I guess it worth posting, only in Italy, ha.

Sure, you can maintain your sinful life style and still belong.

Americans like the direction the Catholic Church is headed — and its leader, Pope Francis, a new poll shows.

According to the Quinnipiac national survey released Thursday, 66 percent of Americans either are “favorable” or “very favorable” of the pontiff, with the opinion cutting across gender and religion. MORE

Nationalist journalist-actor goes viral with chilling warning regarding deteriorating security situation. MORE

“So what is it? Missile test gone wrong? Phosphorus missile, Norway Spiral, meteor?”
Superman coming into orbit? UFO? Angel vaping a huge cloud?! Who knows. 2 males took a video of this in the AM hours in Florida.

“We’re an ancient people. In our nearly 4,000 years of history, many have tried repeatedly to destroy the Jewish people. Tomorrow night, on the Jewish holiday of Purim, we’ll read the Book of Esther. We’ll read of a powerful Persian viceroy named Haman, who plotted to destroy the Jewish people some 2,500 years ago. But a courageous Jewish woman, Queen Esther, exposed the plot and gave for the Jewish people the right to defend themselves against their enemies.” MORE

U.S. intelligence ships, aircraft, and satellites are closely watching a Russian military vessel in the Atlantic that has been sailing near a U.S. nuclear missile submarine base and underwater transit routes, according to Pentagon officials.

The Russian research ship Yantar has been tracked from the northern Atlantic near Canada since late August as it makes its way south toward Cuba. MORE

Five Chinese navy ships are currently operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, marking the first time the U.S. military has seen them in the area.

The officials have been tracking the movements in recent days of three Chinese combat ships, a replenishment vessel and an amphibious landing ship after observing them moving toward the Aleutian Islands, which are split between U.S. and Russian control. MORE

Scientists had long suspected that humans were taxing the world’s underground water supply, but the NASA data was the first detailed assessment to demonstrate that major aquifers were indeed struggling to keep pace with demands from agriculture, growing populations, and industries such as mining. MORE

You see mercy is the first step towards redemption and reunification. In this broken world we need mercy, we need redemption, and we most certainly need to be united. So as our Catholic brothers and sisters celebrate and mark their year of mercy, may we in the Protestant tradition be bold enough to share in that work of grace with them. Because in the end, we’re all in this together. MORE

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Visitors looking for a place to stay during Pope Francis’ trip to Philadelphia have an unusual option.

The Battleship New Jersey is offering 400 bunks for $75 per person for a night between Sept. 22 and Sept. 26. Those are the same bunks where sailors slept. The price includes breakfast and dinner. Guests also will get a tour of the museum and a ride in a flight simulator. But there are no showers available.

The ship is docked in Camden, across the river from Philadelphia and less than a mile from the Ben Franklin Bridge. The bridge will be closed to traffic, but open to pedestrians and bicyclists during the pope’s visit. The battleship was launched on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.

The researchers find that the reason is the difference in power. Christians are in a privileged position. They have the power to promote the dominant religion and deny equality to other religions. Muslims are an out-group. They’re a religious minority that cannot take away the rights of others in Europe. The best way to obtain their rights is to argue for equality. MORE

The end of summer. It means back-to-school shopping, tearfully ended beach-borne romances, Labor Day barbecues—and, it would seem, the increased likelihood of new Russian adventurism. As if Moscow weren’t satisfied with thegame in Ukraine, the last month has seen a flurry of reports about its ever-expanding military involvement in Syria. MORE

Now massive wildfires rage from California to as far north as Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula near the Canadian border and all the way across to the Northern Rockies. Smoke and haze fill the air, darkening what would usually be crystal clear skies.

As of Aug. 24 the National Interagency Fire Center reports there are 72 large fires in the United States consuming 1,641,777 acres. There are currently 27,000 people working around the clock to stop the fires. Close to a thousand of them are soldiers. MORE

Startled residents of Gardner, Louisiana, alerted the sheriff last weekend over a black-and-white ‘welcome home’ sign in Hebrew that they thought bore a menacing Islamist message.

The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office and local news station KALB “were contacted by several residents who were concerned about the signs and that they might have been terror messages written in Arabic,” KALB reported Friday. MORE