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Pastors Prepare for Renewed Battle Over Church Closures

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By Washington Examiner. When California Gov. Gavin Newsom in July announced revamped restrictions on worship, churches statewide resisted, drawing the attention of pastors nationwide as they prepare for a renewed struggle over church closures.

Newsom’s restrictions require all churches to suspend singing during services and most to hold their churches outside. Citing already burdensome restrictions placed on them in the spring, many church leaders refused to comply, most notably John MacArthur, a celebrity pastor who declared in a Sunday sermon that “Christ, not Caesar, is head of the church.”

MacArthur’s sermon won widespread approval from many evangelicals. Greg Locke, a Tennessee pastor with a large social media following, in a video this week cited MacArthur to make clear to his congregation that he has no plans to close again if shutdowns return to the state.

“Churches should be open,” he said. “There should be no excuses. I will go to jail before I close my church.” (Read more from “Pastors Prepare for Renewed Battle Over Church Closures” HERE)

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Church Encourages People Dealing With COVID-19 Saying ‘Be Careful, Not Fearful’

By ABC 6. The Licking County Health Department is actively working with the administration of Christian Life Center in Heath regarding an outbreak of COVID-19 illnesses related to the church.

The department has conducted contact tracing of individuals who are confirmed with COVID-19 and attend the church. So far at least 32 confirmed cases have been reported in the congregation of about 600 people.

“We appreciate their willingness to work with our staff to prevent further spread of the virus. We continue to urge county residents to stay home if they are sick, wear a mask in accordance with the state’s order, maintain proper social distancing and wash their hands frequently,” said Chad Brown, Health Commissioner. . .

“We are going to be careful but not going to be fearful. We are going to trust God is with us through it all,” said Ensey. “This is unprecedented. Everybody has been doing their best trying to navigate a very unique season for everybody.” (Read more from “Church Encourages People Dealing With COVID-19 Saying ‘Be Careful, Not Fearful'” HERE)

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California Frees ‘Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill’ Sex Offender From Mental Hospital

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California state officials have freed a sex offender considered “dangerous” from a mental hospital where he spent more than 20 years there in confinement.

Cary Jay Smith, 59 years old, was released from the Coalinga State Hospital this month after being in state custody since 1999. Smith was originally placed in state custody after his wife provided evidence of her husband’s intentions to sexually abuse a seven-year-old boy in their Costa Mesa neighborhood.

During hearings every six years, Smith has said that he goes by the name “Mr. RTK,” which stands for “Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill” and has claimed to have murdered three boys and sexually abused 200 others. Smith has said he fantasizes about raping and killing boys.

“Smith, an unstable individual, has openly made threats to rape and murder children and has stated that he would re-offend upon his release,” Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said in a statement.

“The fact that he is being released back into our community is unconscionable,” Steel said. “We must take this threat to our community very seriously and ensure that everyone in Orange County is aware of this individual’s grave threat to our children.” (Read more from “California Frees ‘Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill’ Sex Offender From Mental Hospital” HERE)

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California Bans In-Home Bible Studies

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Churchgoers sued California Gov. Gavin Newsom over his ban on indoor services in several counties, including in-home Bible studies.

Harvest Rock Church and its ministry argued the ban, which was aimed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, is unconstitutional and they’re asking the court for an injunction, permitting churchgoers to still meet and not face consequences from the state.

“While the Governor has unilaterally and significantly restricted the number of individuals permitted to ‘gather’ in Plaintiffs’ churches, he has imposed no similar restrictions on the untold thousands of protesters who have gathered all throughout California cities with no threat of criminal sanction, and no social distancing or restrictions whatsoever,” the complaint filed Saturday read. “And, the Governor explicitly encouraged such large gatherings of protesters while condemning churches for [singing] hymns in their churches” . . .

Harvest Rock Church, represented by the religious liberty legal group Liberty Counsel, argued the ban applies to at-home Bible studies too, which the church helps facilitate.

“Governor Gavin Newsom cannot disregard the First Amendment and ban all in-person worship in private homes and churches. Nor can the state micromanage the form of worship by banning singing or chanting. The governor is not the High Priest over all religions,” said Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel. (Read more from “California Bans In-Home Bible Studies” HERE)

If banning bible studies wasn’t enough, read about crazy California releasing ‘Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill’ Sex Offender From a Mental Hospital HERE

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California Shuts Back Down

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered a halt to indoor activities at certain businesses statewide as cases of coronavirus surge in the country’s most populous state.

