NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The pastor of a Nashville-area
megachurch says he didn't violate Internal Revenue Service
regulations by endorsing candidates in the Sumner County,
Tennessee, school board race.
Three members of Cornerstone Church in Madison are candidates in
Thursday's election. Pastor Maury Davis says he was speaking as a
private citizen when he endorsed the three candidates in a July
radio interview.
Sunday, Davis mentioned his radio appearance to congregants and
said the IRS does not allow pastors to endorse candidates from the
pulpit. He said he endorsed the candidates on the radio, and
mentioned all three by name.
According to IRS regulations, tax-exempt entities like churches
are "absolutely prohibited" from intervening in the political
campaigns of any candidates for public office.
BEIJING (AP) - Americans unfurled a religious banner in the
heart of communist China and other foreign activists have protested
on a range of issues, but authorities handled them with
uncharacteristic restraint two days before the Olympics start.
The demonstrations were small, and no arrests were reported
despite the open displays of dissent and heightened sensitivity of
the government toward criticism during the games. The soft touch
suggests Beijing might be hoping to repair its image abroad, which
has taken a hit over hot-button issues like its human rights record
and its policies in Tibet and Sudan.
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - When Father Joe heard that President
Bush was to visit children in Bangkok's largest slum, the first
thing the American priest did was ask the children: "Do you want
to meet him?"
The Reverend Joseph Maier is a tough, no-nonsense man who mixes
easily with drug pushers, thugs and prostitutes. He says the
youngsters hardily agreed to the presidential visit. He says they
see Bush as a kind uncle coming to visit, not in his official
position.
Bush, on a three-country tour of Asia, will spend some time at
the Mercy Centre and Human Development Foundation. Maier is a
native of Longview, Washington, and started the foundation nearly
40 years ago to aid often desperate residents of the vast Bangkok
slum.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Lawyers for an unemployed truck driver
accused in a deadly Tennessee church shooting may be considering an
insanity defense.
Jim Adkisson waived a preliminary hearing. His lawyer calls that
an effort to lay the groundwork for an insanity plea. The idea is
to get Adkisson's mental state evaluated as soon as possible.
Prosecutors say Adkisson killed two people and wounded six at a
Knoxville church last month. The dead include a church usher and a
retired English professor who'd come to see a children's play.
An insanity defense may be a risky strategy. Adkisson's lawyer
says no modern Tennessee jury has ever found a defendant not guilty
by reason of insanity in a contested case. He says the strategy
usually only works if prosecutors agree.
Adkisson is currently charged with a single count of
first-degree murder.
HOUSTON (AP) - A jury has been seated in Houston in a lawsuit
alleging the wife of Pastor Joel Osteen assaulted a flight
attendant.
Victoria Osteen's lawyer calls the case "silly. " Still,
opening arguments are set to begin.
Flight attendant Sharon Brown accuses Osteen of assaulting her
before the start of a 2005 flight from Houston to Vail, Colorado.
Brown's lawyer, Reginald McKamie, says he hopes the trial will show
"that celebrity status doesn't take precedence. "
Brown alleges that Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and
elbowed her in the left breast during an angry outburst over a
stain on her first-class seat. She's seeking an apology and 20
percent of Osteen's net worth as part of the suit. The Federal
Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for
interfering with a crew member.
Joel Osteen was at his wife's side in court Wednesday. The
plaintiff's lawyer says he expects to call the couple as witnesses.
Joel Osteen preaches at Lakewood Church, a Houston megachurch
where about 42,000 people flock each week, and where Victoria
Osteen is co-pastor. The service is broadcast nationally and
internationally. Some potential jurors during questioning admitted
to being star-struck by the Osteens and said that their respect for
them might affect their judgment.
COLE, Okla. (AP) - Fund-raising is under way to build a new
community center in a former black settlement to replace a
102-year-old church in Oklahoma that was destroyed in a fire.
The building, near Cole, Oklahoma, stood next to a cemetery and
was the former church of Jerusalem, a community about 30 miles
south of Oklahoma City that drifted away over time.
About $4,000 has been raised toward building the new structure.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
CINCINNATI (AP) - A 71-year-old Cincinnati preacher has been
convicted of aggravated menacing after another motorist said he
waved a gun and cursed at her.
Thomas Howell could get up to six months in jail on the
misdemeanor charge when he's sentenced next month.
Howell says he was on his way to church Junje 23rd when April
Evans cut him off. During Monday's trial, Howell testified that he
has a gun and permit but denied ever removing the weapon from its
holster.
But a Hamilton County municipal court judge sided with Evans,
who said the preacher threatened to shoot her and called her names.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, the
NBA's only Jewish player, is showing off his skills in Israel for
Jewish and Arab youngsters.
The 21-year-old Farmar is the guest of the Peres Center for
Peace, founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres, now
Israel's president. Its mission is to encourage cooperation between
Israelis and Palestinians. One of the ways the center tries to
improve relationships is through children playing sports together.
Farmar is the first Jewish player in the NBA since Danny
Schayes, son of Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes, retired in 1999.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers says he
knows the judge considering his lawsuit against God is in a
difficult position.
But Chambers hopes the lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction
against God will be allowed to continue, so he can make the point
that anyone can file a lawsuit against anyone.
Chambers says in the lawsuit that God has made terroristic
threats against the senator and his constituents in Omaha, inspired
fear and caused widespread death and destruction.
Chambers argued that courts and the U. S. government already
routinely take notice of God.
Courts swear in witnesses with an oath that includes the phrase
"so help me God. " And U. S. currency proclaims "In God We
Trust. " So Chambers says Douglas County District Judge Marlon Polk
should take official notice that God, being omnipresent, is present
in the court.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Members of the Tennessee Valley
Unitarian Universalist Church say their sanctuary is a place of
love, despite the tragedy unleashed there a week ago when a man
opened fire and killed two people.
Church members, former ministers and community members packed
the sanctuary Sunday morning and others watched a telecast in an
overflow room nearby.
The Knoxville church's minister said the killings had released
"unspeakable amounts of love. "
A 58-year-old man is charged with first-degree murder and is
being held on one million dollars bond. He's scheduled to appear in
court Tuesday.
