American belief Jesus was born of a virgin falls below 50% for first time: study
Fewer than half of Americans now believe the birth of Jesus was a miracle stemming from the supernatural conception of Mary by the Holy Spirit, according to new research from the American Bible Society.
In the seventh chapter of its 16th annual State of the Bible report, the American Bible Society highlights the experiences of Americans with the supernatural, including beliefs in God, Heaven, Hell, Satan, angels and demons. Overall, 171 million Americans, about 62% of U.S. adults, believe in the supernatural, ABS said.
While more than half of Americans, 53%, still believe in the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection, only 49% believe the virgin birth is at least probably true. This is the first time a major national survey has recorded belief in the virgin birth dropping below 50%.
Christian woman pleads not guilty to new ‘Orwellian’ charges for standing in silent prayer
A British Christian activist facing fresh criminal charges over silent prayer near an abortion clinic is warning that her country is becoming increasingly “Orwellian,” telling Fox News Digital that ordinary citizens are growing afraid to pray in public as her legal battle heads toward trial.
“It certainly seems very Orwellian and a lot of people have mentioned that particular word to me,” Isabel Vaughan-Spruce told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. “It seems that we’re really fostering a sense of intolerance in our communities.”
121 anti-Israel sanctions in place worldwide, study finds
A total of 121 sanctions and other restrictive measures targeting Israel have been documented across 62 countries, according to a new database released by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), which warns that the cumulative impact could threaten Israel’s economy, international trade and defense industry.
The database identifies 93 measures currently in force, 19 historical measures and nine proposals or planned restrictions. It allows users to examine the measures by country, category and status, while displaying their geographical distribution on an interactive world map.
Spain leads the list with nine documented measures, followed by Turkey with seven, the United Kingdom with six and Belgium with five. The database also identifies anti-Israel boycott decisions within American academic institutions.
Anti-Jewish hate crimes rise 10% in England and Wales, according to government data
Hate crimes targeting Jewish people in England and Wales rose by 10% in the year ending in March, according to the latest data released by the British government.
Police-reported hate crime — including crime influenced by other factors such as race and sexual orientation — overall increased by 7% compared with the previous year, according to the Home Office data released last week.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband posted on X on Monday: “Antisemitism has no place in our society. This morning, I hosted a crucial discussion with the J7 Global Task Force to discuss how we can work together across countries to stamp out the scourge of antisemitism.”
NATO warns Russia: ‘We will break’ forces, destroy ‘anything and everything’ if you attack
NATO’s top military commander warned Monday that what he called the “lethal alliance” would destroy “anything and everything” supporting an attack on allied territory and “break” enemy warfighting systems to thwart any potential future Russian assault.
“Should the adversary choose to press the attack or commit his reserves, we will break the warfighting system engaged against us,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland, in an apparent warning to Moscow.
“This includes not just the attacking force itself, but anything and everything that supports, sustains, and controls that force,” he said during a panel titled “Theory of Victory: How Do We Achieve Military Success Against Russia in Deterrence and Defence?” on the first day of the forum.
Apple’s HomeView Hub Maps Your Home
Apple is putting a touchscreen, an always-listening AI assistant, and a microphone in the center of your home — and the tech press can’t stop talking about the color options. The HomeView smart hub, launching in mid-November, is Apple’s most ambitious play yet to map the inside of American houses with an always-connected device built around Siri AI.
HomeView isn’t a fancy alarm clock. According to MacRumors, it’s the anchor of an “Apple Home Collection” — a suite of accessories built with LG and Schneider Electric that includes indoor and outdoor security cameras, a smart doorbell, a deadbolt lock, a thermostat, temperature sensors, and a floodlight camera. That’s cameras watching your rooms, microphones on your counters, and a log of every time your front door opens, all routed through one company’s ecosystem.
The device itself: a touch-enabled display powered by an A18 chip with 8GB of RAM, available as a tabletop model with a metal speaker base or a wall-mounted version. It runs a selection of Apple apps but has no App Store for third-party software. Translation: Apple controls every line of code on a device sitting in the most intimate space in your life. Siri AI is the primary interface. It is always on.
Anthropic warns AI models could soon copy themselves across home devices
Anthropic said Monday that small AI models are “months away” from developing the capabilities needed to replicate themselves across internet-connected devices in the home, marking the latest warning from the frontier lab about the technology’s potential safety risks.
Anthropic described how AI models could potentially infiltrate internet-connected devices, such as smart ovens or Android TV boxes, and use their computing power to run themselves and spread to other devices, without relying on expensive data centers.
The AI model would be “challenging to shut down,” Anthropic said in a blog post, “since there’s no centralized point to shut off.”
The company acknowledged that there is not yet a “fully rogue replicator.”
Agents are, however, “becoming increasingly capable of completing the individual steps in the replication chain (and passing on their adaptations to future copies of themselves),” Anthropic said.
Sri Lankan Worker Sentenced to Death in Saudi Arabia for “Insulting the Prophet Muhammad”
A Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to death for a Facebook comment he made, deleted, and apologized for.
Anojan Sivarasa, 24, was arrested on July 1, and first received a five-year prison sentence, which was the maximum under the anti-cybercrime law, and a fine.
Prosecutors appealed the sentence and asked for it to be tried under Sharia law instead of the cybercrime law, and the appeals court on September 17 found Anojan guilty of “insulting the Prophet” and sentenced him to death as a hadd punishment, which is a fixed, mandatory punishment under Sharia. Anojan has appealed.
The whole thing started when a video of a young Muslim man kicking a dog that was following a group of Hindu pilgrims in Sri Lanka was posted online in late June. The video sparked a heated argument, with someone posting derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity, and Anojan responding with a comment that was insulting to the Prophet Muhammad.
Apollo astronaut Charlie Duke believes UFOs are demonic, not alien
Speaking to CBN News, of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Duke speculated that a UFO arrival could tamper with an individual’s religious beliefs and even sway them from Christian teachings.
The former spaceman recalled one particular incident in which he prayed to God for a clear sign to confirm his suspicions, and the following morning, a close friend unexpectedly brought up UFOs during breakfast.
He described the friend as a businessman who didn’t usually bring up unusual topics.
Duke, now 91, was the lunar module pilot on NASA’s Apollo 16 mission in April 1972, becoming the 10th person to walk on the Moon. He spent around 71 hours on the lunar surface.
And when it comes to the fiendish side of alien craft, Duke explained he has even voiced these beliefs on stage.
“I felt like UFOs were demonic, but I was saying that at rotary clubs and stuff like that, and people were laughing me off the stage.”