many were in attendance at various events.
The theme for this year’s event was “One Voice, United in Prayer.”
“With our nation divided on so many issues, many wonder how Americans can come together with one mind and one voice,” said Shirley Dobson, chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.
The 25th annual U.S. Capitol Bible reading marathon where every word of the Bible is read aloud from the steps of the capitol building preceded the prayer in Washington, D.C.. The reading completes during the National Day of Prayer.
Fox is reportedly developing a series based on the life of Jesus from age 13 to 30.
The show, called “Nazareth”, is one of a series of Biblical related programs that are being placed into production after the success of the “The Bible” miniseries and the movie releases “Son of God”, “God’s Not Dead” and “Heaven Is For Real.”
David Franzoni, who helped produce “Gladiator and Amistad”, is developing “Nazareth”. The show is the first in a production deal that Landscape Entertainment signed with Fox to create and develop event programming.
Lifetime Network has been developing a series called “The One” about Jesus growing up and realizing he is the Son of God. NBC is in production for “A.D.: Beyond the Bible”, a sequel to the Bible miniseries. National Geographic is working on “Killing Jesus”, a mini-series based on the book by Bill O’Reilly.
Deadspin is reporting that WGN America is considering production of a 10-part mini-series based on the Ten Commandments.
The virulent anti-Christian Freedom From Religion Foundation is attacking the 2013 National Baseball Coach of the Year because he would lead his team in a prayer before they took the field.
Larry Turner of Owasso High School teaches his baseball players to do more than just play the game. The team also visits war veterans in hospitals and teaches the sport to children who want to compete in the Special Olympics.
Now, the aggressive anti-Christian FFRF says a “concerned citizen” filed a complaint with them over the coach leading the team in prayer. The Freedom From Religion Foundation routinely files complaints all over the country where it is not located on behalf of anonymous people they do not provide evidence of truly existing.
The group did say in their letter they have no actual evidence of the coach leading the prayers, just the allegations of an unnamed source.
The anti-Christian group has been focusing this year on high school coaches who may lead or participate in prayers with their teams before games.
The school has not yet responded to the demands of the FFRF.
A major Supreme Court decision is going to be heard Tuesday regarding the Constitutionality of police searching cell phones when someone is arrested.
Multiple court cases have resulted in differing decisions in lower courts requiring the Supreme Court’s involvement. Supporters of law enforcement say that a cell phone is no different than anything found in the pockets of a suspect when arrested and police should be able to look through it.
However, privacy advocates say that today’s smartphones are similar to computers in their operation and memory storage. Police without a warrant cannot search computers and privacy advocates say cell phones should gain the same protection.
A criminal law specialist with New York University School of Law said that the cases will put to the test laws that were written before anyone would have known about the digital age.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling by June.
A tornadic storm system that killed 18 people across Arkansas, Oklahoma and Iowa Sunday killed an additional 11 people in the deep south on Monday.
Officials say that the storm also left tens of thousands without power from Kentucky through Georgia.
Massive damage was reported in Tupelo, Mississippi when a twister carved a two-mile long path that destroyed all the buildings in its path. Officials estimate the tornado was likely an EF-3 but final determinations will have to be made by the National Weather Service.
Another twister struck Louisville, MS, 90 miles northeast of Jackson, MS. The Winston Medical Center in the city sustained tornado damage and patients in the area have to be triaged on the ground.
States of emergency were put in place for Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
A virus fatal to pigs is running rampant in the U.S. pig population is causing massive deaths and driving up the prices of pork to record levels.
The PEDv virus has wiped out the entire piglet populations of farms throughout the country. Agriculture officials in Oklahoma reported that one farm lost over 30,000 piglets from a PEDv outbreak.
Scientists say they have been unable to determine the origin of the outbreak.
The USDA reports that 7 million pigs nationwide have died from the virus. The outbreak began in Ohio according to the USDA and is now reported in at least 30 states. The nation’s hog herd has fallen to 63 million nationwide.
The virus is very virulent. One researcher said that one tablespoon of virus infected manure would be enough to infect the entire U.S. pig population.
A group of filmmakers attempting to raise $2.1 million on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo for a movie about abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell say they are about $700,000 short with 16 days to go in the campaign.
The original fundraising was planned for the more well-known Kickstarter site until it was removed because Kickstarter objected to the anti-abortion content of the film.
The filmmakers say it’s important to get the film made because Hollywood is doing all it can to ignore the truth of situations like the House of Horrors in West Philadelphia where convicted murderer Gosnell killed thousands of babies.
“Thousands of people died in Philadelphia,” filmmaker Ann McElhinney told the Christian Post. “Those people were born alive and were viable; and they struggled for life and died a painful death, and they shouldn’t be forgotten.”
The filmmakers say that they’ve spoken to thousands of people about the film and they have no idea who Gosnell is because the major media outlets provided very little coverage of his murder trial.
A researcher with the Family Research Council says that euthanasia is going to be an issue that the pro-life movement in the United States needs to be prepared to fight.
Arina Grossu of the FRC’s Center for Human Diginity told the Christian Post that euthanasia both at home and around the world is something that is a matter of life and that it should get more attention.
“In the pro-life movement, we’re for all human life from conception to natural death. And so we need to cover that, and especially because I think it is an up-and-coming fight for us,” Grossu said. “I think that as more cases come out where parents are trying to kill their children, or the elderly or the disabled, and we see the shortage in federal funds for healthcare, we are going to see the effect of this. And we’re going to step in. But I am hoping that people will take a proactive stance instead of a defensive stance on the issue.”
Grossu noted that in Oregon, their report for assisted suicides each year cannot guarantee that all of the assisted suicide deaths were voluntary.
She also noted that around the world, euthanasia is increasing. In February, Belgium passed a law that allows the assisted suicides of terminally ill children.
Experts say that the catastrophic destruction of an electromagnetic pulse attack on the nation could be prevented but that most non-military groups and citizens are not ready.
The executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security says that technology to avoid losing power and electronics from electromagnetic pulse exists and that it’s financially viable to upgrade the nation’s power grid for this protection.
“The problem is not the technology,” Peter Pry told Fox News. “We know how to protect against it. It’s not the money, it doesn’t cost that much. The problem is the politics. It always seems to be the politics that gets in the way.”
Pry said the total cost to upgrade the entire nation is less than what is given in foreign aid to Pakistan each year.
The worst case scenario estimated from a 2011 study on the impact of an EMP on the electric grid would be 500,000 dead within the first few minutes.
An Easter Prayer Breakfast was held at the White House Monday.
Invitations to the breakfast were sent to members of various denominations. The President addressed the crowd to speak about Christ and His love.
“We’re reminded how He loves us, so deeply, that He gave his only begotten Son so that we might live through Him. And in these Holy Days, we recall all that Jesus endured for us – the scorn of the crowds and the pain of the crucifixion, in our Christian religious tradition we celebrate the glory of the Resurrection – all so that we might be forgiven of our sins and granted everlasting life,” President Obama said.
The President also used the occasion to speak about the tragedy at Jewish community centers in Overland Park, Kansas, saying that nobody should have to worry about their security when gathering for worship.
The President then encouraged the Christians in attendance to not “remain on the sidelines.”
“I want to thank you for your ministries, for your good works, for the marching you do for justice and dignity and inclusion, for the ministries that all of you attend to and have helped organize throughout your communities each and every day to feed the hungry and house the homeless and educate children who so desperately need an education,” the President said. “You have made a difference in so many different ways, not only here in the United States but overseas as well.”