HYDERABAD, India, January 6, 2019 (Morning Star News) – Police in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state work in tandem with Hindu extremists to treat Christians and other religious minorities especially harshly, sources said.

“The UP police force is very different from the rest of India,” Dinanath Jaiswar, a volunteer with legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom-India, told Morning Star News. “They are very brash in their dealings with Muslim and Christian minorities, and there have been several cases of violence in police custody, but by God’s grace we have tried our best to reach them on time, and even while in the clutches of the enemy, God protects His people.”

From April 2017 to February 2018, India’s National Human Rights Commission registered 365 cases of judicial and custodial deaths in Uttar Pradesh, according to The Indian Express; the next highest amount was 127 cases in West Bengal state.

“It does not take long for a police officer here to lose his temper and thrash a person in custody,” Jaiswar said.

Most cases reported against police stations in several Uttar Pradesh districts fell under the categories of torture, infliction of injury and grievous hurt, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

“It has become a trend that a batch of Hindu extremists barge inside Christian homes and accuse them of proselytizing Hindus to Christianity,”…

Quarterback Kirk Cousins led the Minnesota Vikings to an upset victory over New Orleans Sunday in the NFL playoffs, but it was an inspiring postgame interview on national television that caught the eye of many casual fans.  

Cousins’ 43-yard pass to Adam Thielen followed by a four-yard touchdown strike to Kyle Rudolph gave visiting Minnesota a 26-20 overtime win over the Saints in the opening round of the playoffs. It was Minnesota’s first-ever playoff win in overtime.

After the game, Cousins was asked by FOX’s Chris Myers about the load he had “been carrying” as quarterback. Myers noted Cousins has a “deep” faith.

“Ultimately, it’s about team,” Cousins said. “And I’m just trying to do my part for this team [and] help us win. Quarterback carries weight. That comes with the job. Like you said, my faith is important to me. It’s the foundation of my life. And ultimately, that’s where I gain my peace and strength. Win or lose today, God is still on the throne, and I take comfort in that.”

Cousins – who was drafted out of Michigan State in 2012 by Washington before being signed by the Vikings in 2018 as a free agent – is known for his faith. His Twitter bio reads, “Micah 6:8 ‘What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy & walk humbly with your God.’”

He gave an interview in 2018 to Sports Spectrum, a…

President Trump kicked off the election year by launching the “Evangelicals for Trump” coalition during a rally last week at one of the country’s largest Hispanic megachurches.

According to The Christian Post, the coalition is meant to help the president rally evangelical support for re-election.

The rally started with religious leaders such as Paula White, James Dobson, Cissie Graham Lynch, Jack Graham and Alveda King, praying over the President.

“Mr. President, although you live in a very elegant White House, you are our neighbor,” Lynch said. “We will love you through this and we will help you for 2020 so you can keep fighting for us because you are our neighbor and we love you.”

The President then took the mic to celebrate evangelical victories over the past four years and to warn the country of its future should a Democrat win the office.

“I’m thrilled to be here in Miami, Florida to officially launch one of the most important grassroots movements in American history, it’s a first — Evangelicals for Trump,” the President said from the stage of El Ray Jesus Church in Miami.

“In 2016, evangelical Christians went out and they worked so hard and they produced numbers like they have never produced before. Based on what Paula [White] and Cissie [Graham Lynch] told me and everybody told me, we are going to blow those numbers away in 2020,” the president continued later in…

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation last week to deliver $9.5 million to the New Jersey Department of Health for family planning services, including Planned Parenthood, in response to President Trump’s implantation of the Title X gag rule.

“The federal government has once again put narrow political interests before the best interests of the American people by implementing the Title X gag rule, which blocks women from access to vital information and resources that are critical to their health,” the governor said.

In August of last year, President Trump introduced new rules for organizations receiving Title X federal funds, which barred them from “providing or referring patients for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or medical emergency,” according to NPR. As a result, Planned Parenthood pulled out of Title X.

“The Trump Administration’s gag rule pulling funding away from affordable women’s healthcare has put millions of lives at risk in this country, and today, New Jersey is fighting back to provide critical care for women and their families,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver. “The bill that Governor Murphy is signing today will fill the federal voice by replacing critical Title X funding to serve all women in New Jersey, regardless of income, who rely on access to this routine care to survive.”

