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"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of human life... The Church allows for possible exceptions for its members when: Pregnancy results from rape or incest, or A competent physician determines that the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy, or A competent physician determines that the fetus has severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth. The Church teaches its members that even these rare exceptions do not justify abortion automatically. Abortion is a most serious matter and should be considered only after the persons involved have...

In this day and age, everyone could use a pair of headphones. And if you want to stand out from the sea of white cords, you’ll definitely want to check out this DIY tutorial. He takes two bullets, and with just a little bit of work, he’s left with headphones that look more like a work of art than your new BFF on your daily commute.

Before leaving Washington for more than two weeks in the Hawaiian sun, President Obama was briefed Tuesday on the possibility of terrorist threats during the holiday season. The president met with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss possible dangers, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. Fears of a terror attack have intensified in recent days following the release of a Senate report detailing the CIA's harsh interrogation practices during the Bush administration. Those anxieties intensified after an a gunman took hostages at a downtown Sydney cafe. Two people and the gunman, and Iranian refugee, died as Australian...

Since the final Hobbit opens up tomorrow, please post your review. Tell us why, not just "it was good" or "it was bad". I will post my review early Saturday morning. Please, if you are not interested in discussing this movie, do not ruin it for any one with "I hate the CGI" or "Peter Jackson is a Marxist" or "Frodo and Samwise were a Hollywood homosexual conspiracy" - and no spoilers. From analyzing the themes the Shore use in the soundtrack, it appears that it will probably closer to the book, with a bit of sorrow at the end.

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Two days after WAVY News reported on allegations that PETA workers stole and killed a chihuahua from Accomack County, two groups are calling on the animal advocacy group to answer questions. PETA remains silent. Wilbur Cerate owned the dog, named Maya. He said one weekend in October he discovered the dog was missing. He checked surveillance video, which shows a PETA van pull up, two workers get out, and one snatch the dog off his porch. “I was angry. I understand they pick up my dog, if it was in a tree or another place, but...

"O Antiphons" for the Week before ChristmasIntroduction: Most familiar today from the Advent hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," the seven traditional "O Antiphons" are actually more than a thousand years old. They have long been used at the very end of Advent (Dec. 17-23) in the liturgical prayer of the Church, as Antiphons for the "Magnificat" sung or recited during Vespers (the Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours). Since the Second Vatican Council, they have also been adapted (slightly reworded and rearranged) for the "Alleluia Verse" of the Mass (the short scriptural text or paraphrase that...

His debut, this past weekend, was just about as disastrous as it could have been. But was it a more disastrous debut than that of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace? Let’s go to the tape:

Someone named Nicolette Filler is spamming me via the Freerepublic2 Group on Yahoo. We use this when the FR site is down. Can the owner of the group ban this person? Much appreciated ...

In Part 1 we saw that Mary is the “woman” from Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12 who is at enmity with the devil. In Part 2 we saw that Mary is the “Ark of the New Covenant.” In Part 3 we saw that Gabriel’s salutation points to Mary as an extraordinarily graced individual. Here in Part 4 I would like to examine what it means that Mary is “blessed among women.”Blessed Are You Among Women Elizabeth’s words to Mary continue to be important here: … [A]nd she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is...

I've seen similar sights more than a few times:

How many more of these before Hillary's people (try to) tighten Bill's leash? And she actually kinda looks like a young Hillary.

San Francisco - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement on a new report from Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats revealing that 13 million could lose tax credits to help pay for insurance coverage should the Supreme Court rule against the Obama Administration in the politically-motivated lawsuit of King v Burwell. "Today's report verifies what American families already know: the Affordable Care Act is working and helping families afford the coverage they need and deserve. Yet, Republicans and other opponents of the law want to strip some 13 million Americans of the premium tax credits that keep their...

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory's drill. "This temporary increase in methane -- sharply up and then back down -- tells us there must be some relatively localized source," said Sushil Atreya of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, a member of the Curiosity rover science team. "There are many possible sources, biological or non-biological, such as interaction of water and rock."

Shortly before taking his own life last week, former Fox News correspondent Dominic Di-Natale, 43, sent a text message to a close friend letting her know where authorities can find his body. That is one of many new details emerging from the story of how Di-Natale took fate into his own hands and ended his life before neurological illness consumed him. Over at the New York Times, Ernesto Londoño paid tribute to his close friend, and revealed what led the war zone reporter sent to his fatal decision. Some details: Di-Natale indicated he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder...

If they had timed their escape just right, three prisoners who slipped out of Alcatraz more than 50 years ago on a raft made from raincoats would have had a chance of survival, new research shows. Scientists who were studying the San Francisco Bay's strong tides reconstructed the possible routes of the audacious 1962 escape. The men might have been able to find shelter on an outcrop near the Golden Gate Bridge — that is, if they weren't swept out to sea first, according to the study. From 1934 to 1963, during its time as a maximum high-security federal prison,...

Favor is Looking for You Today's Scripture "Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:12, NIV Today's Word from Joel and Victoria God wants to bring you to a place of abundance! A land filled with favor, opportunity, good health and great relationships. You may not be there yet, but don't worry. Your blessing is on the way. David said in Psalm 31, “God has blessings stored up for those that love the Lord.” There are businesses stored up for you that God wants to release. There is promotion...

The current Standard Form (SF86) required for submitting for a federal background investigation, now requires applicant to disclose any participation with militias. This was never included in any previous edition. Here is the question: Q: Have you EVER participated in militias (not including official state government militias) or paramilitary groups? This is unprecedented. It says it is a revised July 2008 form: but I did one in 2011, and this question wasn't included. This represents the first time an otherwise legal activity, is now under federal scrutiny in the background investigation process.

They haven’t even been sworn in yet, but these members start off the cycle as underdogs in their quests for re-election in 2016. Most of 2016′s initial targets are incoming Republicans, swept into office in a GOP midterm wave. They will represent districts Democrats carried with big margins in presidential election years — seats the newly minted Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Ben Ray Luján will probably want back. Only one vulnerable Democrat made this list. What’s more, the window for either party to oust these freshman could close quickly. It’s easier to defeat an incumbent in their first re-election,...

Wrestling Before God " Take up the whole armor of God…praying always… —Ephesians 6:13,18 " You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (see...

Life Begins in the Womb “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5, ESV) Every Christian living in the United States is confronted with a question. Is abortion permissible? Abortion is lawful. Many people consider it a viable alternative to an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. Many of the people who espouse such a belief are intelligent and appear to be well informed. Regardless of a person's social status or level of education, that person is still subject to truth....