KFUO Radio News Break

In today's News:

Ethics board meets

The Trump administration established the National Institutes of Health Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board earlier this year amid calls to end the practice of using aborted baby body parts in taxpayer-funded research. The Scientist reports President Donald Trump appointed the 15 board members, and at least 10 of them are pro-life. The board met for the first time July 31. The new ethics board is made up of 15 non-government employees, including doctors, scientists, ethicists, attorneys and theologians. Its task is to research the use of aborted baby body parts in taxpayer-funded scientific research and make ethical recommendations about it. The board will create a final report with recommendations for U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

World Day against human trafficking

July 30 was the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, a day of awareness for sex trafficking around the world. To emphasize the subject, the Women’s Rights Without Frontiers organization noted that Communist China is ranked among the world’s worst offenders in sex trafficking by the U.S. State Department. China has “an insatiable market for sexual slavery, but china also is a major purveyor of sexual slavery around the world,” said Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, in a press release.

ACLU sues Catholic hospitals

Catholic hospitals around the country are on a collision course with the ACLU, the Democratic Party and assorted social-justice secularists who insist that these religious institutions violate their own faith precepts in the provision of medical services. In Washington state, a proposed merger between a secular and Catholic hospital systems has brought down the ire of the ACLU and others, such as End of Life Washington and NARAL. Specifically, the ACLU wants to force the merged system to practice medicine in a secular fashion, meaning the Catholic hospital would be required to perform abortions, transgender surgeries, and assisted suicides — all legal in Washington, but all also prohibited in Catholic teaching. There have already been several lawsuits filed against religious hospitals around the country for obeying the principles of catholic health care, with the primary focus seemingly on hospitals denying transgender hysterectomies, abortions, and sterilizations.

Assisted suicides in Hawaii reported

The Hawaii assisted suicide law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. The 2019 Hawaii Assisted Suicide Report, issued on July 1, indicates that in the first year of legalized assisted suicide: 30 people were prescribed lethal drugs, 15 people died by assisted suicide, eight people received a lethal prescription died but did not die by assisted suicide and seven people remained alive at the end of 2019. The report also includes preliminary data for 2020 from Jan. 1 to June 26, 2020, 24 people were prescribed lethal drugs and 13 people died by assisted suicide.

In today's News:

Concordia Irvine adds new school

Concordia University Irvine has added a new school—the School of Health and Human Sciences — offering graduate and undergraduate degree programs in health-related areas of study. Academic offerings in the new School of Health and Human Sciences include a Master of Public Health, Master of Healthcare Administration, Master of Coaching and Athletics Administration, a Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Management, a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a Master of Science in Nursing. Previously housed in other schools at the University, officials have consolidated the related academic programs under one school to share resources, and to allow for the creation of new programs.

Official claims anti-Christian bias

The White House's deputy liaison to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is leaving her post after just two months in the job, calling lawmakers who she said had criticized her views on sexuality and gender identity “radical anti-Christian leftists.” Yesterday, shortly before Politico reported that Merritt Corrigan was exiting USAID, Corrigan chided her critics on Twitter, saying she planned to hold a press conference on Thursday to “discuss the rampant anti-Christian sentiment at USAID.” She also singled out several prominent Democrats, including Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Maryland's governor overrides a county's restrictions

Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan issued an executive order yesterday overriding a county’s decision to force private and parochial schools to remain closed against their will. Under the now-overruled order, parents and educators could have faced up to a year in jail for attempting to open or operate a school. Yesterday, Hogan followed up by issuing an amended emergency order, which states that local school systems retain the primary authority to decide whether to operate for themselves. Keeping schools closed is not among the covid-19 prevention or containment measures advocated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

PPP funds go to pregnancy centers

Pro-life pregnancy centers received millions of dollars to help mothers and babies in need this spring through the CARES Act coronavirus aid fund. According to research by the Guardian, the Trump administration gave more than $4 million to pregnancy resource centers through the cares act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). However, it noted that the estimate is likely low, and pregnancy centers may have received up to $10 million through the program. Pro-life pregnancy centers serve hundreds of thousands of women and babies each year in America, and most function primarily with donations and volunteers. Some receive government funding to support their life-affirming work, but many do not. Thousands of pregnancy centers are located in communities across the United States, offering free resources to pregnant and parenting families.

In today's News:

Human trafficking shelter for girls wins permit

A Catholic charity that has prepared to open a home for underage victims of human trafficking has reached a resolution with California authorities after it was allegedly pressured to affirm LGBT sexuality, to inject sex hormones into any beneficiaries who identify as transgender, and to agree to drive minors to abortion clinics. The San Diego-based Children of the Immaculate Heart, which has served adult victims of human trafficking since 2013, had aimed to open a house for girls age 12-17 who had been victims of human trafficking. The charity and state government settled outside of court after California requested the process go to mediation. The California Department of Social Services issued the organization a provisional license to operate the refuge as a short-term residential therapeutic program.

