A recognized Minnesota teacher has said she doesn’t regret kneeling during the national anthem at Monday’s NCAA football championship game.

Kelly Holstine, the esteemed recipient of Minnesota’s 2019 “Teacher of the Year” award, emulated controversial NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, by taking a knee in protest against the Trump administration.

“I just decided that it felt like the right thing to do, to have a very respectful protest,” Holstine told The Hill Wednesday, arguing that too many communities are being isolated and oppressed by the President’s policies and rhetoric.

“I think the current environment that is being created and has been created in his tenure definitely adds to my feelings of wanting to support individuals who are not being supported,” she said. “I really feel like our country is not serving the needs of all its inhabitants … so many humans right now that are not being given the respect and the rights that they deserve.”

On Twitter, Holstine posted an image of herself kneeling on the field as the President and First Lady stood to observe the national anthem. “Honored as State Teachers of the Year at NCAA Champ FB Game. Given platform to stand up for marginalized and oppressed people,” Holstine wrote. “Like many before, I respectfully kneeled during Nat’l Anthem because, “No one is free until we are…

Planned Parenthood will reportedly spend $45 million on upcoming elections.

According to CBS News, the money will be used to “fund large-scale grassroots programs and canvassing, digital, television, and radio and mail programs.” The organization is calling the campaign “We Decide 2020.”

Jenny Lawson, the Planned Parenthood Votes executive director, told CBS News that the organization wants to support more rights for women.

“[The Trump Administration] has managed to undo so much over the last three years,” she said. “The fact that this summer the Supreme Court might gut Roe v. Wade is an indicator of their intention and they’ve never been so bold.”

This summer the Supreme Court is set to consider a Louisiana law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Abortion supporters, however, say the law would limit access to providers who perform abortions. Supports of the law say the rule would protect the health and safety of women.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s research group, state lawmakers proposed some 300 measures last year that restrict abortion.

“We Decide 2020” will target the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The group says some five million voters could be reached.

Lawson said, for…

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria, January 17, 2020 (Morning Star News) – An order to close a church building in the city of Oran, Algeria was issued last fall but was not conveyed to the pastor until last weekend, sources said.

Pastor Rachid Seighir did not receive the Nov. 10, 2019 closure order until Saturday (Jan. 11), he said.

“This official document was to be delivered by a bailiff appointed by the public prosecutor at the court of Oran [Province], but it wasn’t so,” Pastor Seighir said, adding that his attorney took the initiative to obtain the ruling. “This judgment dates from Nov. 10, 2019, and usually affected people have 10 days to appeal.”

The pastor’s lawyer notified the judge of the delay so that the church can still appeal within 10 days of Jan. 11, when he received the order, Pastor Seighir said.

The then-governor of Oran Province, Mouloud Cherifi, on Dec. 28, 2017, had sent notice that the “church is not in accordance with the laws in force,” namely registration under Law 03/06, which regulates non-Muslim worship. The 2006 law requires non-Muslim worship buildings to be licensed, but all applications to do so have remained unattended.

Cherifi gave the congregation three months to comply with Law 03/06 or it would be closed, he said. Before the three-month deadline, however, police arrived by order of the governor on Feb. 19, 2018, to seal the worship hall of…

Brazilian soccer player Roberto Firmino recently shared a touching video of himself being baptized to his Instagram page – the video has been viewed more than three million times.

Firmino – who now plays soccer for Liverpool – shared the video with his 12.4 million Instagram followers on Wednesday, noting in the caption that he was giving all of his failures and victories to the Lord.

He wrote in Portuguese, “I gave you my failures and my victories. My greatest title is Your love Jesus! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come!”

The video starts out featuring a woman singing Lauren Daigle’s award-winning song “You Say” in Portuguese. The camera then pans the room before landing on Firmino who is standing in a pool clad in a black t-shirt that says “Jesus equals love” in symbols. 

Firmino shares a few brief words with the dozens of people gathered around to witness the occasions before he his dunked under the water. 

According to Faithwire, he was then welcomed into his wife’s loving arms as tears of joy streamed down her face.

Also baptized that day was fellow Brazilian Liverpool soccer player Alisson Becker. While Becker did not share a video of his baptismal experience, he did post a carousel of photos from the event to his Instagram page Thursday, praising Jesus in the caption. He…