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Insider Report from Newsmax.com Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Immigrant Population to Set Record in Eight Years 2. U.N.: More Than Half of World's Countries Spawning Jihadists 3. Calif. Bill Forces Pregnancy Centers to Provide Abortion Info 4. New York Rated America's Safest Large City 5. Huge L.A. Home's Asking Price: Record $500 Million 6. Mormons Most Likely Americans to Marry
1. Immigrant Population to Set Record in Eight Years New projections from the Census Bureau show that the foreign-born population of the United States will account for more than one in seven residents in 2023 — the largest share ever recorded in American history. Driven mostly by legal immigration, the nation's foreign-born population will reach 51 million, 14.8 percent of the total population. Currently there are 43.2 million immigrants in the country, and about one-fourth of them are here illegally. As recently as 1990, immigrants comprised just 7.9 percent of the total population. In 1970, they accounted for a mere 4.7 percent of the total. And even at the turn of the last century, in 1900, amid massive legal immigration mostly from European countries, immigrants comprised 13.6 percent of the population — less than they will in 2023, according to figures published by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). The Census Bureau also projects that the immigration population will grow four times faster than the native-born population and in 2030 will reach 57 million, or 15.8 percent of the total. In 2040, immigrants will number 65 million and account for 17.1 percent of the total population, and by 2060, 78 million (18.8 percent). The nation's total population will grow to 417 million by 2060, 108 million more than in 2010. The increase will be more than today's combined populations of California, Texas, New York, and Florida. And immigrants who arrive in the future plus their descendants will account for about three-quarters of that population increase. The CIS also noted that immigrants now comprise 13 percent of the population aged 65 and over, but by 2060 they will account for 26 percent or double the current percentage. Editor's Note: 2. U.N.: More Than Half of World's Countries Spawning Jihadists A highly disturbing new report from the United Nations asserts that more than half of the world's nations are now producing jihadist fighters to join the ranks of terrorist organizations in the Middle East. More than 25,000 mujahideen have joined the al-Qaida network and the Islamic State (ISIS) in recent years, creating an "unprecedented" and long-term threat to international security, according to the U.N. The report, prepared by the U.N. Security Council's special permanent committee for monitoring Islamic violence, "amounts to one of the most bleak and comprehensive assessments of the global foreign fighter phenomenon compiled yet," the Financial Times stated. The authors of the report said their findings are based on detailed evidence from 27 intelligence and security services from around the globe. "What has changed over the past three years is the scale of the problem," the authors disclose. "The overall numbers have risen sharply, from a few thousand foreign terrorist fighters a decade ago. "The number of countries of origin has also significantly increased, from a small group to more than 100 member states, including countries that have never experienced problems with groups associated with al-Qaida." The jihadist problem is largely centered on Iraq and Syria. Turkey is the primary avenue providing access to those countries for foreign jihadists, the report noted, adding that the Syria and Iraq theater is "a veritable international finishing school for extremists." The new U.N. report is an update of a report released last October disclosing that at that time, jihadists from more than 80 countries had traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside ISIS and other extremist groups. The report did not list the 80-plus countries that it said were the source of the fighters. "But in recent months, ISIS supporters have appeared in places as unlikely as the Maldives, and its videos proudly display jihadists with Chilean, Norwegian, and other diverse backgrounds," the Daily Mail reported in October. "There are instances of foreign terrorist fighters from France, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom operating together." The Mail warned: "The report indicates that more nations than ever will face the challenge of experienced fighters returning home from the Syria-Iraq conflict." Editor's Note: 3. Calif. Bill Forces Pregnancy Centers to Provide Abortion Info The Democrat-controlled California State Assembly has passed legislation requiring licensed pro-life pregnancy centers to post a message that includes information on where to obtain an abortion. Assembly Bill 775, called the Reproductive FACT Act by its sponsors, would force all pregnancy centers that are licensed as clinics to post this notice: "California has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services (including all FDA-approved methods of contraception), prenatal care, and abortion for eligible women. To determine whether you qualify, contact the county social services office at [telephone number]." The stated aim of the legislation is "to ensure that California residents make their personal reproductive healthcare decisions knowing their rights and the healthcare services available to them." Assemblyman David Chu, the bill's primary author, said "a growing and alarming movement is working to mislead women in order to achieve their political ideology. We have a responsibility as lawmakers to make sure that the information given to women who are making their own healthcare decisions is accurate and timely." But opponents of the legislation have dubbed it the "bully bill" and maintain that it forces pro-life pregnancy centers to violate their conscience by participating in abortion referrals, CNS News reported. "The issue with this bill is that it does — despite its authors' assertions to the contrary — trample on the First Amendment rights of locally funded grass-roots organizations, while forcing these organizations to effectively refer for abortion," said Jor-El Godsey, vice president of Heartbeat International, a pregnancy aid organization. Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, who opposed the bill, said: "AB 775 sets a bad precedent by allowing the state to dictate what information a nonprofit organization — an organization that receives not a dime of state or government funding — has to provide to their clients." Another opponent of the bill, Assemblyman Jim Patterson, released a statement saying that "AB 775 is an effort to force objectionable, state-mandated speech on pro-life pregnancy care centers which have freely formed in order to compassionately present alternative views which are rightly protected by our Constitution — views contrary to those of the authors and supporters of this bill." The bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 49 to 26 along party lines, and now advances to the State Senate, where Democrats hold a 25-to-14-vote edge. Editor's Note: 4. New York Rated America's Safest Large City Asked what U.S. cities are considered the safest, few Americans would be likely to put New York City at the top of the list. But according to a new index, New York is the nation's safest large city — and the 10th safest out of 50 worldwide. