Nexus 7 2013 Price Slashed by $50 at Office Depot

Nexus 7 White Model Picture: Google



The Nexus 7 2013 price is now discounted by $50 at Office Depot.
The retailer is offering 16GB version of the device for just $179.99. The deal is available through retail outlets and online. However, the only option for delivery is in-store pickup. The 16GB model normally runs $229 and the 32GB version sells for $269.
Office Depot is only offering the black model for the deal. The new white version will remain a Google Play exclusive for the time being.
Google is currently offering a bundle that includes the Nexus 7 2013 model and Chromecast that comes with a free $35 Google Play credit.
The deal is available as a special Christmas promotion and requires customers to purchase both devices together in order to access the free credit. Both Chromecast and the Nexus 7 are impressive devices and the combination of the two will allow users to stream music and movies from the slate to their television.
Chromecast utilizes data from a cloud and sends it directly to a TV set through its HDMI output. Content can be accessed from those clouds by connecting the Chromecast and a device such as a smartphone or tablet directly to a Wi-Fi network. Once the user's app is connected, anything they watch or play on the device's app will also show up on their TV screen giving them a bigger screen to watch Netflix or other video apps content on.
The Nexus 7 (2013) was released shortly before the summer of this year and introduced Android 4.3 JellyBean to the market. It features impressive specs including a 7-inch 1920 x 1200 HD display, 2GB RAM, a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 16/32GB of internal storage, built-in wireless charging, and a 5-megapixel rear camera.
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School Principal Attacked By Islamists as New Education Policy Takes Effect in Nigeria

Students in Osun, Nigeria (Osun state government)



Educational reforms in Nigeria's Osun state have created religious tensions in schools, resulting in Islamist youths beating a Christian principal unconscious last month, Christian leaders said.
The state in southwestern Nigeria reclassified schools in September, thus merging those originally founded by Christian missionaries with other schools. The mergers, including the blending of single-sex schools with co-ed schools, require Muslims to attend the institutions of Christian heritage, the Christian leaders said. The Christian "missionary" schools, taken over by the state in 1975, have been considered public schools since then.
Among tensions created under the September changes, Islamist youths armed with axes and cutlasses on Nov. 25 attacked staff members and students at the Baptist High School-Ejigbo after administrators enforced a ban on the hijab, a covering for head or body used by Muslim women. Injured teachers and students received treatment at Baptist Medical Centre in Ejigbo, and principal Layi Oguntola regained consciousness only after hospitalization, the Christian leaders said.
The attackers, who also tried to burn down a Baptist church on Nov. 25, said they were upset that school officials had stopped Muslim students from wearing the covering, church leaders said. After school authorities on Nov. 22 sent a Muslim female student home for violating the school ban on the covering, the Islamists on Nov. 25 stormed the premises at about 8 a.m., heading first for the office of the principal.
The high school in Osun, a state usually free of religious tensions, was established by the Nigerian Baptist Convention. The Rev. Bayo Ademuyiwa, conference president of the 35 Baptist congregations in the area, said the church had no objection to the government's attempt to equip schools, but that it would not allow attempts to erase its identity and heritage through policies aimed at enthroning Islam.
"Our forefathers and missionaries sacrificed their lives, resources and everything to establish schools, reputable schools with morals and values, and that is why the Baptists in Iwo land are here to protect our schools," Ademuyiwa said. "Baptists in Iwo land say no to merger of schools, and Baptists in Iwo land say no to the use of the hijab in Baptists' schools."
Sunday Akere, Osun state commissioner for information, confirmed the attack on the Christian high school.
"It is unfortunate that this happened at a time when we are already achieving peace in the area of schools' reclassification," Akere told Morning Star News.
Folasade Odoro, Osun State Police spokesman, also confirmed the attack.
"We received a report on the attack, and we have brought the situation under control," Odoro said.
The Nigerian Baptist Convention had rejected the Osun government decision to send Muslim students to schools of Christian heritage, saying they would not allow hijab-wearing students to attend. Convention leaders said the new education policy of state Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, a Muslim, was an attempt to Islamize schools and force Islam on Christians.
In a peaceful protest on Oct. 2, the Baptist leaders held a worship service in the chapel of the high school and called on the government to rescind the policy, which they called an effort to erode the gains of Christianity by forcefully taking over Christian schools.
The Rev. Elisha Ogundiya, chairman of the Osun state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said the church would not compromise.
"We observe that the foundation of Christian faith is being threatened by some of the state government policies, especially in the education sector, which the church is strongly averse to and is not ready to compromise," Ogundiya told Morning Star News. "The Christian Association of Nigeria, on behalf of the entire Christians in the state, unanimously resolved that the state government should stop the merger of schools forthwith; reverse the changing of single-sex schools to co-educational schools in order to preserve the religious character of each school; and return all mission schools back to their original founders."
The state governor, however, said in a statement shortly after the protest that the Christian leaders' request for the policy to be rescinded would not be granted.
"No single group, organization, individual, religious or social body's interest would suffer as a result of the ongoing re-classification and reform," Aregbesola said in a statement through his media aide, Semiu Okanlawon.
In an interview with the Nigerian newspaper Leadership, Aregbesola said Osun's Yoruba people – Christians, Muslims and adherents of traditional religion – have long lived peacefully among each other.
"If Yorubas have been living together like this, where then is the basis for this allegation that we mixed Christians with Muslims?" he said in the interview.
Christian leaders told Morning Star News that the Nov. 25 attack was a clear indication of a hidden agenda by the Muslim-controlled government and Muslims in the state to Islamize Christians.
As a result of the attack, the Baptist High School and other Christian schools in the town were closed. Security agents and armed policemen were deployed to contain the spread of attacks on Christians as Islamists had tried to set fire to the United Baptist Church.
While most Muslims in Nigeria live in the northern states, Osun has a large population of Muslims, Christians and adherents of indigenous beliefs. Christians make up 51.3 percent of Nigeria's population of 158.2 million and live mainly in the south, while Muslims account for 45 percent and reside primarily in the north, according to Operation World.
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61-Y-O Preacher Allegedly Raped Sisters for Years Starting When They Were 6 and 7; Claimed Sex Would Exorcise Devil Inside Them

Self-proclaimed preacher Jacoby Kindred, 61. (Photo: Facebook/Jacoby Kindred)



A 61-year-old self-proclaimed Minnesota preacher has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual assault after he allegedly repeatedly raped two sisters for almost a decade, starting when they were 6 and 7. He allegedly claimed the "devil was inside them" and sex was a way of exorcising the demons.
According to a KARE11 report, Jacoby Kindred was like a grandfather to his victims who are now 16 and 14.
Prosecutors revealed that police were called in to investigate the allegations when a relative discovered a note one of the girls had written detailing the alleged abuse.
The girls later explained that Kindred molested them during sleepovers through various acts of fondling, oral stimulation and penetration after claiming the "devil was inside them" and the sex would get rid of the demons. They said the "exorcising" continued for about nine years.
Police say when they questioned Kindred he told them he was a minister of a church that didn't have a building called One Accord Ministries.
Kindred reportedly denied the allegations and said the police had no DNA evidence against him.
He admitted that the sisters used to stay overnight at his home because his son was [once] the boyfriend of their mother. The mother he argued fabricated the story because her new boyfriend doesn't like him.
"These are not really kids," Kindred told the Pioneer Press and nbsp;about the sisters on Thursday. "They have the mind of the adult."
He argued in the report that they were lying as well.
"I never did anything like that. Anyone can make up anything when you sit there long enough and you rehearse it," he said.
"All a woman has to do (in Minnesota) is make an accusation, true or false, and the man's going to be in trouble," he added.
If convicted of the charges Kindred could serve up-to 30 years in prison for each count.
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PolitiFact Lie of the Year: Obamas Pledge If You Like Your Health Care Plan, You Can Keep It

U.S. President Barack Obama pauses while he talks about the Affordable Care Act in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov. 14, 2013. (Photo: Reuters/Larry Downing)



