TULARE COUNTY (CBS13) — The epicenter of California’s drought crisis is in the Central Valley, where there are growing fears the drought could wipe entire towns off of the map. MORE

If you type “is Pope Francis antichrist” into Google, you’ll get about 425,000 results in .37 seconds. By way of comparison, if you ask Google the same question about Pope Benedict you only get 137,000 and it takes a little longer—.47 seconds.

So why do so many people think—or at least ponder—that the Latin American pontiff is the Antichrist (or at least the end-time False Prophet mentioned in Revelation 19:20)? It could be for some of the same reasons his popularity is declining. His approval rating in the United States has dropped from 76 percent a year ago to 56 percent today, according to Gallup. MORE

College Fix: Questions about gender identity and sexual orientation have been added to admissions applications used by the University of California system, including no less than six choices for students when checking off their “gender identity.”

One new question posed to those seeking admittance to the system – which educates 233,000 students enrolled in 10 campuses statewide – is “How do you describe yourself? (Mark one answer).” MORE

Over 100 chemotherapy drugs used in America today came from toxic nerve gas used by Hitler to exterminate people by the hundreds of thousands in just a few years. Mass grave sites are a world known FACT and Jews were gassed to DEATH with the same ingredients used by doctors and oncologists today to simply STAVE OFF cancer for a few years so they can say you survived because of the treatment. MORE

Heavy rainfall hit parts of eastern and southern China, causing severe flooding in the area. The floods started on Wednesday, July 22 and affected millions of people; 6 citizens died and 5 went missing. Strong storms have cut off power supplies, inundated streets across the affected areas and suspended the traffic. MORE

July 2015 – INDONESIA – Eruptions of ash at five volcanoes shrouded the skies over parts of the Indonesian archipelago several days ago, forcing three airports to close. More airports have since closed due to the ash clouds. Mount Raung on Java Island blasted ash and debris up to 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) into the air after rumbling for several weeks, government volcanologist Surono said. Continue reading →

Britons could be among 10,000 holidaymakers evacuated from campsites in Provence as fires fanned by strong winds swept across the parched southern French region at the peak of the summer holiday season. MORE

The public should not expect to see a police officer after crimes such as burglary, the head of the new National Police Chiefs’ Council has said.

Sara Thornton told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire budget cuts and the changing nature of criminality meant police in England and Wales had to prioritise. MORE

Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) (AFP) – Ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday announced it was tearing up a long-running cooperation agreement with the United States after Washington awarded a rights prize to a jailed ethnic minority campaigner.

Central Asian Kyrgyzstan and the United States inked a cooperation deal in 1993 and the strategically located nation hosted a key US military base supplying the war effort in Afghanistan until 2014. MORE

The Supreme Court in Pakistan has suspended the execution of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy.

Asia Bibi, who has been on death row for nearly five years, was given leave to appeal. No hearing date was set.

She denies insulting the Prophet Mohammed, saying her Muslim accusers were acting on a personal grudge. MORE

An Episcopal priest shocked his Queens congregation recently when he left his wife and married someone else — a much younger man.

The Rev. Juan Andres Quevedo-Bosch, 59, the archdeacon of Queens and rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Astoria, announced over Facebook last week that he got married in a Los Angeles church.

The Cuban-born prelate was pictured on a beach with the caption: “I’m in Miami Beach with my new husband. God is good.” MORE

There is very little that the entire world seems to agree upon, but there is one very frightening trend that is now taking hold literally all over the globe. A passionate hatred of Christianity is sweeping across the planet, and very few global leaders have been willing to step forward and speak out against this rising persecution of Christians. In many parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia, believers are being relentlessly attacked by extremists,churches are being destroyed, and laws are being passed to try to prevent the spread of the Christian faith. In some areas, the violence has become so extreme that Christians knowingly risk their own lives just to go to church services each week. Would you risk your life to go to church? In North America and Europe, the persecution is often more subtle. MORE

Asked to support an additional 10% tax on men’s income, one woman responded, “I’ll definitely sign for that,” before adding, “Yeah I’ve never heard of that before but whatever they’re trying to do right now is clearly not working so I’m all for giving it a shot.”  MORE

A little one’s first words are a memorable moment for every mother and father – especially when it appears that the baby is saying ‘I love you’. MORE