“Global Warming” in Retreat: Four More Cities in the U.S. Set All-Time Record Weather Lows

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Photo Credit: The Weather Channel By Chris Dolce and Nick Wiltgen. Hundreds of daily record lows and at least three all-time record lows have been set as a frigid air mass with a connection to Siberia grips the central and eastern United States with dangerously cold conditions. Friday morning has brought the most widespread and intense cold of the winter to many areas, sending temperatures into the 30s below zero as far south as Kentucky.

Lynchburg, Virginia, plummeted to 11 below zero Friday morning, setting a new all-time record low for any day of the year. The previous record was 10 below zero on Jan. 21, 1985, and Feb. 5, 1996. Impressively, Lynchburg’s temperature records go all the way back to 1893.

Flint, Michigan, tied its all-time record low of 25 below zero, originally set Jan. 18, 1976. Weather records in Flint began in 1921.

Earlier this week Erie, Pennsylvania, had tied its all-time record low when it reached 18 below zero Monday. That tied the record set Jan. 19, 1994. Not far away, Jamestown, New York, set an all-time record low of 31 below zero Tuesday, though its records only go back to 1960.

At least 72 daily record lows have been set Friday morning from Connecticut to Florida to as far west as Indiana, including major cities such as New York, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Detroit and Cincinnati. (Read more about the all-time record weather lows HERE)

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‘Ice Volcano’ Forms in New York

By Associated Press. The arctic conditions have turned a fountain at a state park in western New York into a five-story-tall “ice volcano.”

The pressure-fed fountain is in a pond near the Glen Iris Inn at Letchworth State Park, which straddles the Wyoming-Livingston county line 40 miles south of Rochester. Days of subzero temperatures have formed a solid cone of ice several feet thick with water still spouting out of the top. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Kansas Becomes the First in the Nation to Ban Dismemberment Abortions

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Great news from Kansas. [Friday] morning the Kansas Senate approved SB 95, the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, by a vote of 31-9.

Crafted to withstand constitutional scrutiny, SB 95 heads to a very receptive Kansas House, where it is expected to pass easily. The bill would then go to pro-life Gov. Sam Brownback (R), who promised to sign this bill.

Lead sponsor Sen. Garrett Love (R-Montezuma) began Thursday’s formal discussion on the Senate floor by recounting how members of the Senate Health committee heard an ex-abortionist describe this method “of tearing the arms, legs, and other body parts off until a baby dies. Hearing the description made myself and many other members of the committee feel sick [especially] when learning nearly 600 such abortions occur each year in Kansas.”

Sen. Love, the “youngest-ever-elected” to the Kansas Senate, discussed his new baby daughter and coming to love her more through her ultrasound imaging at 12 and 19 weeks gestation, the time frame when most dismemberment abortions occur. He said “people in my generation are outraged by this procedure; they see the sonograms of their friends, family and their own babies on Facebook and realize that in those pictures are little, defenseless babies. They need us to defend them because they cannot defend themselves…This is a truly barbaric practice we must end in Kansas.” (Read more about the law to ban dismemberment abortions HERE)

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Obama Administration Sent Nearly 1 Million People Incorrect Tax Forms

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By Fox News. The Obama administration revealed Friday that it sent about 800,000 HealthCare.gov customers a tax form containing the wrong information, and asked them to hold off on filing their 2014 taxes.

The self-inflicted bungle follows weeks of administration officials touting a successful enrollment season — one that saw far fewer technical glitches than the rocky launch in late 2013.

About 11.4 million people signed up this season. But the errors in tax information mean that nearly 1 million people may have to wait longer to get their tax refunds this year.

California, which is running its own insurance market, just announced a similar problem affecting about 100,000 people in that state.

For those using HealthCare.gov, the federal health department said on its blog on Friday that some people received a form that included faulty premium information. The blog said that information “needs to be corrected,” and new forms should be available by early March. (Read more about the incorrect tax forms HERE)

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A Second Chance to Avoid a Second Tax Penalty Over Obamacare

By Margot Sanger-Katz. About six million people face a tax penalty this year for failing to sign up for health insurance last year. Now, many of those people will get an extra chance to enroll in coverage for this year and avoid a second penalty.

Sign-ups were supposed to close this month, but the Health and Human Services Department announced Friday that it would reopen the marketplaces in 37 states for six weeks in March and April. The goal is to make sure that people who are learning about the deadlines and tax penalties for the first time won’t be shut out of coverage — and forced to pay a penalty — for a second year.

