1. 'Direct Hit' Reported as Rockets Target US Embassy in Baghdad - CNS News
Several rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday evening, with some reportedly hitting the building itself for the first time in several years.
The Iraq Security Media Cell, which falls under the office of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, reported that five Katyusha rockets had landed the city's international "Green Zone," causing no casualties.
The AFP news agency cited a security source as saying that three of the rocket launches achieved a "direct hit." Security officials were also quoted as saying that the mission's dining hall was struck. (Read more)
- Lord, we rebuke the source of these rockets and in the mighty Name of Jesus, we declare that no weapon formed against our embassies worldwide will prosper.
- "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." (Isaiah 54:17a)
2. Three US Military Veterans Killed in Australia C-130 Water Bomber Crash - Military Times
The three American firefighters who were killed Thursday in the crash of a C-130 Hercules water tanker plane while helping to battle the raging wildfires in Australia have been identified.
Their employer, Portland, Ore.-based Coulson Aviation USA, identified the victims as Capt. Ian McBeth, 44, of Great Falls, Mont.; First Officer Paul Hudson, 42, of Buckeye, Ariz.; and Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr., 43, of Navarre, Fla.
All three were U.S. military veterans, according to a Coulson statement. McBeth served in both the Montana Air National Guard and the Wyoming Air National Guard; Hudson served in the Marine Corps after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy; and DeMorgan served 18 years in the U.S. Air Force. (Read more)
-Lord, we pray Your comfort for the families of these brave men who went to help Australia. We thank You for their willingness to help, and pray for all who are attempting to stop the wildfires there.
- "The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."
(Psalm 145:9)
3. Experts think the Wuhan coronavirus jumped from bats to snakes to people. Bats have been the source of at least 4 pandemics - Business Insider
The coronavirus spreading in China and the SARS outbreak of 2003 have two things in common: Both are from the coronavirus family and both were passed from animals to humans in a wet market.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic diseases, meaning they spread to people from animals. Because wet markets put people and live and dead animals - dogs, chickens, pigs, snakes, civets, and more - in close contact, it can be easy for a virus to make an interspecies jump. "Poorly regulated live-animal markets mixed with illegal wildlife trade offer a unique opportunity for viruses to spill over from wildlife hosts into the human population," the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement on Thursday. (Read more)
- Lord, we stand in agreement against this pestilence and invoke Your power and Word over all. We thank You for Your anointing to do so.
- "This far you shall come and no farther shall your proud waves stop." (Job 38:11)
- "No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling."
(Psalm 91:10)
4. 'Economist' EIC: No One Talked About Impeachment in Davos - Free Beacon
The editor in chief of the Economist said on Sunday that attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, were gearing up for a second Trump term, while "literally no one" spoke to her about impeachment. CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria asked Economist editor Zanny Minton Beddoes what the global elite in Davos thought about impeachment.
"To be honest, I didn't think they're paying a huge amount of attention to it," Beddoes said. She went on to say that while few were closely following what they saw as a foregone conclusion, many attendees were "taking almost as given that there might be a second term for President Trump." "The mood I think certainly amongst the business types in Davos was 'get ready for a second term,'" Beddoes said. "Literally no one spoke to me about impeachment."
House Democrats presented their impeachment case against Trump to the Senate this past week. Trump's lawyers will continue their defense of the president this week, in advance of a possible end to the trial on Friday. (Read more)
- Lord, we thank You that in the international realm, people are learning about the President through his skills rather than the loud noise coming from Democrats.
- "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men."
(Proverbs 18:16)
5. Soros-Funded Leftist Group 'Vote Vets' Attacks Tom Cotton by Twisting Interview Out of Context - Breitbart
The George Soros-funded organization Vote Vets, which purports to stand for veterans but is a leftist organization, is twisting comments made by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in an interview Sunday morning on CBS about Americans injured in Iran's ballistic missile strike on U.S. installations in Iraq.
Iran's ballistic missile strike, which consisted of at least a dozen ballistic missiles launched at at least two U.S. installations in Iraq in retaliation by the regime in Tehran for President Donald Trump's strike taking out Quds Force leader and infamous terrorist Qasem Soleimani, claimed no American lives. There were upwards of 30 injuries of varying degrees, however, including 16 who returned to duty quickly, another 9 who were transported to Germany for treatment and evaluation, and another 8 who were brought home to the United States for treatment and evaluation. (Read more)
- Lord, we pray that these lies be revealed for what they are: baseless untruths designed to sway voters from the truth.