Two arrested for chalking pro-life message

Police in Washington, D.C., arrested a man and a woman in front of Planned Parenthood because they were writing “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” with a piece of chalk outside the abortion facility. A metropolitan police department spokeswoman told The Epoch Times that the arrests were for the defacing of property. The man and the woman were released with citations. Recently, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser painted the streets of the city with the slogan “Black Lives Matter,” the pro-life group pointed out in an online petition. After applying and receiving a permit and after being told by the metropolitan police that the mayor has “opened a pandora’s box” by painting public streets, students for life arrived at the D.C. Planned Parenthood on Saturday to six police cars threatening to arrest the team and student leaders if they painted "Black Pre-Born Lives Matter,” even using the temporary paint that the police department specifically requested. When the members of the group asked if they could use sidewalk chalk to chalk their anti-violence message on the streets, the police threatened to arrest them and then did.

Democrats again push abortion in Congress

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation to repeal a longstanding restriction on overseas abortion funding, and plan to vote on a spending bill that would open the door to further pro-abortion spending, including targeting the Little Sisters of the Poor once more. The House is slated to take up a spending bill for several government departments that attacks current restrictions on abortion funding from multiple angles. The bill would allow the District of Columbia to pay for abortions with taxpayer dollars; gut the Trump administration’s protect life rule, which bars abortionists from receiving Title X funds; undo administrative rules protecting the right not to participate in or subsidize abortion; deny teen pregnancy prevention funds to programs that teach abstinence; and cut funding for “sexual risk avoidance” education, which is defined as “voluntarily refraining from non-marital sexual activities.” Further, a manager’s amendment would reverse the Trump administration’s move to protect religious entities such as the Little Sisters of the Poor from being forced to fund contraceptives under Obamacare. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the administration had the right to issue the exemption, but did not strike down the Obama-era mandate itself.

In today's News:

Decision against journalists appealed

Thomas More Society attorneys will appeal the decision that a San Francisco Superior Court judge made after a hearing held Tuesday in the case of undercover journalist David Daleiden. Daleiden is being charged as a criminal by California’s attorney general for his investigative exposé of Planned Parenthood’s involvement in trafficking aborted baby body parts. Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos was asked to dismiss the 10 criminal counts levied against Daleiden by Xavier Becerra, California’s current attorney general, who took over the prosecution of Daleiden that was initiated by his predecessor, Kamala Harris. The political careers of both Becerra and Harris have been supported and financed by Planned Parenthood. Daleiden’s defense attorneys, including the Thomas More Society’s Tom Brejcha and Peter Breen, will challenge Bolanos’ findings. Breen, vice president and senior counsel, shared that the judge dismissed one complaint as “duplicative,” and tossed out a count against Daleiden’s investigative partner, Sandra Merritt, for lack of evidence.

Trump administration wants rule reinstated

The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to reinstate a rule that has required women to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill during the covid-19 pandemic. A federal judge in Maryland agreed earlier this month to temporarily block enforcement of the rule. Justice department attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang to suspend his July 13 order while they appeal, but the judge refused yesterday. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday docketed the government´s appeal of Chuang´s decision.

Planned Parenthood want a worship service closed

A Washington State Planned Parenthood sued a christian community for holding monthly pro-life worship services outside one of its abortion centers. The lawsuit failed to mention that the worship services begin at 6 p.m., which is when the abortion center closes. Planned Parenthood commits more than 345,000 abortions annually, according to its most recent annual report. Additionally, the organization handed out more than 593,000 emergency contraception kits, commonly known as the “morning-after pill,” which can also cause abortions in some cases.

Whereabouts of a Chinese bishop unknown

The fate of a long-imprisoned Catholic bishop in China was the focus of a Congressional hearing yestrerday, amid growing concern he may have died in the custody of the communist government. “President Xi Jinping: where is Bishop Su, and what have you done to him?” New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, co-chair of the commission, asked in his opening remarks yesterday at a hearing of the bipartisan Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Bishop James Su Zhimin of the Diocese of Baoding, in China’s Hebei province, was arrested by Chinese authorities in 1997. He was last seen by family at a hospital in 2003 while he was in government custody.

