Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley says in a new book that two of President Trump’s top aides “resisted” carrying out his policies because the aides claimed they were trying to “save the country.” 

Haley, in her book With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace, recounts a meeting she had with former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The meeting, she says, took place in Kelly’s office in the White House. Both men tried to recruit her to their side, she alleges. 

“Kelly and Tillerson confided in me that when they resisted the president, they weren’t being insubordinate, they were trying to save the country. It was their decisions, not the president’s, that were in the best interests of America, they said. The president didn’t know what he was doing,” Haley wrote, summarizing what she says was their views. 

“… Tillerson went on to tell me the reason he resisted the president’s decisions was because, if he didn’t, people would die. This was how high the stakes were, he and Kelly told me. We are doing the best we can do to save the country, they said. We need you to work with us and help us do it. This went on for over an hour.”

Haley, though, disagreed with their strategy, which she says involved resisting Trump on major campaign…

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“Depending on how the court rules, it could have devastating consequences,” Eliana Fernández said in an interview, according to CBS News. “I would lose my protection against deportation, my opportunity to work, I would lose the opportunity to support my children.”

DACA currently protects about 700,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. Most DACA recipients have lived in the U.S. most of their lives and attend American public schools and colleges.

Under the program, DACA recipients had to have arrived in the U.S. before they were 16 and lived in the country since at least 2007. The program protects them from deportations and allows them to work in the country.

“We’re able to contribute to the economy – not only by working and paying taxes, but we also travel, we consume and we have families now,” said Saira Barajas, a 26-year-old DACA recipient from Los Angeles.

The Cato Institute estimates that if DACA ends, the U.S. could lose hundreds of billions of dollars in economic growth over the next 10 years.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised to end DACA, but he also said, “it’s one of the most difficult subjects I have because you have these incredible kids —…

In the midst of a long-standing debate on LGBT issues, eight current and former bishops of the United Methodist Church have signed a statement calling for a “new form of unity” after years of discord, according to the Christian Post.

“The events transpiring since the adjournment of the Special Session of General Conference illustrate how deep our division is,” the statement said. “Sadly, even greater discord, chaos and fighting loom on the horizon at the 2020 General Conference in Minneapolis.

“This is why we recognize our beloved United Methodist Church no longer can continue in our current form of unity. It is time to quit undermining our mission. It is time for the entire church to come together to figure out how to be the people called Methodists in a new way—to seek a new form of unity.”

The debate has focused largely on the teachings of the Book of Discipline which states that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” In a 438-384 vote recently, delegates agreed to uphold the teaching. But an increasing number of bishops hope to create a more progressive Methodist denomination.

“It is time to end our conflict that undermines all our efforts to proclaim the Gospel,” the statement continued. “It is time to bless, support and free one another to be the church we feel God calls us to be.”

In 2020, delegates will discuss…

Popular Ohio-based Christian camp Skyview Ranch burned to the ground over the weekend.

Pastor Gary Adams told CBN News that around five o’clock in the morning, a fire ripped through the dining hall, kitchen and offices on November 10. No one was injured or killed in the fires and the cause is still unknown.

Located in Millersburg, Skyview Ranch celebrated its 50th anniversary this summer and employs 15 staff members who welcome around 9,000 campers a year.

According to Adams, the fire caused nearly $2 million in damage. He reached out to news outlets and campers on Facebook to ask them to pray for the funds. Until the buildings are restored, camp staff will find a temporary office space and regroup for the new year.

“God has a plan despite how devastating this is to our staff, families, and those who love Skyview,” a post read on the camp’s Facebook page.

“We will move forward in His grace to continue the work He has set before us. He is our rock and our foundation, this ministry isn’t built or defined by stuff but by people who are committed to giving Him glory in all things and at all times. The loss of our dining hall, offices, and everything inside hits us hard, but we know that the Lord is still working and is in control”

“Praise God that no one was hurt or worse. Thank you for your prayers.”

The post concluded with Romans 8:28 which reads, “And we know…

A record 10.2 percent of regular characters on primetime broadcast television shows in their current seasons are LGBTQ, according to a new report that also calls on the networks to aim for 20 percent by the year 2025.

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s annual “Where We Are On TV” report examines the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters on broadcast and cable television. It is the 24th year GLAAD has released the report. 

Last year, 8.8 percent of regular characters on primetime broadcast TV were LGBTQ, and GLAAD subsequently issued a challenge for the networks to reach 10 percent. 

“In a single year, broadcast surpassed that goal, climbing to a record-high 10.2 percent of broadcast series regulars being LGBTQ characters,” the report says.

A total of 90 regular characters in the 2019-20 primetime broadcast season are LGBTQ, according to the report, while 792 are straight. 

Shows with LGBTQ representation include The CW’s Batwoman, in which the title character is lesbian, the CW’s Riverdale (Cheryl Blossom and Toni Topaz are lesbian), ABC’s Stumptown (Dex is bisexual), ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy(Doctors Levi Schmitt, Nico Kim and Casey Parker  are gay), Fox’s 9-1-1: Lone Star (Paul Strickland is transgender) and NBC’s Good Girls (Isaiah Stannard is transgender). 

“The role of television in changing…

The father of a second-grader in Tennessee is demanding policy change within the school district after his child came home with a school-issued flyer promoting birth control, including condoms.

Rich Penkoski’s son is a second-grader at Mary Hughes Elementary School, which sent students home with a two-sided flyer advertising a free health clinic in Gray, Tenn., offering medical, dental and vision exams. The backside of the flyer, though, was dedicated to “free birth control and pre-pregnancy services.” Among the services: “free birth control including implants, IUDs, pills, condoms and more,” according to WCBY-TV.

The school is located in Piney Flats, a small town in East Tennessee.  

“Why did the school feel it was appropriate to give this flyer to a seven-year-old?” Penkoski asked.

David Cox, the director of Sullivan County Schools, said the birth control information was placed on the back page of the flyer by mistake.

“What happened on the back of the information, there was another part that was inadvertently sent and it did say free birth control,” Cox told WCBY.

Penkoski, though, doesn’t believe it was inadvertent. He and Dale Walker, president of the Tennessee Pastors Network, appeared before the Sullivan County school board urging a change in policy.

“This is a full page,” Penkoski said, holding up the flyer….