Good Morning! It’s Hump Day, and it’s starting off as a rainy one. Last night, severe thunderstorms moved through the area, leaving many without power and dropping large hail in some places. Today the weatherman is calling for more rain with a possibility of lingering thunderstorms this afternoon. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 82°.

Here’s what is brewing in the news this morning:

Presbyterians approve ordaining of openly gay

The New York Times is reporting that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has voted to change its constitution and allow openly gay people in same-sex relationships to be ordained as ministers, elders and deacons. The vote brings closure to 33 years of debating the issue.

Church leaders attribute the vote to both the growing acceptance of homosexuality in the larger culture and to church members simply wearying of the conflict, NYT reports.

Accepting gay clergy members is a growing trend in historic, mainline Protestant churches.
The United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church have all voted to accept gay clergy members and church leaders. The largest mainline Protestant denomination, the United Methodist Church, is still fighting over the issue.

Some of the church's more theologically conservative members who believe that ordaining sexually active gay people is inconsistent with the Bible have already departed. Others are concerned that the homosexuality issue is not resolved and worry that gay advocates will push an amendment calling for the church to bless same-sex marriages and unions.

Read more at the New York Times.

Tell us what you think. Should openly gay people be ordained as ministers, elders or deacons? Or is their lifestyle too contradictory with the teachings of the Bible? Share your thoughts on the issue in the comment section below.
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15 year old accepted into Harvard and 12 other schools

When 15-year-old Saheela Ibraheem began applying to colleges, she was concerned that her age would keep many from accepting her. She applied to 14 schools from New Jersey to California. To her surprise, the teen from Edison, NJ was accepted at all but one.

She received acceptance letters from six of the nation’s eight Ivey League schools. After weeks of debate, she settled on Harvard and will be among the youngest of the school’s freshman class.

Saheela plans to major in either neurobiology or neuroscience with the hopes of becoming a research scientist. She wants to study how the brain works.

In addition to maintaining a nearly perfect grade point average, Saheela is also a three-sport athlete. The teen credits her parents with teaching her to love learning and work hard.

Read more here.
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Rolling in the Dough

In a bit of odd news, Fox News is reporting that a Hispanic man traveling through western North Carolina was arrested earlier this month and charged with possession of 91 pounds of cocaine, but it turns out he was only carrying tortilla dough, cooking flour and shrimp.

A Buncombe County deputy found Antonio Hernandez Carranza stopped in his car on the side of Interstate 240 with the hazard lights on.

Deputies said Carranza drove away when they knocked on his window, and lead them on a three-mile chase at speeds of 45 mph. They say when they pulled him from the vehicle, Carranza appeared intoxicated. He was later deemed sober by a Breathalyzer test.

They said a narcotics dog alerted officers to check Carranza's baggage, and multiple narcotics field tests determined that the substances were cocaine, but when a State Bureau of Investigation lab tested the materials, the results were negative for narcotics. They said the substances turned out to be flour and other foods Carranza told them were meant as gifts for his family in Tennessee.

According to Fox News, Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan said the cocaine charges against Carranza were dropped, but he did plead guilty to failure to stop for officers.

Read more here.

*** This your chance to speak out. Use the comment section below to tell us what's brewing on your mind this morning.

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