- "The Lord opens the eyes of the blind." (Psalm 146:8a)
6. Automatic Voter Registration Led to Illegal Ballots, Illinois Admits - Free Beacon
A watchdog group has requested records from the Illinois State Board of Elections after 574 noncitizens were added to its voter rolls, allowing some of them to vote illegally in the 2018 midterm elections.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation, an election integrity law firm, made the request on Thursday after the board admitted the error. The individuals in question were improperly invited onto the rolls through a glitch in the state's automatic voter registration system while applying for a driver's license or state identification. The watchdog says Democratic politicians are pushing automatic voter registration at the expense of election integrity. The issues in Illinois with automatic voter registration, which has been implemented in 18 states and the District of Columbia, contribute to an already widespread trend of noncitizens making their way onto voter rolls nationwide. (Read more)
- Father, we thank You for this revelation and pray that every state that has this kind of automatic voter registration be purged of noncitizens before the election.
- "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight." (Proverbs 12:22)
7. Joe Biden Says 'No Room For Compromise' On Transgender Issues As Bernie Faces Backlash For Joe Rogan Endorsement - Daily Caller
Former Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that "there is no room for compromise" on transgender issues, which he called the "civil rights issue of our time."
Biden has previously said that passing the Equality Act, a Democratic-supported bill that would require schools to include biological males who identify as transgender on girls' sports teams, would be his top legislative priority.
"Let's be clear: Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time. There is no room for compromise when it comes to basic human rights," the Democratic presidential candidate wrote in a tweet Saturday. (Read more)
- Lord, pandering to sin is a dangerous game. We repent for allowing this lie to have a place in our nation.
- "To make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring everlasting righteousness." (Daniel 9:24)
8. Denver Post Columnist Fired After Arguing There Are Two Sexes - Free Beacon
A Denver Post columnist says he was fired after disputing the idea that there are more than two sexes. Jon Caldara, president of the libertarian Independence Institute, announced that he has been fired from the Post, chalking it up to "a difference in style" that his editors found "too insensitive."
"My column is not a soft voiced, sticky sweet NPR-styled piece which employs the language now mandated by the victim-centric, identity politics driven media," he said in a Facebook post. "What seemed to be the last straw for my column was my insistence that there are only two sexes and my frustration that to be inclusive of the transgendered (even that word isn't allowed) we must lose our right to free speech." (Read more)
- Lord, we know from Your Word that there are only two sexes. We pray that this columnist will be blessed and that You will find a venue that will encourage his free speech and bring him to Yourself.
- "If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)
9. MLK's Niece Denounces Democrat For 'Race Baiting' Trump - Daily Wire
If there's anyone in America who might be considered the top expert on racism, it's got to be Alveda King, the niece of the late Martin Luther King Jr.
"I've had the experience of going head-to-head with genuine racists," King said on Fox News. "Back in the 20th Century, I was a youth organizer. At the time, my uncle, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was killed [in 1968] . . . I was in a home that was bombed. A racist is a person who really does believe that their race, their category of humanity, is superior or different." And, King said, Trump isn't one of them. (Read more)
- Lord, we know in our spirits that President Trump is not a racist. We ask that truth be revealed in a way that people can actually understand it. We thank You, too, for giving us our sister, Dr. Alveda King, who always speaks truth to power. In Jesus' name, amen.
- "Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart." (Psalm 51:6)
10. Dershowitz calls out House Dems in Trump's Senate impeachment trial after Bolton shock waves - Fox News
Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz, delivering a spirited constitutional defense of President Trump at his Senate impeachment trial Monday night, flatly turned toward House impeachment managers and declared they had picked "dangerous" and "wrong" charges against the president -- noting that neither "abuse of power" nor "obstruction of justice" was remotely close to an impeachable offense as the framers had intended.
In a dramatic primetime moment, the liberal constitutional law scholar reiterated that although he voted for Hillary Clinton, he could not find constitutional justification for the impeachment of a president for non-criminal conduct, or conduct that was not at least "akin" to defined criminal conduct.
"I'm sorry, House managers, you just picked the wrong criteria. You picked the most dangerous possible criteria to serve as a precedent for how we supervise and oversee future presidents," Dershowitz told the House Democrats, including head House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. (Read more)
- We thank You, Father, for the clarity of this argument. May we all consider the word "impeachment" in the light the understanding of the U.S. Constitution. In Jesus' name, amen.
- "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set." (Proverbs 22:28)