Several states running their own marketplaces, including Washington and Vermont, have announced similar policies

The health law requires everyone who can afford insurance to obtain it — and charges people who don’t a fee. The fees that will be hitting people’s mailboxes for failing to get insurance last year will be relatively low — $95 a person or 1 percent of their income — but they rise next year. (Read more from this story HERE)

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40 Days for Life Spring Campaign Begins in Anchorage

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All are invited to participate in the spring prayer campaign of 40 Days for Life, February 18 to March 29. In 40 Days for Life, each fall and spring, pro-life advocates gather outside abortion facilities around the world to peacefully stand vigil, pray for unborn babies and help mothers choose life for their children.

In Anchorage, the vigil takes place in front of Planned Parenthood, where abortions are performed – at 4001 East Lake Otis Parkway.

According to the 40 Days for Life website (40daysforlife.com), nearly 10,000 unborn babies have been saved from abortion and 61 abortion clinics have closed where 40 Days for Life vigils have taken place. Additionally, 107 abortion facility workers have quit the industry.

In order to sign up for vigil hours in Anchorage, go online to 40daysforlife.com/anchorage or contact Jen Syzdek at 830-5304, Pat Martin at 232-2211 or Jenny Remillard at 854-8215.

Those unable to attend the vigil in person are invited to pray and fast from home for an end to abortion. (Visit the original site HERE)

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Watch: A Bride’s Father Was on His Death Bed, but This Daughter Was Determined to Give Him the Last Dance

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This is the heartbreaking moment a bride had her final dance with her father she wed in front of his hospital bed.

Dr. Lisa Pantoja, formerly Wilson, was so determined to spend her wedding day with her father, who had a rare form of cancer, she conducted her dream wedding next to his hospital bed.

Beautiful bride Lisa first kissed her husband Rob, before removing Dave Wilson’s oxygen mask to kiss her dad.

It was then that she took the hands of her resolute father and began one of the most emotional wedding day dances you will ever experience. (Read more about the daughter giving her father his last dance HERE)

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You’ll Never Guess What Creepy Object Police Found in a Child Sex Offender’s Home [+video]

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Louie, the Joyland Clown mascot, was found in a sex offender’s home. Louie went missing more than a decade ago.

Louie disappeared from the Joyland property in 2005 or 2006 but wasn’t reported stolen until 2010. Louie played Joyland’s Wurlitzer organ (see video below).

The Wichita Police Department will pursue charges against two suspects in the case.

Wichita police say officers found the clown Tuesday at a home of 39-year-old Damian Mayes, who is serving a prison sentence for a 2010 conviction for aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy. Mayes used to build and repair organs at the park. He’s in prison on child sex crimes.

“It was quite a shock, because we had visited that residence before. They didn’t expect us back, they thought it was a done deal, closed, forgotten case, but like I said, through social media and a lot of interest not only in Joyland but the clown in particular, kind of kept it alive,” said Det. Matt Lang, Wichita Police Department. “There’s many articles that said once Louie disappeared, he would never see the sight of day again.” (Read more about the creepy object police found HERE)

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British Schoolgirls Leave Home to Join ISIS

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By Martin Evans. Police are appealing for help to find three schoolgirls who have gone missing and are thought to have travelled to Turkey with the intention of crossing the border into Syria.

They are Shamima Begum, 15, who could be using the name Acklina Begum, and 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana. The third girl, 15, is not being named at the request of her family, Scotland Yard said.

Police fear the girls, all pupils at the Bethnal Green Academy, in east London, might be heading to join terror group Isil – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Islamic State.

They travelled from their homes on Tuesday, February 17 and boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. (Read more about the girls going to join ISIS HERE)

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ISIS’ Army of 7 Footers? Experts Say Footage Video of Beheadings Manipulated

By Malia Zimmerman. Video of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians being marched along a Libyan beach before being beheaded by black-clad members of ISIS is hard for any civilized person to watch, but experts who made it through the sickening, five-minute clip told FoxNews.com Friday they came to the same conclusion: The footage was faked.

No one holds out hope the victims, mostly poor fishermen who had gone to Libya to scratch out a living, are still alive. But several anomalies in the video, which was posted online Feb. 15, indicated to trained eyes that at least some of the production was done on “green screen” with background added later, perhaps to disguise the real location of the atrocity. A day after the clip went viral, Egyptian warplanes struck hard at an eastern port city near Tripoli, where the video appeared to have been shot.

