District of Columbia

How did the Bible, which has changed millions of lives in China in recent years, reach this communist nation, and how was it translated, published and distributed? A month-long exhibition launched Wednesday in Washington D.C. answers these questions.

The exhibition titled, “The Word is the Truth: The Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Protestant Church in China,” was inaugurated at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Washington D.C. Wednesday, and covering the event was China’s official news agency, Xinhua.

In a recorded message, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter addressed the 300 international and American Christian leaders at the event’s opening ceremony. The exhibition, he was quoted as saying, “not only helps us better understand the evolution of Christianity in China but also the development of Chinese society.” more >>

The Obama administration has received both criticism and praise for a proposal aimed at protecting the jobless from being rejected by employers on the basis of their unemployment status.

The job creation bill President Barack Obama has introduced to Congress includes a provision that would make it unlawful for companies of 15 or more employees to deny employment based on the knowledge that the applicant had been unemployed, according to The New York Times.

Advocates for the unemployed are applauding the provision, while business groups and their allies see it as unnecessary and counterproductive. more >>

Students as young as 10-years-old will partake in the nation’s first standardized sex education test beginning next spring in Washington, D.C. The test aims to measure their proficiency in sex and health.

The District of Columbia has the nation's highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy. Test results will help school officials determine what students know about risky behavior, according to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

Fifty questions, testing knowledge about contraceptives, drug use, and sex, will be administered to fifth, eighth, and tenth grade students, and the resulting scores will be sent to schools, not teachers or students. more >>

WASHINGTON – The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) group sounded the alarm Thursday about new media outlets such as Facebook, Google and Apple, which they say have written policies that violate the fundamental rules of free expression, particularly concerning religious free speech.

The NRB released a report at the National Press Club Thursday analyzing the various content policies of social networking websites. What they found was disturbing: new media platforms Facebook, Apple, Comcast, AT&T and Google have adopted policies to censor lawful viewpoints expressing Christian views or controversial ideas on “hot button issues.” Some platforms, such as Apple’s iTunes App Store and Google’s search engine, have already started to use those policies to remove orthodox Christian viewpoints considered “offensive” or too controversial.

Former Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth said, “The irony is the companies listed in this report are some of the most open companies in the world.” more >>

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is teaching its agents that American Muslims are terrorist sympathizers and their prophet, Muhammad, was a “cult leader,” according explosive new allegations made Wednesday by Wired magazine.

Recruits are being taught that the more devout a Muslim is, the more likely he is to be violent, according to Wired’s Spencer Ackerman, who broke the news after getting a hold of the recent FBI training materials.

“In them [materials], the Constitutionally-protected religious faith of millions of Americans is portrayed as an indicator of terrorist activity,” Ackerman wrote. more >>

For the first time ever, the voices of unborn children will be heard on Capitol Hill.

Through the use of “real time” ultrasounds performed on women in the first through third trimesters of pregnancy, the public and members of the Congress will be able to hear for themselves what the beginning of life sounds like, straight from the womb.

Beginning at the Congressional Auditorium in Washington, D.C., “Voices From the Womb” will launch its national campaign in October “to let the children of America ‘speak’ for themselves about ending abortion,” according to a statement. more >>