Political fact-checking website PolitiFact asked users to rank the top "Lie of the Year" for 2013, and President Obama's promise that "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it," won by a landslide.
Fifty-nine percent of all those who voted in PolitiFact's poll chose this lie — a national promise given by the president that his health care overhaul would not cause anyone to lose their health insurance. This oft-repeated pledge, first uttered in 2009, was finally put the test this November, when reports surfaced that approximately 129 million would lose or alter their plans due to the Affordable Care Act, also known as "ObamaCare." PolitiFact published this result Thursday.
"It was a catchy political pitch and a chance to calm nerves about his dramatic and complicated plan to bring historic change to America's health insurance system," PolitiFact's Angie Drobnic Holan explained. "But the promise was impossible to keep."
Holan mentioned the approximately 4 million Americans who received cancellation letters regarding their policies. This story took the nation by storm, leading to "a rare presidential apology."
PolitiFact's admittance of this lie reversed five years of its history supporting it. As The Washington Examiner's Sean Higgins reported, the fact-checking website rated Obama's promise "True" in October 2008. It pulled back in August 2009, questioning Obama's "blanket claim," but still rated the promise "Half True," a rating that continued as late as June 28, 2012. In June and October 2012, PolitiFact rated Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's claim that "up to 20 million Americans" could lose their insurance as "False."
In early November, Christopher Conover, a Duke University scholar and adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and nbsp;(AEI), told the Daily Caller and nbsp;that more than two-thirds of Americans who had private health insurance before Obamacare will not be able to keep their previous plans. "Bottom line: of the 189 million Americans with private health insurance coverage, I estimate that if Obamacare is fully implemented, at least 129 million (68 percent) will not be able to keep their previous health care plan either because they already have lost or will lose that coverage by the end of 2014."
Conover argued that Obama knew this was not the case, even while he promised it. "The problem is that he said it at least 24 times, most of which occurred after his own rule-writers had estimated that 49-80 percent of small employer plans would have lost their grandfather status by 2013, along with 34-64 percent of large employer plans," Conover explained.
Shortly after the news broke, polls went south for the president. A Quinnipiac University poll released in early November showed that 54 percent of American voters disapproved of Obama's job as president, while only 39 percent approved. Among women — a key constituency in 2012 — 51 percent disapproved and only 40 percent approved. This was his lowest rating yet, but consistent with former President George W. Bush's approval rating at this time in his presidency, Quinnipiac's Tim Malloy told CP.
"When any Democrat has a deficit like that with women, they're in trouble," Republican strategist Alice Stewart, host of the Alice Stewart Show, told CP, connecting the poll to Obama's broken pledge. She claimed that the lie "does not compare" to any others, even President George H.W. Bush's promise "read my lips, no new taxes," because Obama's promise was made under false pretenses.
"This pledge was made while he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the American people would lose their insurance," Stewart argued.
Obama's numbers have remained low. Poll aggregator Real Clear Politics puts Obama at a 42.7 percent approval rating, with 53.1 percent disapproving of his job as president. In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll this week, only 37 percent of likely voters gave Obama high marks for being honest. The Pew Research Center reported and nbsp;that the percentage of Americans viewing Obama as "not trustworthy" has risen 15 points since January — from 30 percent to 45 percent.
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Conservative Groups Call for Military to Cease Using Southern Poverty Law Center Materials

Former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be Defense Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 31, 2013. Hagel, 66, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and a former two-term Republican senator. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)



Conservatives have called on the U.S. military to stop using Southern Poverty Law Center materials for certain classes due to their content, such as calling some Christian organizations "hate groups" for their stance on LGBT issues.
In a letter sent to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel earlier this month, groups including the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty and the Family Research Council expressed their concern about the SPLC materials.
"As your Department considers a review of current DOD training resources, it is imperative that the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) ensure future materials do not rely on information from organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) or any others that engage in groundless and highly pejorative mischaracterizations of long-standing ministries and organizations for their own political purposes," reads the letter, in part.
The letter specifically referenced the August 2012 shooting at the FRC office in Washington, D.C. by Floyd Lee Corkins.
"Floyd Lee Corkins admitted he used SPLC's website to target the Family Research Council prior to his attack on the organization," reads the letter.
"Despite this damning tie between the Southern Poverty Law Center and actual extremists, it is well documented that individual installation EO briefings continue to draw upon SPLC data and talking points."
Included among the 16 signatories were retired Lt. General William G. Boykin, FRC executive vice president; L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Media Research Center; Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association; Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of the Liberty Counsel; and Retired U.S. Army chaplain Col. Ronald A Crews, executive director for the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.
Crews said in an interview with The Christian Post that it was his organization that had first caught wind of the SPLC material describing various Christian conservative groups as being labeled as "hate groups."
Crews also told CP that while the groups had heard "nothing at this point" in response to their letter to Hagel, the military was taking into consideration their concerns.
"We do know that the secretary of the Army and then later the Department of Defense issued a statement out to the force, to our military, to stop these kinds of training events until they could investigate," said Crews.
"And so we commend those who made that decision because it was the right thing to do. Our letter is to encourage them during this investigation to look very closely at the materials that are being used."
Mark Potok of the SPLC told CP that his organization had no comment beyond what was already available on their website.
At an entry on their Hatewatch blog, Josh Glasstetter of the SPLC defended and nbsp;the usage of SPLC materials that designated the American Family Association as a "hate group."
"Service members should not be actively participating in groups that promote and create such barriers, such as the AFA, which wants to remove women, Muslims and LGBT people from the military," wrote Glasstetter.
"[Army Secretary John McHugh] should order a fuller examination of the military's standards on extremist organizations, and implement policies and training materials that truly protect and promote equal opportunity."
Glasstetter also stressed that given their message the AFA should not be equated with overall American Christianity.
"SPLC's designation of AFA as a hate group had nothing to do with biblical beliefs or opposition to same-sex marriage and everything to do with the group's demonization and lies about LGBT people," wrote Glasstetter.
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Pokemon X and Y: Catch Shiny Pokemon Easier with These Chaining Tips for Route 22 (LINK)

Youtube screen shot of Pokemon X and Y covers. (PHOTO: Youtube screenshot)



A Redditor shared a a new tip about the chaining method used to find Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon X and Y which gives clues on what types of attacks to use and how to avoid breaking the chain.
The user conducted their chaining session on Route 22, and claims that one hit K.O.'s using super effective moves on enemy Pokemon create the best chains to find Shinies and decreases the chances of breaking it. See all of user, TruthAlone's results here.
"It seems using super effective moves severely decreases the chances of breaking the chain. (Maybe one-hit K.O.s decrease the chances even more)," said TruthAlone.
"For people that don't know much about chaining, the main thing you'll need to know is how the grass looks when it shakes. It's pretty difficult to see, as it only shakes for about a second, and if you don't have very good photographic memory, it's very hard to remember where each patch is located. If you're going to chain, I'd recommend doing it in a large purple flower patch in Route 22, since you'll have a load of room, and the wider the patch the better," he continues.
As of right now the most efficient way to get a Shiny is through a player created app that uses Shiny Values and Instacheck. However, some people are not too keen to this method as it makes the game easier.
There is a new app called Instacheck that gives the gamer a number of statistics to help them understand their chances of finding a Shiny. There stats accounted for are Trainer Shiny Value, Egg Shiny Value, IVs, EVs, and PIDs, reports IBTimes.
"Instacheck Hotspot uses your computer's wireless connection to create a wi-fi hotspot, which you must use to connect your 3DS to the internet. Your computer can then analyze all network traffic going to your 3DS, and find the data of all Pok and eacute;mon shown or sent to you in a trade. Instacheck lets you view their details -- even of unhatched eggs!" said a description at the forum that discussed the app.
Egg Shiny Value can be found when the ID and Secret ID are added together. Trainer Shiny Value can be found when checking a freshly hatched Pokemon with the OT.
In order to get a Shiny a trainer and his egg's Shiny Value must match. To increase the odds of this happening, a Reddit thread was created to pair up potential matches. Players can post their Shiny Values and find someone with the number they need. Then they trade Pokemon and the other person hatches it for them and trades it back on an honesty system.
Another way to catch shiny Pokemon has been diagrammed on a Tumblr account called Yellowfur.
A complete diagram explaining how to catch these shiny Pokemon is located here.
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Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux Wedding Off? Theyve Hit A Rough Patch

Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux on the red carpet. Reuters



Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux have reportedly hit a stumbling block in their relationship and sources claim that a future wedding is unlikely.
The "We're The Millers" star, 44, was photographed spending Thanksgiving with friends, but Theroux, 42, was nowhere to be seen. The couple, who got engaged in 2012, has been living apart due to work commitments and reports claim distance has ultimately caused problems in their two-year relationship.
"Jen and Justin have hit a rough patch," a source told Life and amp;Style magazine. "Right now, there are no wedding plans, no baby plans and no more buying houses together."
Theroux, who starred alongside Aniston in the 2012 film "Wanderlust," has reportedly been living in New York in recent months where he is filming scenes for HBO's TV pilot "The Leftovers." Aniston on the other hand, has remained in Bel Air – where the couple previously purchased a home together.
"Jen always used to be the one who was working nonstop on films while Justin was writing and producing but now that he's both filming and producing, their dynamic has changed," one insider told In Touch magazine.
"It's not Justin's fault — he wants to work more again. But it's caused them to drive apart and spend much less time together," the source explained. "They haven't been spending much time together at all. All this distance could tear them apart for good."
In July the former "Friends" actress cleared up reports of a delayed wedding. Gossip sites had claimed that she and Theroux could not agree on a wedding location.
"We have yet to set any date. There have been no cancelled weddings. There have been no postponed weddings," Aniston told E! News. "There have been no arguments about where to get married. Just clearing all that up."
Prior to Aniston's relationship with Theroux, the Hollywood actress was married to actor Brad Pitt.
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Amazing Spider-Man Spinoff Movies for Venom and the Sinister Six Revealed by Sony

In this file handout photo provided by Columbia Pictures, a previous Spider-man, played by Tobey Maguire, is shown in a scene from the film Spider-man 3. (Photo: AP / Columbia Pictures, file)



