The Obama administration responded to the Supreme Court’s striking down of the abortion mandate on religious employers by changing the rules to put the burden for abortion causing drugs onto insurance companies.
The HHS announced the changes on Friday for non-profit agencies.
“Under the interim final regulations, an eligible organization may notify the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in writing of its religious objection to contraception coverage,” it outlines. “HHS will then notify the insurer for an insured health plan, or the Department of Labor will notify the TPA for a self-insured plan, that the organization objects to providing contraception coverage and that the insurer or TPA is responsible for providing enrollees in the health plan separate no-cost payments for contraceptive services for as long as they remain enrolled in the health plan.”
The administration is currently considering whether to extend the plan to for-profit companies.
Those who were supporting Hobby Lobby and others who object to being forced by the government to pay for abortions via drugs say that the new rules do nothing to protect the rights of conscientious objectors.
“The government should not force religious organizations, family businesses, or individuals to be complicit in providing abortion pills to their employees or students,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Gregory S. Baylor. “We will consult with our clients to determine how the government’s actions affect their sincere objections to the mandate.”
The New Boston First Church of the Nazarene could be without a building for up to a year after a drunk driver crashed his truck through a wall.
“I was notified about this about four o’clock this morning,” Pastor Mike Percell told reporters. “We’re waiting on the state to come with structural engineers and insurance companies adjusters to decide what to do. Right now the (New Boston) Fire Department has condemned the sanctuary so we’re moving next door to the (New Boston) Community Building for our services starting Sunday. The rest of the building is intact – no problems.”
The Portsmouth-Daily Times said the accident happened around 3:15 a.m. Friday.
The driver, 21-year-old Samuel Gibson, reportedly tested .13 for blood alcohol level, well above the point for Operating a Vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The truck was reportedly traveling so fast that it went airborne before striking the church and landed on its roof.
Gibson and his passenger suffered only minor injuries and were treated and released from a local hospital.
Pastor Percell said the damage inside is more significant than outside because the walls and roof are now unstable.
Cartoon Network will be airing a show in its late night “adult swim” block that will feature a character who the show says is Jesus that smokes marijuana, swears and use the Lord’s name in vain.
The show is called “Black Jesus.”
The show will have the “Jesus” character living in Compton, California, participating in illegal activities with drug addicts and alcoholics and conducting other activities that mock Christians.
The character claims that he’s just about “spreading love and kindness” while participating in questionable activities.
Several groups including One Million Moms is calling for Christians to protest the show saying that the Christian faith should not be used as a source of derision in manners that would never be allowed on television for Muslims or Jews.
Supporters of the show’s creator Aaron McGruder say that the show is just satire and people need to develop a sense of humor.
Three New Mexico teenagers are in custody after they reportedly beat two homeless men to death and then went to one of the teen’s homes to hang out. Alex Rios, 18, and two boys aged 16 and 15 are being held on $5 million bail.
A third homeless man who survived the beating and was able to crawl to a nearby home for help identified the boys. He told police that one of the boys lived near the location of the attack.
Police found the boys hanging out at the home described by the victim. One of the boys hadn’t even bothered to clean the blood from the victims off his clothing.
Investigators say the two dead men were beaten so badly they’re having trouble making any kind of identification. An Arizona driver’s license was found at the site but there was no way to use it to make a facial comparison.
The criminal complaint says the 15-year-old was “very angry” over a breakup with a girlfriend so they went looking for someone to beat and rob.
“I personally, after reading that complaint, was sick to my stomach because of the nature of the violence and the age of the offenders,” police spokesman Simon Drobik said.
A California school district has been caught lying about a project that told students to see if the Holocaust was an actual historical event or “a propaganda tool.”
Rialto United School District came under fire in May when it was revealed that around 2,000 8th grade students were given the project that the school termed an “exercise in critical thinking.” The school tried to appease community members by stating that none of the students actually argued the Holocaust did not occur.
The Los Angeles Daily News did an investigation that showed the school lied to parents and the public.
“At least 50 essays (that) denied or doubted the Holocaust occurred,” the LADN reported. “Even many students who agreed the Holocaust occurred said there were good reasons to believe it had not or that elements of the historical record were actually hoaxes.”
Some of the student deniers wrote:
The Holocaust is “a profitable hoax made by the Jews to obtain land, money and power.”
“With the evidence that was given to me, it clearly was obvious” that the Holocaust never occurred “and I wouldn’t know why anyone would think otherwise.”
If the Nazis “would have even experimented these so called gas chambers the Nazis would have died also, so I do not believe in gas chambers.”
