Swollen rivers in the U.S. Midwest and other regions brought flood warnings for over 12 million Americans on Wednesday as scores of buildings were submerged after days of intense rain in which 24 people have died. 

Two rivers west of St. Louis crested at historic levels, flooding local towns, disabling sewer plants and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents. 

Other major rivers including the Mississippi are expected to reach record highs as flood waters rush toward the Gulf of Mexico, the National Weather Service said. 

The flooding has closed many roads and parts of Interstate 44, a major artery running from west Texas to St. Louis. It poses a threat to livestock and crops in farm areas stretching from Illinois to Louisiana. 

Water rose to the rooftops of homes and businesses in Missouri, where Governor Jay Nixon called the flooding “historic and dangerous.” Nixon spoke with President Barack Obama on Wednesday and received a pledge of federal support. 

About 300 people in Valley Park, Missouri, west of St. Louis, were evacuated in case a levee is breached on the Meramec River, said Chief Rick Wilken of the Valley Park Fire District. Residents in West Alton and Arnold, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and the town of Pacific have also been evacuated.

‘I Got the Cats Out’

Most evacuees stayed with family or friends or went to hotels, but Allen Irwin, 40, a construction worker, went to one of seven American Red Cross shelters set up in the area. The Valley Park resident said police came around evacuating people and he only had time to grab his two cats, which he put in a plastic tub. 

“I got the cats out and everything else is replaceable,” said Irwin, who noted that construction work will be readily available after the flood. If his house was flooded, he said he would “pick up the pieces and start again.” 

The Humane Society had a trailer at the shelter to take care of Irwin’s cats and other pets. 

In Tiptonville, Tennessee, residents were watching the Mississippi rise, and some lowland cotton fields had already flooded and farms been evacuated. 

“We shut all the floodgates last night here. People near the river already are moving furniture and valuables to a higher ground,” said Dewayne Haggard, manager of the food Rite grocery and a member of the Tiptonville City Board. “One day alone, we had 10 inches of rain. Pray for us.” 

Further south, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency as the waters moved toward his state. Flash flood warnings were issued for parts of the Carolinas and Georgia. 

Some 12.1 million people nationwide are living in areas where there are flood warnings, the National Weather Service said in a statement. 

‘One Huge Lake’

At least 24 people have died, mostly from driving into flooded areas, in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and Oklahoma after days of downpours with as much as 12 inches (30 cm) of rain. 

In Eureka, Missouri, along the Meramec River, Mayor Kevin Coffey said a man was rescued from atop the cab of his pick-up truck after spending the night in a parking lot to watch over his gun shop business. 

“This is 4 feet (1.2 meters) above the worst flood we ever had,” Coffey said after helping to put sandbags around a school. “The town looks like one huge lake.” 

Historic floods on the Mississippi in 1993, 1995 and 2011 occurred during warm weather, after snow melts in the north. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski called it highly unusual to have heavy flooding in winter and said it could presage trouble for the spring. 

While the rains have stopped for now, freezing weather is setting in, which will make the cleanup a miserable undertaking, he said. 

Agriculture experts said water standing more than a week could kill the soft red winter wheat crop. [L1N14H19M] Export premiums for corn and soybeans were at their highest levels in weeks because of stalled barge traffic on swollen rivers. 

2,500 Hogs Drown 

Livestock also has been hard hit. About 2,500 hogs drowned in an Illinois barn after a creek overflowed its banks, said Jennifer Tirey, a spokeswoman for the state’s Pork Producers Association. 

“There was no electricity and roads were impassable. It was just impossible to get to those pigs,” she said. 

The U.S. flooding is occurring at the same time as historic El Nino-related flooding across northern England. The El Nino weather phenomenon tends to disturb global weather patterns as ocean water temperatures rise above normal across the central and eastern Pacific, near the equator. 

The Mississippi River, the third longest river in North America, is expected to crest over the weekend at Thebes, Illinois, at 47.5 feet, more than a foot and a half (46 cm) above the 1995 record, according to the National Weather Service. 

Flood warnings were issued from eastern Oklahoma into southeastern Kansas, southern Missouri, central Illinois and parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Florida panhandle. 

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, who has been at an undisclosed foreign vacation destination with his family, intends to return to the state Thursday and spend the following days touring the flood-stricken areas, his spokeswoman told Reuters. 

