Oct. 31, 2016 |
BLOOMBERG
Hillary Clinton and her aides intensified criticism of James Comey as word emerged that the FBI director defied U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch by informing lawmakers of newly discovered e-mails that may relate to its investigation of the Democratic presidential nominee.
San Francisco, where the Nov. 8 ballot will include a measure allowing the parents or legal guardians of any student in the city’s public schools to vote in school board elections. The right would be extended to those with green cards, visas, or no documentation at all. “One out of three kids in the San Francisco unified school system has a parent who is an immigrant, who is disenfranchised and doesn’t have a voice.”
If the world’s biggest economy is really on the upswing, then why are America’s banks stockpiling a record amount of ultra-safe bonds? Commercial banks in the U.S. have amassed $90 billion of Treasuries and non-mortgage debt from federal agencies this year alone, bringing the total to $754 billion, according to data compiled by the Fed. Including federally guaranteed mortgage-backed securities, banks now own $2.4 trillion of government bonds, which would be the most since the central bank began compiling data in 1973.
At a delicatessen counter in eastern Caracas, Venezuela, Humberto Gonzalez removes slices of salty white cheese from his scale and replaces them with a stack of bolivar notes handed over by his customer. The currency is so devalued and each purchase requires so many bills that instead of counting, he weighs them.
China’s factories may be on the cusp of delivering a new shock to the global economy after years of undercutting rivals with cheaper costs. This time, increases in prices could reverberate around the world.
The third powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake to hit Italy in two months spared human life Sunday but struck at the nation’s identity, destroying a Benedictine cathedral, a medieval tower and other beloved landmarks that had survived the earlier jolts across a mountainous region of small historic towns.
Millennials’ seemingly unquenchable thirst for coffee is helping to push global demand to a record just as supplies are tightening. Americans are becoming java junkies at an earlier age, and young adults are increasing their daily consumption at a fast enough pace to make up for declines by older folks.
AP Top Stories
Spain’s 10-month political deadlock is over and a new government is finally in place, but it’s anybody’s guess how long it will last. Parliament on Saturday approved Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy’s reappointment as prime minister, but only because the leading opposition Socialist party, with 84 deputies, abstained.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would ask parliament to consider reintroducing the death penalty as a punishment for the plotters behind the July coup bid.
A Richmond mayoral candidate and ex-Virginia lawmaker who was jailed last year in a sex scandal involving a 17-year-old girl vowed Saturday to continue campaigning after being accused of making sexual advances and sending explicit text messages to a former legal client.
The family of an American backpacker who was sexually assaulted after she fell 150ft down a cliff in Thailand have hit out at her attacker’s five-year jail sentence. Hannah Gavios, 23, broke her back and lay helpless trapped on rocks while Apai Ruangwong, 28, subjected her to a 10-hour ordeal on September 1.
Hundreds of people braved the late autumnal cold in Moscow on Saturday to remember victims of the Stalin era, reading out names of people murdered at the height of the Terror.
Syrian government forces launched a counteroffensive under the cover of airstrikes in an attempt to regain control of areas they had lost to insurgents the day before in the northern city of Aleppo.
Australia on Sunday announced plans to ratchet up its tough policy against refugees by banning any asylum seeker who attempts to reach its shores by boat from ever visiting the country.
Preservation experts have opened for the first time in at least two centuries what Christians believe is Jesus’s tomb inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
BBC
The European Union and Canada have signed a long-delayed landmark trade deal, following weeks of uncertainty due to opposition in Belgium.
Roof tiles with built-in solar panels have been unveiled by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk. The tiles, made from glass, are intended to be a more attractive way to add solar panels to homes, compared with currently-used solar technology.
A Brazilian evangelical pastor, Marcelo Crivella, has been elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro in the second round of municipal elections.
A snake with the largest venom glands in the world could hold the answer to pain relief, scientists have found. New research published in the journal Toxin found it targets receptors which are critical to pain in humans and could be used as a method of treatment.
Dozens of people have been killed at a Yemeni prison complex in air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, reports said.
WND
Highlights for Children is popular among preschoolers and schoolkids and a fun way to learn to read, but the magazine recently became embroiled in a controversy over gay inclusion.
Hundreds of children across the country have shown up at hospitals unable to move their arms or legs. Dozens of kids have become paralyzed in the past few months alone. They suffer from a mysterious illness that continues to alarm and puzzle scientists. This kind of sudden and devastating paralysis hasn’t been widespread since the days of polio.
A privacy-rights defender is calling on AT&T to shut down a telephone spy operation it has rented out to police agencies, because it accesses “trillions” of private telephone records.
Top News – 10/31/2016
Central Colombia Hit by 5.4-Magnitude Earthquake
The earthquake occurred at 00:20 GMT on Monday at a depth of 44 kilometers (about 27 miles) with the epicenter located in 25 miles of the small town of Colombia. The largest urban center relatively close to the earthquake at approximately 67 miles was Neiva with the population of 352,855.
Assange: Next WikiLeaks batch will lead to Hillary Clinton’s arrest
Julian Assange said Sunday that the next batch of hacked emails he plans to release will lead to the arrest of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Two days ago, the FBI reopened the investigation into her private server as Secretary of State, knocking her campaign sideways. After releasing 21 emails batches this month, Assange has more than 50,000 to go “ with enough evidence to see Hillary Clinton arrested.”