Today Sony revealed their plans to make the Spider-Man universe a little bit bigger by doing spinoffs involving villains Venom and the Sinister Six.
"The Spider-Man film franchise is one of our studio's greatest assets. We are thrilled with the creative team we have assembled to delve more deeply into the world that Marc, Avi and Matt have begun to explore in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We believe that Marc, Alex, and Drew have uniquely exciting visions for how to expand the Spider-Man universe in each of these upcoming films," Columbia Picture president Doug Belgard told IGN.
Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard will be the creative team taking the reigns of the spinoffs. According to IGN, it appears Goddard will write and perhaps direct Venom. The other four will be working on the Sinister Six.
Pinkner, Orci, and Kurtzman wrote "Amazing Spider-Man 2" and will also be working on the third installment as well.
The films will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach who also worked on Spider-Man.
"This collaboration was born out of the great experience we and Marc had working with Alex, Bob, and Jeff on 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,'" Arad and Tolmach said in a press release. "With more than fifty years' wealth of stories in the comic books to draw upon for inspiration, the Spider-Man universe is truly boundless; in addition, the Spider-Man comics have the greatest rogues gallery of any series, and to have the chance to explore that on film is truly thrilling."
All of the writers and people working on the shows have collaborated previously in some way with each other whether it be on Fringe series, Alias, or the Star Trek movie.
Venom is slated for a June 10, 2016 release and Sinister Six for May 4 2018, reports Variety. The Spider-Man franchise has made Sony Columbia Pictures $3.2 billion since 2002.
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Judge Who Gave Rich Drunk Teen Plush Probation for Reckless Crash that Killed 4, Sent 14-Y-O Black Boy to Prison for Punching Death in 2012

The swanky Newport Academy male residential rehabilitation center in California where drunk driver Ethan Couch, 16, is expected to atone for the deadly crash that left four dead and nine people injured in Texas in June. (Photo: newportacademy.com)Ethan Couch, 16, won't spend a day in jail after causing a horrific accident in Texas that killed a beloved pastor and three others. Nine people were also injured. (Photo: Screen Grab via WFAA-TV)



Texas Judge Jean Boyd, who sentenced a rich teen drunk driver to probation at a plush rehab center for a nasty crash that killed four people and injured nine others in June, reportedly sent a 14-year-old black boy to prison last March after his punch resulted in one death.
Boyd's controversial ruling in the case of drunk driver Ethan Couch, 16, has outraged many people across the country. And although she is expected to retire next year, they are demanding that Texas Governor Rick Perry remove her from the bench in a change.org petition.
"This sentence is a slap in the face [of] the families of those who were killed. He's sent to California to a spa-type center while the families of the victims get to go to a cemetery," wrote a supporter of the petition, Stephen Pyka of Texas.
"This is another disgusting display of the wealthy trying to change the rules when they break them. This judge should be removed for aiding a murderer," noted another supporter, Nina Eagle of Appomattox, Va.
The Christian Post contacted a representative from the Tarrant County Bar Association in Texas for permission to highlight Judge Boyd's photo already publicly available online on Friday, but an official at the office said they were instructed not to release the photo, which can be viewed here.
Defense lawyers for Couch, who is white, successfully argued that he was a victim of "affluenza." Psychologist Dr. Dick Miller explained that the teen's family felt wealth bought privilege and there was no rational link to behavior and consequences.
Judge Boyd accepted the defense's argument and ordered Couch to undergo alcohol rehabilitation and serve 10 years' probation, according to a WFAA report. Couch is expected to report at a swanky rehabilitation center called Newport Academy and nbsp;in California, where his parents will pay $36,000 per month for a year of treatment. He will also undergo another year of outpatient treatment.
"What a lot of people don't understand is that juvenile courts are actually created to reform, as opposed to adult criminal systems are designed to punish people," said Jamison Monroe, founder and CEO of Newport Academy.
Some of Boyd's legal peers argued that her decision was appropriate.
"The law almost assumes they can be rehabilitated," John Cruezot, a retired state district judge told WFAA. "Not in every instance, but in most instances, I think it's appropriate for a judge to start at that standpoint."
While the odds worked out in Couch's favor with this approach, things didn't work out quite as favorably for a 14-year-old black boy, reportedly sentenced to prison last March by Boyd for killing one person with a powerful punch.
The boy's name was never revealed because he was prosecuted as a juvenile, but the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office explained what happened in that incident in a statement.
"Just after 10 p.m. on Oct. 6, the teen was riding in a Cadillac with two friends when he suddenly jumped out of the vehicle in the 1700 block of Vaughn Avenue and punched [Mark] Gregory, who was 5-foot-1 and weighed 106 pounds. Gregory's head struck the pavement and he died two days later."
Prosecutors say in this case the boy admitted to the crime but didn't show remorse. Couch was reportedly moved slightly by the wife of one of his victims telling him she had forgiven him.
The punch victim's mother, Anita Lauterbach, said Judge Boyd was also for rehabilitation of the black boy but she was unable to keep him out of prison.
"She wanted to send him to one of these special places in Arizona, but no one would take him," Lauterbach said. "We were horrified. We just couldn't believe it. The district attorney and I were just sitting on pins and needles. But, when nobody would take him, [it was] a sigh of relief," she said.
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United Methodist Bishop Rules That Lesbians Clergy Candidacy Can Proceed

Mary Ann Kaiser, an openly lesbian United Methodist Church member who in 2013 sought to be certified as a clergy candidate. (Photo compliments of Reconciling Ministries Network)



A United Methodist Church bishop in Texas has ruled that a lesbian's clergy candidacy in the denomination can proceed, reversing a preemptive rejection from officials.
Bishop James Dorff of the Southwest Texas Conference stated Thursday that Mary Ann Kaiser's candidacy could not be removed by the Board of Ordained Ministry without going through the proper process.
"Since the action of the Clergy Session was to uphold the action of the Board of Ordained Ministry, and the action of the Board of Ordained Ministry was not in keeping with the Discipline, I rule that Ms. Kaiser remains a Candidate for Ministry and is due full examination, including an interview, by the Board of Ordained Ministry," stated Dorff.
Kaiser, who now goes by the last name Barclay after unofficially marrying her partner, provided The Christian Post with an official statement regarding the news.
"I look forward to now having the opportunity to meet personally with the Board of Ordained Ministry," said Barclay. "I find hope in the fact that this wrong is being corrected and I am eager to continue on this relational, Spirit driven process with the Board."
The Southwest Texas Conference told The Christian Post that Bishop Dorff was not taking any interviews on the issue and therefore declined to comment.
Barclay was certified as a candidate for deacon in the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference in 2008 and eventually earned a Master of Divinity at the United Methodist-approved Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Earlier this year the Conference's Board of Ordained Ministry (BOM) refused to consider Barclay's candidacy before the usual process was completed.
Supporters of Barclay argued that this was discrimination over her being a lesbian while opponents countered that as a practicing lesbian Barclay was already ineligible.
The issue was brought before Bishop Dorff, who in July refused to make an official decision, calling and nbsp;the request "moot and hypothetical."
In late October, the United Methodist Judicial Council ruled that Dorff had to make a ruling regarding the question over Barclay's ordination track and the BOM's decision.
Dorff was given 60 days and nbsp;to comply with the UMJC decision and to issue a ruling regarding whether the BOM was in the right over terminating Barclay's candidacy.
While Dorff's ruling allows for Barclay's ordination track to continue, consideration will still be held in light of the denomination's rules for ordination.
According to the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline, "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" are prohibited from being ordained.
John Lomperis, director of the United Methodist program at The Institute on Religion and Democracy, told The Christian Post that he believed Dorff's decision made sense.
"The scope of his ruling is very narrowly focused on specific provisions for following proper procedures, and does not render any decision on whether or not the young lesbian activist in question is fit for ministry or will ultimately be ordained," said Lomperis.
"The problem he is facing is that the local UMC officials and hellip; responsible for initially screening potential clergy chose to and hellip; push forward Ms. Barclay's candidacy simply for the sake of rebelling against the biblical church standards they vowed to uphold."
Lomperis also referred to the whole matter as a "publicity stunt" being carried out by pro-gay UMC groups.
"All this decision does is prolong this ongoing, narcissistic publicity stunt by opponents of biblical, historic Christian teaching on sexual self-control," said Lomperis.
"But in the end, after the activists are done wasting as much of the church's time and energies as they can, I expect that Ms. Barclay's candidacy will be discontinued again and she will never be ordained in the UMC."
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Alessandra Ambrosio Admits Plastic Surgery Mishap

Model Alessandra Ambrosio poses during a media opportunity to celebrate the launch of the 2011 Victoria's Secret Swim collection in West Hollywood, Calif., March 30, 2011. (Photo: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)