By press release, Rauner declared 12 counties disaster areas. {eoa}

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Ukraine, which marks Christmas on Jan. 7 according to Orthodox Christian tradition, has embarked upon a national debate about whether it should also celebrate on Dec. 25, a step that would bring it in line with Western Europe. 

The debate—which reflects a re-examination of national identity under the impact of the falling-out with Russia—could sharply divide opinion and comes amid a heightened battle for influence between the Russian and Ukrainian branches of the Orthodox Church. 

After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea last year and pro-Kremlin separatists launched a rebellion in the east of the country, some Ukrainians began to re-examine their historically close cultural ties to Russia. 

Activists in favor of making Dec. 25—currently an ordinary working day in Ukraine—an official holiday have started two petitions which have appeared on the presidential web site. 

If they garner enough support President Petro Poroshenko will have to consider the matter, though the Ukrainian parliament would have the final word. 

Oleksander Turchynov, the secretary of Ukraine’s security council, has backed the idea, saying he favors a transition period during which Ukrainians could celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25 as well as on Jan. 7. 

The Russian Orthodox Church dominates Ukraine’s central, eastern and southern regions, while Catholics and Greek Catholics are concentrated in the west of the country. 

“We, Christians of different confessions of Ukraine, without abandoning their own traditions and wanting to celebrate Christmas with the whole Christian world, ask for a holiday to be established in Ukraine on Dec. 25 in honor of Christmas,” one of the petitioners said. {eoa}

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Ed Dobson, a prominent pastor and former Liberty University staff member, died on Saturday, Dec. 26, after a more than 15-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Dobson served at Liberty for 15 years and is one of Liberty’s most popular founding deans, according to President Jerry Falwell. He came in as dean of students in 1972 and served until 1987, in various roles, including editor of the Fundamentalist Journal and vice president for student life. Dobson also worked as an aide to Liberty Founder Dr. Jerry Falwell and led the Moral Majority. Before being diagnosed with the terminal disease, Dobson served as senior pastor of Calvary Chapel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for 18 years. He spoke at Liberty’s Convocation several times, most recently in 2010.

“I had the privilege of communicating with Ed earlier this year,” President Jerry Falwell Jr. said. “He used a special device to compose a message to all of our graduates that I shared with over 32,000 attendees at Liberty’s 2015 Commencement ceremony. Ed provided pastoral and academic leadership to thousands of Liberty students decades ago, making his parting wisdom to the Class of 2015 so meaningful and appreciated.

“Ed Dobson brought a lot of life to our campus. He was one of the pioneers, one of the leaders who helped make Liberty what it is today.”

Falwell, along with his wife, Becki, took the Ice Bucket Challenge in support of the ALS Association in 2014 in honor of Dobson and others in the Liberty family who have battled the disease, challenging students to support the association as well.

You might have noticed your favorite presidential candidates have been hounding you a lot lately for donations.

The reason why is pretty simple: Thursday, at midnight—while the ball is dropping in Times Square—every campaign is trying to squeeze every last dime they can out of their donors. And if they don’t get the kind of response they need, come Monday, they just might not be candidates anymore.

One of the best indicators of the overall financial health of a campaign is its ability to raise money—and lots of it—throughout the course of the election cycle. If you can’t bring in enough to pay the bills, or if your fundraising drops off significantly, these are easy signs of trouble.

The quarterly fundraising reports are often used to determine how well a campaign is doing. A bad report, in spite of solid polling numbers, is an indication that something is very wrong with that particular campaign.

The quarterly reporting periods end at midnight on Jan. 1, April 1, July 1 and Oct. 1, respectively, but the campaigns then have about 15 days to file their reports with the FEC. Those numbers, then, usually aren’t made public for a few more days, so you likely won’t hear about them officially until just before the Iowa Caucus on Feb. 1.

The October reports were the first chance outside observers had to see all of the announced campaigns on an even playing field. Without breaking them down too deeply, the following is a summary of the financial statuses of the 11 remaining Republican candidates for president, ranked in order of their remaining cash reserves going into the fourth quarter:

1. Donald Trump—The businessman from New York is unique in the race because he has declared he is self-funding his campaign. As required by law, however, he has filed quarterly fundraising reports in July and October. According to those documents, going into the further quarter, he had raised $5.8 million—almost entirely out of his own pocket—and spent about $5.6 million. He reported $255,000 cash on hand at the end of the third quarter, but in reality, he still has access to hundreds of millions, and has indicated he intends to begin spending some of that in the weeks ahead.