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (AP) - Members of West Virginia's largest
denomination, the United Methodist Church, have received a sobering
assessment at their annual conference.
The denomination's churches are closing, contributions are less
than expected, members are aging and nothing has reversed the
decades-long decline in membership from nearly 200,000 in 1968 to
about half that number today.
At the annual meeting, 17 United Methodist churches were
approved for closure and Bishop Ernest Lyght noted that nearly 60
percent of the West Virginia conference's churches hadn't received
a new member in the previous year.
CANTON, Ohio (AP) - Several of the new inductees into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame have used their sport's highest honor to
praise and thank God.
At Saturday's ceremony in Canton, Ohio, former Washington
Redskin Art Monk said his identity, security and validation come
from having accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior. Monk
added that while he could boast about his NFL career, he would
rather boast in the Lord.
Monk's former teammate and fellow inductee, Darrell Green, said
football had given him a platform to talk about "knowing Jesus,
loving him and making him known. "
Former player and coach Emmitt Thomas said any talent he had was
God's gift, and he prayed that his use of that talent was an
acceptable gift back to God.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Chinese dissident who met last week with
President Bush says Christianity can transform China from a
dangerous threat into a stable ally for world peace.
The Reverend Bob Fu, president of China Aid Association, says
the Chinese people must decide whether to worship the dragon or the
lamb.
Fu says President Bush pledged to call for freedom of worship at
this week's opening of the Beijing Olympics. The president also
plans to attend a government-sponsored church on Sunday.
Fu credits Bush with being the first president to emphasize
religious liberty as distinct from other human rights.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman has demanded that the U. S.
"stop interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of
human rights and religious issues. "
NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga (AP) - Tonga's King George V has been crowned
in an elaborate Christian ceremony during which he was called on to
rule his nation "wisely, justly and truly. "
He was anointed with oil and a large golden crown was placed on
his head.
The coronation included singing by a choir of more than 300.
King George V sat on a large golden throne in the capital's
Centenary Church in front of 1,000 guests as the Anglican
archbishop of Polynesia proclaimed he had been "anointed, blessed
and consecrated" as the South Pacific nation's monarch.
Thousands lined the route to the church, waving Tongan flags and
balloons. As the king left the church, guests clapped and onlookers
cheered.
NEW YORK (AP) - Conservative Jewish leaders are seeking to
protect workers and the environment at kosher food plants such as
the one raided by immigration agents this spring in Postville,
Iowa.
They issued draft guidelines Thursday for a kosher certification
program meant as a supplement to the traditional certification
process that measures compliance with Jewish dietary law.
The proposed "certificate of righteousness" would be awarded
to companies that pay fair wages, ensure workplace safety, follow
government environmental regulations and treat animals humanely.
The stricter Orthodox Jewish movement oversees most of the
kosher industry. Many of its leaders have criticized the
Conservative Jewish proposal as unreasonable and unenforceable.
PHOENIX (AP) - There's no constitutional right to use marijuana
for religious purposes, according to a new Arizona court ruling.
The state Court of Appeals ruling upholds the conviction and
sentences of Danny Ray Hardesty in Yavapai County for possession of
marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hardesty's appeal contends that he's entitled to use marijuana
under religious freedom protections of the state and federal
constitutions.
The Court of Appeals acknowledges that courts have ruled that
use of peyote for a bona fide religious belief is a defense to
prosecution.
But the court's ruling says marijuana use is more pervasive and
that the uniform ban on possession and use is a legitimate
restriction imposed by government.
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - Closing arguments are underway in the
trial of a California pastor who's charged with murdering a wealthy
rancher.
Attorneys say the jury deciding the fate of 57-year-old Howard
Douglas Porter could begin deliberations as early as Monday, after
hearing from 90 witnesses in 30 days of testimony.
Porter is accused of staging an accident in 2004 that killed
85-year-old Frank Craig, who had hoped the preacher would use his
fortune to build an agriculture museum.
Prosecutors say Porter staged two wrecks to cover up the fact
that he had embezzled more than $1 million from the elderly man.
The first car crash in 2002 crippled Craig.
The defense argued that Porter is a bad driver and had borrowed
the money from the rancher.
HYANNIS, Mass. (AP) - The Reverend Tony Campolo is helping draft
the Democratic Party's platform.
Campolo, an evangelical speaker and author, says he was
appointed to the Democratic Platform Committee by party chairman
Howard Dean to provide input from the Christian community.
Campolo says he's proposing an abortion plank that would offer
poor women maternity leave, prenatal and hospital benefits and day
care -- measures that he believes would greatly reduce the number
of abortions.
He suggests that's the most that can be expected from a party
that won't move to restrict abortions.
But Campolo says people of faith are as likely to have abortions
as non-believers, so churches that oppose abortion should preach to
their own congregations instead of blaming Democrats for abortion.
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) - The Reverend Franklin Graham is in
North Korea.
The son of evangelist Billy Graham arrived Thursday for a
four-day visit.
The younger Graham is president of Samaritans Purse and the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
His publicists say Franklin Graham will tour medical, dental and
development projects and preach Sunday morning at one of two
Protestant churches in the capital, Pyongyang.
At a welcoming dinner Thursday, he reminded his hosts that his
mother, the late Ruth Bell Graham, had attended a Presbyterian
mission school in Pyongyang as a girl.
Franklin Graham also visited and preached in North Korea in
2000.
WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Bush is turning up the heat on
China as he prepares to attend next week's opening ceremony of the
Beijing Olympics.
As China's foreign minister met with Bush's national security
adviser at the White House, the president conferred with five
Chinese freedom activists -- assuring them that he'll tell China's
leaders that "human rights and religious freedom should not be
denied to anyone. "
One of the activists, the Reverend Bob Fu, says Bush pledged to
tell President Hu Jintao that China has nothing to
fear from its peace-loving Christians.
The White House says Bush also dropped in on the meeting with
China's foreign minister and told him that the Olympics are an
opportunity for China "to demonstrate compassion on human rights
and freedom. "
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's largest labor organization has
mailed 600,000 fliers to union voters in Ohio, Michigan,
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It's an effort to dispel rumors about
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's religion and
patriotism.
