As the holiday season begins, New York-based Coalition for the Homeless, the nation's oldest advocacy group, and other charity-in-action institutions are in great need as the number of homeless grows in the nation's most populous city, including more and more families with children.

Every second Monday, Carl Mercurio, 51, a healthcare analyst from Manhattan who is also a volunteer for the coalition, drives a van to the Bronx with three to four other volunteers and hands out bags of food to the homeless and hungry. He has been doing that for the past three years.

The bags usually contain the same items – soup, a bagel, an orange, and a carton of milk. The people are mostly the same too, Mercurio told The Christian Post. They know where the van will stop and at what time. They form lines in the cold November weather and wait for the food rations. more >>

Could Tim Tebow eventually work his way into gridiron greatness?

It's a question more football fans are asking as the Denver Broncos quarterback racks up wins during the 2011 season's closing stretch. After a rocky start, Colorado's football franchise is now 5-5 and second place in their AFC West division. Given Tebow has taken his team to 4-1, many players old and new have started singing the young athlete's praises.

"We're on the edge of our seats saying, 'knowing Tim, this is the time he's going to make that one play or get that drive going,'" said Brian Dawkins, a Broncos safety, in an interview with NFL.com posted Friday. "He's a hard worker. He just doesn't stop. There aren't too many people in this league who can step up in crunch time like he does." more >>

A visit to Philadelphia by actor Bradley Cooper is helping the city's homeless population stay warm this winter.

The National Enquirer reported Tuesday that the Hollywood star recently returned to his hometown to film "The Silver Linings Playbook," a movie about a former teacher coping with life after mental hospitalization. While there, Cooper noticed the city's cold and thus went on a shopping spree for its homeless people.

"While filming in Philly, Bradley noticed a lot of homeless people shivering on the streets," a nameless source told the Enquirer. "He knew the weather was only going to get worse with early snowfall and blistering temperatures predicted, so he sent his assistants to several discount stores to buy thousands of dollars' worth of clothing. Then Bradley returned to the area and began to hand out clothing himself." more >>

Severe storms, including suspected tornadoes, hit the South Wednesday morning causing severe damage in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, but certain areas are expecting more storms.

According to an update on Accuweather.com, "tornado producing thunderstorms have pushed from eastern Alabama into northwestern Georgia early this afternoon."

One or more tornadoes with a thunderstorm were reported in Auburn and Opelika, Ala. and Hamilton, Ga. The thunderstorms are currently moving eastward across Georgia and the Carolinas and could potentially produce more tornadoes Wednesday evening. more >>