Alessandra Ambrosio opened up about a traumatic experience with cosmetic surgery at a young age, admitting she is "freaked out" by plastic surgery today.
The Victoria's Secret model admitted that she underwent a unique cosmetic procedure at the age of 11 in order to ensure that her modeling career was met with success.
and nbsp;While speaking to Net-A-Porter's The Edit, Ambrosio explained that she had her ears pinned back since they "stuck out."
However, the doctor who performed the surgery in her hometown of Erechim, Brazil, botched the process, requiring Ambrosio to undergo dozens more surgeries.
"I found this doctor in my hometown in Brazil who had only done it once before, so I was a guinea pig," the model told The Edit. "The first few nights, it felt like someone had cut off my ears. For a year, I had to go back for mini-surgeries."
The experience left Ambrosio feeling dubious about cosmetic surgery, despite being one of today's most-recognized models.
"Doctors say they can fix them, but cosmetic surgery freaks me out now."
The model, who participated in this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, also went on to recount what it was like to hit the runway right after having a baby. Ambrosio is the mother of two children: daughter Anja, 5, and Noah, 19 months, with her fianc and eacute; Jamie Mazur.
"I knew that I had the show to do after having [Anja] and actually I was expecting my body to go back quicker," the lingerie model explained.
As a result gaining weight during pregnancy and having "really went for it with food," Ambrosio was forced to diet for the first time in her life.
After regaining target weight, Ambrosio once more reiterated her fear of plastic surgery.
"It's funny how casual you become about [your breasts]," the model told The Edit. "I mean, you breast-feed in front of your parents and hellip; Still, after two kids, they're not the same. I'm afraid of having anything done, though: there's too much of that in L.A."
"People kept telling me that I would bounce back straight away, but a week after giving birth I still had that balloon belly," Ambrosio admitted.
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Revenge Season 3 Spoilers and Cast Growth: Midseason Finale Will Blow You Guys Away

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Aaron Paul in New Show on Netflix With Will Arnett; BoJack Horseman Debuts Next Summer

Actor Aaron Paul speaks at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif. (Photo: Wikimedia Creative Commons/Gage Skidmore)



Aaron Paul will star in a new show alongside Will Arnett that will debut next year on Netflix.
Paul will provide the voice for one of the main characters along with Arnett and Amy Sedaris on an animated series for Netflix called "BoJack Horseman: A Tale of Fear, Loathing and Animals."
The show follows BoJack, a washed-up star of fictional family friendly 1990's comedy "Horsin' Around" and is trying to survive a "muddle of self-loathing, whiskey and failed relationships."
Paul will play his human sidekick and Sedaris is Princess Caroline, his feline agent and ex-lover.
"BoJack Horseman is a brutally funny and unique take on what can happen after pop stardom," Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. "Raphael [Bob-Waksberg, series creator] has created an amazing set of characters voiced by some of the best comics and actors in the world."
The series is set to premiere in mid-2014 and will have 12 episodes. The show was created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, a writer and actor known for his work on "The Exquisite Corpse Project." According to Variety, Arnett will do the voice of whiskey-drinking horse BoJack and Paul does the voice of BoJack's sidekick.
"Even though he's been out to pasture, I've always admired BoJack for his inimitable style and can-do attitude," Sarandos added. "I couldn't be more thrilled that he's getting off his legendary haunches to join the Internet TV revolution here on Netflix."
The former "Breaking Bad" star is not the only former cast member to get his own show.
AMC recently green light a "Breaking Bad" spinoff that will revolve around Walter White's seedy lawyer Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk.
The network revealed that the "Breaking Bad" spinoff will be a prequel and will be drawn up by "Breaking Bad" maestro Vince Gilligan.
Reports indicate that the show, tentatively called "Better Call Saul," has been in development for months and will be the "evolution of the popular Saul Goodman character before he ever became Walter White's lawyer."
Saul Goodman made his first appearance in season two of the AMC hit drama series when he was hired by Walt and Jesse (Aaron Paul) after Badger (Matt L. Jones) was caught by the DEA.
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Nexus 5 Design Tweaked in Newer Models, Speaker Grills Enlarged

Nexus 5 Picture: LG/Google



Google slightly tweaked the design on newer Nexus 5 models, according to a new report.
The latest versions of the smartphone feature larger speaker grills on the bottom for louder sound. The power button is also said to be a little bit stiffer along with the volume rocker. The changes were first spotted by XDA-Developers user shinral.
The sound emitted from the device's speakers when it first launched was a bit muffled, causing owners to complain. The audio turned out to be buzzy and unclear. Enlarging the holes could potentially correct that issue. The tighter buttons also will give the Nexus 5 a better feel overall.
Images showing off the differences between the older and newer models can be seen here.
Google launched the Nexus 5 last month. Specifications on the device include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 processor running at up to 2.3GHz, a 4.96-inch LCD 1080p display, 2GB RAM, Adreno 330 GPU, 16 or 32GB internal memory, a 2300 mAh battery and an 8-megapixel camera with Optical Image Stabilization. It is also one of the first devices to run Google's latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.
The handset is currently available in the Google Play store off-contract for just $349. Sprint and various carriers charge customers an extra $100 because that it what they have to pay Google per device. Google is able to discount it since the sales process takes place in-house.
The Nexus 5 is the successor to the wildly popular Nexus 4. Both models run pure forms of Android. The newer model was also used to introduce the world to Google's latest operating system Android 4.4 KitKat. It was the final high-end flagship to launch this year to be that highly anticipated.
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Call of Duty Ghosts Extinction Day Begins, Fan Event Live Streamed on Twitch (WATCH)

Call of Duty: Ghosts title screen. (PHOTO: Youtube)



Call of Duty: Extinction Day has arrived and Activision, IGN and Infinity Ward are giving an inside look at the game.
The event will begin live streaming on Twitch at 12:30 PT/3:30 ET and can be seen at this Twitch account.
The whole point of Extinction Day is to give fans a chance to look behind the scenes for the company's creative process and letting them feel apart of the CoD family. According to IGN, viewers of the live stream can ask questions via Twitter by hastagging #ExtinctionDay and some will be answered in real time.
Gamers will also be offered double XP and other upcoming features as well.
Call of Duty: Ghosts received an update last week that fixed stability issues and exploits found within the game and through hacks.
Included in those fixes are player spamming, "god mode," and an invisibility cheat. According to Polygon, the update boots up automatically when the game is turned on instead of going to download it.
To see all of the other glitches, bugs, spam and error fixes, click here, to go to the CoD forums. Each of the six platforms the game is on had a different update.
Call of Duty: Ghosts was just named the highest selling video game this past Black Friday, taking the no. 1 spot for the PS4 and Xbox One, and no. 7 for the Wii U. It also became the top selling Xbox One game in North America and is also the most played multiplayer game globally.
VG247 said it was the best selling Xbox One game at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and GameStop as Activision confirmed it was also the no. 1 pre-ordered game for the console as well.
The game was released for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U on Nov. 5, and arrived with the PS4 on Nov. 15 and the Xbox One on Nov. 22.
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Khloe Kardashian Linked to Matt Kemp Amid Lamar Odom Divorce Reports

Khloe Kardashian poses for a selfie (PHOTO) Instagram: @KhloeKardashian



Khloe Kardashian has been linked to MLB star Matt Kemp amid reports claiming she is gearing up to divorce Lamar Odom.
On Friday urban gossip sites claimed the reality TV star, 29, recently began dating Kemp, 29, following her rumored separation from Odom, 34, but she has yet to publicly address romance reports.
"Khloe and Matt are dating, but it's not serious yet," a source told MediaTakeOut.com. "But Khloe's already acting like she's in love ... Khloe's like that, she loves hard, but she moves on quick."
The Los Angeles Dodgers star, who is the former boyfriend of pop singer Rihanna, fueled dating rumors on Thursday after he posted a photograph of the Kardashian-Jenner family's Christmas tree via his personal Instagram account. Kardashian's mother Kris Jenner posted the family tree photo on Dec. 10.
"Best time of the year!! It's gonna b a Cali Christmas this year," Kemp tweeted in the photo caption.
Kemp is not the only high profile star who has been linked to Kardashian recently. In October gossip sites alluded to a romance with hip hop star Drake and days later sources claimed she was dating rapper The Game.
While Drake, 27, did not publicly address the reports, the "Marrying The Game" star quickly denied romance rumors, insisting the E! star is "like a sister."
"Khloe is my friend. She is like a sister. We have never and will never be sleeping together. Lamar is my homie and her husband and I wish people wouldn't spread such false rumors," the rapper told TMZ.com.
On Friday TMZ and nbsp;claimed Kardashian, who has been married to Odom for four years, was preparing to file divorce papers.
The NBA star was accused of having at least two extramarital affairs in July which prompted the pair's reported separation and nbsp;in August. While there were some attempts to salvage the marriage, insiders claim are divorce is imminent.
Jenner, 58, previously revealed that despite her daughter's struggles, she is staying strong during this difficult time.
"She's very sensitive and she loves really hard and she feels with all of her soul," Jenner told E!. "But she also has the ability to put that game face on and go out there in the world and do what she needs to do ... she is resilient but she is very strong."
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Mother of Child Killed in Newtown Shooting: I Hope Adam Lanza Is Forgiven, in Heaven With Children

Crosses are seen at a memorial along the side of the road on the day the Sandy Hook School children will begin to attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut, January 3, 2013. Hundreds of children who had escaped a harrowing attack on their elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, last month, headed back to classes Thursday for the first time since a gunman had barged into their school and killed 20 of their schoolmates and six staff members. (Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)



