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

Water managers in Los Angeles and Las Vegas are poised to adopt a drought-driven deal to send enough water to serve about 300,000 homes annually from the Lake Mead reservoir to Southern California.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority board is due on Thursday to consider a water agreement that would have the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California pay $45 million for 150,000 acre-feet of water. MORE

In a stunning show of political indecorum, Obama has invited a series of individuals who publicly flout Catholic teaching, including a pro-abortion religious sister, a transgender woman and the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, along with at least two Catholic gay activists. MORE

He’s being “Obamified.”

The charismatic Pope, who arrives in the United States on September 22, has gained fans in and out of the Catholic Church for denouncing unfettered capitalism, warning about climate change and urging mercy toward divorced couples and women who have had abortions MORE

EDITOR’S NOTE: On September 23rd, Pope Francis will meet with US President Barack Hussein Obama at the White House to discuss global wealth redistribution, increasing illegal immigration and how many billions to spend on Climate Change. The Pope will also discuss the best way to disarm Israel and make Iran a nuclear power at the same time. 

The Vatican released a statement Tuesday officially welcoming the nuclear agreement between the P5+1 world powers (U.S., UK, China, France, Russia, Germany) and Iran, stating that the Holy See believes Tehran will reduce its nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief. In calling for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, the Vatican also appeared to target Israel, given that it is the lone nuclear power in the region MORE

Papal Craziness:

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Peres-the-pope-and-a-plan-for-world-peace-374893

Peres, the pope and a plan for world peace

Peres proposes ‘UN for religions’ to pope at Vatican

Shimon Peres, a patriarch of today’s Israel, wants to leave a legacy. Most in this mode aim for things like monuments, memoirs and money. Peres’s aim is world peace. And in his opinion, Pope Francis, a man he calls “Holy Father,” is the one to make it happen. Vatican spokesmen concur, as does Italy’s representative for Islam, who “fully agrees.” Continue reading →

The Constitution forbids any “religious test” as a condition to hold office, so the suggestion made at the end of the editorial will not happen.
Title 7 of the U.S. Civil Rights Act provides for an “accommodation” be made for any worker, public or private, whose personal convictions, religious or otherwise, prevent carrying out of duties. Continue reading →

The Queen will have an audience with the Pope.

That would be the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who has joined the roster of artists scheduled to perform for Pope Francis and his congregation at the Festival of Families in Philadelphia on Sept. 26.

Palestinians and Israeli forces have clashed at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for a third straight day, as Israeli forces were seen on the roof of the holy site. MORE

A wall of water swept away two vehicles carrying women and children in a Utah-Arizona border town Monday, killing at least eight people and leaving five others missing in a community that served as a home base for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, authorities said.

Three people survived as the flash flooding washed the vehicles several hundred yards downstream about 5 p.m. MDT, Hildale assistant fire chief Kevin Barlow said. MORE

Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Bregier is laying plans to draw level with Boeing in the United States, its rival’s home turf and the world’s largest aerospace market, starting with a new factory in Alabama.

It’s an aggressive move, considering the European plane-maker controls only about 20 percent of the U.S. market. That share will reach 40 percent as soon as carriers including American Airlines take delivery of Airbus planes on order. MORE