Newt Gingrich won Saturday's South Carolina primary, in part, due to his two strong debate performances in which he took on the media and chief rival Mitt Romney. In the first debate since that victory, Gingrich was comparatively subdued while Romney went on the attack in Tampa, Fla., Monday night.

Romney's main criticisms of Gingrich dealt with his tenure as speaker of the House and the work he did as a consultant for Freddie Mac and other companies after his forced resignation from the speakership.

"The speaker was given an opportunity to be the leader of our party in 1994 and at the end of four years, he had to resign in disgrace," Romney said in answering his first question in the debate. more >>

Spirits were high in the freezing temperature Monday morning as a group of 70-odd protesters called for economic and social equality in front of the New York City Federal Reserve bank in downtown Manhattan.

The area, located only one block away from Zuccotti Park, where the "Occupy Wall Street" (OWS) movement originated, has already seen the banners and heard the slogans. But the Monday protest – held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – was also complete with prayers and hymns. Protesters evoked the spirit of brotherhood and unity, while also evoking the legacy of King, the most revered civil rights activist in the United States.

“Occupy the Dream” (OTD) was born when members of the African-American faith community joined forces with OWS to launch “a new campaign for economic justice inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., faithful to its philosophical origin,” organizers said in a recent statement. Monday was only the first day of an initiative that is intended to last until the goal is achieved. more >>

The “Occupy” movement is back, and this time it joins forces with progressive religious leaders in a siege of 13 locations of the Federal Reserve Bank across the nation as the country celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day Monday.

The new movement is led by Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr., a legendary civil rights activist who worked with King, and the Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant of the Empowerment Temple Church in Baltimore, Md. Chavis was the North Carolina State Youth Coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under King and has worked closely with hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons in recent years. Bryant is a popular pastor and cultural personality in a growing church with a congregation of over 10,000. The men are being joined Monday by Occupy Wall Street protesters, students and newcomers to the movement calling for economic equality.

The date of this renewed class action event is not coincidental, as the movement's leaders made it clear they are going to allude to the legacy of Dr. King while demonstrating in front of the bank buildings, showing that the “99 percent” is still not appeased and ready to protest the economic inequality in the country. more >>

Focus on the Family has joined forces with two financial organizations to help families make sense of the financial chaos many of them live in today.

"At Focus we hear from countless families who are struggling with significant personal debt and having difficulty living within their means – the numbers of those looking for help has especially increased during these trying economic times," Rich Bennett, vice president of ministry strategy at Focus on the Family, said in a statement.

FOTF, a Christian ministry that seeks to help families on a number of different levels, is now working with Crown Financial Ministries, an organization dedicated to biblical financial principles, and Finicity to bring old-fashioned but proven financial success techniques to a digital era. more >>

The U.S. national debt, now more than $15.23 trillion, has surpassed the amount of economic output in a single year.

The gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, for all of 2010 was likely around $15.3 trillion. The last time the national debt surpassed the GDP was for three years during and after World War II.

Diane Lim Rogers, chief economist for The Concord Coalition, a non-partisan organization advocating responsible fiscal policy, said, in an email to The Christian Post, that the milestone should be understood in proper context. The important numbers to look at are the net debt and the growth of that debt relative to GDP. more >>

The Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention impacts everything from the number of missionaries the convention sends out to the types of programs its seminaries can offer. But in a struggling economy it can sometimes be difficult to drum up donations when many people are struggling themselves.

Donations to the Cooperative Program are down 7.1 percent for the first quarter of the fiscal year, according to numbers released on SBC's website this week.

“Our entities depend on CP contributions as one part of their revenue streams. When CP contributions lag, each entity manages its cash flow in different ways,” Roger “Sing” Oldham, vice president for convention relations, explained in an email to The Christian Post on Friday. more >>