2. Ted Cruz—The senator from Texas filed quarterly fundraising reports with the FEC in April, July, and October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $26.5 million and spent about $12.8 million. He reported $13.8 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

3. Ben Carson—The retired neurosurgeon from Virginia filed quarterly fundraising reports with the FEC in April, July, and October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $31.3 million and spent about $20.1 million. He reported $11.3 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

4. Marco Rubio—The senator from Florida filed quarterly fundraising reports with the FEC in April, July, and October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $15.5 million and spent about $7.9 million. He reported $11 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

5. Jeb Bush—The former Florida governor filed quarterly fundraising reports with the FEC in July and October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $24.8 million and spent about $14.5 million. He reported $10.3 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

6. Carly Fiorina—The former Hewlett-Packard CEO from California filed quarterly fundraising reports with the FEC in July and October. Going into the fourth quarter, she had raised $8.5 million and spent about $2.9 million. She reported $5.5 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

7. John Kasich—The Ohio governor filed his first quarterly fundraising report with the FEC in October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $4.4 million and spent about $1.7 million. He reported $2.7 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

8. Rand Paul—The senator from Kentucky filed quarterly fundraising reprts with the FEC in July and October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $9.4 million and spent about $7.3 million. He reported $2.1 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

9. Chris Christie—The New Jersey governor filed his first quarterly fundraising report with the FEC in October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $4.2 million and spent about $2.8 million. He reported $1.4 million cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

10. Mike Huckabee—The former Arkansas governor filed quarterly fundraising reports with the FEC in July and October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $3.2 million and spent about $2.5 million. He reported $761,000 cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

11. Rick Santorum—The former senator from Pennsylvania filed quarterly fundraising reports with the FEC in April, July and October. Going into the fourth quarter, he had raised $58,600 and spent about $64,500. He reported $13,300 cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

These numbers do not reflect donations made to the candidates’ various Super PACs, as it is illegal for campaigns and Super PACs to coordinate. Greater detail on any candidate’s finances may be found by going to the FEC’s candidate and committee viewer website.

When T.D. Jakes took to the pulpit recently, he started a social media firestorm, but not for the reasons you might expect.  

The pastor wore ripped jeans instead of his traditional suit and tie.  

Yupp, ripped jeans, which he later posted a picture of on Instagram with the caption, “I want to thank One Church for a great service! Loved the atmosphere there. The presence of the Lord and the kindness of the people explain why Hollywood is buzzing about this young church and its rapid growth! Thanks @toureroberts and @sarahjakesroberts.” 

When one commenter reportedly told Jakes he shouldn’t be wearing that particular outfit because it violates the Bible, Jakes responded, “@dressed_2_impresss Scripture please? I certainly want to comply with the word. I just missed the one about jeans in the pulpit.” 

It appears the original comment has since been deleted. However, the original commenter wasn’t the only one to find fault with the bishop’s appearance.  

“I mean the bible doesn’t give us direct counsel on exactly what we should wear to our bible meetings but think about this… We dress better for job interviews and this kind of look would be considered unprofessional, so wouldn’t we always want to display our best for God? Just a thought. Not judging. Everybody has a right to make their decisions on dress,” one commenter posted.  

Another: “The jeans are not age appropriate. End of story. Has nothing to do with him being a minister. If my dad wore these jeans, I would be mortified. There are plenty of styles out there that would be more flattering on the Bishop.” 

And another: “To the house of God, I would say yes always look your best… After that you could wear whatever you please… You wouldn’t go in ripped clothes to visit the president or queen of England, would you? It’s the level of respect”. 

However, many rushed to Jakes’ defense, praising his style and his attitude.  

“Pastor TD Jakes be you !!! Love your spirit , you walk with the love of God in you . May God cover you against (those) nay sayers . God bless !” wrote one supporter.  

Another said they were even in the service when Jakes was preaching.  

“@bishopjakes I attended the service yesterday and the word was so…. on time I didn’t even notice you had on jeans, people are worried about the wrong things,” the commenter posted. “‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.’ Just know you touched and encourage a lot of people yesterday, and after I heard your testimony yesterday I have much respect for you! (emojis)” 

What do you think of Jakes’ style? Sound off!

Just in time for the homestretch to the first U.S. presidential primaries and caucuses, a popular archive of sometimes-misguided or embarrassing tweets that have been deleted by politicians and their staff has been resurrected by Twitter.

