Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a speech Wednesday in Washington, D.C., that focused on protecting freedom of speech and religion at a conference on international religious liberty.

Clinton delivered the closing remarks for “the Istanbul Process,” which is a series of meetings taking place regarding United Nations Resolution 16/18, which focuses on improving religious freedom internationally.

Evan Owen, spokesman for the State Department, told The Christian Post that the conference was about the “importance of freedom of speech and how it goes hand-in-hand with freedom of religion.” more >>

A new report released Monday by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) details 208 new species, including plants, animals and fish, discovered in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia.

The specific region where the discoveries were made includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan in southwest China.

The list of new species features 145 plants, 28 reptiles, 25 fish, seven amphibians, two mammals, and a bird. more >>

Republican and Democratic negotiators in Congress expect to vote on a bill to extend the payroll tax cut by the end of this week.

If an agreement is not reached by the end of the year, the payroll tax cut will expire and American workers will return to paying the full amount, 6.2 percent instead of 4.2 percent with the cut, taken out of their paychecks to pay for Social Security benefits. The impasse between the two sides is on how to pay for the tax cut.

President Obama has been repeatedly reminding his audiences that a year ago this month Congress extended the payroll tax cut without much controversy. That, however, was the 111th Congress. This Congress, the 112th, was put into power through the historic 2010 elections, which saw several incumbent Republicans ousted in the primaries and major defeats for Democrats in the general election. more >>

A church in Tennessee will hold a “Blue Christmas” service next week for those who may not be looking forward to the usual merriment of the season due to personal losses or stressful life situations.

The Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan in West Knoxville will conduct this special Christmas service on Wednesday, according to the church’s events calendar.

“Not everyone is filled with holiday cheer and not everyone looks forward to the merriment of the Christmas holidays,” a note on the calendar explains. “Sometimes life situations and personal losses can make parties and social gatherings painful for people who are filled with worry and grief.” more >>

Christian churches in America will soon be forced to go underground if they want to stay true to their beliefs and to God, a conservative broadcast commentator warned.

J. D. Longstreet, a 30-year veteran of the broadcasting business, recently explained his opinion on the Right Side News, first clarifying that only “real” Christian churches will have to do as he predicted.

“In the past three decades, or so, many of the mainline Christian churches have slipped away from their foundation on the Holy Scriptures and adopted more and more secular tenets and leftist, politically correct, philosophy until they have become only a shadow of the true followers of Christ,” he penned on Tuesday. more >>