Former HP CEO Fiorina Puts Chances of Presidential Bid over 90 Percent

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Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina speaks at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, IowaFormer Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Carly Fiorina said on Sunday the chances she would run for the U.S. presidency in 2016 were “higher than 90 percent” and that she would announce her plans in late April to early May.

Fiorina, speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” said she could not yet announce the bid because she was working to establish her team and put together what she described as “the right support” and financial resources.

Fiorina is one of many potential Republican presidential candidates including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Earlier this month, Texas Senator Ted Cruz became the first major figure from either political party to formally announce his 2016 presidential bid.

Rubio may announce his intentions to run in mid-April, a local Florida newspaper reported this month. (Read more from “Former HP CEO Fiorina Puts Chances of Presidential Bid over 90 Percent” HERE)

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“Beyond the Mask” Faith-Based Film Set to Smash All Records, Largest “Theater-on-Demand” Release in History

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beyond the maskA $4 million faith-based movie made largely by 400 volunteers from the homeschooling community is hoping to open April 6 on as many as 1,100 screens, far more than needed to set a record for the largest on-demand theatrical opening.

The film, called Beyond the Mask and starring John Rhys-Davies, is a faith-based action-adventure movie. It’s set in Colonial America and, while fiction, includes some historical facts and figures, like the signing of the Declaration of Independence and scenes involving the likes of Benjamin Franklin. It was the historical aspect that drew Rhys-Davies to the project.

“I love history, and there’s a lot of shared history that America and Britain have,” said the Welsh actor. “It’s an exciting story with wonderful historical elements.”

The plot involves a mercenary for the British East India Company — which producer Aaron Burns calls “the first too-big-to-fail multinational company to get special favors from the government” — who is on the run and trying to rehabilitate his reputation after having been double-crossed. Rhys-Davies plays the heavy in the film, and he clearly has an affinity for America’s earliest heroes.

“Ben Franklin is one of the most fortuitously happy of men,” he said while in New Zealand filming The Shannara Chronicles, an upcoming fantasy series from MTV. “Franklin is thoughtful and well-read, and his contemporaries are the most stimulating bunch of young Englishmen ever to have left the British Isles. Those Founding Fathers of yours — you think of Pericles in Athens. Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington — they are an extraordinary class of very great men who can get on with each other and change the world.” (Read more from “John Rhys-Davies’ Faith-Based Film Aims to Top ‘Theater-on-Demand’ Release Record” HERE)

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Where is this in the Constitution?! Feds Spend over $100,000 to Autodetect Cyberbullying

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BLD140591The National Science Foundation (NSF) is financing the creation of a system for the “automatic detection” of cyberbullying.

The project was awarded this month to Rutgers University, which has received $117,102 so far. The real-time, automatic detection of hurtful online speech is necessary, according to the NSF grant, because cyberbullying is a “critical social problem.” The grant said 40 percent of American teenagers have reported being cyberbullied.

“This project aims to define new approaches for automatic detection of cyberbullying by integrating the relevant research in social sciences and computer science,” the grant said.

The project will involve searching for keywords and studying the relationships between teenagers who send and receive mean online messages.

“Specifically, this research will advance the state of the art in cyberbullying detection beyond textual analysis by also giving due attention to the social relationships in which these bullying messages are exchanged,” the grant said. (Read more from “Feds Spend over $100,000 to Autodetect Cyberbullying” HERE)

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American Idol Contestant Kimberly Henderson Tells Touching Story of Abortion and How God Changed Her Mind at the Last Minute [+video]

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kimberly-hendersonAmerican Idol contestant Kimberly Henderson hasn’t let three rejections from the show’s auditions break her spirit, but a recent story she shared on her Facebook page has gained her more respect from Christians than a win on the show ever could.

“Two years ago today I was sitting in an abortion clinic thinking not having Vaida was best for me,” Henderson wrote about her now-two-year-old daughter. “Well this date is forever burned in my brain. … I think that is God’s way of showing me that HIS plan is and will always be greater and bigger than anything and everything I’ve ever known”. . .

In the post, Kimberly shares another message she originally wrote on the day that she decided not to have the abortion. She describes being upset at her boyfriend at the time for cheating on her, and she made up her mind that she wouldn’t have his child.

But a string of events happened on her way to the abortion clinic that worked toward convincing Kimberly that God was trying to speak to her. Her other daughter was sick so she had to find a sitter last-minute, she got lost, and then her car broke down for 15 minutes, making her late for her appointment. But ultimately, it was a card that fell out of her purse as she searched for her driver’s license that changed her mind once and for all.

The card was given to her by a Christian couple and on the back was a powerful Bible verse: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10. (Read more from “American Idol Contestant Kimberly Henderson Tells Touching Story of Abortion and How God Changed Her Mind at the Last Minute [+video]” HERE)

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Guess Which State is Increasing Protections for Life and Which One is Expanding the Culture of Death‏

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WombBy Ben Johnson. Kansas will become the first state in the country to ban a procedure in which unborn children are dismembered in the womb, [when] Gov. Sam Brownback signs a bill that recently passed the state legislature.

The state House passed a ban on dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions, called dismemberment abortions in common parlance, by 98-26 on Wednesday.

The Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, which had already passed the state Senate in February 31-9, now heads to Gov. Brownback’s desk.

Brownback, a staunch defender of life, is expected to sign the act into law.

“Because of the Kansas legislature’s strong pro-life convictions, unborn children in the state will be protected from brutal dismemberment abortions,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, which has made banning dismemberment abortions a national legislative focus. (Read more from “Guess Which State Protects and Values Life and Which One is Expanding the Culture of Death‏” HERE)

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New York State Assembly Passes Dangerous Expansion of Abortion in the Third Trimester

By National Right to Life News Today. Today in a vote of 94-49 the New York State Assembly approved passage of AB 6221, the extreme stand-alone 10th point from the previously packaged 10-point Women’s Equality Act, which would expand third-trimester abortions and allow non-doctors to perform abortions.

