International Planned Parenthood is feeling the pinch

International Planned Parenthood is feeling the pinch

VERBATIM:  Now that President Trump has cut 87 million dollars in U.S. funding to the giant abortion business, it has begun to cut staff.  IPPF reports that nearly 1,000 staffers around the world have been laid off and nearly 1,400 facilities of various sizes have shut their doors.  The cuts have had a major impact here in the U.S., with Planned Parenthood closing scores of abortion clinics or putting aside plans to open new ones.  MH REPORTING

The Heritage Foundation issues a warning

The Heritage Foundation issues a warning

VERBATIM:  The influential conservative think-tank says the family is in decline in this country and if that isn’t reversed, the U.S is headed for calamity.  Heritage President Kevin Roberts says, “Our country will not survive if families continue to crumble at this rate.”  The report urges federal government action, including 2,500-dollar investment accounts for every newborn, child tax credits and marriage boot camps designed to strengthen relationships.  MH REPORTING

The 10 Commandments might come before the Supreme Court again soon

The 10 Commandments might come before the Supreme Court again soon

VERBATIM:  At least a dozen states have considered proposals that would require the posting of the Decalogue in public school classrooms, with Texas, Louisianaand and Arkansas mandating their display in 2024 or 2025.  Legal challenges have led to all three laws being at least partially blocked while the cases play out.  Last month families in Texas filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to take down displays across the state.  MH REPORTING

A Christian financial expert issues a warning

A Christian financial expert issues a warning

VERBATIM:  And it’s not about the economy or debt or investments.  No, Dave Ramsey is very concerned about gambling.  The long-time Christian radio host and author said on a recent show that sports waging is “the most addictive thing I’ve ever seen.  The number of people calling our financial counselors and telling them that their entire lives have been destroyed by gambling is unbelievable. It’s the fastest growing addiction in America.”  MH REPORTING

Samaritan’s Purse is bringing relief to Ethiopia

Samaritan’s Purse is bringing relief to Ethiopia

There’s a months-long drought going on in the northern Tigray region and conditions are getting dire.  Samaritan’s Purse, one of the biggest Christian relief groups in the world, is now providing water and other rations to some of the most remote villages.  So far the ministry has handed out over 64 tons of food and critical aid, including hygiene kits containing jerry cans, soap, water filtration systems, and water treatment kits.  Hundreds of got supplemental vitamins and minerals.  

The new mayor of New York is moving quickly

The new mayor of New York is moving quickly

VERBATIM:  Zohran Mamdani promised to fix a lot of problems on the campaign trail, but his first priority seems to be eliminating all pro-Israel executive orders issued by his predecessor.  In his first hours in office Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor, has revoked orders that barred the city from joining the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement and other directives by Eric Adams that aimed at curbing anti-Semitism.  MHNREPORTING

An historic Dutch church has been lost

An historic Dutch church has been lost

VERBATIM:  It happened in the last hours before Amsterdam rang in 2026.  A fire broke out at the Vondel Church, spreading quickly and completely destroying the building.  The church was more than 150-years old, though its congregation had declined so greatly in the second half of the 20th century that worship ended there in 1977.  Since then the building had been used for a variety of purposes including as a music venue.  MHNREPORTing

A Virginia school system votes on pronouns

A Virginia school system votes on pronouns

VERBATIM:  Members of the Chesapeake School Board have decided to enact a policy barring any school from forcing students or faculty from using the preferred pronouns of a transgender person.  Board Chairman Angela Swygert says “A person who does not fundamentally agree with the use of alternative pronouns and titles cannot be compelled to use them.”  However, the voluntary use of transgender pronouns is NOT prohibited.  MH REPORTING

The Grahams will be doing some traveling in 2026

The Grahams will be doing some traveling in 2026

VERBATIM:  Franklin Graham is scheduled to hold a big gospel festival in Cambodia later this month.  He will also preach the word in Argentina in February, in Peru in March, in Spain in May and will visit the United Kingdom in October.  His son Will Graham is scheduled to host a gospel festival in Japan in May and another one in South Korea the same month.  Both men may add further international trips to their schedule over the course of the year.  MH EPORTING

The global center of Christianity has shifted

The global center of Christianity has shifted

Is your toddler on social media?

Is your toddler on social media?

VERBATIM:  According to a new study from the British government, nearly 40% of kids between the ages of 3-and-5 years old in the United Kingdom are on social media platforms regularly.  And we’re talking about the big platforms — Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and Snapchat.  This report lands amidst growing concerns in the U.K. the U.S. and elsewhere about the harm social media is doing to TEENAGERS, let alone kids who might not be potty-trained.  MH REPORTING

Are you reading the scriptures?

Are you reading the scriptures?

VERBATIM:  The American Bible Society’s annual report finds that about 41 percent of Americans qualify as “Bible users,” meaning they have read the scriptures at least three times a year outside of church services.  That’s up from 38 percent last year but down from 2021, when half of Americans fit that category.  The ABS report also reveals that a little over a third of Gen Z and Millennials would qualify as Bible users — an increase for Millennials over 2024.  MH REPORTING

A new ranking of which states are the most giving

A new ranking of which states are the most giving

VERBATIM:  It comes from WalletHub and it reveals that Virginia is number one when it comes to donating money to churches, ministries and other charitable institutions.  New York comes in 2nd, followed by Maryland, Georgia and California.  Giving is clearly strongest in the states that are generally the most wealthy.  However, when it comes to donating one’s TIME to local charities, Utah comes in 1st, followed by Wyoming, Idaho, Montana,  and Minnesota.