The mother of one of the children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012, said she hopes the 20-year-old shooter, Adam Lanza, has been forgiven and is in heaven with the children.
"I absolutely believe that Adam Lanza was instantly forgiven," the mother, Scarlett Lewis, said of her 6-year-old-son Jesse, who was killed in the shooting, according to Fox News. "My hope is that he is experiencing the same kind of love that the children are now, in heaven. He might have had a little bit longer journey to get there, but I hope he has."
Nineteen other children, and 26 people in total, were killed one year ago from Saturday. The gunman, Lanza, first killed his mother, Nancy, at their home, after which he stormed into Sandy Hook Elementary in a shooting rampage, before ending his own life.
The families of the victims have shared their numerous stories and nbsp;of grief and recovery over the past year, and Americans across the country have joined in several church vigils for the victims, coming together to pray for no more school violence.
Lanza has been described as a quiet young man who did not like leaving his room and suffered from mental problems, but even an in-depth investigation and nbsp;that was conducted recently into the case failed to come up with any solid conclusions about why he decided to commit the murders and take his own life.
The Obama administration has responded with pledges to help mental health facilities across America, and earlier this week announced it is giving $100 million and nbsp;for that cause.
"The fact that less than half of children and adults with diagnosable mental health problems receive the treatment they need is unacceptable," Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement. "The president and I have made it a priority to do everything we can to make it easier to access mental health services, and today's announcements by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture build on that commitment."
Lewis, however, suggested that an "angry thought" festered for years inside the 20-year-old gunman before the rampage, a thought which went untreated and unreported.
"I picture him (Lanza) being a little boy with a lot of anger and no tools and no nurturing environment to deal with it," the mother said.
An organization has since been started in honor of her son, aimed at funding school programs to educate children on compassion, anger-management and bullying and ndash; called the "Jessie Lewis Choose Love Foundation."
As for forgiving the young man who killed her son, Lewis said that her older son's work with victims of Rwanda's 1994 genocide has helped her deal with her feelings.
"It gave me perspective. If they're able to forgive and ndash; if they can actually do it and ndash; then it is possible in my own situation. It doesn't mean you're condoning what they did. It means that you're cutting the cord to pain," Lewis said.
JT Lewis started the "Newtown Helps Rwanda" foundation as a way to deal with the loss of his little brother, focusing his efforts on helping those affected by the genocide, where over 1 million people lost their lives and over 1 million children were left orphaned.
The official website of the Jesse Lewis Foundation states that it will teach kids that anger is a choice and that it "benefits them and all those around them to choose another way. If all of our actions are motivated by love and compassion for others and ndash; if we all live by The Golden Rule and ndash; the world will change for the better."
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Former Gay Activist Marries Woman; Addresses Critics Who Condemn His New Heterosexual Lifestyle

Michael Glatze married girlfriend Rebekah in October 2013 (Photo: Truth Wins Out)



An ex-prominent gay activist and former editor of a San Francisco-based, youth-focused homosexual magazine penned an open letter about his recent heterosexual marriage addressed to "angry homosexuals" who have criticized him for leaving his past and finding God.
Michael Glatze stepped down as co-founder of XY Magazine in 2007 where he walked out by leaving a note on his computer that read, "Homosexuality is death, and I choose life." His transformation from gay to straight began after he started to question his lifestyle following a health scare and with no one to turn to, Glatze decided to seek help in God. Now, he lives life as a straight man and recently married a woman, Rebekah, who critics are referring to as his "prop."
"I want to make a little 'shout out' to all of the angry homosexuals in our country who are currently spreading all sorts of hate and aggression on pro-homosexual blogs," wrote Glatze, in an op-ed on WND.com. "Look, I am not interested in defending myself. I don't really need to do that. I understand your plight, your point-of-view. I understand the desire to want me to be crazy, or lost in my head and mind, or confused. I understand that it would be just easier if I didn't exist, or I would just crawl into a hole somewhere and die. But I'm not going to do that."
He says his intentions are not to rub his marriage in anyone's face, but to make his critics understand that he stands by his opinion about homosexuality as a flawed and mistaken lifestyle, and that he has a right to his opposing view the same way that they do.
"I do know that this viewpoint flies in the face of people's personal decisions, as well as some popular politics in this world. And I am additionally aware that this viewpoint labels me as some kind of "right-wing fanatic" who ought to just be "wiped out." I do pray to God for my safety every day," said Glatze.
His decision to break up with his ex-partner of 10 years and commit his life to Christ has caused Glatze to fear for his and his new wife's life, as he says there are people who consider his life and existence an offense to their sensibilities.
The blog, Truth Wins Out, has served as one of Glatze's critics and in a recent post, Rebekah was the article's target, as well as his decision to renounce homosexuality.
"One can't be an official 'ex-gay' rock star until wedding bells ring. and hellip;The victim is attractive and seems rather sweet. I hope she knows what she's getting into. and hellip; It now appears his phony 'transformation' has moved on to recruiting an innocent victim as a prop to give credence to his lie. My heart truly breaks for poor Rebekah," wrote Wayne Besen, and nbsp;the website's founder.
Besen also published photos of the newlyweds, which Glatze says that he posted on his personal Google account to share only with his friends and family members. He also defended his marriage and dispelled the misconceptions set by his criticizers who say his marriage is part of a hidden agenda.
"We are not a couple of people who are interested, per se, in being political pawns. I have never called myself an 'ex-gay,' though other people have called me that. But, then again, people have called me a lot of things, on account of the fact that I left homosexuality a few years back and decided that I felt more comfortable living heterosexually. This came about as direction from God and has been the best choice God ever made in my life," writes Glatze.
He added, "I love my God. I love my life. I am grateful for every breath. I am grateful to God for humanity. And I am so grateful for Rebekah. and hellip; I am not here to 'force my agenda' or my 'lifestyle' on anyone else. I am here to live a good, God-honoring life."
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Julia Roberts Pregnant? Actress Slams Rumors

After months of rumors, the Weinstein company has confirmed that Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts will be starring as mother and daughter in the new film “August: Osage County.” (Photo: REUTERS)



Despite rumors to the contrary, actress Julia Roberts is not pregnant with her fourth child. She addressed those rumors rather directly during an appearance on the "Late Show With David Letterman."
"Have you thought about adding more to the group?" Letterman asked.
"Oh, sure," Roberts replied.
"Any chance?" Letterman followed-up with.
"No," Roberts bluntly replied.
The 46-year-old actress is happily married to Daniel Moder and the couple has a pair of 9-year-old twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, as well as a 6-year-old son named Henry. Roberts has spoken at length about how happy she is to be a wife and mother but has never suggested that she wants to expand her family.
Earlier this month, the rumors began that Roberts may be expecting when she was seen wearing loose-fitting clothing, but Roberts made sure to quell those rumors on Letterman's show by wearing a slim pantsuit. The actress continued talking about her family and revealed that she had accidently sworn in front of the kids, but that it was just a one-time thing.
"In the nine years of being a mother, I've only done that one time, and it brought all of us to a screeching halt," she told People and nbsp;magazine. "Everyone was like, 'What just happened?' It was horrible! I still think about it now, and I still can't believe I did that. The children just stopped, and I said, 'I am very sorry!'"
"It was a traffic thing," Roberts explained. "Somebody cut me off, and I was like, '[expletive]'! It was dangerous. The children and I could have been hurt. Then I told them, 'Mommy is so sorry,' and we all just kept on going. We all recovered."
She and Moder have been married for 11 years and she described it as a "privilege and honor" to take care of her family in an interview with Marie Claire.
"You have pride in how you take care of your family," Roberts added.
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Naghmeh Abedini Pleads With Lawmakers to Help Husband: I Feel He Has Been Abandoned

Naghmeh Abedini, wife of imprisoned Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini, speaks at a Joint Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Dec. 12, 2013. (Photo: Screenshot via CBN.com)