Since 2013, abortion advocates had held the Women’s Equality Act hostage to this single dangerous bill, refusing to break the 10-point bill up. This session, however, the will of the voters was finally heard, and the stand-alone bills have been considered.

“Expanding cruel and brutal third-trimester abortions has long been a goal of the anti-life lobby who never met an abortion they didn’t like,” said Lori Kehoe, New York State Right to Life executive director. “With no regard for the fully developed unborn baby who is violently dismembered, or otherwise killed, the New York State Assembly once again put the abortion lobby above New York State women and their children.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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California Loosens Sex Offender Residency Restrictions

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ChainsCalifornia will alter its 8-year-old ban preventing all registered sex offenders from living near schools or parks, state officials announced Thursday, instead imposing the restriction only on pedophiles and others whose sex crimes involved children.

The state corrections department said it is changing its policy in response to a state Supreme Court ruling that found the blanket prohibition unconstitutional. The high court ruled this month that restrictions imposed by California voters in 2006 go too far to limit where sex offenders can live.

Parole agents can still force sex offenders to live more than 2,000 feet from schools and parks where children gather, as required by the ballot measure commonly known as Jessica’s Law. But they will have to make the decision for individual cases.

The March 2 ruling applied only to registered sex-offender parolees in San Diego County, but prison officials will apply the ruling statewide. Some local governments outside San Diego County also have begun repealing their local residency restrictions in response to the high court’s ruling. (Read more from “California Loosens Sex Offender Residency Restrictions” HERE)

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Why Everyone is Wearing Yellow Today for This Little Boy [+video]

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SethWhat started as a way to put a smile on a 5-year-old’s face has become an international phenomenon beyond his mom’s wildest dreams.

Seth, who was born without an immune system, has a big smile, an even bigger personality and a simple message: Wear yellow [today] on March 27 to show him support.

Seth’s disorder, called severe combined immunodeficiency, is also known as the “bubble baby” disease because children like Seth must live in extremely clean environments.

Leanne (occasionally joined by Seth’s dad, Nik) has been keeping supporters updated on Seth’s condition through her blog. He is due for another bone marrow transplant in about five weeks, she said, when he’s well enough. His first transplant in 2010 was unsuccessful.

She’s thankful for the supportive responses her blog has gotten, she said. (Read more from “Why Everyone is Wearing Yellow Today for This Little Boy [+video]” HERE)

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Feds Spend $149,890 on “Mindful Eating Intervention” for Third Graders

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BLD138315The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is spending nearly $150,000 to test a “mindful eating intervention” on third graders in California.

A grant awarded earlier this month outlined the project that will use the methods of a Zen teacher to try to fight childhood obesity and turn kids into “change agents” to teach others how to eat healthily.

The project, entitled, “Foodie U: The Impact of a Pilot Mindful Eating Intervention on Food Behaviors Among Children and Families,” will focus on low-income Hispanic children.

“The elementary school age is a crucial period for developing life-long dietary habits while parents still significantly influence their food intake,” the grant said. “A school-based mindful eating intervention with parent involvement may positively influence children’s food behaviors.”

Mindfulness is a New Age meditation technique that traces its origins from Buddhism. People engaging in mindfulness are encouraged to focus on the present moment “non-judgmentally.” A 60 Minutes segment on mindfulness showed Anderson Cooper using the practice by eating in silence very slowly, focusing on every bite. (Read more from “Feds Spend $149,890 on ‘Mindful Eating Intervention’ for Third Graders” HERE)

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Indiana House Overwhelmingly Passes Controversial, but Solid ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’

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AFA controversial Indiana bill that could protect business owners who don’t want to provide services for same-sex couples moved closer to law on Monday, after passage by the state’s House.

Senate Bill 101, known as the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” was approved by the Republican-controlled House by 63-31. A version was previously passed by the Republican-controlled Senate, and Republican Governor Mike Pence said he will sign it.

“The legislation, SB 101, is about respecting and reassuring Hoosiers that their religious freedoms are intact,” Pence said in a statement. The bill will now go back to the Senate and if that chamber concurs with the House version, it will go to Pence for being signed into law.

Supporters of the law say it will keep government entities from forcing business owners – such as bakeries and florists who don’t want to provide services to gay couples – from acting in ways contrary to strongly held religious beliefs. Gay marriage became legal in Indiana last year following an appellate court ruling. (Read more from “Indiana House Passes Controversial ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill” HERE)

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High-Definition Scans Suggest Effects of Smoking May Be Seen in Unborn Babies

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The harmful effects of smoking during pregnancy may be reflected in the facial movements of mothers’ unborn babies, new research has suggested.

Researchers at Lancaster and Durham universities said the findings of their pilot study added weight to existing evidence that smoking is harmful to fetuses as they develop in the womb and warranted further investigation.

Professor Brian Francis, of Lancaster University, said: “Technology means we can now see what was previously hidden, revealing how smoking affects the development of the fetus in ways we did not realise. This is yet further evidence of the negative effects of smoking in pregnancy.”

Photo Credit: Lancaster University

Photo Credit: Lancaster University

Observing 4-d ultrasound scans, the researchers found that fetuses whose mothers were smokers showed a significantly higher rate of mouth movements than the normal declining rate of movements expected in a fetus during pregnancy.

The researchers suggested that the reason for this might be that the fetal central nervous system, which controls movements in general and facial movements in particular did not develop at the same rate and in the same manner as in fetuses of mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy. (Read more from “High-Definition Scans Suggest Effects of Smoking May Be Seen in Unborn Babies” HERE)

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