A decency group has a request for Congress

A decency group has a request for Congress

VERBATIM:  The Parents Television and Media Council wants lawmakers to protect America’s children from the potential harms of Artificial Intelligence.  There are already several AI products on the market that critics say can harm children with everything from bad advice to inappropriate conversations  PTMC spokesman Melissa Henson says “Congress should pass the Kids Online Safety Act to hold tech accountable for designing their products to prioritize child safety.”  MH SRN NEWS

A lot of Americans are depressed

A lot of Americans are depressed

VERBATIM:  According to the latest Gallup Poll, 18% of adults say they are suffering from or being treated for depression.  That’s up eight points from 10 years ago — the first time Gallup started asking the question.  And who is most likely to be depressed?  Young people.  The poll reveals that 27% of those who are under the age of 30 are also struggling with depression.  These trends match the country’s move away from religious faith.  MH SRNN NEWS

The government abandons fetal tissue research

The government abandons fetal tissue research

VERBATIM:  Breitbart News has learned that under orders from President Trump, the National Institutes of Health is cutting off funding for 17 separate projects that involve the use of tissue from aborted babies.  A majority of those research programs were initiated during the Biden administration.  NIH tells Breitbart “We are guided by a commitment to valuing human life and ensuring that federally funded research is conducted responsibly.”  MH SRN NEWS

Jews around the world are counting down to the High Holy Days

Jews around the world are counting down to the High Holy Days

VERBATIM:  Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, will be celebrated from September 22nd through the 24th.  It will be followed by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on October 2nd.  These are tough times for Jews.  Anti-Semitism has been on the rise for some time around the globe and the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel turbo-charged it.  In Israel, the war with Hamas in Gaza drags on.  All this will color the Holy Day celebrations this year.  MH SRN NEWS

Can Christians disagree about President Trump?

Can Christians disagree about President Trump?

VERBATIM:  Evangelicals are one of Mr. Trump’s key blocks of support, but not every Christian in America voted for him.  And a new poll from the Pew Research Center finds that most believers don’t have any problem with that.  The survey reveals that 80% of self-described Christians say that followers of Christ CAN disagree about the president.  11% say opposing him is fundamental to being a Christian while 7% say SUPPORTING him is fundamental.  MH SRNN NEWS

A new map of where faith is declining

A new map of where faith is declining

A closer look at non-believers

A closer look at non-believers

VERBATIM:  It comes from the Pew Research Center and it focuses on the nones — who answer NONE when asked about their religious faith.  It’s the fastest growing cohort in many nations — including the U.S. — but the Pew survey finds that most nones are NOT atheists.   In this country, nearly HALF of the religiously unaffiliated DO believe in God, as do majorities of that group in Latin America.  Large percentages also believe in an afterlife.  MH SRN NEWS

Another lawsuit over transgenderism

Another lawsuit over transgenderism

VERBATIM:  Three female athletes at Jurupa Valley High School in California have filed suit against the state over its policy of allowing males to compete against females.  Advocates for Faith and Freedom is representing the girls and Chief Counsel Robert Tyler says ““Our daughters are being denied fair play and subjected to sexual harassment all because California insists on putting radical gender ideology ahead of common sense and safety.”  MH SRN NEWS

More bad news on the U.S. fertility rate

More bad news on the U.S. fertility rate

A new poll about God and politics

A new poll about God and politics

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center has been asking Americans if they think the Almighty takes a hand on Election Day.  When considering the 2024 presidential election specifically, 49% of respondents say they do NOT believe that God was involved.  32% think President Trump’s victory is part of God’s plan but that doesn’t mean that He approves of all of Mr. Trump’s policies.  Those percentages were about the same in 2020.  MH SRN NEWS

Another medical facility gets out of the transgender business

Another medical facility gets out of the transgender business

VERBATIM:  Multicare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Washington will no longer give kids puberty-blocking drugs to help them live as the opposite sex.  The hospital does not and will not perform sex-change operations on children either.  Mary Bridge is just the latest in a growing group of medical facilities that are quitting transgenderism under threat from President Trump, who says he will take away their federal funding if they don’t stop.  MH SRN NEWS

The new pope is following in the footsteps of the old pope

The new pope is following in the footsteps of the old pope

VERBATIM:  Conservative Catholics are outraged at the decision by Leo the 14th to name Roman museum director Christiana Perella the new president of the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts.  She is well known for publishing homoerotic and sadomasochistic works that it would be inappropriate to describe here.  The academy she will lead was established 500 years ago by the Vatican to promote Christianity through the visual arts, music and literature.  MHN SRN NEWS

The U.K. held its annual March For Life

The annual U.K. March For Life took place over the weekend

VERBATIM:  About 10,000 people turned out in London to voice their support for the unborn, and while it’s a fraction of the 100,000 that might show up for the March For Life here in the U.S — it’s still a significant number.  Abortion and euthanasia are being expanded by lawmakers in the United Kingdom and pro-life advocates say it’s more important than ever that pro-lifers make their voices heard.  The law now forbids even silent prayer outside of abortion clinics.  MH SRN NEWS