Newsom, a Democrat, announced during a press briefing that all bars across the state must close up shop and that restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums and card rooms must suspend indoor activities.

The governor also announced that all gyms, places of worship, malls, personal care services, barbershops, salons, and non-critical offices in counties on the state’s “monitoring list” had to shut down under the new order. The order affects more than 30 counties which are home to about 80 percent of California’s population.

“We’ve made this point on multiple occasions and that is, we’re moving back into a modification mode of our original stay-at-home order,” Newsom said during his press briefing. “This continues to be a deadly disease.”

As of Monday, the state had reported more than 320,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 7,000 deaths, with 23 people dying from the virus since Sunday. Los Angeles County – the country’s most populous county – leads both the state and the country in number of confirmed COVID-19 cases with more than 133,000, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. (Read more from “California Shuts Back Down” HERE)

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This State Smashes Daily Coronavirus Record With Over 8,000 Confirmed Cases; Pence Disputes That Virus Surge Was Caused by States Reopening Too Quickly

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By Fox News. California recorded its highest daily coronavirus count for the third time in just over a week on Monday with 8,000 infections while also surpassing 6,000 deaths, officials said.

The uptick comes as the virus continues to make a resurgence after months of unprecedented orders to combat its spread. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that hospitalizations have increased 43 percent over a two-week period, as well as a 37 percent increase of patients admitted to intensive care units during the same time period. . .

Los Angeles County — the epicenter of the virus in the state — ordered all beaches closed for the July 4th weekend after an “alarming” spike in new COVID-19 cases. Texas officials ordered bars closed for a second time and Arizona has temporarily closed, bars, gyms, water parks, movie theaters and nightclubs.

Calfornia is monitoring 19 counties amid a spike in cases and hospitalizations in those locations. An additional four could be included Wednesday, Newsom said. Statewide, nearly 223,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19. . .

“We are seeing an increase in transmission. We’re seeing more people get sick and go into the hospital,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county’s director of health services. “This is very much a change in the trajectory of the epidemic over the past several days. It’s a change for the worse and a cause for concern.” (Read more from “This State Smashes Daily Coronavirus Record With Over 8,000 Confirmed Cases” HERE)

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Pence Disputes That Virus Surge Was Caused by States Reopening Too Quickly

By Axios. Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, pushed back on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday against claims that the new surge of coronavirus cases is a result of states reopening too quickly. . .

“I know there’s a temptation to associate the new cases in the Sunbelt with reopening, but it’s important to remember that states like Florida and like Texas actually began to open up in early May. For the better part of six weeks, John, we did not see any significant movement,” Pence said.

“In my conversations with governors in Florida and in Texas — and in Arizona in particular — we’re monitoring very closely their hospitalization rate, and we continue to be very confident that they have the supplies and the support and the capacity to give people the … level of care that any of us would want a family member to have.” (Read more from “Pence Disputes That Virus Surge Was Caused by States Reopening Too Quickly” HERE)

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Surveillance Video Dispels ‘Lynching’ Claims in Death of Black Man Found Hung From a Tree

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Suspicions of a possible racist lynching in the death of a black man found hung from a tree in Victorville, California, have been dispelled by a surveillance video proving he committed suicide.

38-year-old Malcolm Harsch was found dead on March 31 hanging from a tree near the Victorville library.

Owing to recent “Black Lives Matter” protests around the country, rumors of a racially motivated lynching began circulating in the community. Another black man was found hanging by a tree in nearby Palmdale.

On Friday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department played video for reporters proving that Harsch killed himself. In the video, according to the Press Enterprise, Harsch is seen wrapping a blue electronics cable around his neck and then tying it to a tree limb before killing himself.

Officials added that Harsch had been placed under suicide watch twice during bookings at San Bernardino County jails.

(Read more from “Surveillance Video Dispels ‘Lynching’ Claims in Death of Black Man Found Hung From a Tree” HERE)

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This State Now Requires Masks in Public

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday issued a statewide order mandating the use of facemasks in public, as more counties reconsider their regulations and the state continues to experience an increase in coronavirus-related hospitalizations as businesses reopen.

“Science shows that face coverings and masks work,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the order. “They are critical to keeping those who are around you safe, keeping businesses open and restarting our economy.”