Naghmeh Abedini, wife of imprisoned Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini, delivered a heartfelt plea to lawmakers during a Congressional hearing Thursday, begging them to end her family's "nightmare" and help release her husband from the deadly Raja and iuml; Shahr prison in Iran.
Naghmeh spoke alongside Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, during Thursday's Joint Subcommittee Hearing, during which lawmakers sought to address the current status of Pastor Abedini and other American citizens being held in Iran. Saeed Abedini was arrested in July 2012 and charged with undermining Iran's security, although it is believed he is really being detained due to his Christian faith.
At Thursday's Congressional hearing, Naghmeh criticized the failure of the United States to bring up Abedini's imprisonment during recent nuclear talks with Iran, saying those talks were the "perfect" opportunity to negotiate her husband's release. "I feel my husband has been abandoned," she said.
Naghmeh went on to lament the resistance she has felt from the U.S. government. "When I spoke in front of the Lantos Commission in March, I had anticipated I would battle the Iranian government for my husband's freedom. I never anticipated that I would have to battle my own government," she said. "How strong is our American president? How serious is he about American security? Would he act immediately with firm resolve to protect and defend?"
The pastor's wife went on to say that she hopes the U.S. will ultimately see "how far we've fallen" in negotiations with Iran regarding her husband's release.
In addition to her verbal testimony to lawmakers, Naghmeh also delivered a written statement at the Congressional hearing. "I am standing before you today because religious persecution is real," the statement read. "And until we stand up as one -- as Americans, as political leaders, and government officials, as people who have been endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights -- we will not truly embrace the responsibility that comes with that freedom."
The statement also detailed Pastor Abedini's current stay in Iran's deadliest prison, Rajai Shahr, saying that only the hand of God has kept Abedini safe from knife-wielding prisoners that include some of Iran's toughest criminals, such as rapists and murderers. "Prisoners have murdered other prisoners while prison officials stood by and did nothing. In that place, nothing but the hand of God keeps him from being killed. Each day he remains in that dreadful place could mean a death sentence; any day could be execution day."
Earlier this year, Pastor Abedini was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in Iran. Naghmeh said in her testimony that although she is afraid it is too much to hope for, she prays her husband will be home by Christmas to see his children, who do not yet know of their father's eight-year prison sentence.
Along with Naghmeh, Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ, Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Dr. Daniel Calingaert, executive vice president of Freedom House, all testified at Thursday's House Joint Subcommittee hearing.
Although President Obama pushed for the release of Abedini and other American prisoners during a phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in September, the administration failed to take any actual action on negotiating Abedini's release with Iran. Members of Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), have pledged to continue fighting for Pastor Abedini, saying that they will continue to pressure the Obama administration to bring up the pastor's plight in future negotiation talks.
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Analysis: Budget Deal Could Pave Way for Immigration Reform

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Obamacares Controversial Drug Mandate Puts More Health Plans at Risk

Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Esq. is a senior legal fellow at the Family Research Council. (Family Research Council/2013)



Two lawsuits against the Obamacare regulation known as the "contraceptive mandate" are slated for Supreme Court review. But neither has anything to do with contraception.
The families who run Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties are Evangelical Christian and Mennonite, respectively. They are not Catholic and they have no religious objection to providing contraception in their employee health plans.
But as the pleadings in their cases explain, they do have moral and religious objections to providing coverage for drugs and devices that can cause the death of living human embryos. Specifically, they have gone to court to seek relief from having to provide coverage for two types of IUDs and the drugs known as "Plan B" and "Ella."
And what is their fate if they dutifully cover sixteen of the contraceptives required by the mandate but not these four? Obamacare will fine them $100 per employee per day. For Hobby Lobby, which employs 13,000 Americans, that's a payment of $1.3 million dollars to the federal government every day. Forever. Or as long as they provide healthcare to their employees.
Alternatively, Obamacare allows them to drop insurance coverage for their employee's altogether and face the smaller fine of $2,500 per employee per year. And that is why the mandate is a threat to health plans.
Media types who defend Obamacare roll their eyes at Hobby Lobby: these items were approved by the Food and Drug Administration under the category of "contraceptive," end of discussion.
But these drugs and devices are controversial to a great many Americans, not just to the families who run Hobby Lobby and Contestoga Wood. Any cursory review of the literature surrounding them will show that.
And now, even Obama's lawyers acknowledge it. Buried in the pleadings filed by Solicitor General Donald Verrilli in the Hobby Lobby case is a quiet, but meaningful concession: that these devices and drugs may prevent human embryos from implanting in their mother's wombs (See Government's brief asking the Supreme Court for review, page 10, footnote 5.).
Why is implantation significant? Biologically speaking, it isn't. At implantation, the new human embryo already has been in existence for as many as 10 days, its full complement of DNA in place, and its first heartbeat just another 10 days away.
But implantation is essential to an embryo's continued life: If the embryo does not implant, it will die. A drug or device that prevents it from implanting will cause its death. That's not Hobby Lobby's opinion, that's a fact. And it's a concern for millions of Americans, including business owners who are obliged to provide coverage for them or pay crippling fines.
The Obamacare mandate puts the jobs, livelihoods, and healthcare of millions of Americans at risk. More Americans are coming to understand that. A recent WPA Opinion Research poll found that 59 percent of likely voters oppose the mandate, including 56 percent of likely women voters.
Why did the Obama team include these particular drugs and devices in the mandate, knowing it would cause a crisis for so many Americans? Perhaps it is part of a larger plan.
When Roe v. Wade and nbsp;nullified all state limitations to abortion, abortion-rights supporters wanted more. Not just legal abortion, but free abortion for low-income women, funded by the American taxpayer.
Legislatively, abortion-rights groups have only been able to get tax-funded abortions in the narrow cases of life endangerment or rape. And despite half a dozen trips to the Supreme Court, they have never been able to convince the justices that the federal government must provide free abortions to indigent women in order to effectuate their constitutional right to abortion.
Tax-funded elective abortion is a goal that has eluded "pro-choice" groups for decades. But Obamacare has brought them significantly closer to their goal. The "contraceptive mandate" provides free embryo-killing drugs and devices to all women, courtesy of the federal government, through a law that shows no regard for the moral concerns of millions of Americans.
All Americans, including job creators, should be free to live and work according to their beliefs. But the Obamacare mandate forces some Americans to make a choice: to violate their principles and comply with the law, or to stand up for their civil rights and be punished. No government should force that choice on its citizens.
Ultimately, the people who will be hurt most by the Obamacare mandate are the working Americans who will see their names added to the growing list of people who have lost their health insurance.
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Lawyers for Detained Pastor in China Assaulted by Crowd

A China Forbidden News broadcast on Dec. 13, 2013, depicts Chinese lawyers protesting the government's decision to bar them from speaking with detained church leaders fighting the government's seizure of their church. (Photo: YouTube/ChinaForbiddenNews Screenshot)



In yet another setback in their efforts to meet with a detained Christian pastor and church leaders, Chinese human rights lawyers have claimed that a crowd assaulted them on Friday.
Currently on a hunger strike protesting the government's ban on their efforts to visit church leaders detained for reportedly resisting authorities' efforts to seize church land, lawyer Liu Weiguo alleged that a brick was thrown at his head as an angry group confronted Liu and his colleagues.
and nbsp;Liu told the Associated Press and nbsp;that a group of men and women violently – the same crowd that is also believed to have assaulted a British television crew – confronted them. Prior to the incident with the lawyers, roughly 50 women charged two Sky News employees and attempted to take their camera.
With the help of the lawyers, the crew remained in the county prosecutor's office until the crowd died down and a government official escorted the journalists out of the building, Liu reported. While the identity of the members of the crowd is unknown, according to activists, it is not uncommon for local government officials to hire residents from other areas to harass groups unfriendly to authorities.
Zhuang Shaojie, the Christian pastor, several church leaders and 20 members of his congregation have been held by government officials for three weeks and denied access to lawyers.
Zhang's church is a state-approved church, which some have suggested and nbsp;should have led local officials to respect both his religious and property rights; the Chinese government's crackdown on religious groups is normally limited to underground, unregistered churches.
The 15 lawyers seeking to meet with Zhang, traveled from outside provinces to the pastor's home in Nanle County in Henan, to defend what Liu told the AP was "a clear case of persecution of a religious group."
Yang Xingquan, a Beijing attorney who traveled to Nanle to help defend Zhang, said the challenge of the pastor's case lies in his country's understanding of Christianity.
"Christianity in the Chinese system does not have any real standing," said Yang. "In Nanle, if they respected or attached importance to the church, they would not try to seize their land. They would reasonably provide adequate land for the building of the church."
Zhang and his congregation's detainment comes at a time when China announced that it would be ending its re-education labor program. Government officials had sent petty criminals and those who were said to be contradicting the state's political or religious values to work camps for up to four years.
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Glenn Beck Reveals New Health Problems, Says He Could Not Move Arms for Almost a Minute

Conservative political pundit Glenn Beck reveals on his radio show on Dec. 12, 2013, that when he woke up that morning he was unable to move his arms for almost a minute. (Photo: GBTV Screenshot)



Conservative political pundit Glenn Beck revealed new health problems to his radio show listeners earlier this week.
Beck, 49, already suffers from macular dystrophy that may lead to his eventual blindness, and in the past has shared that his hands and feet go numb from time to time, reports Beck's media network, The Blaze.
But on Wednesday, Dec. 12, Beck woke up and discovered he was unable to move his arms.
"I woke up from a dead sleep and it was like, you know how your arms get when they're dead asleep and you can't move them?" he said. "Well, they weren't asleep, they just weren't working."
Beck asked his wife, Tania, if she could help him.
"I said to my wife — this is the first time this has happened to me — 'Honey, can you move my arms for me, please?'" he recounted, adding that his arm paralysis lasted for "about a minute."
Although he has sought professional medical help, Beck said he has found little success.
"I have this weird thing that doctors have been trying to figure out for a long time," he said. "And the doctor just said, 'Stop. Stop looking. It's not going to kill you, it's just going to make your life miserable. So let's just stop.'"
Beck's revelation astonished his co-workers, who could not understand his seemingly blasé attitude.
"I came in and Joe said to me, 'Why are you late?' And I said, 'My arms didn't work.' And he said, 'You're so cavalier about it.' And I said, 'What are you going to do about it?'" Beck relayed matter-of-factly. "Oh well; boo-hoo; cry me a river; move on with your life."
The media personality said that it was not worth it to dwell on his problems.
"I don't want to hear about your problems, because I've got a stack of them and so does everybody else around me," he said. "Tell me about your struggles, and let's get through them together. That's when life is worth living. Let's live."
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Hawaii Plane Crash Claims Life of Hawaii Official Who Published Obamas Birth Certificate