Congress: Attorney General Lynch ‘Pleads Fifth’ on Secret Iran ‘Ransom’ Payments
Loretta Lynch is declining to comply with an investigation by leading members of Congress about the Obama administration’s secret efforts to send Iran $1.7 billion in cash earlier this year, prompting accusations that Lynch has “pleaded the Fifth” Amendment to avoid incriminating herself over these payments, according to lawmakers and communications exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) initially presented Lynch in October with a series of questions about how the cash payment to Iran was approved and delivered.
Last Stronghold of ISIS Caliphate Set to Topple in Battle for Mosul
US-backed Iraqi ground troops, following on the heels of the army’s counter-terrorism unit, launched what it expects to be the final assault on the city of Mosul, the last major stronghold of the Islamic State in Iraq, on Monday.
Report: DOJ Tried Repeatedly To Kill FBI’s Clinton Foundation Investigation
Senior-level Justice Department officials pushed back heavily on an ongoing FBI investigation of the Clinton Foundation, according to a bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper laid out numerous examples, based on law enforcement sources, of senior DOJ officials intervening to quash the probe.
Comey Has Clinton Dead to Rights
Comey would not be doing this if he did not have the goods on Clinton and most likely Huma Abedin as well. It has now caught Clinton and Abedin in a web of deceit. In searching the devices that Abedin shared with Weiner, the FBI must have discovered emails that were clearly classified. They were sent by Clinton and they were on Abedin’s home device that Weiner had access to in a file next to his pedophilia. The agents worked this up the chain, Comey realized he had no choice but to let the American people know.
Federal Outlaws Brutally Attack Bundy Defense Attorney Marcus Mumford
Defense Attorney Marcus Mumford was viciously attacked by federal marshals as he attempted to make his arguments to the Court. According to eyewitness, Jeff Banta, another of the acquitted defendants, Mumford put his arms out to block federal marshals from taking Ammon while saying, “What are you doing…what are you doing? At which point a mob of federal marshals – six men and 3 women attacked Defense Attorney Marcus
Hillary’s Two Official Favors To Morocco Resulted In $28 Million For Clinton Foundation
Jackson’s close ties and loyalty to the Clintons were revealed when she joined the Clinton Foundation’s board of directors in 2013, just months after she left the EPA. Jackson is also close to John Podesta, Clinton’s national campaign chairman. Morocco’s state-owned phosphate company, OCP, would ostensibly have benefited from Jackson’s move to shut down Mosaic. Mohammed donated up to $15 million to the Clinton Foundation through OCP.
Italy trembles: Over 200 aftershocks follow devastating earthquake
The danger of a major new jolt remains in Italy, as over 200 aftershocks were registered following a devastating 6.6 magnitude earthquake in central regions of the country. Sunday’s earthquake in central Italy was followed by numerous aftershocks, 15 of which had a magnitude ranging from 4.0 to 4.6, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
Russian PM to discuss Israel-PA peace
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is scheduled to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) on November 9 with the aim of advancing the peace negotiations between the sides, i24news reported Sunday, citing a report on the PA’s official television station. “a number of bilateral intergovernmental and interagency agreements and documents are due to be signed after the talks.”
Political victory for Hezbollah expected in Lebanon election
Lebanon is poised to elect a strong Hezbollah ally as the country’s president Monday, in a boost for the pro-Iranian axis in the region. If there is no last-minute surprise, 81-year-old former general Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian, will easily be elected by parliament to the top office. The pro-Hezbollah Beirut daily As-Safir reported yesterday that he is on track to win in the first round and enjoys the backing of 94 of the 127 MPs.
UNHRC official: ‘Israel’s status at UN depends on ending the occupation’
Israel’s status at the United Nations depends on it’s ending the “occupation” and on the ability of Palestine to act as a state, warned special investigator and Canadian legal expert Michael Lynk during an official briefing to that body. …In his 26-page report and in his comments to the Third Committee he said that Israel must immediately end “the occupation.”
Brazil shifts right, evangelical elected Rio mayor
An evangelical mega-church bishop who once branded Catholics demons was elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro, in nationwide municipal elections confirming Brazil’s shift to the right.
Police Officer Dies of Complications From Shooting After He Predicted He Would Be Shot
An Alaska police officer who reportedly predicted that he would be shot has died from surgery complications two weeks later. Sgt. Allen Brandt was shot on patrol after responding to reports of gunfire in Fairbanks earlier this month. Earlier that same night he told his wife and children he would be shot, according to reports.
Is This Why Comey Broke: A Stack Of Resignation Letters From Furious FBI Agents Tyler Durden’s picture by Tyler Durden
According to the Daily Mail, and a source close to James Comey, the decision, at least in part, came after he “could no longer resist mounting pressure by mutinous agents in the FBI” who “felt that he betrayed them and brought disgrace on the bureau by letting Hillary off with a slap on the wrist.”
FBI Director James Comey Begins Briefing Congressional Leaders on Clinton Email Review
“For the young people here who didn’t live in the ’90s … this is what life is like with the Clintons,” Ryan said. “It’s scandal after scandal after scandal.”
Egypt bans TV interview with corruption critic
A rare TV interview with Egypt’s former chief auditor – who went on trial for spreading false news after publicly alleging massive government corruption – has been banned, the former official said.
The Briefing 10-31-16
OBAMA GIVES TRUMP A GIFT: ObamaCare Collapsing Nationwide One Week Before Election Day
When Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces launched in fall 2013, Arizona seemed like a success. Eight insurers competed to sign up consumers, offering a wide variety of plans and some of the lowest premiums in the country.
Today, with ACA enrollment starting Nov. 1, Arizonans will find in most counties only one insurer selling exchange plans for 2017. Premiums for some plans will be more than double this year, some of the biggest increases in the nation. Only last-minute maneuvering prevented one Arizona county from becoming the first in the nation to have no exchange insurers at all.
