Daily Links, Jan. 19: Candidates out, pipelines denied, more schools to close

It's official: Rick Perry has dropped out [1] of the presidential race and endorsed Newt Gingrich (who, according to Anthony Stevens-Arroyo [2], followed Catholic social teaching in questions Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital). Meanwhile, Rick Santorum appears to have actually beaten out Romney in Iowa [3].

President Obama yesterday denied a permit [4] for construction of the Keystone Pipeline, receiving praise from many faith groups [5] who protested the Pipeline for months.

On the heels of the Philadelphia school closures, more schools are set to close in Duluth, MN [6].

I'm hoping the day is drawing near where I won't feel compelled to mention Tim Tebow in the Daily Links, but in light of Tebow-mania, Jim Akin discusses the church's official prayer for athletes [7].

In our January issue we featured an interview with Phyllis Zagano [8] on women deacons. Today, Dr. Zagano responds [9] to some of the many comments we've received on the website. Join in the conversation!

Also on our blog today, Bryan Cones discusses the differences in abortion rates [10]between developed and developing nations, while Meghan Murphy-Gill calls for some originality [11] in the recent "Jesus versus religion" wave sweeping the internet.