In today's News:

Pro football players face restrictions

The National Football League and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) recently announced regulations forbidding players to attend church when a service is more than a quarter full of the faithful. On July 25, NBC Sports reported that the NFL and the NFLPA will restrict players this season from attending indoor church services when attendance is above 25 percent of capacity. In addition, players cannot go to nightclubs, indoor bars (except to pick up food), indoor house parties (with 15 or more people), indoor concerts, or professional sporting events. If players test positive for covid after engaging in prohibited activities, they will not be paid for the games they miss and future guarantees in their contracts will be voided. Although the regulation details have not yet been publicly released, NBC Sports did not mention any restrictions on attending protests.

Athletes reject call to boycott Idaho

Female Olympians, Title IX pioneers, and more than 300 collegiate and professional athletes submitted a letter to the National College Athletic Association Board of Governors Wednesday, urging them to reject a recent call to boycott Idaho for passing its Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. In the letter, the current and former female athletes state they have benefited personally and professionally “from a fair and level playing field” and urge the NCAA to protect the integrity of women’s sports, consistent with the promise and purpose of Title IX. Signers include world-class cyclist Jennifer Wagner-Assali, world-champion track athlete Cynthia Monteleone, and Title IX pioneer and marathon swimmer Sandra Bucha-Kerscher. The coalition supports biology-based eligibility standards for participation in female sports and opposes efforts to bully or boycott the state of Idaho for passing the first state law that prevents males from competing in women’s sports. In May, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of a male athlete seeking to challenge Idaho’s newly enacted law. In June, the ACLU and various female athletes called on the NCAA to boycott Idaho.

Move to fund abortion services

The first bill to repeal a us law preventing aid from funding abortion services overseas was introduced to Congress on Wednesday. Democratic Congressswoman Jan Schakowsky said the Helms Amendment, a policy introduced in 1973, was in her words, “deeply rooted in racism” and must be replaced to allow U.S. money to be used to support safe abortion services worldwide. The new bill is not expected to pass in the short term but is seen as part of a longer-term strategy by Democrats to uphold abortion, which has come under sustained attack from the Trump administration. The bill states that abortion “is a critical component of sexual and reproductive healthcare and should be accessible and affordable for all people” and adds that restricting abortion does not reduce need or numbers. As introduced to Congress on Wednesday. Democratic Congressswoman Jan Schakowsky said the Helms Amendment, a policy introduced in 1973, was in her words, “deeply rooted in racism” and must be replaced to allow U.S. money to be used to support safe abortion services worldwide. The new bill is not expected to pass in the short term but is seen as part of a longer-term strategy by Democrats to uphold abortion, which has come under sustained attack from the Trump administration. The bill states that abortion “is a critical component of sexual and reproductive healthcare and should be accessible and affordable for all people” and adds that restricting abortion does not reduce need or numbers.

In today's News:

Some charges dropped against pro-life journalists

Additional charges against two pro-life investigative journalists have been dropped in the case of the People of the State Of California vs. David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). In a hearing held over Zoom yesterday, two of the ten charges against Merritt and one of the ten against Daleiden were dropped, according to My Valley News. Daleiden and Merritt are the undercover journalists from CMP responsible for exposing the fetal body part trafficking scandal taking place at Planned Parenthood affiliates around the nation. Yesterday, California’s criminal case against them went before Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos in a hearing to request the dismissal of all or some of the criminal charges. the charges that remain for the journalists include recording Planned Parenthood staffers without their consent.

New Jersey is challenged on worship restrictions

Attorneys from the Thomas More Society filed a motion for leave to file a third amended complaint in a federal religious liberty lawsuit against New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy. given the decline of covid deaths and hospitalizations to near zero in the state, the Rev. Kevin Robinson, a Catholic parish priest, and Rabbi Yisrael Knopfler, leader of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, have expanded their claims for relief against Murphy and his administration on account of indoor “gathering” restrictions that interfere with worship. Robinson and Knopfler are asking the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to prevent Murphy and other state officials from enforcing executive orders that bar their respective houses of worship from holding indoor religious worship at more than 25 percent of capacity, leaving them with only minuscule congregations.

'Baby Lives Matter'

A pro-life activist painted a blue and pink mural displaying the phrase “BABY LIVES MATTER” in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington, D.C., during the weekend and plans to paint more murals across the country. This mural is the latest effort of the Baby Lives Matter movement, which began two weeks ago after artist and pro-life activist Tayler Hansen spent seven hours painting a baby lives matter mural on the street in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah.