A similar dynamic is playing out in other states’ exchanges, which are a critical centerpiece of the 2010 health law. About one-third of U.S. counties will have just one exchange insurer next year, up from 7% this year, estimates the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, which studies health-care issues. In many cases, remaining insurers are seeking significant rate increases.
Obama on Showing ACA Works: ‘We’re Not Going To Get That Much Help Through the Media’
A look at what happened in Arizona shows the cascading effects of problems with the design and implementation of the ACA, combined with early missteps by insurers. Some priced plans aggressively, angling for market share and betting special programs built into the law would protect them from losses. Those protections didn’t work as expected. Enrollees’ health-care expenses repeatedly overshot the projections of nearly all Arizona’s insurers. The result: a flood of red ink, then withdrawals and premium increases.
“The Arizona market is the poster child for the problems the exchanges are experiencing nationally,” says Tom Snook, a Phoenix-based actuary for consultants Milliman Inc.
Opponents of the health law have cited the problems in Arizona and other states to argue for unraveling the legislation, and they have proposed changes such as expanding health-savings accounts and allowing insurers to sell plans across state lines.
Trump: My employees are having problems with Obamacare
Obama administration officials say they are bolstering the exchanges, and the consumer impact of premium increases will be limited by the law’s subsidies for lower-income people, received by about 85% of enrollees nationally. “We’re making really good progress in addressing a lot of the issues,” says Kevin Counihan, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unit charged with implementing the health law. He calls Arizona an “outlier,” saying that insurers elsewhere have succeeded with ACA plans.
The ACA transformed the individual insurance market, where consumers buy their own plans. Before the law, insurers could refuse to sell to people with pre-existing health conditions. Starting in 2014, consumers couldn’t be denied coverage, or charged more, if they were ill. Individuals could shop for plans via an online marketplace. Partly to ensure that healthy people signed up to balance out the sick, the law contained penalties for most people if they didn’t obtain coverage. Arizona expanded Medicaid, as the law envisioned.
Insurers saw uncertainty in the new marketplace, but also potential. They had to guess what prices they needed to charge to cover the health costs of new enrollees. A 2013 Society of Actuaries report suggested that the Arizona individual-insurance market could more than double, growing to 570,681 consumers, with more than 80% of them buying through the exchange. The health-care costs of the newer customer base would be around 22% higher than the old one, it suggested.
President dodges blame for Obamacare premium increases
Insurers believed they had protective guardrails—programs in the law to limit losses for companies that drew a lot of unhealthy, high-cost consumers. One insurer, Health Net Inc., told investors in November 2013 it could effectively pay out $1.20 in claims for each $1 it got in premiums and still break even with help from an ACA program called “risk corridors.” Some of Health Net’s Arizona products were among the lowest-priced in the country, according to Kaiser.
Kim Walton, 62 years old, of Tempe, says his monthly insurance bill dropped by more than two-thirds compared with his pre-ACA plan, with help from a federal subsidy. Unlike his old plan, his new ACA insurance covered any costs tied to his pre-existing health conditions—he earlier had a hip replacement and suffered a broken neck. “It was perfect,” says Mr. Walton, who owns his own business.
Krysti Horwitz of Phoenix steered clear of the exchange. Ms. Horwitz, 35, and her husband, who own an online-marketing business, were healthy. In 2013, they had a plan that she said cost them significantly less than a new ACA one would. They weren’t eligible for subsidies. They decided to keep what they had, an option the Obama administration authorized in late 2013.
By spring of 2014, with the first year of the new ACA plans barely under way, insurers had to guess again at pricing. Rate requests for 2015 plans were due, though insurers still had scant information about who signed up. That was partly because federal officials extended the deadline for enrollment after technical problems with HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange being used in Arizona and many other states.
One thing was already clear: Health Net’s low-price gambit had won huge market share. The company ended up with nearly 92,000 enrolled in individual plans in 2014, more than seven times its 2013 total, according to insurance-data firm Mark Farrah Associates’ Health Coverage Portal.
That posed a challenge for rivals, including startup Meritus, one of the nonprofit cooperative plans launched under the ACA. Meritus drew only a few thousand consumers in 2014, and it needed to boost enrollment to sustain itself, according to Tom Zumtobel,the co-op’s former CEO, who took over in late 2014.
Meritus worked to reduce its prices, and its rates came in below competitors’ in 2015.
Once again that year, Arizona had some of the lowest exchange premiums in the U.S., and one of the most competitive marketplaces, with 11 insurers, according to the Kaiser data. Enrollment grew, particularly at Meritus, where it surged to about 48,000 in 2015, according to Mark Farrah Associates.
On Oct. 1, 2015, insurers got a huge blow: Federal regulators announced the risk-corridor program, which many companies expected to limit their financial risk, would pay out only 12.6% of the amount expected. The program hadn’t taken in enough money from successful insurers to cover the requests of those with significant losses.
For Meritus, it was “operationally devastating,” says Mr. Zumtobel. That Oct. 30, just two days before consumers were set to start buying their 2016 exchange plans, Arizona’s regulator put the co-op under supervision, barring it from selling new insurance policies.
Remaining insurers began retrenching. The 2016 plans included more-limited networks of health-care providers. The total number of exchange insurers ticked down to eight, from 11, and premiums rose. “We started to see the cracks,” says Jerry Anderson, an insurance agent in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Nearly all the Arizona individual business of exchange insurers plunged into the red, according to Mark Farrah Associates, the insurance-data firm. Health Net booked nearly $40 million in losses on its Arizona individual business in 2014, and another $39 million the following year, according to Mark Farrah Associates, when the insurer agreed to be acquired by Centene Corp. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, the biggest player in the state’s individual market, had priced less aggressively than Health Net but still saw steep losses.