Even more disturbing than the comments of the students was praise from some teachers to the students who denied the Holocaust. One paper obtained by the Daily News had a comment to a denying student “You did well using the evidence to support your claim.”
Even with the school district being exposed as having deceived parents and the public, they are still not revealing who created the assignment or the educators who gave out the lesson. They also won’t say if any discipline has been taken against the teachers in question.
A makeshift tribute to a man who waited in ambush at a Walgreens in Jersey City, New Jersey to kill police officers is being called “tasteless” by Jersey City officials.
Lawrence Campbell, 27, walked into a Walgreens store and took the gun from a security guard. He told people in the store to leave and watch television because he was “going to be famous.” He then ambushed and killed a rookie officer before being shot by other police.
Now, neighborhood residents have set up a shrine to the cop killer outside the store, with messages like “see U on the other side” and “Thug in peace.”
Even the widow of the killer is showing little remorse for the incident, telling News 12 New Jersey that while she was sorry for the family of the slain officer, if her husband was going to be killed he should have killed more police officers before he died.
Jersey City officials condemned the display and tried to say it’s not representative of the neighborhood.
“I firmly believe that the people who made the ignorant comments on the TV and the people who put up a memorial to a cowardly murderer who shot somebody in the head without giving him a chance are not representative of the people who live up there,” Police Director James Shea said.
Officer Melvin Santiago, 23, graduated the police academy in December. He will be laid to rest on Friday.
A woman wearing a Burger King uniform shirt verbally and physically assaulted members of the pro-life organization Created Equal who were conducting an awareness event in Columbus, Ohio.
Victoria Duran was caught on video physically attacking a teenage boy who was an intern of the Created Equal group. She also used profanity filled rants and kicked down signs that were erected showing the development of a baby at 12 weeks.
“We understand the risk we take each time we go into the marketplace of ideas with a message as counter-cultural as showing the victims of abortion,” Created Equal Executive Director Mark Harrington told LifeNews, adding that “despite the threat we will not shrink back from representing the victims.”
Police arrived on the scene and removed Duran from a public bus to talk; she held out her arms telling the police “take me.”
Duran was questioned by a reporter from KSYX-TV who said she assaulted the pro-life group members and Duran responded by saying shoving them was not assault.
Police disagree and have charged Duran with assault and criminal damaging.
Credentialed pastors are being banned from ministering to the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants being kept at border patrol facilities in Texas and Arizona.
“Border Patrol told us pastors and churches are not allowed to visit,” said Kyle Coffin, the pastor of CrossRoads Church in Tucson, Arizona to Fox News’ Todd Starnes. “It’s pretty heartbreaking that they don’t let anybody in there — even credentialed pastors.”
A Border Patrol spokesman confirmed the surprising ban.
“Due to the unique operational and security challenges of the Nogales Placement Center, religious services provided by outside faith leaders are not possible at this time,” the Border Patrol told me in a statement. “However, CBP’s chaplaincy program is supporting the spiritual needs of the minors for the limited time they are at the center.”
Area churches are even prohibited from donating items like soccer balls or other recreational items for the children.
A counselor that worked at the Lackland Air Force base center said in their entire tenure at the facility not a single minister or chaplain was brought to the children.
The National Organization for Women, furious over the Hobby Lobby ruling and organizations that stand up against the Affordable Care Act’s mandate on abortion causing drugs, has released a list called the “Dirty 100” that includes a group of nuns.
The list, which consists of organizations that have filed lawsuits against the ACA, features the Little Sisters of the Poor as a “dirty” organization.
The Little Sisters of the Poor dedicates themselves to serving impoverished elderly people with “grace of hospitality toward the aged poor.” The group operates 200 homes on five continents and serves over 13,000 residents. The nuns who work in the order live communally and take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and hospitality.
The Little Sisters of the Poor were not the only groups that the National Organization for Women says are “dirty.” The list included Priests for Life, a pro-life group that also advocates against the death penalty and 12 Catholic dioceses.
NOW, one of the largest pro-abortion groups in the country, wants to see a significantly expanded mandate for contraception imposed on all businesses than what is in the Affordable Care Act.
A New York woman pushed her baby from a subway car onto a platform and then casually turned and got back on the train, leaving her child defenseless on the subway platform.
New York police arrested the woman about 12 hours later thanks to a tip from a person who passed the woman on the street and recognized her from security footage aired on local television news.
Police have not released the name of the woman and charges had not been flied as of Tuesday morning. Police sources say that the women attributed her abandoning of the child to not being able to handle the amount of care a child required.
The 6-month-old girl was taken to St. Luke’s hospital after she was found and determined to be in good health and condition. She’s currently in the care of the Administration for Children’s Services.
