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Good afternoon! It's Tuesday, December 20, and today's headlines include the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily freezing orders to lift Title 42 border restrictions, two libraries that will host actor Kirk Cameron following the threat of legal action, the upcoming launch of the George Liele Leadership Institute, and an interview with Kathie Lee Gifford.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has put a stay on the termination of an immigration measure aimed at limiting the number of people who could seek asylum in the nation for medical reasons. In a brief order released Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts ordered that a ruling against Title 42 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia be "stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court." The stay comes as problems at the border regarding the large
number of people entering the country illegally continue to put a strain on local municipalities. Oscar Leeser, the mayor of El Paso, Texas, recently announced that he was declaring a state of emergency in response to the border crisis and its impact on his city.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement in response to the stay, explaining that "individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico." The department added that it plans to continue "preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts." Had Roberts not issued the order, the Title 42 measures would
have expired on Wednesday per an order from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued last month. Continue reading.
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P.S.CP is excited to announce the launch of Freedom Post, a free, twice-weekly newsletter highlighting breaking news and headlines on key issues ranging from freedom to religious liberty. Sign-up today to get Freedom Post delivered to your inbox every Monday and Thursday. Check out these headlines from our latest issue of Freedom Post:
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Christian actor Kirk Cameron said that two public libraries are working with him to host a reading of his new faith-based children's book once Cameron indicated he was prepared to seek legal help after multiple libraries across the United States refused to host him. The actor will speak at the Indianapolis Public Library in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Dec. 29 and at the Scarsdale Public Library in Scarsdale, New York, the following day. The two libraries, which have previously hosted drag queen story hours and other programs celebrating the diversity of opinions, are among the libraries that initially refused to host Cameron. "I'm happy that the two libraries changed their decision and will allow my voice to be heard and my book to be read," the actor said in a statement
published Monday by Fox News. "I hope they realized that their position of denying me a story hour reading was not only unfair and illegal but that we would all be better off if we listened to each other's perspectives." Read more.
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The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has ruled 4-2 against a 2016 lawsuit filed by a doctor seeking to overturn the commonwealth’s common-law prohibition on physician-assisted suicide. The ruling leaves doctors who prescribe such drugs liable to be prosecuted for manslaughter. "Although we recognize the paramount importance and profound significance of all end-of-life decisions, after careful consideration, we conclude that the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights does not reach so far as to protect physician-assisted suicide," the majority opinion states, adding, "We conclude as well that the law of manslaughter may prohibit physician-assisted suicide, and does so, without offending constitutional protections." Legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed an amicus brief in favor of the state law on behalf of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA, believes the court preserved the "well settled" distinction between "withdrawing or refusing life-sustaining medical treatment" and "attempting suicide." Read more.
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A father and son have been charged with receiving more than $8 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds by lying about the size of their religious nonprofit, allegedly using the funds to put a downpayment on a mansion in Central Florida. Evan Edwards, 64, and his son Joshua Edwards, 30, natives of Canada who were both residents of New Smyrna Beach, were charged with six counts related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and visa fraud last Thursday. According to the indictment, the father and son submitted a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan application to an FDIC-insured lending institution on behalf of ASLAN International Ministry, a "not-for-profit corporation that purportedly provided religious services." However, prosecutors say that false claims were made in the loan application, including that ASLAN employed 486 employees despite that figure being "significantly lower, or entirely nonexistent." The application also claimed that ASLAN had average monthly payroll expenses of nearly $3 million, which authorities also say was much lower or "entirely nonexistent." The defendants received PPP loan proceeds totaling more than $8.4 million as a result of the false claims. Read more.
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CP Senior Investigative Reporter Brandon Showalter reviews the film "Dead Name," which provides an intimate portrait of families whose lives have been upended by transgender ideology. Showalter, a contributor to the film, explains, "Filmmaker Taylor Reece titled the documentary this way ("Dead Name") because it is emblematic of the entire spectrum of problems parents face. After a name change, a trans-identifying child starts to blot out their entire identity. After that, experimental drugs and body-altering surgeries usually follow." Watch the film's trailer here.
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Oscar Amaechina reflects on the true meaning of Christmas and why believers should remember to commemorate the birth of Christ and not simply travel, feast, and shop. What can believers give to Christ that He will value? Among Amaechina's recommendations: evangelize through missions and show kindness to those in need. Read more.
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Our research team recently shared a heartbreaking study that exposes Big Abortion’s strategy to kill more babies and rake in record profits.
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The study analyzed young women based on outcomes of their first pregnancies. The mothers whose first pregnancies ended in abortion had 4x more abortions over their lifetimes.
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The African American Fellowship of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware is set to launch the George Liele Leadership Institute in January, with classes slated to begin next September. The institute's goal will be to provide affordable church leadership training for churches in Maryland and Delaware. Although it is open to all ethnicities, its focus will be on helping to equip predominately African American churches. Pastor Bernard Fuller, a member of the institute’s planning committee, told Baptist Press that the "multicultural" institute will equip "disciples to make disciples," explaining, "We believe that a great commitment to the Great Commander who gave us the Great Commandments and the Great Commission will result in great results." Read more.
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Christian singer Amy Grant and her husband recently announced that they will be hosting their niece's same-sex wedding at their farm, drawing criticism from Rev. Franklin Graham. Graham took to Facebook to denounce the move, writing, "God defines what is sin, not us; and His Word is clear that homosexuality is sin." The evangelist specifically took issue with Grant being quoted in a Washington Post article as saying: "Jesus, you just narrowed it down to two things: love God and love each other." While Graham agreed that God calls Christians to love one another, he also pointed to John 14:15, noting, "For me, loving others also means caring about their souls and where they will spend eternity. It means loving people enough to tell them the
truth from the Word of God. The authority of God's Word is something we can never compromise on." Read more.
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Kathie Lee Gifford is a four-time Emmy Award-winning former TV host, screenwriter, producer, singer, songwriter and actress—and she has no plans of slowing down. "Nobody in the Bible ever retired," she explained to CP. "They died doing what God put them on this earth to do. ... when you are on fire for the Kingdom of God, that will stay with you until the moment the Lord takes the breath from your body and takes you into His arms. And that's the way I want to spend the rest of my life: refired, not retired." Gifford's latest projects include the book, The God of the Way: A Journey into the Stories, People, and Faith That Changed the World Forever, which she co-wrote with Rabbi Jason Sobel, as well as the musical production " The Way," which is currently available on PureFlix. Watch the interview here.
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Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors
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