CP World Report: Republican Florida Primary, Alberta Keystone Pipeline Project, Haitians Giving Up Voodoo
The biggest Republican contest is on tonight with the primary in the swing state of Florida. Rick Santorum's 20 year old daughter, Elizabeth, campaigned in his place at an event in Sarasota. The candidate stayed home in Pennsylvania to care for his youngest daughter three year old Isabella who was admitted to a hospital Saturday night for pneumonia. Little Bella suffers from a genetic condition: Trisomy 18, marked by medical and developmental problems. Many calls have gone out for prayer.
Republican contender Newt Gingrich, on his campaign for the Florida primary said he would ban all embryonic stem cell research and call for a commission to study the ethics of in vitro fertilization. His proposal was seen as an attempt to woo evangelical voters and gain an edge over his biggest opponent, Mitt Romney.
Congressional Republicans are ready to go another round with President Obama over the Keystone pipeline. GOP lawmakers are planning to introduce new legislation to create the 17 hundred mile long expansion to carry crude oil from Canada to the U.S Gulf Coast. Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana says the move would be good for the U-S economy and for gaining energy independence.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Obama rejected the project earlier this month, saying his administration needed more time to look at the pipeline's possible environmental impacts.
The Arab League has announced suspension of its monitoring mission in Syria. It was aimed at putting an end to violence against civilians. It was recently extended. But with reports that Assad's security forces killed at least 98 people on Saturday, and over 200 since the extension , the authority of the mission is in question. A Syrian official said suspending the mission is to put pressure on the U.N. Security Council to demand foreign intervention . Moscow is an ally of al-Assad and is likely to oppose any resolution against him. And, should the Assad regime topple, Christian Church leaders are concerned that persecution will be worse under an Islamist takeover, like Egypt.
According to reports, two years after a devastating earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people in Haiti, Christianity is fast replacing Voodoo in the lives and practices of the people. A host of Christian missionaries and charity organizations who flew in to assist the millions in desperate need have also contributed to a large conversion movement. One such group, the Haiti Foundation of Hope that has built community health programs reports seeing first hand people giving up their Voodoo beliefs and turning to Christ
And here's a…. would you believe story: Church ushers listen up: A St. Louis woman Cheryl Jones is suing an evangelical church after another woman was moved in the spirit, fell over, and took down a few congregants with her. This included Jones who says she went unconscious and still suffers pain, and emotional stress. There have been many cases like this in courts and there's a name for them: "swoon and fall" cases. The Michigan Court of Appeals recently upheld a $40,000 jury award after finding that it was the duty of the church to provide ushers to catch a "swooning" congregant after she fell backwards.
Most parents do their best when it comes to their children's safety. But a new study is showing that many may be cutting corners when it comes to carpools.
IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS…
Jefferson Bethke, the 22 year old online evangelist whose recent video "Why I Hate Religion" saw over 17 million views in just one week, has created a new spoken word poem "Sex, Marriage & Fairytales". He says he hopes is to highlight the most common and problematic issues plaguing marriages today, while emphasizing Jesus as the "ultimate healer, redeemer, and restorer of every marriage."
