March 5, 2020: Mike Pence mocked, TikTok, Nashville tornado relief
Thursday, March 5, 2020:
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Tennessee: Michael W. Smith joins thousands of volunteers in relief efforts
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Disaster relief is underway in Nashville and other parts of Tennessee following Tuesday’s deadly tornado and storms that claimed at least 24 lives. Award-winning Christian artist Michael W. Smith is among many who are on the ground helping with recovery efforts.
On Wednesday morning, the artist was in Mt. Juliet with the evangelical aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, urging others to join the volunteer efforts.
The tornado devastated Middle Tennessee early Tuesday, destroying homes, businesses and churches. Over a dozen people were still missing Wednesday morning. Among those who were killed were several children, including a 2-year-old.
— Mike Pence mocked for praying with coronavirus task force at White House
Vice President Mike Pence is being mocked for praying before a meeting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force in his West Wing office last week. In a photo posted on the White House Flickr account from the February 26th meeting, the vice president is seen with his head bowed in prayer in a circle with other Administration officials.
Pence, who was previously attacked for following the Billy Graham Rule, was accused of being anti-science and solely depending on prayer without taking action to combat the coronavirus in the United States.
— Virginia bans sexual orientation conversion therapy for youth
Virginia has become the latest state to ban sexual orientation conversion therapy for minors. Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed House Bill 386 into law on Tuesday, which prohibits healthcare providers and counselor from counseling youth to treat unwanted same-sex attraction.
Some states instituting bans on this form of counseling, which is also known as sexual orientation change efforts therapy or "reparative therapy," are simultaneously allowing children and teenagers to take experimental puberty blocking drugs and hormones and undergo surgical procedures to remove their sexual organs and other body parts to look more like the opposite sex.
— Pakistani Christian man tortured to death for bathing in well water
A 22-year-old Christian man was beaten to death in Pakistan’s Punjab province by men who accused him of “contaminating” water in a well owned by a Muslim farmer.
The man was chained, dragged, and beaten with rods by a landowner and four other men for two hours because he washed himself off in a tube well owned by the Muslim landowner.
When he was found he told police he had been chained, beaten and electrocuted. He died from his injuries at Masih Lahore General Hospital three days later.
— TikTok video of drag queen's sexual performance for young girl sparks outrage
Many people are outraged after a video uploaded to TikTok showed adults cheering on a drag queen performer as he provocatively danced for young girl seated alone inside a circle surrounded by patrons at a Toronto restaurant. Conservative commentator Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire described it as child abuse masked as inclusivity.
TikTok later took down the video following complaints. The app, which has 500 million users, was recently named by the National Center for Sexual Exploitation as one of the worst corporate entities complicit in “perpetuating” sexual exploitation. After the negative report, TikTok announced that it’s giving parents more control over their children’s use of the app through new family safety control features.
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