The tally of homes destroyed by two massive Northern California wildfires topped 1,000 Saturday after authorities doing damage assessments in the Sierra Nevada foothills counted another 250 houses destroyed by flames still threatening thousands of more structures. MORE

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government said Saturday that it will issue thousands more visas to Syrian refugees before the end of this year by accelerating the processing of their applications, as it tries to counter election-year criticism over its handling of the refugee crisis. MORE

A news release says the Satanic Temple has formally petitioned the Arkansas Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission for permission to place a “Baphomet” monument next to the planned Ten Commandments monumentdecreed by the  legislature. (They dishonestly said it was about history, rather than religion.)

The Satanic Temple says its statute of a goat-headed idol is intended as a memorial to “various historical witch hunts and homage to the persecuted free-thinkers and “heretics” who helped inform American secular jurisprudence.” MORE

President Obama, in a historic first for the Pentagon, has chosen to nominate Eric Fanning to lead the Army, a move that would make him the first openly gay civilian secretary of one of the military services. MORE

In an interview with the CBS show “60 Minutes” to be broadcast Sunday in the United States, the Iranian president said the famous Friday ritual is a reaction to previous Washington policy decisions that hurt Iran.

In April, US President Barack Obama’s administration signed a deal with Rouhani’s government to release Iran from many of the economic sanctions harming its economy in return for tight controls on its nuclear program. MORE

Volkswagen called them “clean diesels,” branding them as the fun-to-drive alternatives to hybrids as it dominated the U.S. market for the engine technology. MORE

He loves me yea yea yea, I know it must be true, yea yea yea.

Three hours after Pope Francis delivers the first-ever canonization Mass on U.S. soil Wednesday inWashington, D.C., singers Ed Sheeran andChristina Perri will perform across town at theVerizon Center. The two events are more similar than one might assume. MORE

The lord will be back before they finish this project.

Americans could one day soon cruise between two major cities in the western US on a mega-fast train at 150 mph, thanks to a new agreement between a private US venture and a consortium led by China Railway Group. MORE

Vice President Biden, does not understand that the climate disaster’s that are hitting the world are God’s wrath against our sinful behavior. Same sex marriage, abortion, divorce, Heresy from Rome and the denial of the existence of God.

Unfortunately, it’s too late know to reverse the trend completely. In the meantime expose the fact the Lord will be back in those few years that we have. MORE ON BIDEN

Alaska will give each resident more than $2,000 next month as the annual payout from an oil wealth trust fund, a state revenue official said on Wednesday, a record amount despite the collapse in oil prices last year.

About 645,000 residents will receive the payout from The Alaska Permanent Fund, said Jerry Burnett, deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Revenue. MORE

Speaking at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Ayed stated that European countries were not rolling out the red carpet for migrants because they were compassionate, but because Europe was in dire need of a new source of labor. MORE

An iridescent, multi-hued cloud phenomenon was recently spotted in Costa Rica skies, and residents were left awestruck and mystified. MORE

Members of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, representing the world’s largest organization of experts on genocide, have called upon the U.S. Congress to declare that the crimes committed by the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, constitute genocide in violation of the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. MORE

LOS ANGELES (RNS) Advocates for Syrian refugee resettlement found unexpected allies as major Jewish groups have called on President Obama to open America’s gates to 100,000 asylum seekers from the war-torn Arab nation.

The American Jewish resettlement agency HIAS has launched a petition drive calling on Obama to resettle 100,000 Syrians in the U.S., and Reform rabbis pledged to make refugee assistance a key theme for High Holiday sermons and congregational activism. MORE