A religious freedom battle in Massachusetts

A religious freedom battle in Massachusetts

VERBATIM:  A Christian couple has filed suit against the state because they are being barred from serving as foster parents.  In Massachusetts all prospective foster moms and dads must vow to let the children in their care live as the opposite sex if they wish to.  Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the couple and says “ Massachusetts is putting its ideological agenda ahead of the needs of suffering kids.”  MH SRN NEWS

A pro-abortion offensive is underway in Europe

A pro-abortion offensive is underway in Europe

VERBATIM:  The campaign, which has taken the name “My Voice, My Choice”, has delivered a petition bearing one million signatures to the EU, demanding public funding of abortions.  In fact, Europe is almost totally pro-abortion, with protections for the unborn to be found in just a few countries such as Malta and Poland.  And the EU regularly pressures these few pro-life states to change their laws and allow women to terminate their pregnancies.  MH SRNN NEWS

Young people are going to church

Young people are going to church

VERBATIM:  A new poll from the Barna Group finds that for the first time in decades, members of Generation Z and Millenials are actually attending worship services in higher percentages than their elders.  Both cohorts are going to church about twice a month on average — which is MUCH more often than at any time since the two generations came on the scene.  Barna says “Younger adults are showing spiritual curiosity and a desire for belonging.”  MH SRN NEWS

The Pew Research Center is studying religious decline

The Pew Research Center is studying religious decline

VERBATIM:  And it reports that the first step in a country’s turn toward being more secular is when people stop going to church.  A new paper published in the journal Nature Communications — using Pew data — indicates that when worship service attendance drops, it eventually leads to people deciding that faith is less important in their lives and finally it leads to the abandonment of religion altogether.  Here in the U.S., church attendance has been declining for decades.  MH SRNN NEWS

Americans are coming up with their own concepts of justice

Americans are coming up with their own concepts of justice

VERBATIM:  A new poll from Orrick finds that 65% of potential jurors in this country “are willing to take matters into their own hands when the law does not support their idea of justice”.  Other polls indicate that a high percentage of U.S. adults have a dim view of the justice system and some counties are alarmed by the number of people who ignore jury summons.  There are numerous passages in the Bible that command people to deliver righteous judgement.  MH SRN NEWS

A vaccination bill has been introduced in Congress

A vaccination bill has been introduced in Congress

VERBATIM:  The legislation would bar federal funding to any school system in the country that refuses to grant religious exemptions to vaccination requirements.  Republican Congressman Greg Steube of Florida introduced the measure, saying “No student or their family should ever be coerced into sacrificing their faith or jumping through loopholes to comply with a vaccine requirement. The GRACE Act reaffirms our country’s commitment to protecting religious freedom.  MH SRN NEWS

A warning about gambling

A warning about gambling

VERBATIM:  The NFL season kicks off this week and over the course of the season, BILLIONS of dollars will be wagered and lost now that most states have legalized sports betting.  The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is urging Americans NOT to gamble.  It’s also telling pastors that they need to speak out against gaming from the pulpit and prepare to help the problem gamblers that will likely begin to crop up in their communities.  MH SRN NEWS

A missionary is freed in Haiti

A missionary is freed in Haiti

VERBATIM:  Gena Heraty, who is from Ireland, was kidnapped last month by members of the country’s numerous criminal gangs who are always looking for ransom money.  Now comes word that Heraty has been released.  She had been working at an orphanage near Port au Prince and her abduction sparked international outrage.  Many Christian missionaries work in Haiti but the country has become increasingly lawless and dangerous in recent years.

Another Christian appeals to the Supreme Court

Another Christian appeals to the Supreme Court

VERBATIM:  Cathy Miller owns a bakery in Bakersfield, California and she doesn’t want to make cakes for gay weddings.  The state says she has to and has kept her in court for eight years.  Now Miller is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of securing her rights.  Given some of the high court’s recent rulings, she should have high hopes.  In 2023 the justices decided in favor of a Christian web designer who also did not want to work on LGBT weddings.  MH SRN NEWS

Is America getting more rude?

Is America getting more rude?

VERBATIM:  A lot of people think so.  According to a Pew Research Center poll, 47% of adults say unkind behavior is on the rise in the country — 44% say it’s about as bad as it’s always been.  And what behaviors bug people the most?  The Pew study finds Americans are most unhappy with people who curse out loud in public places, wear clothing with obscenities on it, blast loud music, bring their dog to the office or smoke around others.  MH SRN NEWS

Another man is accused of using abortion pills to kill an unborn baby

Another man is accused of using abortion pills to kill an unborn baby

VERBATIM: Lawmen in Illinois have arrested Emerson Evans and charged him with slipping the pills into his girlfriend’s drink, causing her to have a miscarriage.  Despite the fact that Illinois is one of the most liberal states when it comes to abortion, intentional homicide of an unborn child carries a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.  A growing number of similar cases are springing up across the U.S. and in parts of Western Europe.  MH SRN NEWS