Based on regulatory filings, McKinsey & Co. estimated the insurance industry suffered cumulative losses of between 9% and 11% of premium revenue on individual plans last year. Only about one-quarter of insurers reported a profit on the business.
In Arizona, insurers set their rates too low to cover their enrollees’ health expenses. There were fewer people than actuaries once projected, with about 203,000 choosing exchange plans during the enrollment period for this year. The share of enrollees who were healthy was smaller than companies projected, partly because the law’s penalties weren’t enough to prod them to enroll, insurers say. The unhealthy people who did sign up were more costly. Insurers say that some consumers appeared to be buying plans specifically when they had health needs.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona’s ACA plans in 2014 were priced around 35% higher on average than its individual plans in 2013. “In hindsight, it wasn’t even close to enough,” says Jeff Stelnik, a senior vice president at the nonprofit. ACA-plan enrollees had medical costs around 250% higher on average than individual members before the health law, due partly to far higher prevalence of conditions such as diabetes, he says.
Insurers began to bail out. On April 19, UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it would pull out of nearly all state ACA exchanges, including Arizona’s, for the next year amid growing losses. Others in Arizona retreated, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Health Net, which decided to pull out of the state’s most populous county, Maricopa, as well as adjacent Pinal, for 2017. On Aug. 15, Aetna Inc. announced it would leave most of its exchanges, including Arizona’s.
Aetna’s decision created a crisis: Pinal County would have no exchange insurers for 2017. The void would short-circuit a central mechanism of the law, because consumers can get subsidies only through an ACA marketplace.
The situation drew attention from Republicans critical of the ACA, including Arizona Sen.John McCain. He introduced a bill meant to “protect AZ from Obamacare collapse,” according to a press release. Obama administration officials said they believed the situation would be resolved.
In September, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona announced it would continue to sell exchange plans in Pinal next year after all. The decision came after state and federal regulators “expressed their concern for Pinal residents,” though the insurer made the call on its own, says Blue Cross’s Mr. Stelnik.
Neighboring Maricopa County, the state’s most populous, also ended up with just one insurer—Centene, Health Net’s new parent, which announced Sept. 14 it would sell exchange plans there next year. Centene CEO Michael F. Neidorff says his company has a very different approach from Health Net, which he says “thought they would get the revenue, the growth,” and relied on ACA risk programs for protection. Centene said it expects to be profitable in Arizona, as it has been in other exchanges.
That left only one county in Arizona, Pima, with more than one exchange insurer—it has two. There will be a few more options sold outside the exchange, to people who don’t get federal subsidies.
Premium increases are steep, though the effect will be blunted for those who get subsidies. Blue Cross’s rates are up by an average of 51% from this year, Centene’s Health Net unit’s, by nearly 75%.
Mr. Walton, the consumer who benefited from lower premiums at the start of the exchange, worries he won’t be able to find a plan that includes his primary-care physician and his cardiologist. “I don’t know what’s going to happen come November,” he says. source
If Hillary Clinton Is Charged With Obstruction Of Justice She Could Go To Prison For 20 Years
In the world of politics, the cover-up is often worse than the original crime. It was his role in the Watergate cover-up that took down Richard Nixon, and now Hillary Clinton’s cover-up of her email scandal could send her to prison for a very, very long time. When news broke that the FBI has renewed its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, it sent shockwaves throughout the political world. But this time around, we aren’t just talking about an investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. I haven’t heard anyone talking about this, but if the FBI discovers that Hillary Clinton altered, destroyed or concealed any emails that should have been turned over to the FBI during the original investigation, she could be charged with obstruction of justice. That would immediately end her political career, and if she was found guilty it could send her to prison for the rest of her life. (Read More….)
Is Hillary Panicking?
There is something in those emails that genuinely frightens the Clinton campaign. Which is why it took the crazy risk of going after the FBI with both barrels. It’s desperate to smear the FBI as much as possible in order to neutralize any revelations or even potential charges.