“The Islamic State’s manipulation of their high-production videos has become commonplace,” said Veryan Khan, editorial director of the Florida-based Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium. The murders likely took place in a studio, and the background image shown was likely from another location, the Bay in Sirte, a part of the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, according to Khan. There are several technical mistakes in the video that show it was manipulated, she said. (Read more from this story HERE)

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You Might Be Surprised By Which State Grabbed the Top Spot for “Well-Being”

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When it comes to well-being, Alaskans nabbed the top spot in the United States, according to an annual ranking. . .

Hawaii and South Dakota followed Alaska in spots two and three. And Kentucky stayed in the 49th spot, where it’s been for a number of years.

The 2014 rankings, released Thursday, are based on over 176,000 phone interviews with people in all 50 states. The Index measures how people feel about and experience their daily lives, and looks at their health across five categories: purpose, social, financial, community and physical.

Over the past seven years, Alaska has ranked in the top 10 four times. And Alaskans are having a good year for a reason, according to Dan Witters, research director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

“They do a lot of the blocking and tackling, as far as taking care of themselves and making good choices, but also demonstrating good holistic well-being in ways that extend beyond the conventional physical wellness,” Witters said. (Read more from, “You’ll be Surprised about Which State Grabbed the Top Ranking” HERE)

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White House Opens with Muslim Prayer at Summit on Violent Extremism; No Other Religion Was Mentioned [+videos]

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By Penny Starr. A Muslim prayer was recited at the start of the second day of the White House summit on “Countering Violent Extremism,” but no other religious text was presented during the portion of the event that was open to the press.

Imam Sheikh Sa’ad Musse Roble, president of the World Peace Organization in Minneapolis, Minn., recited a “verse from the Quran” following remarks by Obama administration officials and Democratic members of Congress.

“In translation those verses of the Quran mean ‘Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption in the land, it’s as if he has slain mankind entirely, and whoever saves one life, it’s as if he has saved mankind entirely,’” Adam said.

“Mosques serve as (sic) beacon of hope,” Adam said. “While imams’ provide moral compass for the Muslim community in navigating life.”

Adam said “religious leaders” want to have “dialogue” with the U.S. government about “issues of concern” and said that Muslim imams have spoken out against terrorism. (Read more about the prayer at the summit on violent extremism HERE)

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Obama: ‘Islam Has Been Woven Into the Fabric of Our Country Since Its Founding’

By Susan Jones. We hear a lot about the United States’ Judeo-Christian heritage, but according to President Obama, “Islam has been woven into the fabric of our country since its founding.”

That’s what the president told a White House conference on “countering violent extremism” on Wednesday.

Obama has said similar things in the past:

“I also know that Islam has always been a part of America’s story,” Obama said in a June 2009 speech in Cairo, Egypt. “Islam has always been part of America,” he said in a 2010 statement marking the start of Ramadan. And in a 2014 statement marking Eid, Obama said the holiday “also reminds us of the many achievements and contributions of Muslim Americans to building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy.”

In his speech on Wednesday, Obama was making the point that Western nations must show that they “welcome people of all faiths,” at a time when “extremists” are saying that Western nations are “hostile to Muslims.” (Read more about the Muslim Prayer at Summit on Violent Extremism HERE)

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Freedom of Press Across the World, “Dramatically Worse,” US Slips Further Behind

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The non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders, devoted to supporting journalists worldwide, published its annual index this month. In six continents, the conditions for free media in 2014 became not just worse, but “dramatically worse,” according to the group’s “2015 World Press Freedom Index”. . .

In two-thirds of the 180 surveyed countries the indicators for press freedom have declined. Violations against freedom of information rose by 8 percent (to a total of 3,719) compared to 2014 and by almost 10 percent compared to 2013. For a number of countries, no data is available at all, being closed to any independent journalistic activity.

Not surprisingly, there is a strong correlation between media freedom, political freedoms and economic freedom. In countries where individuals are able to exercise their freedom to create economic activity, according to The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, the media also tend to function as watchdogs of government activity. In both categories, the majority of countries in the top are western democracies.

Totalitarian and Communist states rank much further down, and at the bottom of the information list are “black holes,” where independent information simply does not exist. Countries in this segment are from regions such as North Africa and the Middle East controlled by non-state terrorist groups like ISIS or Boko Haram.

The United States disappointingly ranks 46th, having declined three places in 2014. This is due to the Obama administration’s heavy handed approach to certain journalists, including the New York Times’ James Risen, who came under pressure to reveal his sources.(Read more about the freedom of press across the world HERE)

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