{"id":18706,"date":"2015-12-29T11:21:20","date_gmt":"2015-12-29T15:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=18706"},"modified":"2026-07-19T05:40:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T12:40:52","slug":"2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 YEAR IN REVIEW – PART 2 – TOP 10 OUT-OF-HOUSE NEWS STORIES"},"content":{"rendered":"

See also Part 1 Year in Review<\/a>
\nEditor’s Note:<\/strong> Listed in order of date posted (from January 2015-December 2015)<\/p>\n

1\/Feds Spend $2.5 Million on Mindfulness Intervention for Kindergarteners\u00a0<\/strong> <\/a> The Washington Beacon<\/em> (Elizabeth Harrington)<\/p>\n

The Department of Education is spending upwards of $2.5 million to bring a mindfulness intervention to kindergarteners in Chicago, where kids can go to \u201ccalm spots\u201d in the corner to watch nature videos. The National Institutes of Health has spent over $100 million studying the New Age meditation technique, but it is not the only federal agency pouring federal funding into mindfulness. The Education Department has introduced a \u201cCalm Classroom\u201d program into 3,000 schools through its Investing in Innovation fund, costing taxpayers $2,513,093.<\/p>\n

2\/Conscientious Objector Goes to Jail: \u201cFederal Judge Orders County Clerk to Jail Until She Agrees to Issue \u2018Gay Marriage\u2019 Licenses\u201d<\/strong> <\/a> Christian News Network<\/em> (Heather Clark)<\/p>\n

A federal judge has ordered a Kentucky clerk to be placed behind bars until she complies with his order to issue marriage licenses to homosexuals despite her Christian identity. US District Judge David Bunning declared Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in contempt of court this morning after she explained in tears that it is not possible for her to comply with the order because of her Christianity.<\/p>\n

3\/Seventh Planned Parenthood Expose\u2019: Some Babies Are Alive When Organs Are Harvested<\/strong> <\/a> Christian News Network<\/em> (Heather Clark)<\/p>\n

The seventh expose\u2019 video surrounding Planned Parenthood\u2019s alleged harvesting and sale of aborted babies was released today, featuring testimony that suggests that some babies are alive when their organs are harvested. The footage, released by the Center for Medical Progress, features clips from the past six videos, as well as new footage from an interview with former StemExpress procurement technician Holly O\u2019Donnell, who had shared part of her story last week.<\/p>\n

4\/Boy Scout Committee Unanimously Approves Proposal to Lift Ban on Openly Homosexual Leaders<\/strong> <\/a> Christian News Network<\/em> (Heather Clark)<\/p>\n

An executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has unanimously voted to lift a long-standing ban on openly homosexual troop leaders. \u201cAs a result of the rapid changes in society and increasing legal challenges at the federal, state, and local levels, on Friday, July 10, the Boy Scouts of America Executive Committee adopted a resolution amending the adult leadership standards policy,\u201d the BSA said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n

5\/Vatican Signs First Treaty With \u201cState of Palestine\u201d\u2014Backs Two-State Solution<\/strong> <\/a>
\nThe Jerusalem Post<\/em> (Herb Keinon)<\/p>\n

The Vatican signed its first treaty with the \u201cState of Palestine\u201d on Friday, calling for \u201ccourageous decisions\u201d to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a two-state solution. Israel expressed disappointment last month at the Vatican\u2019s announcement that it reached the outline of an agreement with the Palestinians and at the Holy See\u2019s use of the term \u201cState of Palestine\u201d for the first time in an official document.<\/p>\n

6\/U.S. Supreme Court Rules: Same-Sex \u2018Marriage\u2019 Must Be Legalized in All 50 States\u00a0 (Clark)<\/a><\/strong> Christian News Network<\/em> (Heather Clark)<\/p>\n

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its monumental ruling on same-sex \u201cmarriage\u201d on Friday, declaring that all 50 states must and are \u201crequired \u201d to legalize \u201cgay marriage\u201d under the U.S. Constitution. \u201cThe court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry.<\/p>\n

7\/The dark side of meditation and mindfulness: Treatment can trigger mania, depression and psychosis, studies shows\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>The Daily Mail<\/em> – UK (Harriet Crawford)<\/p>\n

Meditation and mindfulness is promoted by celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Russell Brand, who boast of its power to help people put stress out of their minds and live for the moment. But the treatment can itself trigger mania, depression, hallucinations and psychosis, psychological studies in the UK and US have found.<\/p>\n

8\/Feel the Love Tonight? Rick Warren, Elton John Hold Hands, Joke About Kissing Before AIDS Panel<\/a><\/strong> Christian News Network<\/em> (Heather Clark)<\/p>\n

Controversial megachurch leader and author Rick Warren raised concerns Wednesday after joining hands with homosexual singer Elton John during a speech before a congressional hearing on AIDS funding, and joked what would happen if the two kissed.<\/p>\n

9\/WorldNetDaily Identifies Agenda by Evangelical Leaders to Marginalize Discerning Whistleblowers<\/a><\/strong> WorldNetDaily<\/em> (Jim Fletcher)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Internets\u201d have given everyone a voice today. Obviously, that\u2019s both good and bad. Computer technology has really leveled the playing field, so the classic \u201cwriter living in his parents\u2019 basement\u201d can have a platform, mostly, like a high-profile New York writer. . . . One gets the feeling, though, that some of the high-profile folks resent the heck out of all this.<\/p>\n

10\/Yoga Is Official! United Nations Adopts International Yoga Day\u2014177 Nations Adopt Resolution (Including USA)<\/a><\/strong> Huffington Post<\/em><\/p>\n

The United Nations declared June 21st as International Yoga Day, just three months after India\u2019s newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/a> used some of his valuable minutes during his address to the U.N. General Assembly to introduce it. With an unprecedented 177 countries signed on, including the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom and Russia, it might be an indication that the winds are changing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

See also Part 1 Year…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-years-in-review","wpcat-215-id"],"yoast_head":"\n2015 YEAR IN REVIEW - PART 2 - TOP 10 OUT-OF-HOUSE NEWS STORIES - From the Lighthouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2015 YEAR IN REVIEW - PART 2 - TOP 10 OUT-OF-HOUSE NEWS STORIES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"See also Part 1 Year...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"From the Lighthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-29T15:21:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-19T12:40:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a36b703d7722ce85599858df8bacc0a5\"},\"headline\":\"2015 YEAR IN REVIEW – PART 2 – TOP 10 OUT-OF-HOUSE NEWS STORIES\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-29T15:21:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-19T12:40:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":826,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"YEARS IN REVIEW\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/2015-year-in-review-part-2-top-10-out-of-house-news-stories\\\/\",\"name\":\"2015 YEAR IN REVIEW - 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