Comey’s Hand Forced by Seething FBI
The picture painted by DiGenova, based on what he says are discussions with current and former FBI agents, is one of “seething” rage inside the Bureau at the way Comey handled the investigation concerning Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Top Headlines – 10/31/2016
- FBI in Internal Feud Over Clinton Probe (Read More)
- As Clinton struggles, Trump tries to raise doubts (Read More)
- Dollar shakes off Clinton FBI scare, global stocks stay spooked (Read More)
- Oil slides as non-OPEC nations demure on output limit plan (Read More)
- Mark Carney stands ready to serve 8-year term at Bank of England (Read More)
- Clinton Team Questions FBI Director’s Motive (Read More)
- OPEC Splits Prevent Deal With Other Producers to Curb Supply (Read More)
- After a Blockbuster Election, CNN and Fox Plot Their Next Moves (Read More)
- Once the hope candidate, Obama in his final days faces a hopeless electorate (Read More)
- Banks Are Hoarding $2.4 Trillion of Bonds (Read More)
- Iraqi forces resume offensive towards eastern Mosul (Read More)
- There Are 5.6 Million Cheap Apartments in America. Not for Long (Read More)
- China as Factory to World Mulls the Unthinkable: Price Hikes (Read More)
- CenturyLink to buy Level 3 Communications for $19.43 billion (Read More)
- Vatican and China Inch Toward a Diplomatic Breakthrough (Read More)
- British murder accused Jutting ‘sexually assaulted’ at school (Read More)
- Yellen Imitates Greenspan in Reversal of Mid-1990s Rookie Role (Read More)
- Pro-Russian candidate to face second round in Moldova presidential vote (Read More)
- Germany welcomes foreign takeovers, but wants fair conditions: Merkel spokesman (Read More)
- Pirate Party Surge Falls Short as Icelanders Back Stability (Read More)
- Miami baseball star Fernandez was drunk, had cocaine in system at fatal crash (Read More)
- MGM Resorts ready to bet up to $10 billion on Japan casino, possibly via REIT (Read More)
Bennett: Time for Israel to annex Judea and Samaria
Israel must annex West Bank settlements if UNSC adopts Palestinian resolution – education minister
Tanzania assisted Israel during UNESCO Jerusalem resolution
Foreign Ministry: Amona relocation could cause serious international backlash
Ancient Muslim inscription proves Jewish ties to Temple Mount
Israel-praising Evangelical bishop wins runoff election for Rio mayor
Syrian state media say militants fire poison gas in Aleppo
Aleppo fighting spreads amid accusations of gas attack
Syrian rebels’ Aleppo offensive could amount to war crimes, UN envoy warns
Iraqi, Kurdish Forces Bracing for More IS Suicide Attacks
Car bomb kills at least eight in Baghdad market
First mass in two years held in Iraq’s main Christian town
Egypt marks year since plane downed by IS over Sinai
ISIS claims responsibility for Germany stabbing that killed teen
Saudi Arabia says it foiled IS plot to bomb World Cup qualifier
Iran criticizes Saudi re-election to UN human rights council
Iran denies US accusation of Yemen arms shipments
Mass protests over Moroccan fish vendor’s death echo Tunisian Arab Spring uprising
Libya crisis talks held in London with economy ‘near collapse’
Turkey sacks 10,000 more civil servants, shuts media in latest crackdown
Turkey Shuts News Outlets, Tightens Anti-Terrorism Law
Some of the most important gains made in Afghanistan are slipping away
Hate speech trial of anti-Islam Dutch lawmaker begins without him
Where is Kim Jong-un’s wife? Seven-month public absence sparks rumours of rift
Hundreds attack Hindu homes, temples in Bangladesh
Plane evacuated after possible bomb threat at Fort Lauderdale Airport
FBI in Internal Feud Over Hillary Clinton Probe
Is This Why Comey Broke: A Stack Of Resignation Letters From Furious FBI Agents
Sources: FBI knew about new Clinton emails for weeks before telling Comey
Harry Reid says FBI Director James Comey ‘may have broken’ federal law
Harry Reid accuses Comey of sitting on proof of Trump-Russia ties, possible Hatch Act violation
FBI shadow: Now it’s Clinton vs. Comey, with hypocrisy on both sides
New poll: 34 percent ‘less likely’ to vote for Clinton after new email revelations
Flashback: Bill Clinton cheered 11th hour indictment that doomed Bush re-election
Obama to Clinton volunteers: Ignore ‘noise and distractions’
Strongest earthquake in over 30 years leaves 15,000 homeless in Italy
Italian earthquakes could go on for weeks in domino effect -scientist
Religious life turned upside down by Italian earthquake
Holy sites hit hard by Italian earthquake
6.6-Magnitude Earthquake Flattens Much Of Historic Basilica In Central Italy
5.4 magnitude earthquake hits near Colombia, Colombia
5.3 magnitude earthquake hits near Ohonua, Tonga
5.2 magnitude earthquake hits near the West Chile Rise
5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near San Antonio, Chile
5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Calama, Chile
5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Colombia, Colombia
Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 26,000ft
Klyuchevskoy volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 23,000ft
Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica erupts to 18,000ft
Sheveluch volcano on Kachatka, Russia erupts to 17,000ft
Colima volcano in Mexico erupts to 14,000ft
Sinabung volcano in Indonesia erupts to 11,000ft
2 billion children breathe toxic air worldwide, UNICEF says
Pollution in India’s Capital New Delhi Reaches Peak Levels After Diwali Weekend
3D-printed organ-on-a-chip with integrated sensors
‘Bionic eye’ helps man see for the first time in more than a half-century
Abortion By Prescription Now Rivals Surgery For American Women: Report
In Calif., Pro-life Counseling Must Include Abortion Options
Charleston ‘on eggshells’ on eve of two racially charged trials
16 dead, 40 wounded in Chicago weekend shootings
Some Florida parents plan to arm themselves while going trick-or-treating over clown concerns
The plague of fake news is getting worse — here’s how to protect yourself
Spiritual Formation—A Dangerous Substitute For the Life of Christ
Pastors, it’s time to audit what your women are studying
Dr. Michael Brown’s Smear Campaign Against Anonymous “Discernment Ministries
Scholar Says Christian Fundamentalism More Dangerous than Islamic Terrorism
Memo to the Washington Post: The Bible Does Reject ‘Transgender’ Behavior
‘Highlights for Children’ faces pressure to include gay families in magazines
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Russia preparing army of robots Posted: 31 Oct 2016 10:32 AM PDT Russia is preparing an army of robots and drones to unleash on its enemies Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to modernise and create “intelligent… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| New email shows DNC boss giving Clinton camp debate question in advance
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 10:28 AM PDT Another leaked email has emerged showing Democratic National Committee boss and former CNN contributor Donna Brazile sharing a debate question in advance with the Hillary… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| The Shocking Reason millions of born again Christians will still vote for Hillary Clinton
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 08:03 AM PDT (By Mario Murillo) She is a smooth criminal. She is the consort of a sexual addict. She is chugging the longest train of scandal and… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Tokyo could ban US troops from stationing on disputed isles if Moscow hands them over