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Keep Saturn in Saturnalia Atheist Billboard Seeks to Counter Keep Christ in Christmas

and quot;Keep Saturn in Saturnalia and quot; is the message that went up Dec. 12 on the billboard located off West Holly Avenue a mile east of Lambs Road in Pitman, about 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia. (Photo: http://ffrf.org)



The Freedom From Religion Foundation is countering the "Keep Christ in Christmas" billboards with its own "Keep Saturn in Saturnalia" ad and ndash; a reference to an ancient Roman god festival and ndash; which went up on Thursday in Pitman, N.J.
The atheist association, one of the largest in America, explained in a press release and nbsp;that the billboards are in a direct response to "Keep Christ in Christmas" displays by Roman Catholic society the Knights of Columbus. FFRF says that its local members were "stonewalled" in December 2012 when Pitman officials denied them a permit to display their "Saturn" banner, but allowed the Christmas one.
"FFRF first became involved in December 2011, when a resident reported the Christian banner as a potential state/church violation. Legal staff made numerous calls and sent messages to various public agencies and the Chamber of Commerce, including open records requests, and asked to erect FFRF's own banner, which wasn't allowed," the organization explained.
Saturnalia refers to an ancient Roman holy day and nbsp;celebrated on Dec. 17, on which religious rites were performed in honor of the god Saturn, also identified with the Greek god Cronus.
The atheist organization has been actively putting up displays this holiday season, and earlier this month posted a "Winter Solstice" sign and nbsp;at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield, claiming that there are no gods, angels, heaven or hell, and that religion "hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
"We don't think that religion, or irreligion, belong at the seat of state government. But if religious displays are going up in state capitols, then our display representing the freethought point of view will be there, too. In celebrating the Winter Solstice, we celebrate reality," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
Dan Barker, FFRF co-president, added that Christians tend to think "they own the month of December. We don't agree. No month is free from pagan reverie!"
The Knights of Columbus have defended their "Keep Christ in Christmas" ads, however, and even started poster competitions and nbsp;where young people are encouraged to come up with a design that reflects the "true, spiritual meaning of Christmas."
The Catholic society explained that its initiative is supposed to combat the secularization of Christmas, by keeping the story of Christ in its center.
"The goal of this program is to create/increase awareness among young people about the true meaning of Christmas encouraging them to speak to other youngsters 'in their own language' to address the issues."
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Marine Gets Great White Shark, Drags It Onto Beach With His Bare Hands (VIDEO)

A Great White Shark swims past a diving cage off Gansbaai about 200 kilometres east of Cape Town. (Photo: Reuters/Mike Hutchings)



A Marine's great white shark catch on video shocked and surprised viewers. Jeff Fangman was in California off the Camp Pendleton coast Oct. 27 when his wife recorded him dragging the shark out of the beach waves.
The Marine who caught the great white shark initially didn't even realize what he had. The shark was attached to Fangman's fishing line and the stingray he had, but he didn't know because it was concealed by the waves. 25 minutes later, Fangman reeled in a great white shark.
"Seeing it in the water was just … it was almost mind blowing," Fangman told KGTV in San Diego. "It's taken several weeks for the whole ordeal to sink in."
Fangman is an experienced fisherman who has caught sharks before, but never a great white.
"Bull sharks, tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, lemon sharks," he said. "Lo and behold, it ended up being a great white."
After Fangman brought the shark in, he posed with it and measured it: it turned out to be about 9-and-a-half feet long, which means it was probably female. Fangman also showed the camera the inside of the great white's mouth, which was ringed with rows of sharp teeth.
"I know it's just a beautiful creature, a great white. I was so shocked," he told CBS 8. "It's a big strong fish and it's like solid muscle. It really didn't move when it was on the beach."
Fangman, who is a gunnery master sergeant, showed his wife Aldrei and baby daughter the shark, but remembered to obey the law- it is illegal to keep a great white shark, even after catching it so close to shore.
The U.S. Marine then dragged the great white back into the waters, and after several minutes, it managed to swim back into the deeper Pacific Ocean waves.
Fangman said that wrestling the shark onto shore left him "exhausted." The entire ordeal took about 25 minutes.
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Suki Waterhouse, Bradley Cooper Romance Goes Public

Bradley Cooper returned to his hometown of Philadelphia Tuesday and promptly bought tons of clothing for the city's homeless population. (Photo: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)



Bradley Cooper and his long-rumored girlfriend Suki Waterhouse confirmed their relationship with their first public outing this week.
The "Silver Linings Playbook" star has been linked to Waterhouse, a British model, for the past nine months, but neither actor nor model have spoken publicly about the romance.
Nevertheless, both Cooper and Waterhouse stepped out for their first joint appearance on New York for the premiere of Cooper's new movie "American Hustle" on Sunday, Dec. 8.
Cooper, 38, and Waterhouse, 21, enjoyed cocktails and chocolate-covered strawberries during the event's after party at Cipriani, according to Us magazine.
Despite their 17-year age difference, Cooper and Waterhouse appear to get along nicely and have been spotted looking relaxed in locations such as Paris and Hawaii and nbsp;together.
While the model did not directly refer to Cooper, Waterhouse did discuss her boyfriend in an interview with Elle U.K.
"I don't talk about my boyfriend because it's boring," she said. "At least, that's what I decided to tell you when you asked."
Waterhouse elaborated that she was uncomfortable talking about her personal life.
"I do think whatever I say will sound weird," she added. "But the truth is, if I start talking about him, I probably won't stop. And I don't really want to talk about him, you know?"
The model is very well known in the U.K. and considers fellow Brits Georgia May Jagger and Cara Delevingne close friends.
Cooper's latest film "American Hustle" just picked up seven Golden Globes nominations this week. The awards show will take place on Jan. 12 on NBC at 8 p.m. EST.
"American Hustle" reunited Cooper with his Oscar-winning "Silver Linings Playbook" co-star, Jennifer Lawrence. In the past, the pair of actors have faced rumors of a romance between them, but Cooper swiftly dismissed the reports.
"Oh my God, that's very funny," the actor said at the beginning of this year while speaking to Entertainment Tonight. "Oh no. We've done two movies together, if it didn't happen by now, it's not going to happen."
Ironically, the actor cited Lawrence's age while denying the purported romance- despite the fact that he is now dating someone almost half his age.
"No no, not even close," he said. "First of all, I could be her father. No. I'm kidding. But not even close."
Cooper and Lawrence will also appear in the movie "Serena" together.
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OC, LA Christians Stage Stunning Nativity Flash Mob at Mall in Santa Monica in Response to Atheist Activists Blast Against Christmas

Christians from Orange County and Los Angeles stage stunning 'Nativity Flash Mob' at mall in Santa Monica in response to atheist activists charge in 'War on Christmas,' (Dec. 2012) (Photo: Nativity Flash Mob - Santa Monica, CA 2012 via YouTube)



Last Christmas season (2012) and nbsp;a fellowship of Christians from Orange County, Calif. partnered with believers in Santa Monica to deliver a Nativity flash mob gift to the popular Los Angeles County tourist destination. Watch soprano Lynette Tapia stun shoppers with her beautiful voice opening up the flash mob.
As a wonderful and heartfelt reminder of the purpose of Christmas, this was performed at the Santa Monica Place mall on December 16th, 2012.
The group decided it was time to encourage others, to let them know that celebrating Christmas with outward expressions of faith in the public square was OK. It did not matter that the city of Santa Monica decided that holding its 60-year tradition of Nativity scene displays at Palisades Park had become a hassle because of protesting atheists. It was not of major concern that the city cancelled the displays or that the Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee had to find private land to keep its tradition alive.
The Christians decided to NOT get angry and instead they decided to do what matters most.
What matters is that the Christmas story needs to be told – it's part of the Great Commission for Christians. And this time of year, Christians should be able to celebrate freely, carry on the message, and not be hiding for fear of offending someone.
LINK TO VIDEO: http://youtu.be/qhbTsGLL5
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NBA 2K14 Next-Gen PS4 and Xbox One Versions Have Outsold Last Gen NBA 2K13

NBA 2K14 trailer shot. (PHOTO: Youtube)



