As U.S. tensions with North Korea escalate, Sen. Lindsey Graham has said he is concerned about a potential military conflict between the two nations.

According to The Christian Post, the Republican senator from South Carolina called North Korea “the greatest immediate threat to the United States.”

“We’re getting close to a military conflict because North Korea’s marching toward marrying up the technology of an I.C.B.M. [intercontinental ballistic missile] with a nuclear weapon on top that cannot only get to America but deliver the weapon,” Graham said in an interview with CBS News.

Graham also urged the Pentagon to stop sending any American personnel to South Korea, due to its proximity to the volatile North.

North Korea has reportedly successfully tested several long-range missiles that could potentially reach the U.S. mainland, as ChristianHeadlines.com previously reported.

Graham added that the Trump administration aims “to deny North Korea the capability to hit America with a nuclear-tipped missile.”

“Not to contain it. Denial means preemptive war as a last resort,” he continued. “That preemption is becoming more likely as their technology matures,” he explained. “Every missile test, every underground test of a nuclear weapon, means the marriage is more likely. I think we’re really running out of time.”

Graham believes President Trump is…

After an outcry from customers, Belk department stores have reversed their decision to ban Salvation Army bell ringers this holiday season.

Conservative political commentator Todd Starnes previously reported that Belk had banned the Salvation Army bell ringers. The decision was expected to impact the Salvation Army with a $1 million loss.

Belk had planned to replace the bell ringers with a “social impact program.”

Customers soon began responding to Belk’s decision, posting on Facebook and Twitter their disapproval and criticism, and calling on Belk to bring the bell ringers back.

“We believe that a lot of Belk’s customers align with the Salvation Army’s views. We believe in saying ‘Merry Christmas’ because we believe Jesus is absolutely the reason for the season,” Lt. Rob Dolby, of the Salvation Army, told Starnes.

Following the outcry from customers, Belk reversed their decision, and a company spokesperson stated that the Salvation Army is “always going to be a part of our community strategy in the future.”

“During the process of making that commitment even stronger with our home for the Holidays campaign, we mistakenly left out the Salvation Army at some of our stores, the spokesperson continued. “We have fixed that as we know our customers are passionate about the Salvation Army.”

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia…

Actress Kristin Chenoweth never really had thought about what the animals in the Christmas story must have felt, she said.

They’ve always been there — in the text of Luke’s Gospel, in carols like “Away in a Manger” and “The Friendly Beasts,” and in Nativity sets brought down from the attic every December.

But she said she only needed to look as far as her own dog, Thunder, to understand why the producers of “The Star” decided to make a  movie of the first Christmas from the vantage point of four-legged creatures. Thunder “knows what kind of day I’m having, right? He knows if it’s a good day or a bad day, and those animals did, too.”

Chenoweth gives voice to a mouse named Abby in the animated retelling of Jesus’ birth in theaters this holiday season.

“The Star” connected with her own faith, she said. Chenoweth grew up in a Southern Baptist church and now identifies as a “nondenominational” Christian who is “accepting of everyone.”

“When I heard the story, what it was, (I thought) this is what I believe. I do believe in the birth of Christ and who he was when he walked the earth, so, yeah, this is something that is easy for me to do.”

“The Star” has been in the Top 10 at the box office since it opened the weekend before Thanksgiving, according to Box Office Mojo.

The animated movie stars Steven…