Politwoops had been a popular social media destination for political junkies and others looking to unearth social media gaffes by politicians.

But in a move widely lambasted by open-government advocates, Twitter effectively shuttered Politwoops last summer when it revoked access to its interface by the government accountability watchdog, the Sunlight Foundation, that had developed the tool and had been publishing the tweets.

On Thursday, Twitter said it had reached a deal with Sunlight and another organization, the Open State Foundation, to restore the tool.

“Politwoops is an important tool for holding our public officials, including candidates and elected or appointed public officials, accountable for the statements they make, and we’re glad that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with Twitter to bring it back online both in the U.S. and internationally,” said Jenn Topper, communications director for The Sunlight Foundation.

While the announcement was a victory for government-transparency advocates, it could prove to be a setback for politicians hoping to avoid the social media rumpus that can accompany an ill-timed tweet or misconstrued online musing.

The deal comes as the clock ticks closer to the first vote casting in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. The Iowa caucuses will take place on Feb. 1, followed by the first primary in New Hampshire on Feb. 9.

The resurrection of Politwoops was promptly cheered in a flurry of tweets.

“Twitter will restore tool that archives politicians’ deleted tweets. They won’t hide anymore!” said a post from Twitter user Miguel @mglkrm.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Security officials around the country, particularly in the wake of the Islamist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, are on edge as new reports suggest New Year’s Eve plots have been made.

Thursday morning, despite Homeland Security officials’ insistence that “no credible threats exist,” a 25-year-old man who planned a New Year’s Eve attack on a Rochester, N.Y., restaurant was arrested. Emanuel Lutchman has been charged with “attempting to provide material support” to ISIS, referred to as ISIL in official documents, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement regarding Lutchman’s arrest, which stated, in part:

“According to the complaint, as part of Emanuel Lutchman’s attempt to provide material support to ISIL, he planned to kill innocent civilians on New Year’s Eve in the name of the terrorist organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin.  “Thankfully, law enforcement was able to intervene and thwart Lutchman’s deadly plans.”

“This New Year’s Eve prosecution underscores the threat of ISIL even in upstate New York but demonstrates our determination to immediately stop any who would cause harm in its name,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul.  “What began as an ISIL directive to harm the community ended with the arrest of this defendant and a message for any other individuals considering similar behavior—you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will be punished.  While law enforcement is well equipped for such investigations, the public is reminded to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.  I assure members of the public that the excellent work of our law enforcement partners with the cooperation of the public is the best way to ensure the safety of our community.”

“The FBI thwarted Emanuel Lutchman’s intent to kill civilians on New Year’s Eve,” said Special Agent in Charge Cohen.  “The FBI remains concerned about people overseas who use the Internet to inspire people in the United States to commit acts of violence where they live.”

According to court records, the defendant, claiming to receive direction from an overseas ISIL member, planned to commit an armed attack against civilians at a restaurant/bar located in the Rochester, New York, area today, New Year’s Eve on behalf of ISIL and in furtherance of his plan to join ISIL overseas.

The statement said the case is being investigated by the FBI’s Rochester Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Earlier in the day, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told Newsmax TV’s Dennis Michael Lynch, host of The Hard Line, there continues to be a “credible threat” for violence not just in New York, but throughout the West. He said:

“That threat is very credible. We’ve seen it in Paris. We saw it recently in San Bernardino. We see continual attacks around the world. We’re going to continue to see those types of attacks. There is a credible threat on this country’ we have to be prepared …

“Here’s the reality: The bad guys want us to shut down Times Square, the bad guys want us not to do the fireworks and all this other stuff. The reality is if we live by their rules, we’ve got to hide in a bubble, and I’m not hiding in a bubble.”

Brussels shut down its New Year’s Eve celebrations over what it said was a credible threat to the event. Other cities have substantially increased the security presence for their events. In New York City, the number of police in Times Square will be more than double the presence on Dec. 31, 2001, a little more three months after the 9/11 attacks.

A professor suspended for saying Muslims and Christians worship the same God, church disputes and cheating pastors exposed in a hacking scandal made news throughout 2015. Below are the Institute on Religion and Democracy’s top church news stories for the year.

Evangelicals Respond to Supreme Court Marriage Ruling: The U.S. Supreme Court recognized a Constitutional right to marriage between couples of the same sex. Nearly 100 church leaders signed on to an Evangelical Declaration on Marriage stating “Evangelical churches must be faithful to the biblical witness on marriage regardless of the cultural shift.” Meanwhile, social justice activist Tony Campolo and former Christianity Today editor David Neff announced their affirmation of same sex couples, signaling a gradual movement among politically liberal evangelicals towards a reappraisal of historic Christian views on marriage and sexual ethics.