College officials block talk from pro-life speaker

An evangelical university in Minnesota has blocked a conservative student group from hosting a lecture by African-American pro-life activist Star Parker because of what the administration called her “radically” held beliefs. the University of Northwestern – St. Paul informed its chapter of Young America’s Foundation, a conservative student group, last month that it could not hold an open event featuring the 62-year-old conservative activist. Parker is the founder of the 800-pastor Network Center for Urban Renewal and Education and has long argued that the conservative agenda of traditional values, limited government and free markets are the greatest benefit to low-income Americans, especially African-Americans, in inner cities. She has also long spoken about the negative impact that abortion and Planned Parenthood has had on the African-American community.

In today's News:

Tennessee's abortion law put on hold

After issuing a temporary injunction against a Tennessee law that would ban abortion in most circumstances, U.S. District Judge William Campbell blocked on friday the law from taking effect while it is being challenged in court. Campbell cited imprecision in the bill’s language as well as the likelihood that portions of it would be found unconstitutional in court as reasons for issuing the additional injunction against it while litigation is ongoing. The Tennessee Senate passed the pro-life bill on june 19 by a 23-5 party line vote. The legislation bans abortion after the point at which a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The bill also has a provision would automatically enact a ban on abortion at 10 different stages of pregnancy, should the heartbeat portion of the bill be struck down in court. It also banned abortions that were sought on the basis of race, sex, or a diagnosis of down syndrome.

Coach Kennedy appeals for reinstatement

First Liberty Institute and Kirkland & Ellis filed an opening brief on behalf of football coach Joe Kennedy in his appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In 2015, the Bremerton, Wash., school district suspended the longtime football coach for the season and then refused to rehire him because he took a knee in brief, silent, personal prayer after football games. In March, a federal district court ruled against Coach Kennedy. In January 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the case at that time and instead allowed Coach Kennedy’s case to continue through the court system. Coach Kennedy’s case received national attention and support from political and religious leaders including President Trump and Franklin Graham, Hall of Fame Football Coach Bobby Bowden, and Former NFL players Steve Largent and Chad Hennings. In January, Trump invited Coach Kennedy to the Oval office as he announced new actions to protect religious freedom in America’s public schools.

Muslims celebrate while Orthodox Christians mourn

As the Muslim call to prayer resounded through Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia on Friday, church bells tolled in mourning in Greece, flags flew at half-staff, and during at least one protest Turkish national flags were set alight. Turkish President Erdogan’s decision to restore Muslim worship at the sixth-century landmark, viewed by many Orthodox Christians as a central symbol of their faith, has raised temperatures between the longstanding rivals, stirring nationalist sentiment on both sides. The Hagia Sophia was the epicenter of Eastern Christianity for about 900 years, before the Ottomans turned it into a mosque in the 15th century following the conquest of Constantinople. It was finally declared a museum in 1934, until this month’s court ruling and decree by Turkey's Islamist president. On Friday, Erdogan led thousands of Muslims in prayer there, the first time Muslims had held public worship in the building in 86 years.

In today's News:

Small child will remain on life support

Trinity Lewis, the mother of 17-month-old Tinslee Lewis, has secured a win in the Second Court of Appeals In Fort Worth, Texas. The court ruled 2-1 that the little girl, born prematurely and with a rare heart defect, will not be removed from life support against her family’s wishes. According to Court House News, this ruling will allow Lewis to challenge the state’s 10-day rule. The court issued a temporary injunction that prevents Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth from withdrawing life support until after the full trial is held. That court decision will either uphold the state’s 10-day rule or strike it down as unconstitutional.

Casinos, yes. Churches, no

By a 5-4 vote Friday the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Nevada’s coronavirus regulation that limits attendance at indoor religious services to 50 persons. Some businesses in the state, such as casinos, may admit 50 percent of their capacity. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, decided July 24 to deny the application for injunctive relief presented by Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, an ecclesial community in Dayton, Nev., About 40 miles southeast of Reno.

Groups ask court to rule ERA is dead

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Concerned Women for America and Susan B. Anthony List filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday that urges the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to acknowledge that the Equal Rights Amendment’s ratification deadline has expired. Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, promotes Constitutional principles through advocacy and has led campaigns and participated in litigation against the ERA.

State legislators attempt to shut down pregnancy centers

A bill to “intimidate, silence and shut down” pro-life pregnancy centers and the vital support that they provide to moms and babies is moving through the New York State Legislature this week. The pro-abortion bill appears to be the latest attempt by pro-abortion lawmakers to reduce access to any pregnancy choice other than abortion. Both the New York Catholic Bishops and leading pro-life advocates in the state are asking New Yorkers to call their state lawmakers and urge them to oppose it. The legislation would establish a taskforce, including abortionists and abortion activists, to help the New York State Commissioner of Health inspect and report on the actions of pro-life pregnancy centers. It also would require pregnancy centers to submit huge amounts of paperwork to the state, including information about the women whom they are serving. Pro-life pregnancy centers serve about 2-million mothers and babies each year in the U.S., Providing free counseling, ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, diapers, cribs, clothing and more. Most are small, non-profit organizations that primarily rely on volunteers and donations to provide community-based services. Unlike abortion facilities, very few pregnancy centers receive taxpayer funding.

