Breaking Christian News on The Gospel Herald

While news reports on the current Ebola crises taper off in the U.S., the fate of thousands of orphans living in those countries most affected by the virus still hangs in the balance. Left without parents - and often abandoned by family members afraid to take in the exposed - these young children are forced to fend for themselves, and often become the victim of crime.

President Obama's address on illegal immigration Thursday night left mixed feelings among Christians, as well members of both political parties. Though he said that "the best way to solve the problem is by working together," he painted a very 'us versus them' picture, and scolded members of Congress who failed to move immigration bills forward.

As cases like an Orthodox Jewish man beaten, New York couple fined for refusing to wed lesbian couple, and Texas sermon subpoenaed are brought to light, the fate of religious freedom in America for certain religions is unknown - specifically Christianity and Judaism. While American citizens are guaranteed religious freedom through the First Amendment, this freedom is slipping away as Christian persecution and anti-Semitism swells.

The murderous group of thugs known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has released another chilling video, this time of the killing of American Peter Kassig. The 26-year-old former U.S. Army Ranger from Indiana, who had previously served in Iraq, returned to Syria as an aid worker when his tour of duty ended in 2007.

He scaled the north fence of the White House, zigzagged across the north lawn, and entered the nation's capital through the door of the North Portico. While that may sound like a scene from a movie trailer that is exactly what occurred on Sept. 19 when 42-year-old Iraq War Army veteran Omar Jose Gonzalez put the slip on the Secret Service.

Despite the best efforts of China's Communist government, Christianity is on the rise in the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people. Officials across the country have torn down churches, detained Christians, and worked to ensure that religious leaders are kept out of China. And though the Communist Party is the world's largest atheist organization, it is finding Christianity hard to contain.

Today marks the country's 95th observation of Veterans Day - a day set aside to honor those in every branch of the U.S. military. From parades to memorials to formal gatherings, Americans across the nation joined together today to remember those who served, those in active duty, those returning home, and those who paid the ultimate price for their country.

Forty three students, missing from Iguala, Guerrero in Mexico, are presumed dead despite the government's claim that there is a lack of evidence in the case. Seventy-four people are now in custody for their alleged involvement in the students' kidnapping, including the mayor, his wife, and members of the local police force, in what is being called the worst case of human rights violations in Mexico in nearly 50 years.

Tuesday's midterm election resulted in a massive shift in power in Washington, D.C., and gave Republicans total control of both the Senate and House of Representatives. In a press conference the following afternoon, President Barack Obama offered a commentary chalked with contradiction, and what some commentators believe to be an underlying tone of defiance.

For the first time in eight years, Republicans are in charge of the Senate, and with more than 10 seats gained in the House of Representatives, the Republican Party's power in Congress has reached a level not seen since 1946.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum is urging Americans to push back against the stripping of religious liberties in the U.S. In "One Generation Away," a documentary he coproduced, the escalation of Christian persecution in the U.S. is brought to light through interviews with politicians, business owners, experts on religious liberty, and individuals with opposing views.

Christians around the world will unite for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church this Sunday, Nov. 2, to petition for brothers and sisters in Christ who face oppression, imprisonment, and at an increasing rate, death for their faith.

On Monday, four additional arrests led Mexican authorities to the town of Cocula, Guerrero where a twelfth clandestine burial site was discovered. The families of 43 students missing from nearby Iguala are demanding answers from the Mexican government as the unearthing of another mass grave is unveiling years of terror by corrupt police and government officials working for the drug cartel.

Terrorism is hitting North Americans close to home following Wednesday's shooting at the Canadian Parliament by a man with alleged jihadist interests, and Thursday's attack on two New York City police officers by an ax wielding Muslim convert. Though both attackers were shot dead at the scene by authorities, a Canadian solider was killed during the incident in Ottawa, and the real threat of aggressive Islamic internet propaganda reared its ugly head.

As the Feast of Tabernacles came to a close this week in Jerusalem, attendees were encouraged to break their silence and fight against the persecution of Christians and Jews from the bloodthirsty Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Attorneys with the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a motion on behalf of a group of pastors who received subpoenas from the city of Houston demanding all sermons and communications which reference a controversial city ordinance.

Mexican soldiers and federal agents are closely monitoring the rural town of Iguala, Guerroro after the bloody massacre of student teachers by corrupt police officers and drug cartel criminals two weeks ago. Thursday's discovery of four more grave sites led to today's vigil at the Raul Isidro Burgos rural teacher's college in the Ayotzinapa neighborhood of Tixtla, Mexico.

Thousands of Christians gathered at sundown today in Ein Gedi, Israel to celebrate the first day of the 35th Feast of Tabernacles. Sponsored by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, the event - also known as Sukkot - gathers Christians from around the world to rejoice in the power of God, remember His past provisions, and celebrate His anticipated return.

Manhattan's historic Waldorf Astoria New York - the luxurious Park Avenue hotel that has hosted princes and Hollywood's elite for decades - will no longer be American-owned. In the largest U.S. deal with a Chinese investor, Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group Ltd. has agreed to purchase the iconic hotel from Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. for $1.95 billion.

Friday marks the 69th anniversary of the ruling North Korea's Workers' Party, and there is still no sign of supreme leader Kim Jong Un. There have been no sightings of the 31-year-old in public since attending a concert with his wife on Sept. 3, and there has been no word on his whereabouts from North Korea's state media.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., that nation's largest private employer, announced Tuesday that it will manage the rising costs of employee health care by cutting benefits for more of its part-time employees. The Arkansas-based business is just one of many across the nation that has been forced to make drastic changes in answer to the mandates of the Affordable Care Act.

The FBI is seeking the public's assistance in identifying a masked militant - believed to be an American - seen in an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria propaganda video released in September. The man speaks in both Arabic and English as he presides over a group of prisoners who can be seen in the background digging their own graves.

The government in Spain came under fire today amid reports that a female nurse's assistant, who was infected with the Ebola virus, may have had contact with up to 50 people. The woman, who has not been identified, is reported to be in stable condition.

Israel responded to an explosion on the Lebanese border by firing into Southern Lebanon late Tuesday. A detonated bomb earlier in the day left two Israel Defense Forces soldiers wounded. An initial report from IDF claims that the explosion was caused by a device that was "planted with the intention of attacking IDF soldiers." A second explosion occurred 30 minutes later with no injuries or damages reported.

On its first day back in session on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court managed to blindside those on both sides of the issue by handing down a non-decision on homosexual marriage. Essentially, the justices' refusal to hear each case paved the way for homosexual marriage in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as in other states with similar bans in the fourth, seventh and tenth circuits.