Obama's campaign has been fighting false rumors circulating on
the Internet about his Islamic ties, partly because his middle name
is Hussein.
Both his father and stepfather were Muslim and Obama spent part
of his childhood in Indonesia, a largely Muslim country.
The AFL-CIO wants union voters to know that the Illinois senator
was born in the U. S. , occasionally wears a flag pin, puts his hand
over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance and is not a Muslim.
The flier shows him being sworn into the Senate with a family
Bible and not the Quran, as rumored.
GLENSIDE, Pa. (AP) - A theology professor who suggested the
Bible is a human as well as divine work has agreed to leave the
conservative Presbyterian seminary where he's taught for 14 years.
In a joint statement, Westminster Theological Seminary and
professor Peter Enns said they "arrived at mutually agreeable
terms" and that Friday will be Enns' last day at the seminary near
Philadelphia.
Westminster trustees had already suspended Enns because his 2005
book -- "Inspiration and Incarnation" -- urges readers to
understand the Bible the same way they perceive Jesus: as both
divine and human.
The trustee board alleged that the book contradicted the
school's founding principle, based on the 1646 Westminster
Confession of Faith. The core creed of the Presbyterian tradition
says scripture is solely the word of God and proclaims the
"infallible truth. "
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - About 150 people have attended an
ecumenical worship service to mourn the victims of Sunday's shotgun
attack on the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
Ministers from several denominations took part in Tuesday's
service at First Baptist Church of Knoxville. They prayed for the
families of the two people killed, and for the healing of six
others who were wounded when the gunman opened fire during a
children's performance.
While no child was shot, the congregation prayed for the
children who witnessed the shootings.
The Reverend Audrey Connor of Knoxville's First Christian Church
prayed, "Oh God, we cannot make sense of this hatred -- hatred
which fueled such insatiable violence. "
The suspected gunman, 58-year-old Jim Adkisson, is jailed and
charged with murder. His ex-wife was once a member of the church.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Attorneys for an atheist soldier who's suing
the government over alleged religious freedom violations have been
granted more time to file arguments with the federal court.
A judge granted the request, giving attorneys for Army
Specialist Jeremy Hall and the Military Religious Freedom
Foundation until September 15th to file the documents.
Those arguments will respond to the government's motion to
dismiss the lawsuit, which has been filed against an Army reservist
and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Hall and the foundation allege his religious rights were
violated while he served in Iraq last year.
They also claim that Gates permits a culture of Christian
fundamentalism in the armed forces.
WARNER ROBBINS, Ga. (AP) - A travel agent in Warner Robbins,
Georgia, faces theft charges for a church group's aborted cruise.
The Houston County Sheriff's Office has arrested 64-year-old
Betty Bearden on 33 felony counts.
Police told The Macon Telegraph that Bearden, who owns Sophie's
Travel Agency, took more than $35,000 from families at Shirley
Hills Baptist Church to pay for a cruise, but never bought the
tickets.
The 90-member church group discovered just days before their
July 20th cruise that they did not have tickets. Police say the 33
felony charges reflect one count for each family.
MORRISTOWN, N. Y. (AP) - An upstate New York judge says an Amish
sect cannot claim that local building codes hinder their religion
or give them special standing.
Morristown Judge James Phillips Junior ruled that the cases
against eight Amish men will go to trial.
A public defender had sought dismissal of building permit
violation charges against the men on grounds of free religious
exercise, lack of a speedy trial and in the "interest of
justice. "
In denying that motion, Judge Phillips wrote that the Amish
desire "not to conform to this world" must be "rationally
tempered with required compliance" to local regulations.
The Amish men say requirements for smoke alarms and
engineer-approved designs violate their religious tenet to oppose
modernization.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Religious groups, which have been
demonstrating their power at the ballot box for years, are
increasingly turning to faith-based investments.
Those range from evangelical funds managed by The Timothy Plan
to the Catholic Ave Maria Mutual Funds and the Islamic Amana Income
Fund.
Faith-based funds do not invest in companies engaged in
activities contrary to their moral and religious beliefs, such as
tobacco, gambling and pornography.
Because of the additional screening, faith-based funds are
slightly more expensive to invest in than secular funds, but many
also produce returns that exceed the market average.
RUIDOSO, N. M. (AP) - A New Mexico church is giving refuge to
dozens of campers washed out by flooding from the remnants of
Hurricane Dolly.
The campers are among about 300 people who were evacuated from
homes, campgrounds and an RV park after more than 6 inches of rain
fell in the mountainous area around Ruidoso.
Sue Hutchinson of the Angus Hill Church of the Nazarene says
most of the 40 or so people who sought shelter there were campers
who got flooded out. She says several campers told her they woke up
when their tents began floating down the river.
State officials estimated more than 60 homes have been damaged.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - The ex-wife of a gunman fatally shot
by police outside a Christian radio station says he had struggled
with bipolar disorder.
Police say 50-year-old Brian Neiman was killed Friday after he
fired at officers and tried to run them over with his vehicle
outside of Way Truth Life Radio (WTLR) in State College,
Pennsylvania.
Jean Neiman says her ex-husband became angry when he didn't take
his medication. She says they used to listen to the Christian
station together before divorcing in 2006.
Police got a tip that an armed man was heading to the station
and stopped him outside. No one at the station was injured.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An usher who was one of the people
killed by a gunman in a Knoxville, Tennessee, church Sunday is
being hailed as a hero. A witness says 60-year-old Greg McKendry
stood in front of the gunman and took the blast to protect the rest
of the congregation.
Police say 58-year-old Jim Adkisson entered the Tennessee Valley
Unitarian Universalist Church and opened fire as about 200
congregants watched a youth performance.
The gunman killed McKendry and wounded eight others before being
tackled by church members, who held him for police. Adkisson was
charged with first-degree murder.
A second shooting victim, 61-year-old Linda Kraeger, died a few
hours later at a Knoxville hospital.
None of the children was injured.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Red Cross says it will team up with
Southern Baptists to help any Texans who have been driven from
their homes by Hurricane Dolly.
