The
Daily Brief: Tuesday, May 23, 2017
There have been reports of up to 20 dead and hundreds injured after explosions were heard inside Manchester Arena at the end of a teen concert tonight.
Video footage showed thousands of people fleeing in tears from the venue, many covered in blood, after the Ariana Grande concert finished.
Armed officers surrounded the venue and bloodied concertgoers were pictured being helped by emergency services outside the gig.
Evie Brewster, who attended the concert, told MailOnline: 'Ariana Grande had just finished her last song and left the stage when a huge explosion sounded. 'Suddenly everybody started screaming and running for the exit. (Read more)
- Father, we pray for all of these victims and their families. Let Your comfort surround them, Your peace fill them, and bring their hearts close to You. We ask for swift knowledge of the perpetrators and anyone who colluded with them be found.
- "You have delivered me from the violent man." (Psalm 18:48b)
2. Vice President Mike Pence praises free speech after some Notre Dame grads walk out - IndyStar
Vice President Mike Pence called Notre Dame a "vanguard of freedom of expression and the free exchange of ideas" during his commencement address on Sunday.
Pence's comments, though, were not heard by about 100 of the 3,171 graduates. As soon as the vice president and former Indiana governor stepped up to the podium - where he spent a chunk of his 15-minute address discussing his support for freedom of speech at universities - students quietly got up from their seats and left Notre Dame Stadium in protest of some of Pence's policy positions.
Pence bestowed his compliment upon the university "sadly, when free speech and civility are waning on campuses across America," he said. "Notre Dame is a campus where deliberation is welcomed, where opposing views are debated, and where every speaker, no matter how unpopular or unfashionable, is afforded the right to air their views in the open for all to hear." (Read more)
- Father, we can't conceive of the rudeness of these students to do this to the Vice President. We ask that You work strongly in their hearts to bring repentance from believing the lies that they have been told. We pray for this generation of Americans- that You will move among them, bringing truth to their minds and hearts.
- "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." (Psalm 51:6)
3. As Leaks Pile Up, It's Evident Trump Is Under Attack From His Own Staff - Daily Caller
It's coming from inside the house. Throughout Trump's presidency and increasingly in the past few weeks, leaks from staff members to the press are undermining the president.
The New York Times reported Friday exact details of Trump's meeting last week with Russian officials. The report cited a document read to them by an "American official," which summarized the meeting. "I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job," Trump said, according to the report. The president then added, "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off." The White House did not dispute this account.
Shortly after this story broke, The Daily Beast quoted a senior administration official saying, "Every day [Trump] looks more and more like a complete moron." That same story included a Justice Department official saying that Trump's comments about Comey can "absolutely" be considered obstruction of justice. These represent just two of the many stories quoting administration officials that have attacked the president. These articles range from details on the ongoing investigation into alleged Russian interference in the election, to a Washington Post piece about how awful White House aides say it is to work for Trump.
Columnist Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News Friday: "What's unusual is the Niagara of leaks coming out of this White House. As you said, this had to have been somebody in the room, somebody who took the notes, who picked up the phone and read the notes. It's a loyalty problem inside the White House," Krauthammer added.
NBC's Hans Nichols said Friday that the president is "dealing with something other presidents haven't necessarily had to deal with. That is, a remarkable amount of leaking within his own administration." Prominent Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz described the leaks on CNN as acts of "civil disobedience," and said that some have been illegal. (Read more)
- Father only You can stem this tide of leaks and twisting of the truth. You are the God of Justice, the God of Truth. We pray for You to reveal Your hand in this situation.
- "For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him."
(Isaiah 30:18b)
4. Inside left's secret plot for coup against Trump - WND
The formula for a de facto coup against President Trump is pretty simple and it's happening before our very eyes, according to one of the nation's top scholars and most esteemed political analysts.
And evidence for that theory is backed up by equally renowned political observers.
This is how it works, according to classics scholar, Stanford fellow and National Review columnist Victor Davis Hanson:
- The mainstream media pumps out anti-Trump stories to undermine the president.
- That creates doubt and uncertainty among lawmakers, especially those from "purple" states (those that are not overwhelmingly Republican or Democratic.)
- Removing the support of the "purple" GOP lawmakers gives Democrats a de facto majority to stop the Trump agenda, even though Republicans have majorities in both the House and the Senate. (Read more)
- Lord, we ask You to root out every mole, every leaker, every false witness, every anti-Trump reporter and expose them to the Light. We pray that no one will be able to hide their evil intent any longer. Let Your truth judge them and stop these plans from coming to fruition.
- "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn." (Isaiah 54:17)
5. CIA Official Leaks Obama's Plans To Destroy America, Proves Trump Was Right All Along - The Washington Feed
Clare M. Lopez is a former CIA employee. Her résumé is quite impressive: she was the Vice President for Research and Analysis at the Center for Security Policy and a Senior Fellow at The Clarion Project, the London Center for Policy Research, and the Canadian Meighen Institute.
