Crosstalk: February 1, 2016

Jim Schneider took his place at the microphone once again to update listeners on stories affecting Christians around the world. Stories included: --The networks give the Donald Trump boycott of the debate 3 times more coverage than the actual GOP debate. --Chris Matthews lashes out at presidential hopeful Chris Christie for referring to abortion as murder. --Senator Marco Rubio, when asked about his electability, brushed off the moderator's reminder that Time Magazine once labeled Rubio as the Republican Savior. Rubio reminded the audience that there is only one Savior—Jesus Christ. --Michael Bloomberg is looking at mounting a one billion dollar bid for the White House as an independent candidate. --At a speech in Sweden, Vice President Joe Biden pressured business leaders to take the lead in pushing other countries to adopt special rights and elevate the status of homosexuals. --The Houston grand jury never voted on Planned Parenthood charges when considering indictments against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt. --Attorneys for David Daleiden say he is innocent of the two charges that were filed by the grand jury. --Harris County District Attorney defended her indictment against Daleiden despite the fact that a Planned Parenthood abortion business board member works as a prosecutor in her office. New information has surfaced that her campaign had received more than $25,000 from the attorney who works for a later term abortionist. --Officials from Planned Parenthood are taking advantage of fears surrounding the Brazilian Zika crisis. --The parent company of Fox News has helped to finance the career of Hillary Clinton. --While the East Coast was bracing for a recent winter storm, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was busy preparing the way for a proposal giving the authorization for the use of military force written by Senator Lindsey Graham. It's a packaged proposal to fight ISIS but it would also allow the president to deploy military forces anywhere he chooses and as long as he wants. --President Obama says he would not seek a 3rd term even if it was allowable. --European Parliamentary Council adopts a resolution condemning the action of ISIS as genocide. --National Public Radio published a map that replaces Israel with Palestine. --Lori Palatnik calls for American Jews to move to Israel. --Israel's electric grid hit with a large cyber attack. --Maryland high school student punished for refusing to profess faith in Islam. --Refugees sent to Twin Falls, Idaho, to work in the world's largest (Chobani) yogurt plant. --If ratified by the Senate, a treaty called,'The Protocol' would result in the automatic exchange of sensitive financial information of individuals and businesses between foreign governments and the United States. --A Muslim man and woman arrested at Disneyland hotel near Disneyland Paris. --Children ages 13-18 were asked by a school in Brighton, England, to choose their gender from among 2,000 options. --South Dakota House passes legislation to protect students from those who are one gender yet perceive themselves to be another and therefore use facilities related to their perceived gender. --Federal judge rules that Kentucky officials violated the Ark Encounter builders First Amendment protections by blocking it from the sales tax tourism incentive that could be worth up to 18 million dollars. --The West Virginia state legislature sets aside a day of prayer for coal miners. --Wal-Mart closing a store in Los Angeles in part because of the $15 minimum wage. --Data is showing a downward economic trend for six big American cities that hiked the minimum wage to $10 or more per hour in 2015. --2 former I.T. employees at Disney World in Orlando were laid off after being forced to train their foreign replacements and have filed federal lawsuits against the entertainment giant and two other companies. --A new wage insurance program that's proposed by President Obama would have taxpayers subsidize the income of workers who have had their jobs eliminated and end up in a job with a lower salary. --Seeking a safe haven in Colorado's legal marijuana marketplace, illegal drug traffickers are allegedly growing weed among the state's sanctioned pot warehouses and farms then covertly shipping it elsewhere and pocketing millions of dollars from the sale. --Pittsburg, Kansas, post office removes a 'God bless America' banner after an organization complained the banner violated the principal of separation of church and state. --Hundreds of badges, credentials, cell phones and guns belonging to Department of Homeland Security employees have been lost or stolen in recent years. --New York lawmaker proposes a bill that would ban iPhones from being sold in the state unless Apple provides special 'back doors' that would allow law enforcement to spy on users. --The intelligence community is now alleging that some of Hillary Clinton's e-mails are too damaging to national security to release under any circumstances. --Residents of Lowell, Massachusetts, face a new requirement for obtaining unrestricted right-to-carry gun permits. They have to submit a written essay to the Chief of Police that explains why they want that particular right.