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 07:45 AM PDT Ahead of Vladimir Putin’s December trip to Japan, diplomatic sources told local media that Japan could block the US from being stationed on the islands… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Israel must annex West Bank settlements if UNSC adopts Palestinian resolution
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 07:40 AM PDT Israel should declare sovereignty over the occupied territories in the West Bank, which is home to Israeli settlers, if the UN adopts any Security Council… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| RUMORS OF WARS: Half of Russians fear Syria standoff could spark WW3
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 07:37 AM PDT Almost half of all respondents in a recent opinion poll said they feared that the aggravation of relations between Russia and the West caused by… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| NASA’s ‘Intruder Alert’ system spots asteroid on near-collision course with Earth
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 07:18 AM PDT A large chunk of space rock is coming dangerously close to the vicinity of the Earth, but scientists are sure it won’t collide with our… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Doug Schoen: I’m Withdrawing Support of Hillary With Reopening of Investigation
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 07:01 AM PDT During the Sunday broadcast of “Fox Report Sunday,” Democratic pollster Doug Schoen said he is having to reassess his support of Hillary Clinton due to… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Parents plan to arm themselves while trick-or-treating over clown concerns
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 06:27 AM PDT Some Florida residents plan to take some extra precautions when they trick-or-treat with their children on Monday amid reports of creepy clowns scaring communities. Kimberly… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Students launch Planned Parenthood club at Virginia public high school
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 06:23 AM PDT A Virginia public school has allowed a Planned Parenthood student group to form on campus. The stated purpose in the constitution and bylaws of the… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Will Obama Betray Israel at UN After Election?
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 06:19 AM PDT A full page advertisement ran Saturday in the New York Times asking, “after the elections, will President Obama betray Israel at the United Nations?” Placed… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Number of Illegals Pouring in, Worst “Ever Seen”!
Posted: 31 Oct 2016 06:03 AM PDT The flood of illegal aliens pouring across the southern border has become a “crisis situation” and is even worse than the record 2014 border surge,… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| Could Tennessee experience an earthquake similar to one in 1800s?
Posted: 30 Oct 2016 07:06 PM PDT Can you believe that in the winter of 1811-1812 a series of earthquakes in northwest Tennessee shook the ground so hard that church bells rang… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
| If Hillary Clinton Is Charged With Obstruction Of Justice She Could Go To Prison For 20 Years
Posted: 30 Oct 2016 05:13 PM PDT (Reported By Micahel Snyder) In the world of politics, the cover-up is often worse than the original crime. It was his role in the Watergate… Read more at End Time Headlines. |
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Our Time is Short
What is The Gospel?
God made everything out of nothing, including you and me. His main purpose in creation was to bring him pleasure.
The chief way in which we as humanity do this is through loving, obeying, and enjoying him perfectly.
Instead of this, we have sinned against our loving Creator and acted in high-handed rebellion.
God has vowed that he will righteously and lovingly judge sinners with eternal death.
But God, being merciful, loving, gracious, and just, sent his own son, Jesus Christ, in the likeness of man to live as a man; fulfilling his perfect requirements in the place of sinners; loving, obeying, and enjoying him perfectly.
And further, his son bore the eternal judgment of God upon the cross of Calvary, as he satisfied the eternal anger of God, standing in the place of sinners. God treated Jesus as a sinner, though he was perfectly sinless, that he might declare sinners as perfect.
This glorious transaction occurs as the sinner puts their faith (dependence, trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ as their substitute. God then charges Christ’s perfection to the sinner, and no longer views him as an enemy but instead an adopted son covered in the perfect righteousness of his son.
God furnished proof that this sacrifice was accepted by raising Jesus from the dead.
God will judge the world in righteousness and all of those who are not covered in the righteousness of Christ, depending on him for forgiveness, will be forced to stand on their own to bear the eternal anger of God.
Therefore, all must turn from sin and receive Christ Jesus as Lord.
What Is the Gospel?
There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your life’, or that ‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the gospel.
The gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness–or lack of it –or the righteousness of another. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.
The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith–and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him–and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.
The Gospel In A Nutshell
Now, with regard to this rule of faith—that we may from this point acknowledge what it is which we defend—it is, you must know, that which prescribes the belief that there is one only God, and that He is none other than the Creator of the world, who produced all things out of nothing through His own Word, first of all sent forth; that this Word is called His Son, and, under the name of God, was seen “in diverse manners” by the patriarchs, heard at all times in the prophets, at last brought down by the Spirit and Power of the Father into the Virgin Mary, was made flesh in her womb, and, being born of her, went forth as Jesus Christ; thenceforth He preached the new law and the new promise of the kingdom of heaven, worked miracles; having been crucified, He rose again the third day; (then) having ascended into the heavens, He sat at the right hand of the Father; sent instead of Himself the Power of the Holy Ghost to lead such as believe; will come with glory to take the saints to the enjoyment of everlasting life and of the heavenly promises, and to condemn the wicked to everlasting fire, after the resurrection of both these classes shall have happened, together with the restoration of their flesh. This rule, as it will be proved, was taught by Christ, and raises amongst ourselves no other questions than those which heresies introduce, and which make men heretics.
Tertullian, “On Prescription Against Heretics,” Chapter XIIl
What Is the Gospel?
This post is adapted from the tract “What Is the Gospel?” by Greg Gilbert.
