In This Issue· The Daily Brief
· The Middle East in Focus
· The First 100 Days
Greetings!
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The Daily Brief Friday, February 6, 2009
"The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut. 33:27)
The Daily Brief
1. Senators Reach Tentative Deal on $805B Economic Stimulus Bill - Fox News
Senators have reached a tentative deal on a version of President Obama's economic stimulus plan, including about $805 billion in spending and tax cuts, that will win enough Republican votes to move forward.
- We pray that this bill will be inspected as it goes to committee and that politicians on both sides of the aisle will act with responsibility in spending the American people's money.
- "They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like them." (2 Kings 17:15)
2. Employers Slash 598K Jobs in January, Unemployment Rate Jumps to 7.6% - AP
U.S. employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, and catapulted the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent. The grim figures were further proof that the U.S. job climate is deteriorating at an alarming clip with no end in sight.
- As the signs of a bad economy are proliferating, we pray that Your people will turn to You for solace and will trust in the promise that all things work to give You glory.
- "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
3. Abortionist loses medical license - World Net Daily
Florida officials today revoked the medical license of an abortionist who is named in a civil lawsuit that alleges a breathing baby was stuffed into a biohazard bag along with chemicals and tossed into a garbage bin. The state Board of Medicine voted unanimously to pull the license of Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique, reported the Tampa Tribune, which noted the abortionist ducked into a restroom after the hearing to avoid television cameras.
- This punishment is a bright light in the dark landscape of abortion in this country. We pray that abortion providers will be convicted of the murder they practice and that the justice system will step in and project the most vulnerable of American citizens.
- ''Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They certainly were not ashamed, And they did not know how to blush; Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down," Says the LORD." (Jeremiah 8:12)
4. Steele Cleans House at Republican National Committee - Fox News
Newly- elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has requested mass resignations at the institution, which has about 100 staff members. Michael Steele, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, has asked the entire staff to resign, FOX News has confirmed. The move signals Steele's plan to reshape the party, which was trounced at the polls in 2006 and 2008.
- Lord, we pray that both parties will be cleansed of those who have brought shame onto our government in the last few years. We lift up a plea to You that men and women of faith and virtue will move into government and represent Your will.
- "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)
5. Broader labor agenda likely to face rougher waters - Fox News
Labor, riding high after quick wins with President Barack Obama, faces the harsh reality that the Democratic-controlled Congress will not find it easy to push more fiercely contested legislation to improve the status of workers or the unions trying to organize them. The card check bill hailed by supporters as the "Employee Free Choice Act" would take away a company's right to demand a secret ballot election on whether workers want collective bargaining representative by a union. Instead, a union would be certified when the National Labor Relations Board finds that a majority of workers have signed cards designating the union as their bargaining representative.
- Let the true face of this bill be seen and may those in control of our government be stopped from breaking the American tradition of secret balloting. We pray that voters and Congress will not be fooled by the innocent sounding name of this bill and recognize that it will encourage intimidation in order to advance a hidden agenda of controlling workers by a few representatives.
- "For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting." (Romans 16:18)
6. Charges Dropped Against USS Cole Bombing Suspect - Fox News
The senior military judge overseeing terror trials at Guantanamo Bay has dropped charges against a suspect in the 2000 USS Cole bombing. The legal move by the Hon. Susan J. Crawford upholds President Obama's Guantanamo order to halt court proceedings at the Navy detention center in Cuba.
- We cry out to You that those evil doers who are released will be stopped from again harming innocents. Lord, we pray for comfort for the families of the sailors who were killed in this attack and for them to feel the prayers of all those who are disheartened by this decision. We pray for the opening of the eyes of the decision-makers who have the power to forestall these releases so that no one will be released who should be held.
- "Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'" (Deuteronomy 27:19)
7. KBR charged with bribing Nigerian officials - CNN
The former Halliburton subsidiary KBR has been charged with bribing Nigerian government officials with "tens of millions of dollars" to obtain "billions of dollars in contracts," according to court documents filed late Friday in Houston. Justice Department lawyers filed an "information," which is generally associated with an expected plea agreement. The Justice Department had no comment on the filing, but officials familiar with the case said they expected KBR representatives to appear Wednesday in federal court in Houston.
- Lord, we are relieved to see that corruption in corporate America is being punished. We pray for those workers who are doing good away from their families and who are putting themselves in harm's way to advance Your kingdom.
- "A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom To pervert the ways of justice." (Proverbs 17:23)
8. Court Frees Pakistani Scientist Who Leaked Nuke Secrets to Iran - AP
Abdul Qadeer Khan, the scientist who helped Pakistan develop nuclear weapons and allegedly leaked atomic secrets to North Korea, Iran and Libya, was freed from years of de facto house arrest Friday by a high court ruling.
- The release of this man is disheartening, but it reminds us, Lord, that only You can be trusted for true justice. We pray that the secret trade of nuclear secrets will be brought to light and stopped so that innocent lives will be saved.
- "Then hear you from heaven, and do, and judge your servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way on his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness." (2 Chronicles 6:23)
The Middle East in Focus
The Middle East in Focus This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE: "The house of the wicked shall be overthrown . .." (Proverbs 14:11a)
1. UN Halts Aid To Gaza After Hamas Seizes Supplies Again - Worthy News
The United Nations announced Friday, February 6, it has stopped sending humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip after militants of the Hamas group apparently seized 300 tons of supplies, in the second such incident this week.
2. U.N. Admits Its School Was Not Hit By Israel - Worthy News
The United Nations admitted Thursday, February 5, that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) did not hit a United Nations-run school, correcting its earlier media statements that a massacre occurred within the U.N. education facility.
3. Hamas Raids UN Warehouse, Seizes Aid - Worthy News
United Nations aid workers said Thursday, February 5, they were struggling to provide aid to the desperately needy in the Gaza Strip after police forces from the ruling militant Hamas group stormed a U.N. warehouse.
The First 100 Days
The First 100 Days: DAY 18
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." (Proverbs 21:1)
1. Employer Slashes 598K Jobs in January, Unemployment Rate Jumps to 7.6%
The Labor Department's report is grim proof the nation's job climate is deteriorating at an alarming clip with no end in sight. U.S. employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, and catapulted the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent.
2. Obama Names Advisers to Help Fix the Economy
President using Economic Recovery Advisory Board announcement as a way to address the millions of out-of-work Americans.President Barack Obama is naming a team of outside economic advisers to help him steer the nation's economy out of the tailspin that has dominated his first two weeks in office.
3. Obama to Meet With Families of Terror Victims
President to spend time with families of 9/11 victims and the 17 sailors killed in the bombing of the USS Cole after charges against an Al Qaeda suspect were dropped. The legal move Thursday by Susan J. Crawford, the top legal authority for military trials at Guantanamo, upholds Obama's Jan. 22 executive order to halt terrorist court proceedings at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba.
4. Treasury to Unveil Overhauled Bailout Plan Monday
Geithner will deliver a speech on Monday outlining new plan to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue program.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other top officials are putting the finishing touches on a plan to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue program. (Source for the above articles; FoxNews.com)
