Great-Grandmother Shields Toddler as Tornado Destroys Home

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Photo Credit: WSBTGORDON COUNTY, Ga. — Cleanup efforts are under way in north Georgia after the area was hit by at least one deadly tornado.

Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in Gordon and Bartow counties, where a man was killed by a fallen tree, up to 100 homes were damaged and 17 injuries were reported. The state insurance commissioner estimates damage losses at $75 million.

Among the injured is 2-year-old Zane McFarland. The boy is recovering Thursday as his 80-year-old great grandmother undergoes surgery for injuries suffered when a tornado destroyed their Gordon County home.

The senior, Betty Stewart, is being hailed as a hero after she covered Zane in a quilt, then shielded his body with her own as the wind swept their home off its foundation and demolished it against two nearby trees.

“She fought a tornado, and she won,” said nephew Kenneth Hayes.

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Video: Sandra Fluke Comparing Birth Control Coverage to Leukemia Coverage

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Photo Credit: LifeNewsA video that is getting attention in conservative and pro-life circles this afternoon has pro-life people putting their faces in their palms.

Pro-abortion activist Sandra Fluke is so obsessed with the government forcing religious groups to pay for her birth control and contraception that she compared opposing it in an interview this afternoon to opposing coverage for leukemia.

Never mind that opposing government spending taxpayer funds on forcing groups with religious objections to pay for birth control and abortion-causing drugs has nothing to do with supporting legitimate health care for patients suffering from the blood or bone marrow cancer that is deadly for adults and children alike.

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Gun-Toting Hollywood Movie Stars

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Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore Hollywood might be a liberal town, but there are plenty of celebrities who own guns — and they’re not afraid to use them.

An E! Online report quotes gun owner Angelina Jolie talking about her willingness to protect her family: “If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them.”

She isn’t alone. Whoopi Goldberg of “The View” and James Earl Jones are both NRA members. Even Donald Trump — who spoke exclusively to The Times in November on the issue — and “The Avengers” star Jeremy Renner admit to owning firearms.

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New HHS Mandate Rules Force Hobby Lobby, Any Religious Biz to Comply

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Photo Credit: LifeNewsThe Obama administration released new HHS mandate rules today that attempt to expand the number of religious groups that can opt out of the pro-abortion mandate — but that leaves religiously-run companies like Hobby Lobby out in the cold. Pro-life advocates oppose the mandate because it forces religious groups to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions.

Thanks to a number of decisions in court related to lawsuits filed against the mandate by dozens of religious businesses and organizations, the Obama administration is under court order to revise the mandate. But the proposed changes don’t protect everyone who wants to opt out.

Although the proposed revisions provide some additional protections for religiously-affiliated organizations, companies owned and operated by people with religious objections to the mandate are not included in the expanded exemption rules.

“Today, the administration is taking the next step in providing women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We will continue to work with faith-based organizations, women’s organizations, insurers and others to achieve these goals.”

But the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a pro-life legal group representing Hobby Lobby, told LifeNews the proposed changes would still force the company to comply with the mandate.

“Today’s proposed rule does nothing to protect the religious liberty of millions of Americans. The rights of family businesses like Hobby Lobby are still being violated,” Kyle Duncan, General Counsel for The Becket Fund For Religious Liberty, said.

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Judd Uncertain of 2014 Run: McConnell Now At-Risk of Conservative Challenger

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Photo Credit: Genevieve719Actress Ashley Judd and Indy Car driver Dario Franchitti are ending their marriage after 11 years, and, yes, the news impacts Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Judd is weighing whether to jump into politics and challenge McConnell in Kentucky in 2014. She was in Washington for the inauguration and attended an event at EMILY’s List, the group that backs pro-choice Democratic women running for governor or Congress. Judd even carpooled with Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who demonstrated she knows how to win in a red state after defeating the self-injurious Todd Akin.

In a statement, the former couple said they mutually agreed to end the marriage. Judd tweeted at Franchitti suggesting they plan to remain close — making a reference to “family,” an awfully politically correct tweet.

Given this development, there’s a chance Judd won’t want to jump into a messy political campaign.