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its Safe Cities Index, which takes into consideration a wide range of factors to determine a city's level of safety. The factors include, of course, personal safety — how secure residents are from theft and violence, the level of police engagement, how safe people feel in the city, and the overall political stability of the nation where the city is located. It also considers health security — including availability of healthcare services, how many hospital beds and doctors there are per 1,000 people, air and water quality, life expectancy, and infant mortality. Infrastructure safety considers the condition of a city's buildings and roads, its resilience against disasters, the quality of the electricity infrastructure, and the frequency of accidents and pedestrian deaths. The index also weighs digital security, measuring the resources dedicated to ensuring that residents can use the Internet and other digital technologies without fear of privacy violations or identity theft. "The index focuses on 50 cities selected by The Economist Intelligence Unit based on factors such as regional representation and availability of data," the EIU states in its report. "Therefore, it should not be considered a comprehensive list of the world's safest cities." Tokyo was rated the safest city overall. The Japanese capital scored highly across all categories, coming in at No. 1 out of 50 for digital security, No. 3 for personal safety, No. 5 for infrastructure safety, and No. 8 for health security. Singapore was No. 2 overall, followed by Osaka, Japan; Stockholm, Sweden; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Sydney, Australia; Zurich, Switzerland; Toronto, Canada; Melbourne, Australia; and New York. The homicide rate in New York peaked with 2,245 murders in 1990, but last year it set a record low of 328, MSN reported. New York was No. 2 for health security, No. 3 for digital security, No. 16 for infrastructure safety, and No. 28 for personal safety. Washington, D.C., was the highest ranked U.S. city for personal safety, at No. 17 overall. San Francisco was tops for infrastructure safety at No. 10, and for health security at No. 16. Los Angeles was tops for digital security at No. 6. At the bottom of the list, Jakarta, Indonesia, was ranked last at No. 50, ranking in the 40s in all categories. Tehran, Iran was No. 49, followed in ascending order by Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Johannesburg, South Africa; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Mexico City. Santiago, Chile, was ranked last for personal safety, Ho Chi Minh City for infrastructure safety, Tehran for digital security, and Mumbai, India, for health security. Editor's Note: 5. Huge L.A. Home's Asking Price: Record $500 Million One of the largest homes in U.S. history is under construction in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, and its developer plans to put it on the market for a record $500 million. The project includes a 74,000-square-foot mansion and three smaller homes, totaling more than 100,000 square feet — nearly twice the size of the White House. It will be the largest residence built in the United States this century, surpassing Versailles, a 90,000-square-foot chateau under construction in Windermere, Fla., Bloomberg reported. The Bel-Air property includes a 5,000-square-foot master bedroom, a 30-car garage, a 45-seat Imax-style theater, four swimming pools, an 8,500-square-foot nightclub, a tennis court, and a "Monaco-style casino," according to its builder, Nile Niami, a film producer and residential developer. "The house will have almost every amenity available in the world," he wrote in an email. "The asking price will be $500 million." The U.S. record for a sale is the $147 million a hedge fund manager paid last year for an estate in East Hampton, N.Y. The current highest asking price for a U.S. home is $195 million for a Beverly Hills, Calif., estate being offered by a billionaire real estate mogul. Worldwide, the most expensive home ever sold was a $221 million London penthouse bought in 2011, according to Christie's. The most expensive property on the market today is a $425 million estate on the French Riviera. Niami's property, on a four-acre hilltop lot, will have 360-degree views of the Pacific Ocean, Beverly Hills, downtown Los Angeles, and the San Fernando Valley. Plans call for the removal of almost 40,000 cubic yards of earth. "We're talking 200 construction trucks a day," a neighbor who is not pleased about the project told The New York Times. "Then multiply that by all the other giant projects. How nuts is all this?" Editor's Note: 6. Mormons Most Likely Americans to Marry Mormons are far more likely to marry than members of other major religious groups in the United States — and they are especially likely to wed other Mormons. According to the Pew Research Center's 2014 Religious Landscape Study, 66 percent of Mormon adults were married last year, compared to 52 percent of Christians, 48 percent of U.S. adults overall, and 37 percent of those not affiliated with any faith. Pew also found that 82 percent of Mormons who were married or living with a partner have a Mormon spouse or partner. Only Hindus have a higher percentage in the U.S., 91 percent. Among Muslims, 79 percent are married to another Muslim, 75 percent of Catholics and evangelical Protestants are with a person who shares their faith, and 65 percent of Jewish Americans are with another Jew. The figure for mainline Protestants is 59 percent, for unaffiliated Americans 56 percent, and Orthodox Christians 53 percent. Mormons have a higher fertility rate than members of other religions. Mormons ages 40 to 59 have had an average of 3.4 children in their lifetime, compared to 2.2 for Christians, 2.1 percent for all Americans in that age bracket, and 1.7 for the unaffiliated. Mormons comprised 1.6 percent of the American adult population in 2014, down only slightly from 1.7 percent in 2007. The percentage of Christians, on the other hand, has dropped from 78.4 percent to 70.6 percent during that period. Most adults who were raised as Mormons, 64 percent, still identified themselves as Mormon last year. But 21 percent of those who were raised as Mormons were unaffiliated. Utah has by far the largest Mormon population of any U.S. state — 2 million of the state's total population of 2.9 million, about 68 percent, are Mormons. There are also large Mormon populations in Idaho, where they comprise 26 percent of the population, and in Wyoming (11.5 percent). But the majority of Mormons live outside the United States, including 1.3 million in Mexico, 1.2 million in Brazil, and 710,000 in the Philippines. Note: Newsmax magazine is now available on the iPad. Find us in the App Store. Editor's Note: Editor's Notes:
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