The wife of a missing firefighter is holding steadfastly to her faith while search and rescue crew desperately search for him and his friend. Stephanie McCluney has been prayer-walking the beaches and says she has an “army of prayer warriors” behind her.

Brian McCluney and Justin Walker went out to fish in his 24-foot boat on Friday.  They were only supposed to be out on the water for a short time, so McCluney assumed there might be a problem when she could tell that her texts to her husband had not been delivered. Within a couple of hours, she had notified the Coast Guard and the search began.

Saturday morning, the Coast Guard tweeted that they were looking for the two boaters near where they had departed at Port Canaveral, FL. The tweet also said the pair were planning on fishing around the 8A Reef.

.@USCG crews are searching for 2 overdue boaters near #PortCanaveral. Brian McCluney and Justin Walker were last seen Friday and reported to be going to the 8A Reef. #HappeningNow #BreakingNews

More here: https://t.co/taBQUtaplm pic.twitter.com/jjRClGlwtw

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) August 17, 2019

Stephanie updated her family and friends Thursday with an Instagram post which showed her husband’s tackle bag. She said, “Prayer warriors, I have confirmed that this is Brian’s tackle bag. It was found off the coast of St. Augustine, 50 miles out….

The Kendrick brothers’ filmmaking tandem may have another successful movie on their hands.

Their newest film Overcomer (PG) – which releases in theaters this weekend – is exceeding Breakthrough in advance ticket sales on Fandango’s platforms, according to Harry Medved, Fandango’s senior director of public relations. Both are faith-based films. 

Medved told Christian Headlines Monday that Overcomer “is outpacing” Breakthrough in advance sales. The latter film starred Chrissy Metz and finished No. 3 on opening weekend, grossing $11.2 million. It ended its run grossing $40.7 million. 

Breakthrough, though, opened in 2,824 theaters. Overcomer is expected to open in far fewer: 1,700, according to Box Office Mojo.

The Fandango data is no guarantee, though, that Overcomer will surpass the opening weekend gross of Breakthrough. Historically, Kendrick brothers’ films have had success with churches buying large blocks of tickets or even buying out entire theaters – purchases that would be reflected in advance ticket data. The film tracking website Box Office Pro is predicting a $5.5 million opening for Overcomer.      

Alex and Stephen Kendrick’s last film, War Room (2015), climbed to No. 1 on its second weekend. It grossed $11.3 million on its first weekend and $9.4 million the following week.

Overcomertells the story of a high school…

A 16-year-old lifeguard is praising God after he was able to rescue a two-year-old who nearly drowned.

According to CBS 6 News, 16-year-old Michael Wood was lifeguarding at the Westwood Club swimming pool in Henrico, Virginia when he was alerted to a drowning two-year-old.

Wood told ABC 8 News that he initially believed that the boy was playing a game. He said, “I thought he was actually playing and holding his breath underwater.” 

But according to CBS 6, once Wood saw the child brush up against another swimmer without any reaction, he knew “something was wrong.”

“I knew what I had to do,” the teenager said before recalling that he immediately jumped into action.

“I jumped in, grabbed the kid out, and, sure enough, he was completely passed out and he was not breathing,” Wood told ABC 8. 

Wood described the two-year-old as being “pale blue-grey” in color when he pulled him out of the water. The teen administered CPR on the toddler and after four rescue breaths, the color began to return to the child’s face. “His cheeks turned bright red, and color returned to his face,” Wood told CBS 6. “It was scary, but I said, ‘praise God.’ He started crying and I just started crying too,” he added.

“This whole thing could have gone south but quick actions from everyone made this kid be able to take another breath and walk on this…

A federal judge has overturned a 1997 Wisconsin provision banning Medicaid payments for gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatments. U.S. District Judge William Conley handed down the ruling Aug. 16, after issuing an injunction against the state’s Department of Health Services last year.

The 22-year-old Medicaid amendment, challenged by four plaintiffs, excluded coverage for “drugs, including hormone therapy, associated with transsexual surgery,” deeming them “medically unnecessary,” according to Courthouse News Service. Wisconsin’s Medicaid program is jointly funded by state and federal money.

The plaintiffs—three transgender women and a transgender man—filed suit against the state arguing that gender-confirming treatment was necessary due to “gender dysphoria,” a condition in which a patient does not identify with their biological sex at birth. They alleged that the exclusion violated the Affordable Care Act, the Medicaid Act and both the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14^th Amendment.

“There is now a consensus within the medical profession that gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition, which if left untreated or inadequately treated can cause adverse symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, serious mental distress, self-harm and suicidal ideation,” Conley wrote in his ruling.

The judge determined the…

A North Carolina county Monday became the nation’s first sanctuary county “for the unborn” when its board of commissioners passed a resolution recognizing the “dignity of every human being” from conception.

The resolution by the Yadkin County Board of Commissioners made the county the first in the nation to become a sanctuary county for the unborn, although towns and cities have made similar declarations.

Yadkin County is about one hour north of Charlotte and has a population of 37,000. Its county seat is Yadkinville.

“The Yadkin County Board of Commissioners,” the resolution says, “hereby recognizes and declares the full humanity of the preborn child and declares Yadkin County to be a sanctuary for the preborn where the dignity of every human being will be defended and promoted from conception or fertilization through all stages of development.”

The resolution further says a plaque will be placed on the grounds of the county government declaring the county to be a “Sanctuary for Pre-born Children.”

It also says the county will organize a public meeting to request input from “citizens, churches, and other social organizations” to determine possible ways “to provide support for mothers and fathers of pre-born children” and “to become a county that truly welcomes and protects the gift of life from conception or fertilization through…

Planned Parenthood said Monday it will withdraw from a major federal family-planning program that’s worth an estimated $60 million for the organization, three days after an appeals court once again upheld a Trump administration rule that prevents it from referring or promoting abortion.

At issue is the Title X federal family-planning program and the Trump administration’s Protect Life Rule that clarifies what recipients can say about abortion. Title X is worth nearly $300 million and provides low-income people with cancer screenings, pregnancy tests and contraceptives.  

Planned Parenthood had hoped a federal court would intervene, but on Friday the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals once again declined to block it. It was the third time the Ninth Circuit has ruled in favor of the rule while a lawsuit against it proceeds.

The Department of Health and Human Services had given Title X recipients until Monday to decide if they would follow the rule.

Planned Parenthood on Monday called it “an unethical and dangerous gag rule” that “forced” the organization out of Title X.

“I want our patients to know: while the Trump administration may have given up on you, Planned Parenthood never will,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood. “Our doors are open today, and our doors will be open tomorrow. The Trump…