SARS-like coronavirus spreads from China to Japan as epidemic fears grow

Anders Anglesey – January 16, 2020

Japanese officials have confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus in the country as epidemic fears grow.

A government official said today that a Japanese man in his 30s, who travelled to Wuhan in eastern China, tested positive for the virus.

The SARS-like virus has struck down dozens in China since the outbreak was first recorded in December.

It is believed an outbreak of pneumonia caused the fresh coronavirus strain.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned the virus could spread further and has told hospitals across the world to be alert.

Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of the WHO’s emerging diseases unit, said: “From the information that we have it is possible that there is limited human-to-human transmission, potentially among families, but it is very clear right now that we have no sustained human-to-human transmission.

She added: “It is still early days, we don’t have a clear clinical picture.”

Coronaviruses are infections that can cause colds to more-serious illnesses like SARS.

In all, 41 cases of pneumonia have been reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, which preliminary lab tests cited by state media showed could be from a new type of coronavirus.

One of the patients has died, a 61-year-old man who had bought goods from a wholesale seafood market in Wuhan.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk

Watchlist: 260 million Christians persecuted in 50 worst nations

WND Staff – January 16, 2020

More than 300 million Christians suffer high or extreme levels of persecution around the globe today, mostly in Muslim-majority nations, according to the new World Watch list by the organization Open Doors.

“The church is alive. The church is active. The church is growing. And that’s why the church is persecuted,” says Open Doors in its 2020 report. “The persecution of Christians is getting more severe than ever, affecting increasing numbers of believers around the world.”

In the top 50 countries on the World Watch List, a staggering 260 million Christians face high or extreme levels of persecution for their faith.

In the previous year, it was 245 million.

Open Doors estimates another 50 million Christians face high levels of persecution in a further 23 countries, including Mexico, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The worst offending country is the communist nation North Korea, followed by Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Sudan, Yemen, Iran and India.

Syria, where Christians have been caught in the crossfire of a years-long civil war, is No. 11.

“Of the top 50, 45 countries have been designated ‘extreme’ or ‘very high,’ in terms of the levels of persecution Christians face,”  says Open Doors. “That’s five more than last year.”

Nearly 3,000 Christians were murdered for their faith from Nov. 1, 2018, to Oct. 13, 2019.

https://www.wnd.com

Supreme Court Allows Muslims to Build Mosque on Temple Mount

David Sidman– January 13, 2020

As if the massive Al-Aksa Mosque wasn’t enough, Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected a petition by the Regavim movement to prevent the construction of a mosque at the Gate of Mercy on the Temple Mount reports 0404. The court claimed that they “don’t get involved” in these types of disputes unless it is regarding “extreme circumstances”.

This is not the first time that the Muslim Waqf has illegally built structures at the expense of ancient relics on the Temple Mount that they eventually converted into mosques. In the past, the Waqf has done the same type of thing at Solomon’s Stables as well and the Huldah Gates.

The Regavim movement appealed to the Supreme Court stressing that the state itself allowed this to happen despite the fact that “the Waqf Council as well as Hamas operatives illegally broke into the compound and operated hostile activities” from there and asked for a court order to close the compound but the state didn’t enact any such measure.

Regavim responded to the decision saying: “Regarding basic laws of human dignity, the Supreme Court has nullified laws passed by the legislative branch. They have nullified the law of ‘Welcoming Committees’ which destroyed flourishing Jewish towns because they would not allow any sort of discrimination in Israel. But when there is discrimination of human dignity on a daily basis against Jews on the Temple Mount, that’s fine as far as they’re concerned.  This time, the Supreme Court has decided not to be activists, has abandoned the Jewish right to worship in their holiest place.”

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com

California Lawmakers Kill Ban on ‘Intersex’ Surgery for Young Children

Dr. Susan Berry – January 14, 2020

Lawmakers in California have killed a bill that would ban most surgeries on “intersex” infants and young children – those born with ambiguous sex characteristics.

The measure would have prohibited surgeries on children, aged six and under, born with sex characteristics that cannot easily be categorized as “male” or “female,” unless the Medical Board of California determined they were medically necessary.

A majority of state lawmakers – three Democrats and one Republican on the state Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee, voted to reject the bill, proposed by Democrat State Sen. Scott Wiener, that would have banned most of the intersex procedures, reported the Associated Press (AP).

Wiener claimed the bill addresses a civil rights issue and seeks to “ensure that people who are born intersex are able to make their own choices about their health and their gender identity instead of having other people make those irreversible surgical choices for them.”

However, as AP reported, a majority of committee members considered the measure’s definition of “intersex” to be overly broad.

The committee heard the testimony of Dr. Hillary Copp, a pediatric urologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who said she opposed the bill because it would remove “all flexibility for trained medical professionals and their [sic] loved ones to do what is in the best interest of the patient.”

The committee voted to reject the legislation following a public hearing that featured testimony on both sides of the issue.

https://www.breitbart.com

US Warship Faces Aggressive Moves by Russia Ship in Mideast

Newsmax – January 10, 2020

An American warship was “aggressively approached” by a Russian Navy ship in the North Arabian Sea, the U.S. Navy said Friday.

Navy Cmdr. Josh Frey, spokesman for U.S. 5th Fleet, said that the USS Farragut was conducting routine operations Thursday and sounded five short blasts to warn the Russian ship of a possible collision. He said the USS Farragut, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, asked the Russian ship to change course and the ship initially refused but ultimately moved away.

Even though the Russian ship moved away, Frey said the delay in shifting course “increased the risk of collision.”

https://www.newsmax.com

Retail Apocalypse Surges Into 2020: No End In Sight

Mac Slavo – January 9, 2020

The retail apocalypse was particularly bad in 2019, and only days into 2020, Macy’s has announced it’ll begin closing stores, following a trend in the industry.  Macy’s will close a minimum of 28 stores, and one Bloomingdale’s as problems in retail continue.

