Crosstalk: September 19, 2016

Jim Schneider took Crosstalk listeners for another tour of headline-making stories. They included:

--Jack Gerard, CEO and President of the Trade Association of American Petroleum Institutions said that President Obama's decision to override a federal judge's ruling to allow the Dakota Access Pipeline construction to go forward in South Dakota violates the rule of law.

--The State Department is hosting a two-day conference on the world's oceans. It's expected to produce a raft of announcements and initiatives including new marine protected areas off the coast of New England as well as a ban on single

use plastic bags.

--The Human Rights Campaign announced that the first openly transgender service member has been promoted.

--Imprisoned transgender soldier Bradley Manning, now going by the name of Chelsea Manning, has ended a five-day hunger strike after the Army agreed to provide surgery for the treatment of gender dysphoria.

--A Christian's 14 year career with the Social Security Administration is being threatened because he refused to watch a training video on lesbian/homosexual/bisexual/transgender and queer diversity and inclusivity.

--The Atlantic Coast Conference will move all of their neutral site championships for the current academic year out of the state due to North Carolina's 'Bathroom Bill' (HB-2).

--Michigan's education board approved voluntary guidelines that urge schools to create an inclusive environment for LGBT students.

--Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a group of students and parents filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice and Minnesota's Virginia Public Schools for disregarding student privacy and safety.

--The Archbishop of Wales argues that taking the Bible seriously can lead to supporting same-sex marriage as he defended the acceptance of LGBT relationships.

--Churches in Massachusetts have grave concerns about a new anti-discrimination law that could force congregations to accommodate the transgender community under the threat of fines and jail time.

--An effort is underway with the American Medical Association to abandon it's decades long stance of opposing assisted suicide and to take a neutral stance.

--A federal court told Louisiana that it must continue to give taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood.

--The president of Americans for Limited Government has issued a statement in response to the giving away of the Internet. He said that the Government Accountability Office reaffirms that Congress needs to act in order to stop this giveaway.

--Federal lawmakers seeking to pinpoint the number of illegal immigrants to successfully sneak across our southern border ordered up a report from the Department of Homeland Security, but the agency is refusing to release it and instead cites a misleading statistic that overstates the number that are

caught.

--The White House kicked off the Welcoming Refugee Week yesterday, 2 days after it informed Congress that it would be boosting the number of refugees delivered to American shores by nearly 30%.

--A 'whistle-blower' from the Department of Homeland Security alleges that Muslimsfrom around the world are said to be coming to America to engage in 'settlement jihad' and implement Shariah.

--19 refugees were diagnosed with active tuberculosis in Michigan between 2011 and 2016 according to data provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

--The Islamic bloc at the U.N. Wednesday embraced the U.N Human Rights Chief's new campaign of calling what he calls xenophobes and bigots, a category in which he

has lumped Donald Trump and populist 'right-wing' politicians in Europe.

--Pamela Geller reported that the cleaver attacker in New York City yesterday was Muslim.

--Iran could spend more than one-billion of the 1.7 billion given to them by the U.S. toward sponsoring terrorism.

--Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has a message for the U.S. Navy: Go to the Bay of Pigs. The Persian Gulf is our home.

--In the first six months of 2016, 2 more militants that were released from Guantanamo Bay have returned to fighting.

--A second grader came home with a health and hygiene worksheet that included references to types of clothing worn by religious Muslims as well as a reference from the Qur'an.

--The British ambassador to Saudi Arabia converts to Islam.

--Missouri joins a growing list of states allowing most adults to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

--Nancy Pelosi gives a quote that shows she's concerned about children when it pertains to gun control yet she has no problem funding Planned Parenthood and taxpayer funding of abortion.

--New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has launched a probe of the Donald J. Trump Foundation to insure its compliance with state regulations governing charities.

--U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, who's never been a fan of Obamacare, describes the plan as 'a massive consumer fraud'.

--Despite initially canceling plans to erect a reproduction of the Victory Arch that stood for 1,800 years in front of the Temple of Ba'al in Palmyra, the Institute for Digital Archaeology has announced they will recreate the arch destroyed by ISIS in New York City's City Hall Park on September 19th.

--A Harvard economist believes the U.S. should thwart money launderers and tax evaders by phasing out all denominations of the U.S. dollar larger than the $10 bill.

--NASA to launch a space probe to seek the origins of life.