Texas

A video that claims to show a Texas judge beating his daughter with what looks like a leather belt for downloading games off the Internet has gone viral, in an apparent effort by the victim to ruin her abusive father's chances for re-election.

The video is difficult to watch: Judge William Adams of Rockport, Texas, is allegedly heard verbally abusing and repeatedly whipping Hillary, his 16-year-old daughter, with what appears to be a leather belt, throwing her onto her bed and grabbing her before whipping her again.

The man believed to be Adams can be heard yelling, "Bend over the [expletive] bed. Lay down or I'll smack you in the [expletive] face!" more >>

What if there was an app to get your kids to pay attention during church service?

That’s what Ann Goade, a mother of three, hoped to achieve with her latest creation – Big Church Bingo – an app specifically designed to teach kids to listen.

Keeping her children preoccupied during worship service was always a challenge for Goade. Like most parents who sat in church with their children, she wondered what she could do to address the problem. more >>

The Buckner Retirement Village in East Dallas, which is operated by a faith-based ministry that promotes healthy Christian lifestyle, will close the doors of its Mary E. Trew assisted living home Dec. 1, because of state regulations being placed on the facility.

The Baptist-affiliated facility, which has been in operation for 57 years, offers assisted living, Alzheimer’s and hospice care.

“We care very deeply about our residents and employees,” said Charlie Wilson, senior vice president for Buckner Retirement Services, Inc., in a statement. “This was a very hard decision to make, but one that was unavoidable.” more >>

I’m not going to quit until I absolutely have to, Christopher Hitchens said to a cheering crowd on Saturday, continuing even “in the foxhole” to affirm his atheist beliefs, as Richard Dawkins put it.

Reappearing in the public eye after months of absence, the much weakened and gaunt Hitchens, who currently suffers from esophageal cancer, accepted the “Richard Dawkins Freethinker of the Year” award over the past weekend in Houston at the annual convention of the Atheist Alliance of America and Texas Freethought.

The 62-year-old author, who had at one point temporarily lost his voice due to his sickness, was able to stand up and speak again before the young crowd of atheists, countering in his usual manner the “spread of delusion” and championing “freedom of inquiry.” more >>

The Texas teacher responsible for the controversial suspension of the Christian high school student that spoke out in class about his belief that homosexuality was wrong returned to work today after being on administrative leave since Sept. 23.

Dakota Ary, a freshman at Western Hills High School, was disciplined by Kristopher Franks, who was teaching a lesson on religious beliefs in Germany. Franks overhead Ary say, “I’m a Christian and, to me, being homosexual is wrong.”

Upon hearing the comment, Franks, who is openly gay, wrote Dakota an infraction and sent him to the principal’s office on Sept. 20. more >>

Two elementary school principals were declared immune from liability in the infamous Christian “candy cane” case in Texas, affecting the First Amendment rights of potentially 41 million public elementary children across the nation.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans decided that Lynn Swanson and Jackie Bomchill, principals at the Plano school district, had qualified for immunity from liability, according to The Associated Press.

Both were involved in the lawsuit, officially known as Morgan v. Plano Independent School District, in which disgruntled parents of students at the elementary school sued the school district for banning the distribution of Christian candy cane pens and other religious materials. more >>