What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, as always.

Well that didn’t take long. 🙂

From USNews/NBCNews  “A federal appeals court on Thursday issued a ruling reinstating most of Texas’ tough new abortion restrictions.

A panel of judges at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling a day after District Judge Lee Yeakel said one provision serves no medical purpose.

The panel says the law requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital can take effect while a lawsuit moves forward. The restrictions could take effect Friday.”

“The panel left in place a portion of Yeakel’s order that prevents the state from enforcing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration protocol for abortion-inducing drugs in cases where the woman is between 50 and 63 days into her pregnancy. Doctors testifying before the court had said such women would be  harmed if the protocol were enforced.”

The court ruled that the restrictions were well within the legislature’s authority to enact.

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The Rev. Billy Graham is about to hold what could be his last crusade. This one will be broadcast on television and the internet due to his health issues. I’ve never had the privilege of attending one, so I’m looking forward to it. I will provide the link and broadcast info when it’s available, but it looks like it will be on his birthday Nov. 7th.

From NewsMax  “Evangelist Billy Graham’s voice is softer and his body weaker, but the man who helped transform Christianity in America and counseled U.S. presidents will  reach out to the nation on his 95th birthday in an effort to revitalize the church.

In early October, Graham gave  an exclusive interview to Newsmax during which he said the sermon  he was preparing might be his last.

Graham, whose last crusade will be  via video, told Newsmax that America is drenched in a “sea of immorality” and suggested that the second coming of Christ is “near.”

“Graham, who has not preached publicly since 2006 because of  frail health, has filmed a public message to air on national television on his Nov. 7  birthday, giving fans a rare and possibly final opportunity to see the man dubbed “America’s Pastor.”

“Our country is in great need of a spiritual awakening,” Graham says in a program titled “The Cross.” “With all my heart, I want to leave you with the truth.”

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Looks like more Benghazi lies have been exposed.

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Masked from public view, two of the U.S. military’s elite special operations commandos have been awarded medals for  bravery for a mission that further undercuts the Obama administration’s original story about the  Benghazi tragedy.”

“The Pentagon, under intense public criticism for not coming to the aid of besieged Americans, published an official timeline in November that carefully danced around the issue.

It said time and distance prevented any commandos outside Libya from reaching a CIA compound under  attack. The timeline disclosed that a reinforcement flight 400 miles away in Tripoli contained two “DoD personnel” but did  not describe who they were. Later, the official State Department report on Benghazi said they were “two U.S. military personnel” — but provided no other details. It made no mention of special operations forces.

But sources directly familiar with the attack tell The Washington Times that  a unit of eight special operators — mostly Delta  Force and Green Beret members — were in  Tripoli the night of the attack, on a counterterrorism mission that involved capturing weapons and wanted terrorists from the streets and helping train Libyan forces.”

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I’m sure the DoJ will be charging this leaker with felony charges. We know how they hate leakers, and I’m sure they’ll treat him just like the others. 🙄

From NationalReview  “A House committee investigating the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of right-leaning groups has identified the IRS agent who leaked the confidential donor list of the National Organization for Marriage, a conservative organization that opposes gay marriage. NOM’s donor list, contained in a Form 990 Schedule B, which it is required by law to file with the IRS, was obtained in March 2012 by its chief political opponent, the Human Rights Campaign, and subsequently became the subject of several national news stories that centered on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s donation to the group.”

“Though the House Ways and Means Committee, which began investigating the scandal in the wake of revelations that the IRS had inappropriately singled out conservative groups, has identified the individual who divulged the information as an employee in the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division, it can’t divulge his name to the public or to NOM. It can’t even confirm when the leak took place, whether the perpetrator was disciplined, or even whether he is still employed by the IRS or the U.S. government. That’s because of a peculiarity of the Internal Revenue Code’s section 6103, which is intended to protect the confidentiality of taxpayer information. The law makes it a felony to disclose tax returns or related information to the public, but in an odd twist, the results of investigations conducted by congressional committees or by inspectors general are considered the confidential tax information of the alleged perpetrator.“

Yep. They’ll be on this guy soon. Any minute now……..

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