Today, on the National Day of Prayer, President Trump issued a proclamation noting the importance of prayer and its sustaining power in times of “peace, prosperity, war, and depression.”

“On this National Day of Prayer, we join together to offer gratitude for our many blessings and to acknowledge our need for divine wisdom, guidance, and protection,” begins the statement issued by the President, as reported by CBN News.  “Prayer, by which we affirm our dependence on God, has long been fundamental to our pursuit of freedom, peace, unity, and prosperity.  Prayer sustains us and brings us comfort, hope, peace, and strength.  Therefore, we must cherish our spiritual foundation and uphold our legacy of faith.”

The President also noted prayer’s role in America’s founding and its central focus in the early days of the new nation:

“Prayer has been a source of guidance, strength, and wisdom since the founding of our Republic.  When the Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia to contemplate freedom from Great Britain, the delegates prayed daily for guidance…Notably, as one of its first acts, our newly formed Congress appointed chaplains of the House of Representatives and Senate so that all proceedings would begin with prayer.”

The statement concluded, urging Americans to thank God for his blessings:

“May our Nation and our…

More than 24 hours since his boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River Wednesday morning, Rev. Donald Tabb, the 85-year-old founding pastor of The Chapel on Campus, is still missing and feared dead.

“Dear Chapel family. We want to ask for your prayers tonight as we are walking through a very difficult day. Early this morning, Rev. Donald Tabb, our beloved founding Pastor, and his friends Jack Frey and Pat Anderson were in a fishing accident near Venice, LA,” Tabb’s church, which is at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, announced in a statement on Facebook Wednesday. “Jack Frey has passed away, meeting his Heavenly Father, and Pat Anderson has survived the accident. Donald Tabb is missing with the search still underway by the Coast Guard.”

Wildlife and Fisheries agents and the U.S. Coast Guard suspended their search for Tabb Wednesday night and resumed again Thursday morning. But Adam Einck, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told NOLA.com that they were worried that Tabb may have been swept out to sea because of the location of where his boat capsized near the river’s mouth.

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Three American citizens detained in North Korea seem set to be released ahead of a meeting between the two countries’ leaders next month.

The BBC reported that the three men had been “relocated to a Pyongyang hotel and are receiving good food and medical care”.

US President Donald Trump tweeted yesterday (2 May) that the US “has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!”

As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 3 May 2018

Who are the Americans?

Kim Dong-chul, a pastor in his early 60s, was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to 10 years’ hard labour after admitting spying for South Korea, which Seoul denied.

Tony Kim (also known as Kim Sang-duk) was detained in April 2017 for “committing criminal acts of hostility” against the North Korean government. Kim, in his 50s, had been involved in humanitarian work with orphanages and taught at the Pyongyang University for Science and Technology (PUST), which trains the children of North Korea’s elite and has a volunteer staff that includes many evangelical Christians.

Kim Hak Song was arrested two weeks later, in May 2017, as he prepared to leave the…

The South Carolina Senate approved a measure this week that would ban about 97 percent of abortions in the state.

The proposal amends a bill that already bans dismemberment abortions. The new measure bans all abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or threats to the mother’s life, according to The State.

Senators voted 28-10 to approve the proposal. The measure needs one more vote of approval before it can be sent to the state House for consideration.

It’s expected that the bill will bring opposition from abortion activists. If they challenge the proposal, lawmakers say that will be an opportunity to also challenge and overturn Roe v. Wade.

“It’s designed to give the court an opportunity to revisit Roe v. Wade,” state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey.

Reports say that the proposal would ban about 97 percent of abortions in the state. There are about 5,700 abortions each year in South Carolina, says democratic state Sen. Brad Hutto.

“It’s clearly unconstitutional from my point of view,” said state Sen. Brad Hutto. 

The vote to approve the new bill came just 24 hours after the Senate rejected a similar amendment to the dismemberment abortion ban. That amendment would have granted legal right to unborn babies from the moment of conception.

It’s not the first time the South Carolina legislation has tried to push through a bill that would…