• ‘Vikings' History Channel Season 4 Resumes Feb. 18 with Religions, Politics Clashing

  Faith, love, power, vanity, loyalty, betrayal: the war never ends...With contentious 2016 presidential candidate primary debates under way, it's apropos to see how vividly religion and politics collide in the popular "Vikings" drama series as the History Channel's original TV show resumes broadcasting with its fourth season on Thursday (Feb. 18) at 9 p.m. CST. As a top-rated cable show, "Vikings" has 4.3 million average viewers and multiple Emmy nominations.

  

• Transgender Student Restroom Use Banned By South Dakota Senators As First State to Impede Gender Identity Matching

  With a 15-20 vote, South Dakota state senators passed a bill on Tuesday to ban transgender students from using school restrooms that correspond to the gender with which those students now identify. House Bill 1008 was approved by a vote of 58-10 by state house of representatives earlier this month, so is expected to head to Gov. Dennis Daugaard yet this week, perhaps as early as Thursday (Feb. 18).

  

• Joey+Rory = Indy: Terminally Ill Joey Feek Lives to See Daughter Indiana Turn 2 on Feb. 17

  As country music singer Joey Martin Feek continues her heart-breaking battle with cancer, she's still counting her blessings this month, and one of them is getting to witness the second birthday of her daughter, Indiana, on Wednesday. Indiana Boone Feek was welcomed into the family on Feb. 17, 2014, with the couple stating on social media that "God has blessed us with a special gift."

  

• Religious Freedom 'Kim Davis-Inspired' Bill Approved by Virginia House Delegates

  Virginia House of Delegates' members approved on Tuesday (Feb. 16) a religious freedom bill that critics assert would allow anti-LGBTZ discrimination, while supporters applaud due to its prohibiting government from taking action against employees who refuse to provide services required in their jobs because those services go against their personal religious beliefs.

  

• Cowboys Celebrate Christ, Closeness To Faith Via Historic, Annual Pilgrimage In Mexico

  For some cowboys in Mexico, the closest time to get next to God is during an annual, three-day pilgrimage through the central highlands of Guanajuato, which includes making an 84-mile trip to the mountaintop statue of Jesus Christ the King, among the tallest and most sacred in Mexico. More than 3,000 people made this year's journey to a mountaintop statue of Jesus, keeping alive a tradition that began 60-plus years ago.