Dolly roared ashore about 35 miles north of the Mexican border
Wednesday, lashing the coast with winds up to 100 miles per hour
and dumping heavy rains that threatened to flood low-lying
villages.
A Red Cross official in Washington said the Southern Baptist
Convention and Texas Baptist Men were prepared to send mobile
kitchens into the affected counties.
On South Padre Island, the hurricane knocked out power to
thousands of homes, ripped off roofs and smashed windows. Roads and
yards were strewn with toppled trees, fences, power poles and
streetlights.
CHICAGO (AP) - Conservative Christian broadcaster James Dobson
has beaten out shock-jock Howard Stern and others in online
balloting for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Dobson's Focus on the Family radio broadcast is the first
religious program to receive the honor, which was started in 1992
by the Chicago-based Museum of Broadcast Communications.
Dobson joins a class of eight inductees that also includes Art
Bell, host of a paranormal-themed AM radio show. Those who did not
make the cut included Stern, Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Bob Costas.
Orson Welles, Jack Benny, Paul Harvey and Rush Limbaugh are
among the past honorees.
Dobson's show airs on more than 3,000 North American stations
and in 27 languages in 160 countries.
A gay rights organization has vowed to stage a protest at the
induction ceremony in November.
NEW YORK (AP) - One of the female hosts on the ABC-TV talk show
"The View" says she was joking when she told a Christian women's
magazine about praying for Barbara Walters' salvation.
On Wednesday's broadcast, Sherri Shepherd said she told the
magazine "Precious Times" that she sometimes asked God why he
hadn't put an evangelist like Juanita Bynum or Joyce Meyer in her
place so "they could lay hands on Barbara Walters and get her
saved. "
Shepherd told the TV audience that when she phoned Walters in
France to apologize, Walters laughed and said, "Sherri, I'm
already in heaven -- I'm in Paris. "
Shepherd also explained a statement she made to the magazine
about having had multiple abortions. Shepherd says she was burdened
with shame until a woman told her, "Sherri, when you get to heaven
all your babies are going to be there saying, 'Hi mama!"' Shepherd
said she knew then that Jesus had forgiven her.
DENVER (AP) - A federal appeals court has sided with a Christian
university's argument that the state's denial of financial aid to
its students is unconstitutional.
The 10th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court
that upheld denial of the state aid to students of Colorado
Christian University.
The nondenominational university of about 2,000 students applied
in 2003 to take part in the state's College Opportunity Fund, which
makes stipends available to Colorado undergraduate students who
qualify for in-state tuition. The state Commission on Higher
Education said "no. "
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) - After shying away from helping fund a Moses
statue, officials in Edmond, Oklahoma, are delaying a decision on
whether to help pay for a sculpture of Jesus surrounded by
children.
The Edmond Visual Arts Commission gets $200,000 annually from
the city to fund half the cost of approved pieces of public art.
But commissioners deferred a decision on whether to help pay for
the Jesus statue until guidelines are drawn up to define acceptable
public art.
In December, the commission considered joining with First
Christian Church of Edmond to buy a statue titled "Moses," to be
installed at the church. But after public outcry over separation of
church and state, the commission agreed to let private donors buy
the city's stake in the Moses statue.
CAPITOL HILL (AP) - The Senate Judiciary Committee meets today
to consider whether federal help is needed to probe an embattled
polygamous church for possible crimes, including racketeering.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who's Mormon, requested the
hearing and was scheduled to testify in support of legislation
creating a federal polygamy task force.
Reid's spokesman says it would increase collaboration between
federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and provide
public assistance to women leaving polygamous groups.
The hearing comes two days after a Texas grand jury indicted six
members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints for alleged felony child sexual abuse and other crimes.
The church's lawyer says it's unfortunate that the Senate panel
won't let church members testify.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Some Messianic Jewish inmates at the
Richland prison in Mansfield, Ohio, are claiming discrimination in
their attempts to keep kosher.
Messianic Jews believe Jesus is the Messiah foretold in the Old
Testament, but unlike other Christians, many of them observe the
Jewish Sabbath, holy days and dietary restrictions.
The Reverend Gary Sims, who handles religious issues for Ohio
prisons, said he revoked the inmates' kosher privileges after
consulting with Messianic rabbis who told him the meals were not
essential.
The inmates also complained about having to worship on Sundays
because there's no chaplain to serve them on the Jewish Sabbath.
Federal law says the government cannot impede the religious
exercise of an inmate unless those restrictions support a
compelling governmental interest.
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) - A national group dedicated to religious
freedom is joining a fight between Amish farmers and some Wisconsin
towns.
The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom has filed a
brief asking for permission to intervene in a Jackson County court
case involving Albion farmer Samuel Stolzfus.
Stolzfus and other Amish have been fined thousands of dollars
for failing to get building permits.
Their attorney says the Amish won't sign applications for
building permits because it's against their religion to lie and
they might not be able to keep a promise to comply with building
codes.
The lawyer representing Albion says failure to comply with
building codes creates safety problems.
NEW YORK (AP) - Leaders of a church destroyed on September 11th
have surrendered land needed to rebuild the World Trade Center site
in a 20 million-dollar deal with the government.
The congregation at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church will use
the cash to build a new church a few blocks away. The church's
1,200-square-foot lot had been listed as one of more than a dozen
obstacles slowing long-stalled rebuilding at ground zero.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns ground zero,
and its leadership has agreed to the 20 million-dollar price. The
agency expects 10 million to come from JPMorgan Chase & Company,
which has a tentative deal to build one of five office towers
planned at the site.
The board is expected to consider approving the sale today
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) - The Reverend Rick Warren says both John McCain and Barack Obama will appear at his California church on August 16th for a two-hour question-and-answer forum. Warren says he'll question the presidential candidates for one hour each during Saddleback Church's Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion. Obama will appear the first hour, followed by McCain. Warren, who wrote "The Purpose Driven Life," will be the only questioner. He says he'll ask the candidates how they would handle poverty, AIDS, human rights and the climate, among other issues. The forum will coincide with an interfaith meeting at Saddleback where about 30 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are to discuss projects they can work on together.
