A US clinical trial has been launched into whether multi-denominational prayer can help patients with COVID-19, the New York Post reports. Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, a cardiologist at the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute, is leading a trial involving 1000 coronavirus patients who require intensive care because of the infection. The trial began on May 1 and is due to last four months.
U.S.-led coalition forces have reportedly hit back against an Islamic State cell in Syria. They captured a midlevel leader linked to increasing attacks by the terror group in the Deir el-Zour countryside, the Voice of America (VOA) network said Thursday.
A leading democracy watchdog has suggested that Hungary has become the first non-democratic European Union member state, prompting an angry reaction from the government. Washington-based Freedom House also warned that Poland is heading towards the same direction.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed progress in combating the coronavirus pandemic along with arms control issues and oil prices in a phone call Thursday, the White House and the Kremlin said.
Even as a handful of states have made tentative steps back to normalcy in recent days, new jobless claims continue to flood in across all 50 states, driving the number of unemployment claims to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks.
Today, May 7th is the National Day of Prayer in the United States, a tradition that began as early as 1775. In 2019, President Donald Trump proclaimed “Our Nation’s honored tradition of prayer has sustained us and strengthened our trust that God will continue to watch over and accompany us through the best of times and the darkest hours. May we as Americans never forget the power of prayer and the greatness of our Creator. On this National Day of Prayer, let each of us, according to our own faiths, call upon God for His guidance and express our gratitude for the love and grace He bestows on us and our country.”
California Gov. Newsom’s executive order banning in-person church services during the COVID-19 pandemic has been upheld by a federal judge, the Washington Examiner reports. The Cross Culture Christian Center near Sacramento had filed a lawsuit stating the governor’s lockdown order violated their First Amendment right to free assembly.
Having been asked to come to New York City to help with the COVID-19 crisis, disaster relief organization Samaritan’s Purse (SP) has been told it must pay state taxes for the time it spent running its free-of-charge field hospital in Central Park.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether nuns could be forced to facilitate abortion-causing drugs and other contraceptives such as sterilizations. Its first liberty case began Wednesday involving the Little Sisters of the Poor organization, which has been supporting the poor and dying since 1839.
Rights group Amnesty International has condemned the Hungarian parliament’s rejection of an international treaty to combat violence against women amid a coronavirus pandemic. “This decision is extremely dangerous,” said David Vig, Amnesty’s Hungary director. “It comes at a time when reported domestic violence incidents in Hungary have doubled since the start of the [new coronavirus] COVID-19 lockdown” to halt the virus outbreak.
On Wednesday, the national debt soared above $25 trillion as Congress continues to approve massive spending projects to alleviate consequences resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Israel says its leading biological research laboratory has made a “significant breakthrough” toward a possible treatment for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donors have pledged 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) for developing a vaccine against the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. But after the online-meeting with world leaders, banks and organizations, officials warned more money might be necessary.
Iran officially called off its annual anti-Israel al-Quds Day rallies due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The United States and Britain will begin negotiations Tuesday on a post-Brexit free-trade agreement.
The Likud and Blue and White parties on Tuesday agreed to revise a number of clauses in their agreement to form a new government, after the High Court of Justice signaled they could be struck down.
A poll from Axios and Ipsos found 67% of respondents do not believe the COVID-19 death toll, which as of Monday stood at around 69,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, including data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday authorized Shin Bet security service to continue using mobile phone data to track people infected by the coronavirus until May 26, prolonging an initiative described by critics as a threat to privacy.
Consumer debt hit a fresh record high to start 2020, even as credit card balances declined while Americans adjusted to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Western Wall Plaza reopened to worshipers on Tuesday morning.