U.S. House Unveils $3 Trillion Coronavirus Package
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive $3 trillion virus aid package after batting back a last-minute Republican effort that threatened the measure.
Worthy News
Typhoon Devastates Lockdown Wary Philippines
A Christian woman was among many fearfully hiding Friday as parts of the Philippines were devastated by winds and rain from Typhoon Vongfong. “It is always scary,” Virgie Overdevest told Worthy News. “We already had a minor earthquake here.”
Poll: ‘Coronavirus Shows God Wants Changed Humanity’
The coronavirus pandemic made almost two-thirds of American believers of all faiths feel that God wants humanity to change how it lives, according to a new survey.
Israel University Claims One-Minute Corinavirus Test
A researcher at one of Israel’s leading universities says he has developed a test that identifies carriers of the new coronavirus COVID-19 in less than a minute.
U.S. Churches Defy Coronavirus Bans On Indoor Worship
Churches across the United States are planning to defy bans on indoor worship and will open for in-person services this Sunday, May 17, Worthy News learned. The move is part of the “Peaceably Gather Sunday” initiative in which congregations seek a balance between safety against the coronavirus and worshipping without restrictions.
U.S. Retail Sales Plunge To Record Low
U.S. stocks sank Friday after figures showed retail sales in the country plunged by a record 16.4 percent last month, the worst decline in decades.
Slovenia First European Nation Without Coronavirus Pandemic
Slovenia has become the first European nation to declare an end to its coronavirus pandemic. It also opened the borders on Friday, despite new infections being reported.
North Carolina Churches Sue Governor Over Ban On Indoor Worship
Christian leaders have sued the governor of the U.S. State of North Carolina for banning extensive indoor church services to limit the new coronavirus outbreak. Their lawsuit asked a court to throw out Governor Roy Cooper’s restrictions on person-to-person services in North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Church in North Korea Exists but Deeply Underground
There are Christians in North Korea but congregations are typically made up of two or three people from the same family, Fox News reports. The North Korean church exists, but it has had to go deeply underground: under the Kim Jong Un regime, believers – and their families – may face the death penalty or detention if their faith is discovered.
Massive locust swarms threaten catastrophe for African nations
The United Nations (UN) has warned that vast swarms of locusts are set on a “path of destruction” across Africa, affecting nations that had not seen the pest in decades. Locust controllers are concerned the pests will wipe out crops in a potentially “Biblical catastrophe,” leaving millions of people without food in some of the most vulnerable countries in the world.
Opinion Polls Present Conflicting Results on Palestinian Support for Third Intifada
Recent opinion polls unanimously demonstrate that around 90% of Palestinians reject President Trump’s peace plan, the Washington Institute reports. However, separate polls show different results on Palestinian support for a third intifada as a means by which to resist the plan.
Israel Targeting Missile-Manufacturing Sites in Syria, Hezbollah Chief Says
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday that Israel was now concentrating its attacks in Syria on missile-manufacturing sites.
Israel’s Netanyahu, Gantz postpone swearing-in of new unity government, again
Israel’s new unity government, comprised of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partner Benny Gantz, has postponed Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony to Sunday.
Fed Warns of Possible Long-Term Recession, 3 Million More File Jobless Claims
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the United States may face a prolonged economic downturn, and new unemployment numbers out Thursday morning seem to reinforce his prediction. The latest stats reveal nearly 3 million more Americans filed for jobless aid –coronavirus-related layoffs now reaching 36 million.
U.S. Senate votes to extend government surveillance tools
The U.S. Senate comfortably approved a 2-1/2-year extension of parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) on Thursday, two months after the divisive provisions allowing government data collection expired.
US: “China Hacks Vaccine Research”
The United States has accused China of hacking American vaccine research amid a global coronavirus pandemic.
US Mission Pilot Dies In Indonesia Crash
An American mission pilot flying much-needed coronavirus test kits to a remote village in Indonesia has died in a plane crash, her Christian aviation organization confirmed.
EU’s Top Court Condemns Hungary’s Treatment Of Asylum Seekers Including Christians (Worthy News Investigation)
Hope was rising Thursday for an Iranian Christian father and his young son held in detention on the Hungarian-Serbian border for 17 months, after the European Union’s top court condemned Hungary’s treatment of asylum seekers. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Budapest was obliged to reconsider their applications. The court stressed that Hungarian authorities circumvented EU law by holding migrants seeking refuge in unlawful prison-like conditions.
Christian schools’ legal team optimistic after Supreme Court weighs ministerial exception
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a pair of cases that could shape how far religious employers’ “ministerial exception” goes in protecting them from discrimination lawsuits brought by certain employees.
Trump threatens China ties, says he’s in no mood for talks with Xi
US President Donald Trump further hardened his rhetoric toward China on Thursday, saying he no longer wishes to speak with Xi Jinping and warning darkly he might cut ties over the rival superpower’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.