LONDON (AP) - The oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, a 4th century Greek version that spread the Gospels and epistles across much of the ancient world, is being made whole again online. The British Library says the full text of the Codex Sinaiticus will be available to Web users by next July, digitally reconnecting parts that are currently held in Britain, Russia, Germany and at a monastery in Egypt's Sinai Desert. The Codex, which includes parts of the Old Testament, was discovered at the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai by a German Bible scholar in 1844. A preview will be released online this Thursday, featuring the Book of Psalms and the Gospel of Mark.
KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - An Indiana pastor who mounted a dirt bike during a church service to demonstrate the concept of unity is now demonstrating the concept of healing instead. Jeff Harlow, the senior pastor at Crossroads Community Church in Kokomo, broke his wrist when he lost control of the motorcycle at the start of Sunday's second service, driving off a 5-foot platform and into the vacant first row of seats. He underwent surgery on the wrist Monday. Becky Harlow says her husband was trying to show his congregation how the rider becomes one with his bike, but it got away from him. No one else was injured. Pastor Harlow had performed the motorcycle demonstration Saturday night and at an earlier service Sunday morning without incident.
PARKERBURG, Iowa (AP) - Members of the the Parkersburg United Methodist Church say the bent cross will remain as a symbol of the Iowa town's strength. They say it shows that Parkersburg may bend, but it won't break. The cross is one of three atop the church. Two point skyward. The third is bent eastward -- the same direction as the path of the tornado that hit two months ago. Eight people in the area died and nearly half of Parkersburg was leveled by the twister. Twenty-two members of the church lost their homes, but their church was spared. Except for the bent cross, the church lost only one stained glass window.
SHEFFIELD, Vt. (AP) - A century-old church in Vermont has burned down after its belltower was struck by lightning. Sheffield Wheelock Fire Chief Marc Brown says firefighters responded to the lightning strike at the Sheffield Federated Church on Friday. He says they put out the flames and then monitored the building for about five hours to make sure the fire was completely extinguished. Apparently it wasn't. About 45 minutes after firefighters left the church, Brown says they were called back and the roof was engulfed in flames. Pastor Tim Pittman says the congregation hopes to rebuild. Instead of a regular service, about 40 parishioners held a prayer vigil on the church lawn Sunday.
WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - The Second Baptist Church of Wheaton, Illinois, has voted to remove its pastor. The decision was sparked by news that the Reverend Andre Allen, who's been at the helm for 23 years, was arrested last November on battery and disorderly conduct charges. Church leaders only learned of Allen's arrest last month. It stemmed from an incident in which two women say he groped them while pretending to be a self-defense instructor at a gym in Schaumburg, Illinois. As part of a plea deal, Allen pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for impersonating a health club employee and prosecutors dropped the battery charge. Church leaders say they asked Allen to resign when they learned about the case, but he refused.
CONCORD, N. H. (AP) - A woman has sued the Hudson, New Hampshire, School District, saying the superintendent was wrong to prevent the distribution of vacation Bible school flyers to students. Patricia Regan claims that Superintendent Randy Bell rejected her flyers solely because of their religious content. In her federal lawsuit, Regan says the district has allowed other nonprofit groups like drama and soccer clubs and the Cub Scouts to distribute flyers. The suit says her constitutional rights were violated.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The daughter of a minister who has been involved in efforts against urban violence is the latest victim in a string of summer homicides in Indianapolis. Chanelle Denise Wells was found shot in her home early Saturday and died later in surgery. Police said a side door showed signs of forced entry, and the home had been ransacked. The 24-year-old Wells was the daughter of the Reverend Malachi Walker, a longtime peace activist who has been involved in drive-by prayer vigils for homicide victims and other anti-violence projects. Indianapolis police say his daughter's homicide was the 14th this month. Police found a loaded pistol, two AK47s and suspected marijuana in Wells' home after she was shot. Reports indicated police also had found guns or drugs during previous visits.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Observant Jews have started a three-week period commemorating the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples in Jerusalem. According to Jewish tradition, both of the Biblical temples were destroyed -- more than six centuries apart -- on the same day -- the 9th of Av (ahv) on the Jewish calendar. That's a fast day, and so is the day marking the first breach in the ancient walls of Jerusalem by invading Babylonian armies three weeks earlier -- the 17th of Tammuz, which fell on Sunday. Between the two, observant Jews mark a period of mourning. They don't go to parties or movies, for example. Destruction of the temples is still seen as a turning point for Judaism.
DENVER (AP) - Plans to open next month's Democratic National Convention in Denver with an interfaith service have angered some secular Democrats. Convention organizer Leah Daughtry, who's an ordained Pentecostal minister, says she got an angry letter demanding to know whether atheists will be speaking at the service. She wasn't sure how to respond, but said, "they're part of the party -- you treat them with respect. " The 44-year-old Daughtry, Howard Dean's chief of staff at the Democratic National Committee, is a fifth-generation minister who carries a Bible in her purse. She says that since God lets people choose whether to follow Him or not, the Democratic Party also should be pro-choice about abortion.
UNDATED (AP) - Conservative Christian leader James Dobson has softened his stance against John McCain, saying he could possibly endorse the Republican presidential hopeful despite serious misgivings. In a Focus on the Family radio broadcast to air Monday, Dobson says, "While I am not endorsing Senator John McCain, the possibility is there that I might. " Dobson and his guest, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler, spend most of the pretaped program criticizing Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Dobson says that while neither candidate is consistent with his views, McCain's positions are closer by a wide margin. Dobson and other evangelical leaders increasingly are taking a lesser-of-two-evils approach to the 2008 election.
BISMARCK, N. D. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging referrals by North Dakota government agencies to a church-affiliated nonprofit that treats and educates troubled children. Judge Dan Hovland says the Freedom From Religion Foundation and five North Dakota taxpayers who are members of the group have no right to sue. Hovland's ruling does not address the plaintiffs' contention that referrals to the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch are unconstitutional because they use public money to indoctrinate children with religion. The Boys and Girls Ranch, which is affiliated with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said it receives state funds but that its spiritual component is funded entirely with private money.
JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - Union University, which was badly damaged by a tornado in February, has received more than 3 million dollars from the Southern Baptist Convention. The storm injured more than 50 students, but there were no deaths at the school in Jackson, Tennessee. Two dormitories were demolished after being severely damaged. Union University Senior Vice President Charles Fowler says donations have come from individual churches, associations, state conventions and Baptist agencies. The Baptist-affiliated school says in a statement that total contributions of about 13 million dollars have come from more than 6,000 donors, but about 5 million more is needed for its rebuilding needs.
LAKE BLUFF, Ill. (AP) - A battle is brewing in the Chicago suburb of Lake Bluff over a banker's contention that his 3 million-dollar home is a church. When George Michael converted his residence into the Armenian Church of Lake Bluff, it qualified him for a nearly $80,000 break on his annual property tax bill. Village officials wonder how they'll make up the lost revenue. Michael told state officials last month that he began his congregation more than a year ago after he got a pastor's degree from an online religious site. While only a handful of close friends and family attend the church, his attorney said Michael made the move to spare his disabled wife the hardship of having to travel to practice her religion.
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union will defend seven Amish men who are charged with not displaying slow-moving vehicle emblems on their horse-drawn buggies. The trial in Graves County, Kentucky, has been delayed to September to give an ACLU attorney time to prepare their defense. The Amish men are charged with not displaying state-mandated flashing lights and an orange triangular symbol. They contend that using the emblems and lights would violate their religious beliefs, which prohibit possessions that are too worldly. In February, three Amish men from western Kentucky were convicted and fined for failing to display the lights and emblem, but they're appealing.
ST. LOUIS (AP) - A Torah scroll that was reported stolen in May from a St. Louis-area synagogue is one of several stolen in the past year in the United States. None has been recovered. Torah scrolls, entirely handwritten in Hebrew by a scribe, contain the five books of Moses. New scrolls cost between $30,000 and $50,000 to produce. In April, two Torah scrolls were stolen from a synagogue in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Another Torah was taken from a high school in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb in September. In Miami Beach, Florida, a Jewish center burned down in April. Police suspect that a Torah was taken before the fire started because investigators found no remnants of the scroll inside the ark and a rabbi found a piece of the Torah's wooden post outside the next day.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Catholic Charities staffer in Virginia who signed a consent form allowing a 16-year-old Guatemalan foster child to get an abortion won't face prosecution. Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Herring says there was no criminal intent because the Catholic Charities staffer and others on her team believed they had the legal authority to sign the abortion consent form. Herring said workers believed the procedure was allowed after the Office of Refugee Resettlement denied funding for the abortion, but did not direct staffers away from the procedure. The Catholic charity cares for refugee children with support from the office. Richmond Bishop Francis DiLorenzo has apologized for lapses that led to the abortion.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - In two weeks, Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton turned Yankee Stadium taunts of "Josh smokes crack" into awe-struck cheers. Hamilton, who credits Jesus Christ with delivering him from his drug addiction, did it with a dazzling display of power during the All-Star Home Run Derby. He hit a record 28 homers Monday night. Afterward, he told reporters that he couldn't have escaped from addiction and returned to baseball "without God's help. " Hamilton said God is "first, and the rest of it is wherever it needs to be. " Hamilton has declared his testimony in both of his home stadiums in the major leagues. He did it last year in Cincinnati the day the Christian band Mercy Me played a concert at a Reds game. Last month at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, he retold his story to about 1,000 fans.
NEW YORK (AP) - New Yorkers are being asked to bring their illegal guns to church this weekend. Law enforcement officials say each gun can be exchanged for a $200 Chase Bank card with no questions asked. BB guns and air pistols are worth $20 each. The program will be held Saturday at six churches in Brooklyn. People can turn in rifles, handguns and shotguns -- even if they're loaded -- as long as they're in plastic or paper bags or shoe boxes. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly promises the transactions will remain anonymous. He says the aim is to get weapons off the streets. City officials say they have $300,000 available and hope to exchange it all for guns
MADRID, Spain (AP) - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia says history's great conflicts have not been caused by religion, but by extremists -- many of whom misinterpreted religion. Abdullah's comments came at the start of a Saudi-sponsored meeting in Spain that aims to bring Muslims, Christians and Jews closer together. Hindus and Buddhists also are participating. He urged representatives of the world's largest faiths to "tell the world that differences don't need to lead to disputes. " Saudi Arabia permits no religion except Islam, but King Abdullah met with Pope Benedict last year and has urged Muslims to present Islam's "good message" to the world.
Dozens seek presidency of Oral Roberts University TULSA, Okla. (AP) - More than 50 people have been suggested for or have shown interest in the Oral Roberts University presidency, according to the presidential search consultant. ORU is looking for a new leader following Richard Roberts' resignation last fall amid allegations that he misspent university money and poorly managed the Oklahoma school -- allegations he denied. The job description calls for a man or woman who has had a "significant leadership position" and who is a good speaker, "devoted Christian," planner, visionary, team-builder and good fundraiser. It also describes a president who would serve as a role model, "living a Spirit-filled life, practicing the prayer language. "
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The creator of a calendar that features shirtless Mormon missionaries has been excommunicated after a disciplinary meeting with church leaders in Las Vegas. Chad Hardy said the local council of elders felt that his calendar was "inappropriate and not the image that the church wants to have. " "Men on a Mission," which has sold nearly 10,000 copies at $14. 99 each, includes pictures of 12 returned missionaries wearing black slacks, but not their trademark white shirts, in modest poses. The men also were photographed in traditional missionary garb and share their religious beliefs in biographical sketches. Some of the 12 models have also been called to disciplinary meetings, but were not punished.
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The Roman Catholic church's World Youth Day festival is getting under way in Australia with a Tuesday evening Mass celebrated by Sydney Cardinal George Pell. Pope Benedict, who arrived Sunday, is resting and recovering from jet lag as he prepares to meet with hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims at the six-day festival. His first public event is Thursday. The 81-year-old pontiff is ensconced at a secluded study center run by the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei in the bush country outside Sydney. Monday, pilgrims paraded through Sydney with a giant wooden cross that Pope John Paul gave to the world's youth in 1984 to be carried across continents as a symbol of Christ's love for humanity.
