News

Kimberly Winston 6-12-2017

Image via RNS/Reuters/Brian Snyder

The Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University and a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, will be part of a planned task force on higher education, the White House confirmed. According to Falwell, who spoke to the Chronicle of Higher Education, he will be one of 15 college presidents who will participate. Falwell told Politico, “We haven’t had any substantive discussions on the issues yet.”

Image via RNS/Baptist Press/Matt Miller

“Barack Obama didn’t divide us,” said Nathan A. Finn, dean of the School of Theology and Missions at Union University, a Southern Baptist college in Jackson, Tenn.

“Donald Trump divided us. His personal behavior, his policy views, his temperament and character, his religious values, all were highly questionable.”

International travelers arrive at Logan airport following President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Mass. Feb. 3. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A second U.S. appeals court on Monday ruled against President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people entering the United States from six Muslim-majority countries, largely upholding a lower court's decision.

the Web Editors 6-09-2017

Image via Kirstin Adams-Bimson / Shutterstock.com

Dozens of what are being billed as “anti-Sharia marches” are scheduled for this weekend in 28 cities in 20 states nationwide. The so-called March Against Sharia is organized by ACT for America, a grassroots organization that claims to “preserve American culture and keep this nation safe.” And religious groups across the country are speaking out.

President Donald Trump announces his decision that the United States will withdraw from the landmark Paris Climate Agreement June 1. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

New York State's attorney general and 12 other top state law enforcement officials said on Friday they would mount a vigorous court challenge to any effort to roll back vehicle emission rules by the Trump administration. In March, President Donald Trump ordered a review of U.S. vehicle fuel-efficiency standards from 2022-2025 put in place by the Obama administration, saying they were too tough on the auto industry.

Image via RNS/Islamic Networks Group

At a time of growing assaults and intimidation of Muslim Americans, the Islamic Networks Group has partnered with 70 interfaith organizations to launch a “Know Your Neighbor” campaign. The effort is intended to encourage individuals and groups to encounter people of faith different from their own.

Image via Reuters/ Kevin Lamarque

Evangelicals, Worthen said, were trained “to see the Bible as a code book that, properly interpreted, could reveal the true meaning of current events no matter what the fancy scientists and political elites would tell you.”

the Web Editors 6-09-2017

1. A Simple Guide to the U.K. Election Result

What happened while you were sleeping, and what exactly a “hung parliament” means.

President Trump addresses the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s "Road to Majority" conference in Washington, D.C., on June 8. Photo courtesy of Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

“I want to know, who are the 19 percent?” Trump quipped, referring to those evangelicals who didn’t vote for him.  “Where did they come from?

the Web Editors 6-08-2017

Image via Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Shutterstock

The pastors — Rev. Luis Cortez of Esperanza USA, Rev. Gabriel Salguero of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Dr. Noel Castellans of the Christian Community Development Association, and Bishop Jose Garcia of Bread for the World — highlighted the negative effects of ICE in targeted communities, underscoring the fear families have lived with since the Feb. 21 release of two DHS memos. These memos expanded the scope of deportations, targeting any undocumented immigrant charged with any criminal offense, and expediting the removal process.

 

James Comey is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing June 8. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

James Comey said on Thursday he was disturbed by President Donald Trump's bid to get him to drop a probe into the former national security advisor, but the former FBI director would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice.

Reuters 6-08-2017

James Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee hearing into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election March 20. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

Comey is scheduled to testify at 10 a.m. on Thursday as part of the committee's investigation into U.S. intelligence agency allegations that Russia tried to interfere with the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion by President Donald Trump's campaign. Russia has denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.

James Comey waits to testify to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on "Russia's intelligence activities" on Capitol Hill Jan.10. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

Former FBI Director James Comey said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump asked him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. In written testimony released the day before he appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said Trump told him at a meeting in the White House in February: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

James Briggs 6-07-2017

Image via RNS/Rima Shadid

A Virginia-based outdoor advertising seller with a history of inflammatory statements on Islam is the owner of an Indianapolis billboard that is featuring an anti-Muslim ad.

 

Naila Inayat 6-07-2017

Image via RNS/Reuters/Khuram Parvez

Masih recently filed for divorce from a husband she said “frequently beats me up” and a mother-in-law who she said burned her leg with coal.

But under the country’s laws, she must produce a witness who would testify to committing adultery with her husband. As a result, she’s now reluctantly planning to renounce her faith.

Then-Assistant U.S. Attorney General Christopher Wray pauses during a press conference at the Justice Department Nov. 4, 2003. REUTERS/Molly Riley/File Photo

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he plans to nominate Christopher Wray, a former U.S. assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush now in private practice, to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Members of Iranian forces stand guard during an attack on the Iranian parliament in central Tehran, Iran, June 7. Omid Vahabzadeh/TIMA via REUTERS

Attackers raided Iran's parliament and set off a suicide bomb at the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing up to seven people in a twin assault at the heart of the Islamic Republic, Iranian media reported.

A 3D-printed logo for Twitter is seen in this picture illustration made in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jan. 26. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

A free-speech institute on Tuesday sent a letter to President Donald Trump demanding the prolific tweeter unblock certain Twitter users on grounds the practice violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Image via RNS/Reuters/Evan Vucci/Pool

Vice President Mike Pence — a onetime altar boy who became an evangelical Protestant — proclaimed President Donald Trump a faithful supporter of Catholic values at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, an event that sought to set aside any friction between the president and the pope.

“Let me promise all of you, this administration hears you. This president stands with you,” Pence said to the 1,300 gathered.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons/Duncan Lock

The 8-0 ruling reverses lower court decisions that sided with hospital workers who argued that the exemption from pension laws should not extend to hospitals affiliated with churches.