A Message from God
What exactly do Christians mean when they talk about the “gospel of Jesus Christ”? Since the word “gospel” means “good news,” when Christians talk about the gospel, they’re simply telling the good news about Jesus! It’s a message from God saying, “Good news! Here is how you can be saved from my judgment!” That’s an announcement you can’t afford to ignore.
Why Is the Gospel Good News?
So, what is the good news about Jesus Christ?
Since the earliest Christians announced the good news about Jesus, it has been organized around these questions:
- Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?
- What is our problem?
- What is God’s solution to our problem?
- How can I be included in his solution?
Christians through the centuries since Christ have answered those questions with the same truth from the Bible.
- We are accountable to God.
- Our problem is our sin against him.
- God’s solution is salvation through Jesus Christ.
- We come to be included in that salvation by faith and repentance.
Let’s summarize those points like this: God, Mankind, Jesus Christ, and Our Response.
God
The first thing to know about the good news of Jesus is that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Everything starts from that point, so if you get that point wrong then everything else that follows will be wrong. Because God created everything—including us—he has the right to tell us how to live. You have to understand that in order to understand the good news about Jesus. To understand just how glorious and life-giving the gospel of Jesus Christ is, we have to understand that God is also holy and righteous. He is determined never to ignore or tolerate sin. Including ours!
Mankind
When God created the first human beings, Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live under his righteous rule in perfect joy—obeying him and living in fellowship with him. When Adam disobeyed God, though, and ate the one fruit that God had told him not to eat, that fellowship with God was broken. Moreover, Adam and Eve had declared rebellion against God. They were denying his authority over their lives.
It’s not just Adam and Eve who are guilty of sin. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin is the rejection of God himself and his authority over those to whom he gives life.
Once you understand sin in that light, you begin to understand why “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That’s not just physical death, but spiritual death, a forceful separating of our sinful, rebellious selves from the presence of God forever. The Bible teaches that the final destiny for unbelieving sinners is eternal, active judgment in a place called “hell.”
But . . .
Jesus Christ
The word “Christ” means “anointed one,” referring to anointing a king with oil when he is crowned. So, when we say “Jesus Christ,” we’re saying that Jesus is a King!
When Jesus began his public ministry, he told the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” As Jesus died on a cross, the awful weight of all our sins fell on his shoulders. The sentence of death God had pronounced against rebellious sinners struck. And Jesus died. For you and me!
But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus the Crucified is no longer dead. The Bible tells us that he rose from the grave. Jesus’s rising from the grave was God’s way of saying, “What Jesus claimed about who he is and what he came to do is true!”
Our Response
What does God expect us to do with the information that Jesus died in our place so we can be saved from God’s righteous wrath against our sins? He expects us to respond with repentance and faith.
To repent of our sins means to turn away from our rebellion against God. Repentance doesn’t mean we’ll bring an immediate end to our sinning. It does mean, though, that we’ll never again live at peace with our sins.
Not only that, but we also turn to God in faith. Faith is reliance. It’s a promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from your sins. If God is ever to count us righteous, he’ll have to do it on the basis of someone else’s record, someone who’s qualified to stand in as our substitute. And that’s what happens when a person is saved by Jesus: All our sins are credited to Jesus who took the punishment for them, and the perfect righteousness of Jesus is then credited to us when we place our trust in what he has done for us! That’s what faith means—to rely on Jesus, to trust in him alone to stand in our place and win a righteous verdict from God!
Ravi Zacharias explains the gospel in two minutes:
The Gospel on 5 Fingers
The five main components of the gospel can be remembered on 5 fingers of one hand. Here they are:
1) Jesus’ birth
2) Jesus’ life
3) Jesus’ death
4) Jesus’ resurrection
5) Jesus’ ascension
Obviously each point can be elaborated on depending on how much time you have. Here’s the short version:
1) Jesus’ birth – Jesus, God himself, the creator of the universe, the Messiah, became a human being – took on flesh, and was born of a virgin.
2) Jesus’ life – Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to his Father. Though he was tempted in every way as we are, he never once sinned.
3) Jesus’ death – on the cross, Jesus himself took all our sins and paid for them. God the father counted all our sins to Jesus as if he himself had personally committed them. Then Jesus bore God’s wrath towards sin – the punishment we deserved – as a substitute for us.
4) Jesus’ resurrection – within 3 days, Jesus rose physically from the dead, proving that his sacrifice for sins have been accepted by God, since the punishment for sin was death. Jesus was seen by numerous people after he rose including 500 at one time (1 Corinthians 15).
5) Jesus’ ascension – Jesus ascended physically into heaven where he reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. And someday he will return to the earth.
That’s the gospel, the good news, and if we believe in Jesus Christ and this good news and call upon him he will save us from our sins and give us eternal life.
That’s a simple way to remember the gospel – five fingers. Even a child can do it. So ask God to give you opportunities to share his good news today.
Please take the time to watch this clip, so that you might understand the authentic Gospel
This is the Gospel:
Friend, God is holy. There is a God in heaven who has created you and me, and He is the authority over both of us. He is perfectly holy. “In Him is Light, and there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). And the problem with that is that if we want to have fellowship with God, we have to be light and no darkness at all. And yet here’s the problem: we are darkness. We are sinful. We’ve all broken His law. We’ve all lied, stolen, we’ve all looked with lust, we’ve all been angry with our brothers in our hearts. We’ve all fallen short of the glorious standard of perfection that God requires (Rom 3:23). And there’s nothing we can do about it. No amount of works, no amount of contrition, no amount of bad feelings, no amount of church attendance, no amount of Bible reading, no amount of evangelism can earn forgiveness of our sins and the righteousness which God requires (Titus 3:5; cf. Isa 64:6).