DONNA, Texas (AP) - Police in Donna, Texas, say a pastor accidentally backed over a 17-month-old girl, killing her, after giving the toddler and her mother a ride home from church. Rodrigo Medrano had just dropped off Ania Lesit Juares and her mother Claudia Hernandez Sunday. Donna Police say Medrano told investigators that he saw Hernandez pick up her daughter and walk toward their home, but apparently Ania asked to be put down and ended up behind his Lincoln Town Car. The McAllen Monitor reports that the girl was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The case was turned over to the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office.
WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Bush is calling attention to the plight of persecuted believers in China as he prepares to attend the opening ceremonies for next month's Beijing Olympics. At a White House event marking the tenth anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act, the president said he always tells foreign leaders, including China's President Hu Jintao, that they should "welcome religion in their society, not fear it. " Bush said he's gone to church in Beijing and has met with persecuted Chinese Christians, Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists, including the Dalai Lama. The president also urged the leaders of Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Burma and Eritrea "to respect the rights of those who seek only to worship their God as they see fit. "
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa college has reached a financial settlement with a professor who was fired after telling students that the Biblical story of Adam and Eve should not be taken literally. Steve Bitterman taught world civilization at Southwestern Community College in Creston. He was fired last September after students complained. Bitterman later sued for wrongful termination. Bitterman's lawyer said academic freedom should have outweighed what he called "fundamentalist students taking exception when it came time for their God to be put under the microscope. "
Soaring fuel prices threaten air link to missionaries NAMPA, Idaho (AP) - Skyrocketing fuel prices are threatening to cut a lifeline to hundreds of missionaries in remote places around the world. Dave Fyock (FY'-ahk) of Mission Aviation Fellowship says most of the ministry's 134 planes burn aviation gas whose price has shot up to 13 dollars a gallon and could still go higher. Unless donations rise to meet the soaring fuel costs, he says services will have to be cut for missionaries whose only alternative may be to walk for days. Fyock says Mission Aviation Fellowship's planes deliver food to jungle airstrips and sometimes transport ailing missionaries to facilities where they receive life-saving medical care.
FARGO, N. D. (AP) - Officials in Fargo, North Dakota, are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by opponents of a Ten Commandments monument on city property. The city denies it violated the constitutional rights of the Red River Freethinkers last year when it refused to place their monument next to the Ten Commandments monument. The Freethinkers monument would have had an inscription that declared, "The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion. " They filed suit in April. The group earlier had argued unsuccessfully that the Ten Commandments monument violated separation of church and state.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says elective high school Bible courses can be constitutional if taught using the non-specific guidelines adopted by the State Board of Education. The Legislature passed a law last year allowing for Bible courses to be offered in the 2009-2010 school year and directed the board to adopt curriculum standards. Lawmakers adopted the measure with an assurance that the class would only focus on the history and literature of the Bible, and not proselytize for or disparage any faith. It also required the attorney general to review the curriculum. But Abbott's office says a specific course curriculum cannot be cleared because none has yet been proposed or reviewed.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Officials say polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs was taken from jail in Arizona to a Las Vegas hospital Tuesday after he was found weak, feverish and "convulsive" in his cell. The 52-year-old president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was convicted in Utah last year and was moved to Arizona in February to await another trial there. He has had several health complications in custody, including a trip to a Utah prison infirmary in early 2007 because of a self-imposed fast. Authorities say Jeffs also attempted suicide last year and was seen throwing himself against the walls and banging his head. The FLDS practices polygamy in arranged marriages that sometimes have involved underage girls. Its Texas ranch was raided in April, setting off a legal battle over the custody of hundreds of children.
JERUSALEM (AP) - In a basement in Jerusalem's Old City, tailors using ancient texts as a blueprint are making clothing they hope will be worn by priests in a reconstructed Jewish Temple. The project by a group called the Temple Institute is part of an ideology that advocates making preparations for rebuilding the temple that was destroyed by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago. But the site revered by Jews as the Temple Mount is also occupied by Islam's third-holiest shrine. The Temple Institute's tailors believe Jewish priests will soon have to resume the ancient rituals there in a rebuilt temple, and that by preparing priestly garments they're bringing that day closer. The institute does not advocate violence, but some Muslims see the work of such groups as evidence that Jews plan to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock to make way for the rebuilt temple.
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) - People in Mount Vernon, Ohio, are divided over the school board's decision to fire a science teacher accused of preaching his Christian beliefs in the classroom. John Freshwater, who is battling to save his job at Mount Vernon Middle School, is regarded as either a courageous fighter for religious freedom or a public employee who violated separation of church and state. Freshwater was fired last month after an outside consulting firm concluded that he taught creationism and was insubordinate in failing to remove a Bible and other religious materials from his classroom. He also faces a lawsuit filed by the family of a student who says Freshwater burned a cross on the child's arm and that the burn mark remained for three or four weeks. Freshwater told investigators he was trying to demonstrate a device called a high frequency generator and described the images as an "X," not a cross.
CAPITOL HILL (AP) - Iowa Senator Charles Grassley says two ministries have responded fully to his inquiry into how they spend their donors' money. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, says Joyce Meyer Ministries and the Reverend Benny Hinn have cooperated with his investigation, but others have refused to answer questions. The Reverend Creflo Dollar and televangelist Kenneth Copeland call Grassley's probe a violation of their constitutional right to freedom of religion. Grassley responds that he doesn't care about doctrine, but wants to ensure that the ministries are not misusing tax-exempt donations. He's not ruling out issuing subpoenas for those that won't cooperate. Grassley says the ministries of Randy and Paula White and Bishop Eddie Long have provided incomplete responses to his inquiry.
BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese newspaper reports that free copies of the Bible will be provided during the Olympic Games to athletes, spectators, tourists and anyone else who wants one. The China Daily quotes the country's largest Christian publisher as saying about 10,000 bilingual Bibles will be distributed in the Olympic Village, which houses athletes and media, and another 30,000 copies of the New Testament also will be available during the Games. In accordance with earlier Olympic practices, the Bibles will be available mainly through churches or the Olympic Village. None will be provided in public hotels. The Islamic Association of China says places of worship for other religions also will be available at the Olympic Village.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A former science curriculum director for the Texas Education Agency has filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was illegally fired for forwarding an e-mail about a speaker who was critical of teaching alternatives to the theory of evolution. Christina Comer, who lost her job last year, says she was terminated for defying a policy that requires employees to be neutral on the subject of creationism -- the Biblical interpretation of the origin of human life. Her e-mail, which was intercepted by a state education leader, was about a speaker coming to Austin who had views critical of creationism and the teaching of intelligent design. Comer's lawsuit says the agency's neutrality policy unconstitutionally endorses religion.
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A young man from Pennsylvania has drowned in Costa Rica, where he was doing missionary work. Matt Garber of Elizabethtown was 22. He graduated in April from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. His mother, Deb Garber, says her son went to Costa Rica last summer through a university cross-cultural program. She says while he was there, he met a missionary family whom he contacted again to help in their work this summer. She says he went to the beach with the family on Tuesday and got caught in a riptide.
NEW YORK (AP) - New York's Sikh religious community is protesting an attack on a 12-year-old girl who had her long hair cut off by a fellow student. The hair cutting violates Sikh religious beliefs. School officials say the accused student was immediately suspended. Sikhs and elected officials planned a march and rally to protest the third such incident in two months targeting a Sikh student in Queens. On June 3rd, a high school student tried to remove a Sikh's turban and punched him in the face. In May, a student at another Queens school had his turban removed and his hair cut off. Schools Chancellor Joe Klein has previously met with the Sikh community and said new bias regulations were being implemented.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio's state Barber Board has threatened to shut down a church program in Columbus that gives kids free haircuts and is designed to keep boys away from gangs and drugs. The summer program at Word Church of God in Christ also provides children with a free lunch. Board Director Howard Warner says barbers and barbershops must be licensed to ensure proper sanitation and to keep away head lice, fungus and scalp diseases. The Reverend Eddie Parker says an associate pastor acts as the barber, as well as a mentor for neighborhood children. He says the haircuts will continue while the church works to get licensed.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine's highest court has rejected an appeal by a couple who wanted the town of Swans Island to pay for their children's education at a Christian school. Jason and Priscilla Joyce argued that the subsidy to send their children to a religious school in Trenton, Maine, came from town funds -- not state funds -- and therefore was exempt from a state law banning the use of public money for religious education. They also argued that the town's payment was to them, not to the school. But the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the law applies to all public funds.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A policeman who made anti-gay remarks during off-duty hours as a pastor is suing the Los Angeles Police Department, alleging religious discrimination. Sergeant Eric Holyfield, dressed in clergy attire, told mourners during a 2006 eulogy for a fellow officer that homosexual acts were "sinful" and an "abomination" and would lead to eternal condemnation. Deputy Police Chief Charlie Beck, who was among the mourners, filed a formal complaint against Holyfield after the funeral. The lawsuit says LAPD brass then passed him up for promotions and pay raises in retaliation. Police Commander Stuart Maislin says law enforcement must treat "everyone with respect. "
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - Two converts from Islam to Christianity have been convicted of illegally promoting their Christian faith in Muslim Algeria. The attorney for Rachid Mohammed Seghir and Jammal Dahmani says they were fined and given six-month suspended sentences for "distributing documents that aimed at weakening the faith of Muslims. " The men -- both evangelical Christians -- were prosecuted when extracts from the Bible and other Christian books were found in one of their cars in 2007 during a routine check. They were charged with proselytizing, or trying to spread their faith among Muslims, as well as praying in a building that had not been granted a religious permit by authorities.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Kidnapped Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt has thanked God and the Virgin Mary for what she calls the "miracle" of her rescue after being held six years by leftist rebels. Betancourt and 14 other hostages, including three American military contractors, were rescued Wednesday by Colombian spies who tricked the rebels into handing them over. Betancourt said she had prayed much during her captivity. The Americans -- Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell -- were flown directly to the United States to reunite with their families and undergo tests and treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
DENVER (AP) - Roman Catholic priests and deacons in the Denver Archdiocese are being warned not to endorse or donate money to political candidates. The directive came from Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput (SHAP'-yoo), one of the nation's most outspoken bishops in calling for Catholics to follow their faith in making political decisions. Published in the archdiocesan newspaper, the directive states that clerics "may not publicly participate or endorse political campaigns or initiatives, or publicly affiliate themselves with groups whose primary purpose is to do so. " A spokeswoman for the archdiocese said the directive affects only partisan political activity and that clergy still have a duty to speak out on moral issues such as abortion or immigration
MONTREAT, N. C. (AP) - The Reverend Billy Graham says he prayed for John McCain when he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam -- decades before the two finally met for the first time in North Carolina on Sunday. Publicist Mark DeMoss says the 89-year-old evangelist told McCain that he met the senator's father, who was an admiral in Honolulu, during the Vietnam War. Graham recalled that he and Admiral McCain prayed for young John McCain's release, and did so again at a subsequent meeting. This past Sunday, DeMoss says the Republican presidential candidate prayed with both Billy and Franklin Graham during a 45-minute private meeting.
ATLANTA (AP) - Alabama's ousted Ten Commandments judge, Roy Moore, will be making appearances in Georgia this Fourth of July weekend. He's scheduled to speak at the annual joint Freedom Celebration at First Baptist Church in Newnan and Flat Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville on Saturday and Sunday. Moore told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the theme of the speeches will be "Our American Birthright," and would focus on the loss of morality. Moore now heads the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, Alabama. He gained a national following in 2003 when he was removed as Alabama's chief justice after refusing to obey a federal court order to move his Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse rotunda. Moore ran for governor in 2006 but lost in a Republican primary.
DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) - An 11-year-old boy has died from injuries he suffered when the truck he was riding in collided with a church bus from Kentucky. A total of 23 people who were on the church bus were taken to local hospitals for treatment after the crash Sunday afternoon in Dothan, Alabama. Police Sergeant Tim Ward says the truck veered into the path of one three buses from Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. The buses were traveling to the beach at Panama City, Florida, for a church camp
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