During the the three-day Faith and Freedom Conference, hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) insisted America was funding a war on Christianity in Egypt.

"It is clear that American taxpayer dollars are being used to enable a war on Christianity in the Middle East and I believe that must end," Paul said.

The senator endorsed a non-interventionist foreign policy, arguing against arming Syrian rebels and recommending foreign aid be slashed to Egypt, Libya and Pakistan; countries he said are "openly hostile to Christians". more >>

The families of the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012, gathered in Washington D.C., six months after the tragedy to meet with White House officials, restarting the push for stricter gun control laws in America.

"We commend the families' courage and perseverance in continuing to press for commonsense legislation to reduce gun violence," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday at a press briefing.

"And we want them to know that, as we approach the six-month anniversary of that terrible day, we will never forget and we will continue to fight alongside them." more >>

New York lawmakers are tussling over Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 10-point "Women's Equality Act" that includes a provision to expand late-term abortions and would allow "any health care provider" to perform abortions, thus "increasing the number of high-risk, late-term abortions in a state that already has the highest rate of abortions in the United States," according to Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life.

In an effort to pass his 10-point plan during the final four days of the state's legislative session, Cuomo, a 2016 presidential hopeful, "is changing the language in the bill in an effort to attract Republican votes, specifically adding language that makes clear that partial birth abortions will not be made legal," according to NY 1.

"From the start, we've said that what the governor is proposing is either unnecessary or an extreme measure that expands late-term abortion. Nothing has changed," said Kelly Cummings, spokeswoman for Sen. Skelos (R-Nassau County), in a Thursday response to news reports about changes to the governor's abortion proposal. "We remain confident, however, that an agreement can be reached on the other nine points of the overall proposal, allowing us to achieve passage of a strong women's equality agenda for New York." more >>

WASHINGTON – Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Friday that he and Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney lost in part in the 2012 election because they "had to argue against the promise and rhetoric of President Barack Obama" before some of the policies were implemented, but now Americans can witness what Obama's polices are like "in practice" in his second term.   

With references to some of the recent government scandals, such as the Internal Revenue Service's harassment of pro-life groups, Ryan said at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's "Road to Majority 2013" conference, "big government is bad enough in theory, look what we see in practice."

A difference between liberalism and conservatism, Ryan argued, is that conservatives believe that individual rights come from God, and pre-date government, while liberals believe those rights come from government. But, if we have government granted rights, he continued, it means that "government as the right to tell you how to exercise those rights." As an example, Ryan spoke about the new regulations that are part of the new healthcare law, officially called the Affordable Care Act but better known as "Obamacare." more >>

Police in New York City are now searching for a heartless mugger who assaulted a 92-year-old man and robbed him of his prized Bible and a pair of glasses that helped him read it.

The man, Ricardo Velez, a devout Jehovah's Witness, was also left with a broken hip after the attack at his apartment building in Manhattan, N.Y.

"The Bible was extremely important," Velez told the Daily News from his bed at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital. "It was leather-bound and well-printed. I loved that Bible." more >>

U.S. corporation Caterpillar Inc. has decided to stop funding the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for its policy banning gay adults from serving as scout leaders, though it insists the decision is not tied to the youth organization's vote on the policy in May.

"We have inclusive policies here at Caterpillar Inc., and the foundation abides by those," said spokeswoman Rachel Potts on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. "We just don't feel that our two organizations align."

"However, if there's a change in the Boy Scouts' policies, we would certainly consider a change in the future grants – if there was a change that aligned with what our non-discrimination policies are." more >>