With consumer spending so high, it’s hard to imagine a reason for store closures.  “We regularly review our store portfolio and will provide an update at our Investor Day on February 5th,” the company said in a statement sent to USA TODAY.

Clearance sales will begin this month and run for eight to 12 weeks, Macy’s Media Relations Manager Julianne Bartosz said in an email to TCPalm.com, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, about the Macy’s in the Indian River Mall in Vero Beach, Florida.  Most other locations to be shuttered have not yet been disclosed.  Officials also steered clear of an exact number of closings, say there would be a “minimum of 28 stores” permanently closed.

Among the government and Federal Reserve’s insistence that consumers are spending money, Macy’s reported a drop in holiday sales. Macy’s November and December sales results Wednesday, which showed holiday sales did not meet the expectations. “Macy’s, Inc.’s performance during the holiday season reflected a strong trend improvement from the third quarter,” CEO Jeff Gennette said in a news release. “Additionally, customers responded to our gifting assortment and marketing strategy, particularly in the 10 days before Christmas.”

https://www.shtfplan.com

Over 1000 Earthquakes Have Hit Puerto Rico, And Authorities Say It Is Being “Squeezed” Between Two Tectonic Plates

– January 8, 2020

The nightmarish earthquake swarm that has been rattling Puerto Rico since last month continues to make headlines all over the world.  Homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and historic structures all over the main island of Puerto Rico have crumbled, and many residents are deeply afraid of using many of the buildings that remain standing because they are afraid that they could literally collapse at any moment.  We haven’t seen this sort of shaking in the region in more than a century, and as you will see below, experts are telling us that more quakes are coming.

Traditionally, Puerto Rico has not been known for heavy seismic activity.  But now that could be changing.  According to CNN, there have been more than 500 quakes “of magnitude 2 or greater” since December 28th…

Since December 28, more than 500 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or greater have rattled the area, according to the US Geological Survey. Many of them were relatively shallow, which means they were likely felt on land.

Of the hundreds of earthquakes, 32 were magnitude 4 and above, including the ones Monday and Tuesday.

And overall, there have been “more than a thousand quakes” of all sizes since this earthquake swarm first started in December…

Since the tremors began last month, Puerto Rico has experienced more than a thousand quakes, most of them too small to feel.

The mainstream media really began to take notice when the main island of Puerto Rico was hit by a magnitude 4.7 earthquake on December 28th, and that was quickly followed by a magnitude 5.0 quake.

Then just a few days ago we witnessed a magnitude 5.8 quake, a magnitude 6.4 quake and a magnitude 6.0 quake in rapid succession.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

US on track for one of the worst flu seasons in decades

Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield – January 6, 2020

(CNN)This flu season is shaping up to be one of the worst in decades, according to the United States’ top infectious disease doctor.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said while it’s impossible to predict how the flu will play out, the season so far is on track to be as severe as the 2017-2018 flu season, which was the deadliest in more than four decades, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The initial indicators indicate this is not going to be a good season — this is going to be a bad season,” Fauci said.

So far this flu season, at least 2,900 people in the US are estimated to have died of the flu, according to data released Friday by the CDC. That’s 800 more deaths than estimated the previous week.

Flu cases and hospitalizations because of the flu have also risen sharply since the season began in October. CDC estimates there have been at least 6.4 million flu illnesses and 55,000 hospitalizations.

https://www.cnn.com

Rutgers student told not to quote Bible in essay because of ‘separation of church and state’

Joshua Aminov – January 2, 2010

After quoting a popular Bible verse to back up his assertion about the tenets of Christianity in his college essay, a student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick says he was told to avoid quoting Bible verses in academic papers because of the “separation of church and state” and the potential to offend non-Christians.

Political science student and Campus Reform correspondent Peter Cordi was assigned an autobiographical paper in his “Intro to Gender, Race, and Sexuality” class last semester. In his paper, Cordi referenced a personal friend of his who struggles with his own homosexual identity, especially given the views of the individual’s mother. Cordi wrote about how his friend’s mother cites her Christain religion and beliefs to justify her opinion of people who identify as gay.

Cordi is a Christain who disagrees with his friends’ mother’s views toward members of the LGBT community and quoted scripture from the Bible to support his position. Cordi quoted the popular verse John 3:16 from the Bible: “For God so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

In grading Cordi’s paper, Professor Kathe Sandler included her remarks next to Cordi’s use of the quote, telling the student that his use of a quote from the Bible was inappropriate.

https://campusreform.org

Planned Parenthood Murdered Record Number of Unborn Babies in 2018-2019 While Receiving $616 Million in Taxpayer Funds

– January 7, 2020

WASHINGTON — The abortion and contraception giant Planned Parenthood has released its annual report, which shows that the organization performed a record number of abortions during the 2018-2019 fiscal year, as 345,672 babies were murdered in their mother’s womb, up 12,915 from the year prior and up 24,288 from two years ago. Government funding was also at a record high, as Planned Parenthood received over $616 million in reimbursements and grants.

“Patients come to Planned Parenthood to make decisions over their own bodies and lives so they can actualize their dreams, and our health centers give them the tools to do it,” the organization wrote in its report. “As we step forward to meet new [legislative] challenges, we will continue to care — no matter what — so that every person can dream beyond what they are told is possible.”

The number of abortions equates to 947 a day, as the deaths of unborn children continue to climb with each passing year — an estimated 60 million children and counting since the 1973 Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade.

According to online data, Planned Parenthood performed 4,988 abortions in 1973, 85,207 in 1983, 134,251 in 1993, 236,500 in 2003, and 327,166 in 2013.

https://christiannews.net