In today's News:

Ohio wedding business challenges county law

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Cleveland minister and wedding business owner filed suit in federal court Wednesday challenging a Cuyahoga County law that forces her to use her ministry and business to officiate and compose homilies, vows, and prayers for same-sex weddings if she officiates or promotes weddings between one man and one woman. Cuyahoga County also forbids Kristi Stokes and her business, Covenant Weddings, from publicly explaining on her own website and social media sites the religious reasons why she only celebrates weddings between one man and one woman. The county considers such communications to be unlawful “discrimination” based on sexual orientation. The law threatens fines of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, depending on their frequency, and the threat of investigation and expensive legal fees.

NAACP sues to take funds from non-public schools

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the latest entity to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education over its guidance that local education agencies must use federal coronavirus aid to provide “equitable services to students and teachers in non-public schools.” The lawsuit contends that Congress intended the cares act, which the president signed into law March 27, to apportion coronavirus relief funds based on the number of low-income students at both public and private schools in each district, “in the same manner” as Title I funds. In contrast, an Education Department rule stated that the funds ought to be distributed based on the total number of students in both public and private schools, resulting in fewer dollars for public schools, the lawsuit contends. The Education Department amended the rule in late June, following concerns that Catholic and other non-public schools were being excluded from sufficient epidemic relief funds to support protective equipment for students and teachers, cleaning, training in remote education, and distance education tools.

California challenged to permit in-home Bible study

A multi-campus church has filed a complaint in federal court against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s covid-19 executive order that it believes effectively bans church members from holding Bible studies and other small group meetings in their homes. The new lawsuit was filed last Saturday on behalf of the Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church, which has campuses throughout the state, and Harvest International Ministries, a nonprofit corporation with 162 member churches statewide and more than 65,000 affiliates worldwide. Both organizations are led by Ché Ahn, an author and international chancellor of Wagner University who has been seen on networks like Trinity Broadcasting Network and GODTV. The legal complaint says the governor’s order earlier this month that bans all indoor worship services in as many as 30 counties on the state’s covid-19 county monitoring list also bans members from gathering at each other’s homes for Bible studies in those counties.

In today's News:

Brazilian Lutherans cope with pandemic

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing in March 2020, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil has been concerned with helping its members and pastors acclimatize to the current reality the world is facing. With the covid-19 pandemic in mind, President Geraldo Walmir Schüler encouraged congregations to suspend all onsite activities, including worship services. At the same time, the church made available to congregations a variety of resources to assist their ministry work during the pandemic. Worship services were organized with the assistance of its communication agency and pastors from the church’s national board and transmitted live via the web radio station on Sunday mornings.

A Christian student fights back

Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter yesterday to Florida State University administrators appealing the student senate’s decision to remove him from his seat as president of the FSU student government association student senate for sharing his personal beliefs with other students. In a private text conversation with fellow Catholic students, Jack Denton suggested that blacklivesmatter.com, reclaim the block, and the ACLU advocate for causes opposed to Catholic teaching and Catholic students may wish to avoid supporting them financially. After one student took screenshots of Denton’s private messages and shared them publicly on social media, students mocked and misrepresented his remarks and demanded his removal from leadership as the SGA’s student senate president. After a failed vote of no-confidence on June 3, student senators approved Denton’s removal two days later. Students who supported the motion stated that they sought to remove Denton because of his beliefs, communicated in private texts.

Nebraska moves to ban dismemberment abortions

Nebraska lawmakers voted Tuesday to advance a pro-life bill to protect unborn babies from brutal dismemberment abortions. The pro-life bill would prohibit abortion procedures that use clamps, forceps or similar instruments to remove pieces of a living unborn baby from his/her mother’s womb. These abortions typically are referred to as dilation and evacuation, or D&E, and are common in the second trimester when unborn babies are nearly fully developed. The ban does not apply to unborn babies who are already dead. Doctors who violate the ban would face fines and felony charges.

More protections for religious freedom

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services took two important steps Tuesday to protect religious freedom during the covid-19 pandemic. The agency’s Office for Civil Rights announced that patients at hospitals within the University of Maryland medical system may receive visits by clergy amid the pandemic. And, the office said, a medical student at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City may follow his religious belief by not shaving his beard despite having to wear a mask.