Carman Domenic Licciardello, the popular recording artist and Christian evangelist who revealed a cancer diagnosis earlier this year, shared with fans that he has surpassed the $200,000 goal for his Kickstarter campaign to launch a new record, music video and tour.

"Christian music pioneer Carman launched a Kickstarter campaign April 19 with the goal to raise $200,000 for his first new album and music video in over 10 years. Remarkably, Carman not only reached his goal in 25 days, but also exceeded that goal, raising over $233,000 so far," reads a statement from his media team.

The statement went on to claim that Carman's fundraising campaign was "the second most funded music project ever on Kickstarter," although a member of Kickstarter's communications team was unable to verify the apparent feat. Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. more >>

The "Pay it Forward" project at Edgarton Christian Academy in Newfield, N.J., looked like an impossible mission for students in the eighth-grade graduating class who took on the challenge of turning $40 stipends into transformational gifts that benefit their community.

Melissa Knapp, the school's administrative assistant and coordinator for the Pay it Forward project, told The Christian Post on Tuesday that when she speaks to students about the project it always makes her cry because she knows that once they find a project that drives them, their passion will help them achieve more than they ever believed was possible.

"We challenge the students to step outside their box and look out into the world to find a need," said Knapp, who is proud of the 16 students in the graduating class who created more than 10 service projects that benefit an array of local charities in their New Jersey community. more >>

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie once again praised President Barack Obama's response to Superstorm Sandy on the six-month anniversary of the devastating storm, despite what he says are great political differences between the two.

"The president has kept every promise he's made," Gov. Christine insisted in an interview with MSNBC. "I think he's done a good job. He kept his word."

Sandy devastated the tri-state region in late October, causing dozens of deaths, destroying thousands of homes, leaving millions without power for weeks and costing an estimated $29.4 billion in damages. The storm hit just a week before the General Election on Nov. 7 when Obama squared off against GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, with many praising the president's swift response to the natural disaster. more >>

Michael "Mickey" Williams Jr. decided at the age of 16 that he would become a drug dealer, but never had he anticipated that he would become a slave to those same drugs and find himself in and out of prison and rehab for the next two decades.

Williams says he partly turned to drugs out of rebellion and resentment against his parents, who had their own substance abuse problems. But once they got clean, after years of being absent at home, they suddenly started doing what they should have been doing from the start – being parents to their four children, a task they had instead left to him. Williams has two younger brothers and a sister who is one year his senior.

"While my parents were out there doing what they were doing, I had to take care of my siblings," he told The Christian Post. "When my mom and father didn't come home and my brothers and sister needed to go to school or they needed something to eat, I had to somehow figure out how to make a meal out of what we had in our home." more >>

In a crime that New Jersey authorities have described as heinous, a local man is believed to have shot to death two Coptic Christians before severing their heads and hands and burying their bodies in the backyard of a relative's abandoned home.

"These were grisly murders in which the defendant allegedly shot both victims in the chest at close range," said Attorney General Chiesa in a press release. "We allege that the defendant was ruthless and calculating in the manner in which he carried out the killings and attempted to prevent identification of the victims by cutting off their heads and hands before burying their bodies. The New Jersey State Police has conducted a thorough investigation, which will enable us to secure justice for the victims."

The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Yusuf Ibrahim of Jersey City, N.J., whom they apprehended Feb. 10. He has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of desecration of human remains. His bail was set at $3.3 million cash, and he is currently being held in a Hudson County, N.J., jail. more >>

Carman Licciardello, popular Christian music artist described as part evangelist and part Vegas showman, has revealed that he was recently diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer and may have no more than four years left to live.

Licciardello, 57, shared the grave news Thursday evening with his 51,000-plus supporters on Facebook, describing the cancer diagnosis as a "new battle."

"One week ago I was diagnosed with myeloma cancer. It is incurable and I've been given a 3-4 year (sic) window of time. Tomorrow I go in for my first bone biopsy and the process will start. I used to go to movies in the afternoon, now I go see doctors," wrote the accomplished recording artist who is known professionally as just Carman. more >>