And yet God is gracious, and He loves us, and as His creatures He wants to display His glory in us by rescuing us from that. And so He sent His Son—God in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ—to be born as a helpless little baby (John 1:14; 3:16; Col 2:9). God of the universe, Sustainer of the universe, Himself being sustained in the womb of a teenage Hebrew girl, and upholding the world by the word of His power (Heb 1:3) while He is upheld by the nutrients from her own body! Unspeakable! And in great humility, He grows up with the growing pains of life in a fallen world, though He Himself never being with any sin—without sin entirely (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26). And He lives a perfectly righteous life. The way that you and I have failed to live before God—the way that we have failed in thought, word, and deed, and fallen short of God’s glory—Christ never did. Not even a thought. He loved God, His Father, perfectly. He always walked in perfect righteousness. He lived the life that you were commanded to live, that I was commanded to live, that we failed to live. He lived that perfect life that God is worthy of.
And not only did He live for us, He died for us. He went to the cross. Our sin demanded death. Our sin demanded eternal punishment. Our sin demanded wrath—just wrath exercised on us for eternity (Rom 6:23). But because of the infinite worth of Christ’s person, He was on that cross. And on that cross, God exercised upon Him the full fury of His own anger (Rom 3:24–26; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:10–14), that was rightly due to me and rightly due to you, and that you will experience if you don’t turn from your sin and trust in this Messiah. Christ was born, lived, died, and was raised (1 Cor 15:3–4). And He rose from the grave after being dead, demonstrating His victory over sin and death.
And now God promises that if you turn from your sin, if you repudiate all that you are and all that you were and all that you love, and you turn away from a life of pursuing sin—and if you repudiate not only your bad works but your good works, if you turn from trying to earn your salvation by all the good deeds that you might want to do as a moral person—if you turn away from all of that (Acts 17:30–31), and you trust in Christ alone for righteousness (Phil 3:7–8; cf. Rom 3:28; 10:4), God promises that He will forgive you. He will have treated Christ on the cross as if Christ lived your life. And He will then treat you, justly and legally and righteously, as if you lived Christ’s perfect life of righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). And you can be saved to know the God you were created to love and enjoy. You can have the fullness of joy, the eternal pleasures that are at the Father’s right hand in heaven (Ps 16:11), and begin even now, because eternal life is to know God (John 17:3).
Friend, would you repent? Would you turn from your sin and trust in this perfect Savior to avail for you before God, to pay for your sin and to provide your righteousness?
Ready to start your new life with God?
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him: Read more
Resource Links
CanIKnowGod.com is a website inspired by LifesGreatestQuestion.com, with new content, images, audio and video that will help you understand more about who God is and how to know Him. The site is mobile responsive and has an infinite scroll which makes for a very user-friendly experience. After you indicate a decision on CanIKnowGod.com, you are directed to a page that details what it means to have a new and transformed life through Jesus Christ. There’s even a Facebook page for daily updates, encouragement and scripture sharing.
Look to Jesus
Have you ever felt a little lost and wished there was a quick-start guide to your relationship with God? This is it!
30 Day Next Steps
John Beckett, a leading Christian businessman, has written a series to read over 30 days for new believers.
New Believers Guide
The New Believer’s Guide is a series of articles designed to show you how to walk in the new life Christ has given you— a life of faith and freedom.
Jesus Booklet
Jesus is the Savior of the world. Discover who Jesus is today in this series.
About Christianity
Know Jesus Christ and your life will be transformed
The Perseverance (Security) of the Saints
Notice all the Scripture references!
It is not just a handful of texts that teach the perseverance of the saints: the entire gospel sustains and confirms it. The Father has chosen them before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), ordained them to eternal life (Acts 13:48), to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29). This election stands (Rom. 9:11; Heb. 6:17) and in due time carries with it the calling and justification and glorification (Rom. 8:30). Christ, in whom all the promises of God are Yes and Amen (2 Cor. 1:20), died for those who were given him by the Father (John 17:6, 12) in order that he might give them eternal life and not lose a single one of them (6:40; 17:2); he therefore gives them eternal life and they will never be lost in all eternity; no one will snatch them out of his hand (6:39; 10:28).
The Holy Spirit who regenerates them remains eternally with them (14:16) and seals them for the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). The covenant of grace is firm and confirmed with an oath (Heb. 6:16–18; 13:20), unbreakable like a marriage (Eph. 5:31–32), like a testament (Heb. 9:17), and by virtue of that covenant, God calls his elect. He inscribes the law upon their inmost being, puts his fear in their heart (Heb. 8:10; 10:14ff.), will not let them be tempted beyond their strength (1 Cor. 10:13), confirms and completes the good work he has begun in them (1 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 1:6), and keeps them for the return of Christ to receive the heavenly inheritance (1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:4–5).
In his intercession before the Father, Christ acts in such a way that their faith may not fail (Luke 22:32), that in the world they may be kept from the evil one (John 17:11, 20), that they may be saved for all times (Heb. 7:20), that their sins will be forgiven them (1 John 2:1), and that they may all be where he is to behold his glory (John 17:24). The benefits of Christ, which the Holy Spirit imparts to them, are all irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). Those who are called are also glorified (8:30). Those who are adopted as children are heirs of eternal life (8:17; Gal. 4:7). Those who believe have eternal life already here and now (John 3:16). That life itself, being eternal, cannot be lost. It cannot die since it cannot sin (1 John 3:9). Faith is a firm ground (Heb. 11:1), hope is an anchor (6:19) and does not disappoint us (Rom. 5:5), and love never ends (1 Cor. 13:8).
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