Wednesday, August 1st , in the year of our Lord 2018
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldView.com)
North Korea to Woman: Possibly One Year of Hard Labor
A North Korean family which was preparing to escape to South Korea was arrested and interrogated by members of the Ministry of State Security last month, reports DailyNK.com.
The woman confessed to calling her husband, a defector, nine times in the previous month, who added that “attempting to defect and calling someone in South Korea are both severe crimes.”
In their reform of the criminal code in 2015, the North Korean authorities added the “crime of making illegal international calls” that would result in a sentence of one year in a labor camp, or up to five years in a labor reform camp.
The North Korean agents had installed monitoring devices near the woman’s house. After recording her conversations with her husband over three days, they arrested her during the middle of a call.
North Korea Building New Ballistic Missiles
Satellite imagery gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies indicates that North Korea is building new ballistic missiles at a factory just outside its capital, according to The Washington Post.
The report follows last month’s summit in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after which Trump hailed in a tweet that “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”
President Trump Personally Engaged in Andrew Brunson’s Release
One of President’s chief legal advisors, Jay Sekulow, has confirmed that the White House is absolutely committed to getting pastor Andrew Brunson released from Turkey, where he has been imprisoned for almost two years, reports Fox News Channel.
“I will tell you the President has been incredibly engaged in directly securing his release. The President has told me on numerous occasions he is not resting until, our client, Andrew Brunson, a pastor for 23 years in Turkey, is returned to the United States.”
Turkish President Erdogan firmly urged the US to shift its attitude if it wanted to keep Turkey as a “strong and sincere partner.”
He added, “You cannot make Turkey take a step back with sanctions. They need to know the following: we are not tied with an umbilical cord to the US.”
Aeromexico Plane Crashed Yesterday
An Aeromexico plane with 101 people on board crashed in flames yesterday near an airport in northern Mexico, leaving 85 people injured, two of them critically, reports ABC.
The pilot was trying to abort take-off from Durango International Airport due to bad weather, but did so too late and crashed in an area of scrubland at the end of the runway.
Al Franken Might Run for Senate — Again
Former Democrat Senator Al Franken of Minnesota appears to be flirting with running for his old U.S. Senate seat after he resigned in disgrace over sexual harassment, reports WCCO-TV.
Reporter: “Will you run for run for office again?”
Al Franken: “Well, see, if I say anything there you will put it in the story. (laughs) I don’t know. I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in.”
Sounds like the alumnus from Saturday Night Live is definitely going to run again.
9th Circuit Court of Appeals Bans Prayer
In a ruling that apparently conflicts with U.S. Supreme Court precedent, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ban on “anything that might resemble a prayer” at board meetings of a Southern California school district, reports WorldNetDaily.com.
The lawsuit claimed that board members made comments such as “God appointed us to be here,” a teacher was thanked for “placing God before herself,” and they thanked a Christian pastor who gave an opening prayer for serving “the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Robert Tyler, a legal counsel representing the Chino Valley Unified School District, said, “Such an overbroad injunction is a clear violation of the right of private citizens to address their local representatives in public meetings and is dangerous to the First Amendment.”
Psalm 14:2 says, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.”
Pro-Life Blogger Suspended by Twitter
Twitter suspended the account of Kathleen McKinley, a conservative, pro-life blogger, despite not producing any evidence to substantiate its claims she abrogated Twitter policies, reports Life News.
The two tweets that had been reported as “hateful” were tweets about transgenderism being a mental disorder.
Facebook Removes Left-Wing Disinformation Pages
Facebook announced yesterday that it has removed 32 inauthentic Instagram and Facebook profiles and pages which espouse left-wing political messages because the company believes they were part of a coordinated disinformation campaign, reports The Daily Caller.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Makes Hundreds Sick
Chipotle Mexican Grill briefly closed down one of its restaurants in Powell, Ohio, on Monday after a number of customers became sick, reports CNBC.
The Delaware General Health District said it received 368 inquiries related to the outbreak and had delivered 33 stool sample kits to people who reported they were ill.
An inspection by a local health department last week found that the restaurant was not keeping its lettuce and beans at proper temperatures, according to Business Insider.
Samaritan’s Purse Helps Victims of California Wildfire
Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian relief group, sent a “tractor trailer filled with equipment and supplies” from North Carolina headed to Northern California in a bid to help those affected by the devastating wildfires.
Chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association are also headed to the disaster area to pray for victims.
1 John 3:17 asks, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
8 World View Listeners Gave $1,503
And finally, the big update on our fundraising campaign. And frankly, I’m getting nervous. I’m not sure we are going to hit this Friday’s goal of $30,000 to keep The World View in 5 Minutes on the air. It’s getting really close!
Each day, our team spends 8-9 hours working on The World View between researching, interviewing, transcribing, writing, editing, and voicing the newscast.
I urged 10 World View listeners to help. We almost got there with 8 donations.
Special thanks to Andrea from Omaha, Nebraska for her gift of $24, Kelly in Elgin, Illinois for her gift of $25, Bruce in Maiwapa, New Zealand for his gift of $34, Hannah from Moulton, Alabama for her gift of $100, Naomi in Athens, Illinois for her gift of $220, and Wendi in Goodwater, Alabama for her gift of $500.