Governor Murphy has long championed…

Kanye West is dominating the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart once again with his new album “Jesus Is Born.” Released on Christmas Day, the new track of songs currently ranks No. 2 on the chart behind his first gospel album, “Jesus Is King,” according to Faithwire.

“Jesus Is Born” features West’s Sunday Service choir, who also made an appearance on “Jesus Is King.” The choir remade secular songs “Ultralight Beam” and “Weak” and delivered renditions of “Excellent” and “More Than Anything.”

Lyrics to “Ultralight Beam” read:

Faith

His love is yours

We are saved

He is the risen Lord

We are steppin’ out on faith

His love is yours

In the arms of Jesus, saved

He is the risen Lord

We are steppin’ out on faith

His love is yours

We are saved

He is the risen Lord

The song features Chance the Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin and The Dream.

This album is the first among many of West’s to deliver on the promised launch date, according to The Guardian.

“Jesus Is Born” falls in line with West’s earlier promise to never again make secular music, as previously reported by Christian Headlines. “Only Gospel from here on out,” the entertainment megastar said.

His wife, Kim Kardashian West, told The View that her husband’s transformation to Christianity has shifted their family.

“Kanye started this to really heal himself and it was a really personal thing, and it was…

The Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a Louisiana pro-life law that requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, asserting the law is constitutional and benefits women’s safety.

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments March 4 in a case brought by abortion providers against the 2014 law, which requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. It has yet to go into effect. 

The high court struck down a similar Texas law in 2016 in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, but since then, the makeup of the court has changed. 

Pro-choice groups fear the court will overturn that 2016 decision and gut Roe v. Wade. They also say the law will force clinics to close.  

Solicitor General Noel Francisco, representing the Trump administration, argues in a Jan. 2 brief that the abortion clinics lack standing – that is, the legal right – to bring the case. Francisco urges the court to overturn its 2016 decision, if needed.

The Louisiana law is known as Act 620.  

“[T]he Act’s purpose is ‘to improve the health and safety of women undergoing an abortion’ by ensuring that their provider can qualify for hospital-admitting privileges,” the brief says. 

Unless the law is allowed to go into effect, Francisco argues, Louisiana law will favor abortion providers over…

Many former members of the LGBTQ community told their stories of change at Capitol Hill recently.

The group is part of the CHANGED community, an organization of people who previously identified as LGBTQ and believe their sexual identity was changed because of Jesus.

April Lockhart, of New Mexico, told attendees at the event that she wanted to change from her lesbian lifestyle.

“I had fully believed in this lie that gets perpetuated that people don’t change, they can’t change, and if you try to change them, it’s detrimental to their health. And I just want to say that’s a lie,” she asserted.

“Nobody has the right to tell you (that) you can’t be what you want to be. And I did want change.  And through the power of God, the Creator of heaven and earth, this was able to happen. These days were able to happen. These moments. And I’m a happy woman.”

Luis Ruiz, of Florida, said he was devastated when he found out he was HIV positive because of his homosexual lifestyle.

“While I was searching for men, sleeping around a lot, I didn’t realize that there was a man looking for me,” he said.

“And His name is Jesus. I was able to find a church where they loved me. And they taught me that my identity is not my behavior. My identity was not who I thought it was.  But it was a child of God. So I stand here to say that I was a homosexual, a former ‘ho.’  And now I am a child of God.”

CHANGED…

A devastating series of bushfires continue to wreak havoc across vast swathes of Southern Australia. In New South Wales, over half a billion animals have been killed and more than 20 people are confirmed dead, including three firefighters deployed to help tackle the inferno.

Millions of acres have been destroyed by the relentless flames, with many homes being reduced to smoldering ashes. On Monday, despite some much-needed rainfall, there were still 136 fires burning across New South Wales alone. According to the NSW Rural Fire Service, 69 of those remain uncontained.

The smoke and smog generated by the fire is causing concern among public health officials, too. According to CNN, the capital city of Canberra is currently suffering from an arid and toxic atmosphere, logging a rating of 340 on the air quality index. For comparison, Beijing, which is known for its dreadful air quality, is rated at 170.

According to the BBC, in December, cricket players breathing in the air at a Sydney cricket ground said it felt as if they were “smoking 80 cigarettes a day.”

“It’s not healthy,” said bowler Steve O’Keefe. “It’s toxic.”

The smoke in Canberra is so severe that the very agency tasked with dealing with these sorts of crisis situations has been forced to close.

The Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force (ABF) on Sunday ordered staff members to stay home from work…