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Evidence Grows for Narcolepsy Link to GSK Swine Flu Shot

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(Reuters) – Emelie Olsson is plagued by hallucinations and nightmares. When she wakes up, she’s often paralyzed, unable to breathe properly or call for help. During the day she can barely stay awake, and often misses school or having fun with friends. She is only 14, but at times she has wondered if her life is worth living.

Emelie is one of around 800 children in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe who developed narcolepsy, an incurable sleep disorder, after being immunized with the Pandemrix H1N1 swine flu vaccine made by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in 2009.

Finland, Norway, Ireland and France have seen spikes in narcolepsy cases, too, and people familiar with the results of a soon-to-be-published study in Britain have told Reuters it will show a similar pattern in children there.

Their fate, coping with an illness that all but destroys normal life, is developing into what the health official who coordinated Sweden’s vaccination campaign calls a “medical tragedy” that will demand rising scientific and medical attention.

Europe’s drugs regulator has ruled Pandemrix should no longer be used in people aged under 20. The chief medical officer at GSK’s vaccines division, Norman Begg, says his firm views the issue extremely seriously and is “absolutely committed to getting to the bottom of this”, but adds there is not yet enough data or evidence to suggest a causal link.

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Study: RU 486 Abortion Can be Reversed Midway Through Process

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A new paper profiles how the RU 486 abortion drug process can be reversed — an amazing given that millions of unborn children have died from the mifepritsone abortion drug since the Clinton administration approved it.

However, the new paper indicates that women who change their mind about the abortion may be able to go back on the decision before the drug takes the life of their baby.

Dr. Mary Davenport, President of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), co-authored the new paper, which appears in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

“We have a series of 6 women who attempted reversal of RU-486 (mifepristone) abortions, and 4/6 successfully went on to have term babies. There were no complications,” she tells LifeNews.

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N.M. State Rep Takes Heat for Bill That Criminalizes Abortion in Cases of Rape

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New Mexico State Rep. Cathrynn Brown has come under attack for a bill she recently introduced that would brand survivors of rape and incest who become pregnant and chose to have abortions as felons.

On Wednesday, Brown, a Republican from Carlsbad, submitted House bill 206, which equates a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest as evidence, meaning that terminating the pregnancy would constitute destruction of evidence.

“Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime,” the bill reads.

A spokeswoman from NARAL, which supports abortion rights, said the group was keeping an eye on the legislation.

“Any elected official who wants to put criminal liability on survivors of rape or incest is cold-blooded,” said Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America.

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Jill Kelley Says Paula Broadwell Tried to ‘Blackmail’ Her

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Jill Kelley was not the first to see the anonymous email that would rupture her comfortable life as a wealthy Tampa socialite who forged friendships with two top American generals.

She learned of the mysterious message from her husband, Scott, who opened the note on his iPhone, under the Yahoo account they share, as he was about to board a plane.

Kelley says she was “terrified” late last summer when he told her about the email. In that note and the barrage that followed, “there was blackmail, extortion, threats,” Kelley told me in her first interview since the David Petraeus scandal erupted, breaking a silence of nearly three months.

These emails, as Kelley would later learn along with the rest of the world, were from Paula Broadwell, whose affair with Petraeus triggered his resignation as CIA director. But the writer was so ambiguous, says Kelley, that “I didn’t even know it was a female.”

Contradicting virtually every published account of the saga, Kelley indicates that the anonymous emails did not warn her to stay away from Petraeus, as is commonly assumed. And yet the press depicted the two of them as “romantic rivals. Think how bizarre that is,” Kelley says.

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War On Women – Literally: Obama Administration to Lift Ban on Women in Combat

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Women in all branches of the military soon will have unprecedented opportunities to serve on the front lines of the nation’s wars.

Leon Panetta, in one of his last acts as President Obama’s defense secretary, is preparing to announce the policy change, which would open hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday.

The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule banning women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta’s decision gives the military services until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions must remain closed to women.

“This policy change will initiate a process whereby the services will develop plans to implement this decision, which was made by the secretary of defense upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” a senior defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Some front-line military roles may open to women as soon as this year. Assessments for others, such as special operations forces, including Navy SEALS and the Army’s Delta Force, may take longer.

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