And we’re also grateful to God for Steve and Kelly in Athens, Illinois and Wilf in Thorhild, Alberta, Canada – each of whom pledged $25/month for a year.
Together, their 8 gifts totaled $1,503.
Ready for our new grand total? Drum roll please. (drum roll) So far, since July 2nd, the remnant has given or pledged $25,985 toward our $30,000 goal. (applause) We now stand at 86.6% of our goal!
Time Is Running Out to Make a Donation
If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines throughout this month, now is the time to get in the game!
We need just 4 more World View listeners to pledge $50 per month for a year and 7 more listeners to pledge $25 per month for a year. It would be terrific if we not only reached the $30,000 goal by this Friday, August 3rd, but blew it out of the water.
Go to www.TheWorldView.com, click on ‘Give’ on the top right, then on $50 or $25, and check the recurring donation button. If you’ve been waiting until the last minute, we are virtually there. Please give today!
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, August 1st in the year of our Lord 2018. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
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Iran Jails 8 Christians
Iran significantly increased judicial actions against Christians throughout July, reports International Christian Concern.
As July progressed, eight believers reportedly had judicial action taken against them. This number represents a noteworthy increase of publicized cases of Christian persecution in Iran.
For example, on July 2, Massoumeh Taqinejad was arrested and detained alongside her son during a raid on her home by intelligence forces. She has been charged with proselytizing Christianity on the internet and they were arrested in Kermanshah. Their fate remains unknown.
Seven other Iranian Christians have been arrested, most of whom have been sent to Evin Prison, Iran’s notorious “torture factory.”
Claire Evans of International Christian Concern said, “The persecution of Christians in Iran is increasingly building as the regime struggles to maintain its grip over the hearts and minds of its citizenry.”
Trump to Mueller: I Did Not Collude with Moscow!
President Donald Trump again attacked Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia and the 2016 U.S. election yesterday, reiterating that his campaign did not collude with Moscow, reports Reuters.
Trump wrote on Twitter, “Collusion is not a crime, but that doesn’t matter because there was No Collusion (except by Crooked Hillary and the Democrats)!”
Paul Manafort Avoided Taxes on Millions
Prosecutors accused former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of being a “shrewd” liar who orchestrated a global scheme to avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars, in opening statements that kicked off Manafort’s trial yesterday, reports CNN.
Manafort lived an “extravagant lifestyle” fueled by “secret income” that he earned from his lobbying in Ukraine.
He’s facing 18 charges, including accusations of filing false tax returns, failing to report foreign bank accounts and defrauding several banks. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 305 years in prison.
Trump to Allow Investment Income to Be Adjusted for Inflation
The Treasury Department is considering a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans through a change that would not need approval from congress, reports The Independent.
The agency is studying whether to allow investment income, known as capital gains, to be adjusted for inflation in a way that shields more of it from taxation.
The use of executive power on such a significant change to the tax law would be highly unusual and could be vulnerable to a legal challenge.
Portland Police to ICE: We’re Not Going to Protect You
Portland, Oregon, police refused to respond to at least two 911 emergency calls from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees inside their offices where violent protesters held week-long demonstrations, reports The Daily Caller.
Demonstrators, some affiliated with the domestic terrorist organization Antifa, set up a city of tents outside the ICE offices. After setting up camp, they became violent and incited violence several times.
The Occupy ICE camp was officially shut down July 25, after more than a month of demonstrations. They infected the area so much, the mayor called it a biohazard.
Texas Estranged Wife Not Allowed to Pull Plug on Husband
Jonathan Michel, a 39-year-old father from Malakoff, Texas, suffered a severe head injury after falling to the ground June 30. He was rushed to East Medical Center in Tyler, Texas, where doctors found that the impact had caused extensive damage to the left side of his brain – he was almost totally paralyzed down the right side of his body, reports FaithWire.
Jonathan’s estranged wife, Jacqueline Dalton, showed up and told the medical team that Jonathan would not want to be kept alive in his current state.
Thankfully, Dalton has now been handed a medical restraining order, effectively preventing her from pulling Jonathan’s life support, a decision that Pastor Mark Dickson of SovereignLOVE Church in Longview, Texas supports.
Look who’s running for President
Ever heard of Eric Garcetti? He’s the Democratic Los Angeles mayor who is thinking about running for president, reports TheDailyBeast.com.
He appeared on The Daily Show to raucous applause and was featured in a glowing GQ profile that cast him as the “anti-Trump, pro–Star Wars man we need” who will “lead with love”.
Don’t Schedule Your Leisure
Your social calendar might be sucking the joy out of activities that are supposed to be fun or relaxing, according to an article in Current Opinion in Psychology.
The paper argues that when a leisure activity is planned rather than spontaneous, we enjoy it less, reports LMTonline.com.
That’s because we tend to mentally lump all our scheduled activities in the same bucket – whether it’s a dentist appointment or grabbing coffee with a friend. And that makes the pleasurable activities more of a chore.