. . . She believes that the global war on terror used to be an effort to 'stay free of Shariah' - the repressive Islamic law - but then the Obama administration sided with jihadist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates. The CIA official even claims that Obama opened the door to the White House for the Muslim Brotherhood, allowing them to thoroughly infiltrate the Obama administration and other branches of the federal government.
One of the most outrageous of those appointments is Mohamed Elibiary, a senior member of the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council, reports UConservative. According to a report by the Center for Security Policy, Elibiary supported brokering a U.S. partnership with the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group. Two months ago, Elibiary caused chaos and disgust among social media users when he compared 'Caliphate' to the European Union and tweeted that its happening is inevitable. (Read more)
- Lord, we have been aware for some time that the Federal government was deeply infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood under Obama. We ask that You not only reveal the agenda of these people, but that You also remove them and bring them to their knees in repentance.
- "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10,11)
6. Here Are 12 Times Liberal Democrats Refused To Impeach Barack Obama After He Broke The Law - Now the End Begins
The Obama presidency was marred with numerous impeachment scandals that would be blared on the news 24/7 if he were a Republican.
President Barack Obama faced a large number of scandals, many of which involved apparent violations of federal law. And yet in eight long years, Obama skated by without any serious investigations by the Department of Justice, or with investigations that were quashed from above. It seems Republican administrations are held to a higher standard.
The most glaring example is, of course, the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal, which is connected to broader claims of corruption involving the Clinton Foundation. President Obama told 60 Minutes in 2015 that Clinton had simply made a mistake: "I don't think it posed a national security problem," he said. The media bought it - and so did the Department of Justice, despite a mountain of evidence that she had been "extremely careless," as Comey put it later. (To read this list of 12 examples, go here.)
- Father, we bind the plans of the enemy and break off every wicked scheme that is set against this administration.
- "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth wil be bound in heaven." (Matthew 16:18a)
7. Supreme Court strikes down 2 NC congressional districts - Fox News
The Supreme Court struck down two congressional districts in North Carolina Monday because race played too large a role in their creation, a decision voting rights advocates said would boost challenges in other states. The justices ruled that Republicans who controlled the state legislature and governor's office in 2011 placed too many African-Americans in the two districts. The result was to weaken African-American voting strength elsewhere in North Carolina.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has ruled for civil rights groups and black voters in challenges to political districts in Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia.
A Democratic group led by former Attorney General Eric Holder is focusing on redistricting challenges to counter political gains Republicans have made since the 2010 census and the redrawing of electoral districts that followed. (Read more)
- Father, we lift these challenges before You and ask that ONLY Your perfect will prevail in the court cases.
- "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." (Colossians 1:9)
8. Gallup: Only 24% of Americans Believe Bible is Literal Word of God - CNS News
A new Gallup poll shows that only 24% of Americans believe the Bible is the "literal word" of God, which is a decline from the 1970s, but the survey also shows that the number of Americans who think the Bible is the "inspired word" of God, 47%, has stayed pretty steady over the last 40 years.
In addition, an overwhelming majority of Americans, 71%, believe the Bible is a holy document, inspired by God or containing God's own words.
"Fewer than one in four Americans (24%) now believe the Bible is 'the actual word of God, and is to be taken literally, word for word,' similar to the 26% who view it as 'a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man,'" reported Gallup on May 15. (Read more)
- Lord, this report grieves us more than we can even express. Our nation has fallen so far from You and our sin is heaped above our heads. We plead for mercy, and a refreshing of Your Spirit over us.
- "And He will cause the rain to come down for you - the former rain and the latter rain in the first month." (Joel 2:23)
9. Rouhani Wins Reelection in Iran - The Atlantic
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani won reelection Saturday, beating his conservative opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, by a hefty margin in a clear signal that the nation approves of his reformist policies that have increasingly engaged the outside world.
About 70 percent of eligible voters turned out, with some waiting hours in line and election officials repeatedly extended the voting hour until midnight. A big turnout was expected to favor Rouhani, and he won handily with 57 percent of the vote, compared with Raisi's 38. In Iranian politics, the president is the second-most powerful person, answering to the unelected Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi was a protege of the ayatollah, but his defeat is an indication that Iranians favor the reforms Rouhani has implemented, including an agreement reached with global powers that saw many of the sanctions against the country lifted in exchange for heavy regulations on its nuclear program. (Read more)
- Lord, we are grateful that this man won the "election" in Iran, as the other candidate was a hardliner intent to isolate Iran ever further. We ask that You return this nation to the freedoms they once had before the rigid Islamists took control. Move on their lives, Father, let Your Holy Spirit bring freedom to the captives.
- ". . . to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." (Isaiah 61:1)
10. Crisis in Venezuela - Daily Mail
No electricity, no antibiotics, no beds, no soap: A devastating look inside Venezuela's crisis-hit hospitals where 7 babies die a day, bleeding patients lie strewn on the floor, and doctors try to operate without tools. Read more:
- Lord, it is so difficult for us to even view these photos taken in Venezuela, much less read about these barbaric conditions. Abba Father God, this nation has been in distress for many, many years. We ask You to bring relief in a way that only You know, in Your name, amen.
"In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears."
(Psalm 18:6)
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