Indiana Religious Liberty Law Prompts Backlash: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination was one of several groups to announce that its governing convention may not meet in Indiana after the state approved its own version of the longstanding federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Indianapolis Star described the law as prohibiting “state or local governments from substantially burdening a person’s ability to exercise their religion — unless the government can show that it has a compelling interest and that the action is the least-restrictive means of achieving it.” The state legislature quickly modified the law to specify that it could not be used as a basis for discrimination.

Christians Back Businesses under Attack: A small town Indiana pizzeria experienced a dramatic reversal of fortune after shutting its doors in the face of condemnation and threats. The owners of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana came under attack after answering a question from a television reporter in which one family member said they would refuse for religious reasons to cater a hypothetical gay wedding. The “Support Memories Pizza” page on took in contributions from 29,160 people.

Duke University Reverses Course on Muslim Call to Prayer: Plans to begin issuing the Muslim call to prayer from a bell tower at North Carolina’s Duke University were withdrawn after public outcry. Duke has historic ties to the United Methodist Church, and the chapel’s associate dean for religious life defended the initial plans as representing “a larger commitment to religious pluralism that is at the heart of Duke’s mission.” Evangelist Franklin Graham was among those critical of the proposal.

Wheaton College Suspends Hijab Professor: The “Harvard of Evangelicalism” made national news after a political science professor donned an Islamic head covering to express solidarity with Muslims during the season of Advent. Larycia Hawkins explained her action on Facebook, saying “we worship the same God,” with the evangelical Illinois school confirming her suspension “pending the full review of which she is entitled as a tenured faculty member.”

Schools Part with Council for Christian Colleges and Universities over Marriage: Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University, two longtime members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), voluntarily withdrew from the organization after the two institutions changed their hiring guidelines to accept faculty who do not hold to the traditional Christian doctrine of marriage. Two other schools, Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Union University, earlier withdrew their membership in CCCU over the summer, citing dissatisfaction with the council’s lengthy consulting process to address the matter.

Few Christians among Resettled Syrian Refugees: Civil War in Syria displaced millions. Few Syrian religious minorities — including Christians, who made up 10 percent of the country’s population — were admitted to the United States despite being targeted for death, sexual slavery, cultural eradication and forced conversion. According to the State Department, resettled Syrian refugees were 97 percent Muslim. The Hudson Institute’s Nina Shea showed that in the past five years only 53 out of 2003 Syrian refugees accepted by the U.S. are Christian.

United Church of Christ Divests from Israel: Legislation ending denominational investments with companies that do business with Israel was passed 508-124 at the United Church of Christ (UCC) General Synod in June. The UCC, which has just under one million members, voted to divest from companies conducting business in “Israel-occupied Palestinian territories” and boycott products made in those territories. Also this summer, Mennonites decided to postpone a vote on divestment for two years, while Episcopalians easily defeated a divestment proposal at their General Convention.

Ashley Madison Hack Rattles Churches: A hacked database full of customer data had far-reaching consequences, with Tabletalk Editor R.C. Sproul, Jr. and Family Research Council Action Executive Director Josh Duggar both admitting to viewing the adultery website. In his Christianity Today article, “My Pastor Is on the Ashley Madison List,” Ed Stetzer, the Executive Director of LifeWay Research, estimated 400 church leaders, including pastors and lay leaders throughout the U.S. and Canada, were looking for an affair through the site.

Liberal Clergy Praise Planned Parenthood ‘Doing God’s Work:’ Following the release of undercover video showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing financial compensation for fetal organs, a group of religious left officials including those from the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) released a statement calling for continued federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the United States. Evangelical and Roman Catholic officials expressed outrage at the practice of harvesting organs from aborted children.

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce executive action expanding background checks on gun sales, media outlets reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with White House proposals and planning.

The changes, which could come as soon as next week, would include requiring more small-scale gun sellers to be licensed and to conduct background check whenever selling a weapon, Politico reported.

Additional measures would impose tighter rules for reporting guns that get lost or stolen on their way to a buyer, the political news website said.

Planning for the action is not complete and the announcement could be delayed, CNN reported.

Obama is currently on vacation with his family in Hawaii.

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.