Better than 400 people in Madison County turned out for the National Day of Prayer on May 3, and they ranged in age from those just starting out their school careers to some who could likely teach us all a thing or two about faith. More than 30 churches in all gave testament to importance of the day in Madison County with attendance at one of the major events. That feeling of unity provided a blessing that was surely felt by young and old around the area. "As organized as it was, there was a lot of spontaneity and fellowship that is difficult to describe," Joe Williams, committee chair for the National Day of Prayer event at Bedias Baptist Church, said. "I look forward to it next year, and pray that the Spirit we left it with will continue on until next year." The theme for the National Day of Prayer this year was "One Nation Under God," and Madison County represents just one of thousands of communities across America where the faithful gathered May 3 to seek God on behalf of their families, towns, counties, states and nation.

Read More in: The Decline of the U.S.

The following was signed by 21 French economists ahead of last Sunday's presidential elections, in which Francois Gerard Georges Hollande beat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. The authors attest that they belong to no political party, and the views expressed here are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of their institutions. "Francois Hollande and his Socialist friends are a particularly mendacious and destructive sort of demagogue: They are purporting to help us by increasing our minimum wages rather than liberating our energies; they will punish the rich rather than encourage all of us to engage in productive efforts; they say they will spend more to stimulate 'growth' - effectively, to buy more consumers - instead of letting us choose the best uses for our own resources. Socialism has never succeeded in its extreme form, communism. As the past several years in Europe have shown, it does not work in its milder form of social democracy either. If European history teaches us anything, it is that prosperity is closely correlated to economic freedom..." [To read the rest, see Title link.]

Read More in: The Rise of a European Superstate

Hillary Clinton's intervention ultimately resulted in an arrangement to allow blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng to study at New York University but not to seek asylum, which the Chinese considered an affront. Under terms that have not been disclosed, Mr. Chen is expected to leave the US Embassy in Beijing in days. The outcome, said several officials who recounted the story, reflected a maturing relationship now able to weather a fraught diplomatic entanglement. The officials would discuss diplomatic talks only on the condition of anonymity.

Read More in: The Rise of the Far East

A new study conducted on behalf of the Chilean Maternal Mortality Research Initiative (CMMRI) reaffirms that legalized abortion does not reduce the rate of maternal mortality. To the contrary, since Chile enacted a law protecting unborn children in 1989, the maternal mortality rate has dropped significantly. The study included analysis covering 50 years of maternal mortality data (1957-2007) from Chile's National Institute of Statistics. The analysis found that the most important factor in reducing maternal mortality is the educational level of women. "Educating women enhances women's ability to access existing health care resources, including skilled attendants for childbirth, and directly leads to a reduction in her risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth," according to Dr Elard Koch, epidemiologist and leading author of the study.

Magnet-making bacteria may be building biological computers of the future, researchers have said. A team from the UK's University of Leeds and Japan's Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have used microbes that eat iron. As they ingest the iron, the microbes create tiny magnets inside themselves, similar to those in PC hard drives. The research may lead to the creation of much faster hard drives, the team of scientists say. The study appears in the journal Small. As technology progresses and computer components get smaller and smaller, it becomes harder to produce electronics on a nano-scale. So researchers are now turning to nature - and getting microbes involved.

Read More in: Biotech & Global Pestilence

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says he's making an emergency declaration allowing police to confiscate items that can be used as weapons following violent May Day protests that left storefronts and car windows shattered. Police said officers made at least three arrests after hundreds of people marched through downtown Tuesday afternoon. A 23-year-old man was arrested for vandalism and a 19-year-old man with a knife was also arrested. Protestors dressed in black clothing smashed windows of retail stores and banks, and spray-painted parked cars, reported Q13 FOX News. NikeTown, American Apparel, HSBC, and Wells Fargo were among the businesses protesters vandalized.

Read More in: The Decline of the U.S.

Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng was reportedly pressured to leave the US Embassy in China where he had been seeking refuge and accept a deal struck by the United States and the Chinese government. Chen became a target of Chinese government after repeatedly exposing the forced abortions and forced sterilizations taking place under the One Child Policy. The Chinese government had threatened to kill Chen's wife and family members if Chen did not vacate the embassy and accept the deal. The case of Chen Guangcheng has sparked international outcry. However, there are some groups in the United States that remain conspicuously silent on the issue. Groups like Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and NOW, which purport to support women's rights have remained silent on Chen and his activism on behalf of the women of China faced with the forced abortions of their children.

Read More in: The Rise of the Far East

The father of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Benzion Netanyahu, died Monday morning in his Jerusalem home at the age of 102. Benzion Netanyahu was an Israeli historian and professor emeritus at Cornell University and was a Revisionist leader in the Zionist Movement in the United States. He will most likely be remembered for his great influence on the worldview of his son, Benjamin. He believed that the extermination of Jews had not ended and long warned against the threat of Islamic extremism. Please pray for the peace of the Netanyahu family and for the peace of Jerusalem.

Read More in: The Struggle for Jerusalem

China successfully launched two satellites into space for its Beidou global navigation and positioning network, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday. The Beidou-2 satellites were lifted into space by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and have entered the scheduled orbit. It is the first time China has launched two navigation satellites, the 12th and 13th of its indigenous global navigation and positioning network, with one rocket.

Read More in: The Rise of the Far East

After Chuck Colson passed away on Saturday, obituaries naturally remembered him first and foremost as the lawyer and Watergate conspirator who went to jail for obstructing justice. They also noted that, while in prison, he found Christ and dedicated himself to prison ministries. Colson took literally Christ's command to visit and comfort those in prison, a ministry that middle-class congregations had previously ignored. He got prisons to set aside wings or buildings for inmates who wanted to live in a structured, faith-based environment. He got congregations to see it as part of their mission to partner with prisons and individual inmates, leading prison programming aimed at turning men's lives around. Most of all, he got law-abiding citizens on the outside to encounter inmates, face to face, not as nameless, faceless threats but as their brothers to be redeemed. And, in doing so, Colson changed the terms of debate.

Read More in: The Decline of the U.S.

What look like little more than chickenpox pockmarks on Young's face are the physical reminders of the way his life began. It was the story that spread across the country: A newborn baby, umbilical cord still attached, left to die in a Martin County orange grove, near an anthill. But his story took an unexpected turn. Found covered in ant bites by a passerby, raised by a Riviera Beach foster family desperate to raise a child, Nick Young - named only Sam when he was rushed to Martin Memorial Medical Center - will walk across the stage as a graduate of Florida A&M on Saturday. Born at 6 pounds, 5 ounces, Baby Sam was six weeks old when he came to live with Carl and Dorothy Young. Dorothy Young looked at the baby with the eyes of a mother. When he was 2, the family adopted him. When it was time to choose a name, the Youngs, practicing Christians, decided on a biblical name. They chose Nicholas Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

A ministerial team that had been appointed by the government on Sunday announced on Monday that three communities in Judea and Samaria will be legalized. The three communities are Sansana, Rechelim and Bruchin. All three communities were built in the 1990s based on decisions of previous governments. The announcement means the communities will receive a legal status which hadn't been given to them until now. Some were cautious about the announcement, though. "There is a fear that today's message regarding the legalization came to prepare the ground to destroy Migron, the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El and Givat Assaf. Netanyahu must know that no one among those who are faithful to the Land of Israel will buy more of these tricks," said MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union)

Read More in: The Struggle for Jerusalem