Mississippi has banned minors from obtaining sex-change operations, joining a growing list of approximately half-dozen states to ban the controversial procedures. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures Act into law on Tuesday. The Republican-controlled Mississippi Senate previously approved the bill in a 33-15 vote, and the Republican-controlled Mississippi House of Representatives supported it in a 78-30 vote. The Senate vote fell along primarily party lines, with four Democrats in the House joining Republicans in supporting the measure. The bill specifies that "a person shall not knowingly provide gender transition procedures to any person under eighteen (18) years of age" and defines "gender transition procedures" as the prescription of "puberty-blocking drugs," "cross-sex hormones" or "gender reassignment surgeries." In a statement, Reeves declared, "At the end of the day, there are two positions here. One tells children that they're beautiful the way they are. That they can find happiness in their own bodies. The other tells them they should take drugs and cut themselves up with expensive surgeries in order to find freedom from depression. I know which side I'm on. No child in Mississippi will have these drugs or surgeries pushed upon them." Read more.

A grand jury has indicted a 15-year-old teen and a 21-year-old man for the daylight murder of the Rev. Autura Eason-Williams who led Capleville United Methodist Church in Tennessee. The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office stated that Miguel Andrade, 15, and Eduard Rodriguez-Tabora, 21, were indicted by the grand jury on Tuesday on two counts of first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. Police said Eason-Williams, 52, was fatally shot in the driveway of her home in Whitehaven during a carjacking just after 4 p.m. on July 18, 2022. Friends say she was on her mobile phone with a colleague when she was attacked. Read more.

In this editorial, Dr. Michael Brown discusses the trustworthiness of the Bible. Many in today's younger generation believe what the Bible says is no longer applicable, with some arguing that meaning has been lost through centuries of translations. However, Brown argues this could not be further from the truth, asserting that the key principles in the Bible—such as the commandments to not murder, commit adultery or steal—would render the world a better place if they were truly adhered to in society. Read more.

Sexual health educator Kristen Miele discusses how to combat the widespread popularity of sexting, which is the sending of explicit content via phones and online messaging. From filters on phones to shared social media accounts, there are several ways parents can help ensure their children do not send or receive sexually explicit material. Above all, Miele calls on parents to actively talk with their children about the media they consume, the news they hear, and the conversations that come up. "Emphasize to your children that people asking for seductive pictures or nudes are untrustworthy, even if your child knows them, is dating them, or believes this will impress them or create intimacy. ... We never want to shame our kids, but we want to be honest about potential consequences," she says. Read more.

"Don’t tell your parents!" My local school district, in California, appeared to sneak a book under the radar by Jodi Patterson titled, A Boy Named Penelope.

The book promotes mental and emotional child abuse by declaring that girls can become boys. The character in the book is only five years old. Unbelievable!

This book was read in classrooms at Greg Anderson school without parental consent. Yes, you heard me right. Read more

The Mid Vermont Christian School's girls' basketball team withdrew from a state tournament game because its opponents had a biological boy competing as a girl, prompting fairness and safety concerns. MVCS head Vicky Fogg said in a statement that the school believes allowing a biological male to compete against girls "jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players, adding, "Allowing biological males to participate in women's sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women's sports in general." The Vermont Principals' Association allows trans-identified athletes to compete in athletic competitions based on their gender identity, meaning that biological males are allowed to compete on female sports teams. As CP reported, a December 2020 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that biological men, on average, maintain an athletic advantage over women even after a year of taking hormones. The study found that even two years after taking hormones, male athletes were still 12% faster than their female counterparts when it came to running. They were also able to do 10% more pushups and 6% more sit-ups than females. Read more.

Marymount University, a Catholic liberal arts school in Virginia, has decided to cut its theology studies program from its academic degree offerings. The school's Board of Trustees voted unanimously last week to adopt a proposal that cuts nine majors and a graduate studies program, including its theology and religious studies program, in keeping with a recommendation from the Academic Policy, Budget and Planning Committee. A spokesperson for the university told CP that the cuts were made due to the programs having "consistently low enrollment and graduation rates." Resources for the cut programs will be redirected to other programs, and the faculty impacted will remain on staff to teach core curriculum and interdisciplinary studies. Read more.

Televangelist Joyce Meyer, 79, announced that she got two tattoos for the first time at 79 to "honor God" and believes the Bible supports her decision despite the belief among some Christians that tattoos are sinful. In a video clip posted to her YouTube page in October, Meyer shared how reading Isaiah 49:16 made her decide that she wanted a tattoo that said "I belong to Jesus." She recounted making the declaration five years ago at a meeting in Australia, unaware that a tattoo artist there heard her comments. "It's really a neat story. I don't know if I can get the whole thing out right. But he (tattoo artist) had gone through the most hellish thing. First of all, he had bipolar disorder. And so, his mind was already kind of messed up. And then a bunch of religious Christians got him convinced that because he was a tattoo artist that he was going to Hell," Meyer said. "When he heard me say that I wanted to get a tattoo that said, 'I belong to the Lord,' or 'I belong to Jesus,' he said, he decided to go back into business." Last fall, Meyer found out that both her and the artist had a mutual friend in Dallas, Texas, who revealed to her that the tattoo artist's dream was to give her a tattoo. Believing the connection was not coincidental, both Meyer and her husband, Dave, got tattoos from the artist. Read more.

Fourteen-time Grammy Award-winning musician Ron Block says he allows his belief in God to speak through his actions even when in the presence of iconic stars. Block, who plays the banjo and guitar and sings and writes songs, is best known as a member of the bluegrass band Alison Krauss & Union Station. He has also worked with Country music icons like Dolly Parton, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire and Vince Gill. When asked by CP how he shares his faith with those he works with, he replied, "Musicians are just the people." The performer, who wrote the book Abiding Dependence, Living Moment by Moment in the Love of God, further reflected on his faith and career, saying, "I love talking about God, about who He is, what He's like, how He changes our lives. But the primary way God is revealed to others through us is by other means—through our attitudes, expressions, body language, through a sense of peace and rest that emanates from us when we're abiding." Read the full interview here.