The order comes as California broadly reopens the economy; in most counties, people can now shop, dine in at restaurants, get their hair done and go to church, among other things. Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are increasing, something the state says is expected as more people get tested. More than 3,400 people were in the hospital as of Wednesday, the most patients hospitalized since April. . .

The order will require people to wear masks when inside or in line for any indoor public spaces, in health care settings like hospitals and pharmacies, while waiting for or riding public transportation and in outdoor spaces where it’s not possible to stay six feet apart from other people.

Until now, the Democratic governor had let local governments decide whether to mandate masks, an issue that’s become politically fraught as some Americans resist orders to wear them. He said he’s issuing the order now because too many people are going out in public without face coverings as businesses, restaurants and other sectors of the economy reopen. (Read more from “This State Now Requires Masks in Public” HERE)

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Chinese Military Officer Arrested While Allegedly Trying to Steal U.S. Medical Research

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A Chinese military officer was caught trying to leave California with university research materials this week, after allegedly lying on an application to obtain a visitor visa for a work-study exchange program, the Justice Department announced.

Xin Wang, a scientific researcher and officer with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), was arrested at LAX as he was attempting to board his flight to Tianjin, China, according to court documents unsealed this week. He faces visa fraud charges.

Wang entered the U.S. on March 26, 2019, to conduct scientific research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), according to his J1 non-immigrant visa application. The application, however, is said to have contained fraudulent statements — including claims that his service with the PLA had ended in 2016 — that were made to increase the chances that he would receive visa approval.

Officials claim Wang revealed that he had instructions from the director of his military lab to observe the layout of the UCSF lab with the understanding that they wanted to try to replicate it in China. He was also accused of attempting to bring materials to China with him and had already emailed research. (Read more from “Chinese Military Officer Arrested While Allegedly Trying to Steal U.S. Medical Research” HERE)

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FBI Probes Possible Link Between Air Force Sergeant Suspected in Ambush Police Killing

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An active-duty U.S. Air Force sergeant suspected of wielding a rifle and improvised explosives in the ambush killing of a 38-year-old Northern California sheriff’s deputy is also being investigated for a possible connection to the fatal shooting last month of a federal officer during a protest in Oakland, multiple sources told ABC News on Sunday.

The suspect, Steven Carrillo, 32, was taken into custody on Saturday after he was wounded in a shootout with law enforcement officers in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 35 miles west of San Jose, officials said.

Carrillo is alleged to have fatally shot Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller and injured another deputy when he attacked them with a rifle and multiple improvised explosives in Ben Lomond, California, authorities said. A California Highway Patrol officer was also wounded during a shootout that erupted as officers moved to take Carrillo into custody, officials said. . .

Carrillo is an active-duty sergeant assigned to the 60th Security Forces Squadron based at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, about 100 miles northeast of Ben Lomond, 2nd Lt. Mike Longoria, a spokesman for the base, told ABC News on Sunday. Longoria referred all other questions about Carrillo to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that the FBI is investigating a possible link between the deadly ambush in Santa Cruz County and the May 29 killing of Federal Protective Services Officer Dave Patrick Underwood in Oakland. (Read more from “FBI Probes Possible Link Between Air Force Sergeant Suspected in Ambush Police Killing” HERE)

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LA Mayor Calls His Police Force ‘Killers’

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Mayors and governors across the land have run to the cameras and microphones to be among the first to kneel in supplication to the riotous mobs in the streets. . .

Naturally, these “leaders” assume the officers in their departments are equally capable of committing these acts. They promise to do better! Unsaid is their plaintive appeal, “Don’t hurt me. Pretty please?”

. . .Garcetti discussed his “defunding the police” plan of reducing the police funding by $150 million and moving another $100 million from other city budgetary priorities to hand over to the mobs for special placative programs.

Toward the end of a short speech, Garcetti outlined eight ways LA has already changed up the way cops operate. He lobbed bombs against President Trump, calling him a “political pyromaniac.” He repeated provable lies about how the Park Police used tear gas to clear a path so that Trump could get a photo op with a Bible – a shot that was met with nods of approval, Garcetti said:

I’ve gotten calls from all over the country from mayors who say I’m so excited to others saying what the hell did you do, now I’ve gotta shift money. That’s exactly the point. It starts someplace and we say we are going to be who we want to be or we are going to continue to be the killers that we are. (Read more from “LA Mayor Calls His Police Force ‘Killers'” HERE)

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