The battle over gay marriage in Japan is heating up

The battle over gay marriage in Japan is heating up

VERBATIM:  A Japanese court has ruled that the government does not have to legalize homosexual unions in the last of six cases that are expected to be brought to the Supreme Court for a final and definitive ruling, possibly next year.  The Tokyo High Court says marriage under Japanese law is largely expected to be a union between men and women in a decision that reversed a lower court ruling last year.  This is also the first loss at high courts for gay activists.  MH REPORTING

A new Gallup poll asks Americans about Christmas

A new Gallup poll asks Americans about Christmas

VERBATIM:  88% of us will celebrate the holiday on Thursday — down from 96% who did so 20 years ago.  But while secular forms of celebration remain popular, religious ones are in decline.  Fewer Americans will be going anywhere near a church and fewer put out Nativity scenes or other religious displays at their homes.  Even self-identified Christians are changing their ways.  Just 61% of them say they attend church on Christmas Eve — down from 73% in 2010.  MH REPORTING

The number of abortion clinics in the U.S. continues to decline

The number of abortion clinics in the U.S. continues to decline

Europe is canceling Christmas

Europe is canceling Christmas

VERBATIM:  In an effort not to “offend” minority groups, including the millions of Muslims that flooded the Continent in recent decades, many schools and local governments are barring any reference to the true meaning of the holiday.  In the French city of Nantes (NAHNT), official celebrations are being called “Winter Journey”.  In Spain some mayors are limiting Christmas decorations and some schools in England have barred the use of the word Christmas.  MH REPORTING

A disturbing debate in England’s House of Lords

A disturbing debate in England’s House of Lords

VERBATIM:  The peers are considering the assisted-suicide bill that the House of Commons approved over the summer.  In the debate Lord Falconer asserted that pregnant women SHOULD be allowed to take their own lives — thereby killing the unborn baby too.  It’s not clear whether such an amendment to the legislation will pass the House of Lords, but if it does it would make Britain’s assisted-suicide law one of the most radical anywhere on earth.  MH REPORTING

The Satanic Temple is at it again

The Satanic Temple is at it again

VERBATIM:  Members of the New Hampshire chapter have set up a Satanic display outside the statehouse in Concord in response to the Nativity scene that is there to celebrate Christmas.  The display consists of a black wreath around a pentagram.  It is more modest than the one the Temple set up last year in Concord — a full-sized figure of Satan.  It was repeatedly vandalized.  This year’s display also encourages donations to the “Devil’s Pantry” — an emergency food drive.  MH REPOERTING

Why do people reject religious faith?

Why do people reject religious faith?

VERBATIM:  They are generally referred to as the “NONES” — atheists, agnostics and followers of no particular religion.  A new poll from the Pew Research Center finds that the most common reason people cite for rejecting faith is that they believe they can live moral lives WITHOUT God.  Other reasons for turning against religion include bad experiences at church, distrust of faith leaders, and the idea that one can be spiritual without being religious.  MH REPORTING

Abortion activists want you to watch the procedure on TV

Abortion activists want you to watch the procedure on TV

VERBATIM:  The annual Abortion Onscreen Report finds that the number of times the procedure is depicted or is part of a storyline in mainstream television shows or on streaming platform programs is DOWN.  In fact, there were 66 abortion storylines across the programming landscape in 2024 — down from the year before.  The Abortion Onscreen Report also complains that not enough TV characters are using abortion pills.  MH REPORTING

A giant Christian charity is receiving some big donations this year

A giant Christian charity is receiving some big donations this year

VERBATIM:  It’s becoming a Christmas tradition:  Anonymous donors dropping big money into the Salvation Army kettles of bell ringers across the nation.  In Barre, Vermont somebody popped a gold coin worth over 4,000 dollars into a kettle outside a shopping center.  In Lincoln, Nebraska, a bell ringer outside a Scheel’s store found a gold coin worth 4200 bucks in his pot.  More than 10,000 dollars worth of gold has been dropped in kettles around Chicago so far this season.  MH REPORTING

Illinois legalizes assisted-suicide

Illinois legalizes assisted-suicide

VERBATIM:  Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed into law a measure that will allow state residents to take their own lives with drugs provided by a doctor.  Thomas Olp of the Thomas More Society legal group says “This law places vulnerable lives at risk, tramples the inherent dignity of human life, and erodes the foundational conscience rights of medical professionals and religious medical practices.”  12 states now allow assisted-suicide.  MH REPORTING

Christianity is losing its grip on young people

Christianity is losing its grip on young people

VERBATIM:  According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, 76% of people who are over 70 and were RAISED as believers still ARE today.  But amongst those ages 18-to-24, only 41% who grew up in the faith say they are still Christians now.  And all those young people who are leaving Christianity are generally not subscribing to some different faith.  The Pew report indicates most who stop following Christ are now followers of NO particular religion.  MH REPORTING