NBA 2K14 is outselling NBA 2K13 with just the next-gen versions of the game, which is a pleasant and surprising revelation for 2K Sports.
"If you look at the current generation and the next-generation [of NBA 2K14] together, we've actually sold in more units combined than we did last year on just the current generation," said Karl Slatoff, Take-Two President, reports PlayStation Lifestyle. "So you hear a lot in the industry right now about the problems that developers are having in the transition period and the risk that are associated with transition, which are all very true. But in our specific situations, we only have one game right now for next-gen. We're not seeing that."
2K's latest game has gotten rave reviews, and has sold very well in both the next-gen and previous gen versions of the game.
"The PS3 and the 360 version and the PS4 and the Xbox One version are actually different games and with different development cycles behind them. So as a combined unit, we're actually seeing an increase over last year in terms of selling at this point. So we're not seeing and hellip; that pain in transition," he continued.
NBA 2K14 just released a new patch update for the Xbox One, and so far it has been nothing but trouble as users have complained of frequent crashes and problems, especially in MyCareer Mode.
During the MyCareer Mode players had to save offline because the network servers were down. Once a gamer tried to make this offline safe, the game has began crashing during a cutscene.
According to Kotaku, 2K Sports said they were aware of the issue concerning all of the problems and are working to fix it.
The patch came out last Tuesday, and was 2GB of updates. It was supposed to fix MyCareer, but seems to have made the problem worse.
Recently, Xbox One owners who like to swear when playing video games, have realized 2K14's unique language filter during the game. Using the Kinect voice sensor, players who curses while playing 2K14 were awarded a technical by the referee's.
NBA 2K14 was released on Oct. 1 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. It arrived for the PS4 on Nov. 15 and the Xbox One on Nov. 22.
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HTC One Max Black Model to Launch Soon

HTC One Max Black Picture: HTC



A black version of the HTC One Max will be launching in Hong Kong soon.
HTC announced the new variant this week. The company did not speak on its global plans for multiple colors, but it would make sense to see more options for the HTC One Max as the HTC One and One Mini are already offered in several different shades in markets across the globe.
The new black model will feature identical specs to the original version.
HTC issued a press release that revealed everything about the HTC One Max earlier this year.
"The addition of the HTC One Max means that we now have an HTC One phone for everyone. The family has been built on quality and game-changing innovations and the HTC One max is certainly no exception," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. "The upgrade of HTC Sense 5.5 will provide our most amazing mobile experience yet, with the HTC One max delivering the size and power required to do everything you want, and more, without compromise."
The HTC One Max comes with a 5.9-inch Full HD 1080p display, a 1.7GHx Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, Android 4.3 with HTC Sense 5.5, 16/32GH of internal memory, 2GB RAM, microSD slot, a 3300 mAh battery and HTC BoomSound Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers.
The long-rumored fingerprint scanner for the device was also confirmed by HTC.
"A new Fingerprint Scan feature takes convenience to a new level while acclaimed features including HTC BlinkFeed, HTC Zoe and HTC BoomSound, combined with the new HTC Sense 5.5, which are all enhanced to continue to deliver the best overall smartphone experience, now on a larger screen," wrote HTC in the press release.
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Psychologist Who Diagnosed Affluenza in Teen Drunk Driver Who Got No Jail Time After Killing Pastor, 3 Others Says Justice Was Served

CNN's Anderson Cooper (l) and psychologist Dick Miller (r). (Photo: Screen Grab via CNN)Ethan Couch, 16, won't spend a day in jail after causing a horrific accident in Texas that killed a beloved pastor and three others. Nine people were also injured. (Photo: Screen Grab via WFAA-TV)



A psychologist who diagnosed Ethan Couch, a wealthy Texas teen with "affluenza," which subsequently led to a judge sentencing him to probation and rehab in a swanky facility after his reckless drunk driving killed a pastor and three others, says he wished "everybody could do what this kid gets to do."
In a recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, psychologist Dick Miller admitted that while affluenza is not an officially recognized medical condition, it's a saying that he has used in his practice to group people who "have too much" and don't know what to do with it.
Couch, 16, caused a horrific accident while driving drunk in June, which killed a beloved youth pastor Brian Jennings; mother and daughter Hollie and Shelby Boyles; and 24-year-old Breanna Mitchell.
On Tuesday, Judge Jean Boyd, who could have sentenced him to 20 years behind bars after seeing the evidence and hearing arguments in the case, sentenced the teen to 10 years of probation and rehab at a cost of $450,000, which the teen's father will pay for. The plush punishment was received like a black eye by the families of the victims and the general public who they are crying foul.
"He'll be feeling the hand of God, definitely," Marla Mitchell, Breanna's mother, told WFAA after the ruling. "He may think he got away with something, but he hasn't gotten away with anything."
In the CNN interview, cooper tackled Miller about the special brand of justice and asked him if he felt it was fair.
"Should there be a separate system of justice for somebody just because they have money? Just because their family can pay for a $450,000 a year rehab facility? Should a judge agree to that? Should that really be something that you're pushing," asked Cooper.
"I think that's something you would have to ask the judge," responded Miller to Cooper's question.
"Well, you're the one who's recommending that he goes to this facility. You're a member of this community. Do you really think this is justice?" Cooper shot back.
"Yes," Miller replied.
He then added: "Because I believe there's about an 80 percent chance in our program, if we stay communicating with the kid, my experience in 30 years -- and I've got many, many patients -- that this kid has about an 80 percent chance to become a full-functioning citizen who pays taxes, who doesn't take from the community."
"If he goes to the jail, he's gonna spend two to three years in the jail. He has about a 10 percent chance or a 30 percent chance. I just think the odds are a lot better, Anderson. I wish everybody could do what this kid gets to do."
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Fla. Church Donates Over 500 Live Christmas Trees to Families in Need After Setting Guinness World Record

Oasis Church in Pembroke Pines, Fla., has made the Guinness Book of World Record with 546 and quot;live cut lit trees and quot; on Dec. 7, 2013. (Photo: Telemundo Screenshot)



A Florida church has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest display of lit Christmas trees. Pembroke Pines' Oasis Church was certified as the record holder on Dec. 7 by judges who verified that, per the organization's rules, the 546 trees were lit simultaneously for at least 10 minutes.
Debby Brown, the church's director of women's and children's ministries, said the church originally acquired the trees with the intention of giving them away to people who could not afford to purchase their own this year.
"We saw how many people were out of a job or down on their luck," Brown told The Sun Sentenial. "We wanted to bring in more trees."
"We want to give hope to the community and those who feel lost," she added.
While Guinness did not have a world record for lit trees, it told the church that it would only certify it if it brought in at least 500 trees. Oasis ordered the trees from North Carolina, asking congregation members to sponsor a tree for $50 as a "missions outreach" to the community.
Following a "Tree of Hope" giveaway on Dec. 11, where roughly 200 of the trees were donated, Oasis pastor Guy Melton thanked his congregation on the church's Facebook page.
"Hundreds of moms and dads, boys and girls all over the Pines campus enjoying our 'Trees of Hope' and all the experience in a FREE private party just for them going home with a wrapped tree strapped to their car!" he wrote. "Yes our property looks like a hurricane hit it, with so many trees gone, but I see in every empty spot a family who has and nbsp;been loved, and shown grace and honor, a sliver of hope! The aches,pains, blisters and cuts this morning are a reminder Oasis is here for those who are hurting and to "Be HOPE" to those who have lost hope!"
Over the years, Oasis Church has made Christmas a significant part of its community presence, and since 1994 has hosted an annual "Oasis Christmas" event. In 2010, it set the record for the largest display of nativity sets with 2,150. It also has a light show with 500,000 lights across its campus. Oasis' Christmas celebration also includes a skating rink, nativity display with live animals and screens outdoor Christmas movies.
This year, the church has a gingerbread man decoration game, a train ride, and places where families can roast s'mores over a camp fire.
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Beyonce Debuts Blue Video; Is Baby Blue Ivy Singing the Hook? (VIDEO)

Beyonce and Blue Ivy (PHOTO) YouTube: Beyonce



Beyonce unexpectedly released her fifth studio album on Thursday and fans were thrilled to see her daughter Blue Ivy featured in the music video for "Blue."
The iconic pop star, 32, dropped her self-titled "visual album" minutes before midnight and it features 14 new songs and 17 music videos. Fans get to see the mommy-daughter duo sharing intimate moments in "Blue," which was filmed in Brazil.
"Make it last forever/come on baby wont you hold on to me...hold on to me/you and I together/ come on baby won't you hold on to me...hold on to me," Beyonce sings in the hook.
"Each Day, I feel so blessed to be looking at you 'cause when you open your eyes/I feel alive," she begins in the second verse.
The notoriously private singer is seen bonding with her adorable daughter, who is fathered by rapper Jay Z, for much of the clip.
By the end of the 4:35-minute video a baby voice emerges singing a part of the hook, which many fans have assumed belongs to Beyonce's 1-year-old baby girl.
The toddler is seen playing with toys and flipping through a children's book as her famous mother dotingly watches on.
"She's my road dog, She's my homey, my best friend," Beyonce once told Vogue about her and Jay Z's only child.
"I feel like I have something that has grounded me so much more. Family has always been important. I've always had my mother and my father and my husband. But it's just ... Life is so much more than ... It's not defined by any of this," she explained.
The Grammy award-winning singer has spent much of this year touring as part of her Mrs. Carter World Tour, which began in April and wraps up in December. She recently spoke about having the ability to tour with baby Blue.
"It's really interesting because I'm touring with my daughter for the first time and my dream has always been to be able to balance my life and my career," Beyonce said at a press conference according to Daily Mail UK.
"I think it's the one thing that women struggle with because it's so difficult," she continued "But when I'm able to travel it makes me so proud that she's able to experience all these different cultures and meet all of these interesting people at such a young age."
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