Virginia Cunningham/News-Sun It’s the time of the year for giving — which is what Bethel Baptist Church in Knowles did by filling 841 shoe boxes with toys, hygiene items and school supplies for needy children around the globe. Operation Christmas Child, a ministry founded by Samaritan’s Purse, has sent more than 198 million boxes to children in more than 170 …

Strong earthquake rattles remote West Texas desert MENTONE, Texas (AP) — A strong earthquake shook a sparsely populated patch of desert in West Texas on Thursday, causing tremors felt as far away as the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez. The magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck around 3:30 p.m., according to Jim DeBerry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the …