December 2008 Archives

Christian
church-suburbs.jpgUrban blacks have been following the pattern of so-called "white flight" for the past several decades, leaving the city for the suburbs as they reach the middle class. Now their churches are beginning to follow, church leaders and observers say.

Read More
Christian
God's Word brings us a comforting promise, along with an insightful command as we face a New Year: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5-6). Read More
National
rick-warren.24.jpgPresident-elect Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation drew one kind of protest. Whether the evangelical pastor offers the prayer in the name of Jesus may draw another. 

Read More
Opinion
matthew-parris.jpgBefore Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

Read More
World
fultons-gambia-miss.jpgDavid Fulton, 60, a former Army major, and his wife, Fiona, 46, pleaded guilty to making seditious comments "with intent to bring hatred or contempt against the president or the government". Their sentence, in a country which has one of west Africa's worst human rights records, sparked concern after reports that other prisoners on similar charges have been poisoned while in jail.

Read More
National
Hurricane Katrina not only pulverized the Gulf Coast in 2005, it knocked the bully pulpit out from under President George W. Bush, according to two former advisers who spoke candidly about the political impact of the government's poor handling of the natural disaster. Read More
Christian
pop-winans2.jpgIn an article written by Kimberly Hayes Taylor (Detroit News) it reports that David "Pop" Winans, patriarch of Gospel's dynamic Winans family, has reportedly suffered a series of four strokes, seizures and a heart attack since late September. Winans (74) was admitted to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak on Sept. 30.

Read More
African-American
As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren. Read More
African-American
An economist in Germany has noticed a curious trend among Americans: For the past 50 years, black women have been shrinking with each new generation. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Israeli officials said Wednesday morning the country had decided to reject an immediate 48-hour pause in a devastating five-day offensive against Hamas in Gaza.  Read More
National
With three weeks to go before his inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama has been beset by questions over the Rod Blagojevich scandal as well as criticism over his choice of Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation. Read More
National
A group advocating separation of church and state is suing to keep prayer out of the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and several of its members are among the 29 plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed Monday in Washington, D.C.  Read More
World
Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics has released data on Christians in the nation compiled in 2007. According to a report in YNet News, there are 154,000 Christians living in Israel of whom 80% are Arabs. Christians, therefore, constitute 2.1% of the population. Read More

Matt Lepsis was living the good life last season, making millions in the NFL and finally fitting in when he locked himself in a closet and screamed for help: Please, God, help me kick this drug habit.

The Denver Broncos left tackle, who called it quits after last season and enrolled in seminary, admitted he was high on drugs for the first six games of his final season.

Read More
National
rod-blago-appoint.jpgGov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. The action comes despite warnings by Democratic Senate leaders that they would not seat anyone appointed by the disgraced governor who faces criminal charges of trying to sell the post, sources familiar with the decision said.

Read More
National
mychal-bell.jpgA teen convicted in the "Jena Six" beating case shot himself in the chest and was taken to the hospital Monday, days after his arrest on a shoplifting charge, police said. Mychal Bell's wound isn't life threatening, said Monroe Police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten. The 18-year-old used a .22-caliber firearm in the shooting around 7:40 p.m., she said.

Read More
World
cynthia-mckinney.jpgA boat carrying international activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.

Read More
Christian
church-building2.jpgAfter years of renting makeshift quarters, Seabreeze Church finally bought a permanent home in 2004 -- a five-acre former tennis club in a beachside Southern California town.

Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Palestinian children search the ruins of a destroyed house following an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip, 29 December 2008Israeli jets have attacked the Gaza Strip for a fourth day, with raids on a number of Hamas government buildings and security installations. Air strikes early on Tuesday killed at least 10 people, medical officials in the coastal enclave said. Read More
National
Republican Party reaction is divided over the decision of a candidate for party chairman to distribute a CD that features the parody tune "Barack the Magic Negro," with the majority of Chip Saltsman's political rivals criticizing the move Read More
Christian
brenda-young.jpgPastor Rudy Rasmus recently called the staff of St. John's Methodist Church downtown together for a meeting. The news wasn't good, and the timing couldn't be worse. Between Christmas and New Year's Day, the staff of 40 will be reduced by 20 percent.

Read More
Opinion
joseph-phillips-568.jpgThe Associated Press recently described Global warming as "a ticking time bomb that President-elect Barack Obama can't avoid," and that "global warming is accelerating." 

Read More
Christian

Evangelist Billy Graham is changing membership from a Dallas church to one near his retirement home in South Carolina.
Read More
Health
Teenagers who promise to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have sex before that as those who don't take virginity pledges, according to a new study published in the January issue of Pediatrics. Read More
National
barack-obama.113.jpgBarack Obama has long stressed the importance of religion in his life. But as his fellow Christians around the world attended Christmas services on Wednesday and Thursday, the president-elect and his family remained sequestered at their vacation compound on the windward coast of Oahu.

Read More
Roger Babson, the famed statistician and writer on finance, said, "The test of a nation is the growth of it people intellectually and spiritually. Money and so-called prosperity are of very little account. Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and Spain all had their turns in being the richest nations on the world. Then they declined. Instead of saving them, their wealth proved to be their ruin. Read More
Christian
Dressed in blue-and-orange prison suits and tennis shoes, the men came forward for Holy Communion singing an old spiritual. "Hallelujah, we're going to see the king," they sang in deep baritone voices. "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king." Read More
Culture
After a life that touched three centuries, the oldest man in the United States has died in California at the age of 112, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported on Monday. Read More
National
A man who was infected with the HIV virus by his stripper ex-wife is pleading for other men who may have had sex with her to get tested for the disease. "I know there were other men she slept with," Percy Whiteman claimed yesterday of his ex, Suwalee Iamkhong, who is fighting deportation from Canada.

Read More
Christian
If I'm serious about keeping my New Year's resolutions in 2009, should I add another one? Should the to-do list include, "Start going to church"? Read More
Christian
U.S. evangelicals say they are divided over a new "Green Bible" which embraces environmentalism and a need to protect the Earth. Read More
Culture
Joe Kaufman, 26, is perfectly open to dating opportunities. He lets friends fix him up. He's comfortable going to bars. He's tried several online dating services, including Yahoo! Personals, Match.com and OkCupid. But eHarmony? Unlikely. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
israeli-tanks.jpgIsrael's air force obliterated symbols of Hamas power on the third day of its overwhelming assault on Gaza on Monday, striking a house next to the Hamas premier's home, devastating a security compound and flattening a five-story building at a university closely linked to the Islamic group.

Read More
World
ayatollah-ali-khamenei.jpgIran's Supreme Leader issued a religious decree to Muslims around the world on Sunday, ordering them to defend Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli attacks "in any way possible", state television reported.

Read More
World
mbeya-people.jpgThree million people in the highlands of the east African country of Tanzania will receive Scriptures in their own language for the first time by fall next year, a Bible translation ministry recently announced.

Read More
National
The paths taken by Colin Lampark and Rosalyn Bates help illustrate why Chicago is the most racially segregated big city in America. Both are young professionals with handsome earning potential. Both moved to the city a few years ago--Lampark, 28, to Lincoln Park; Bates, 31, to Bronzeville. And both chose neighborhoods reflecting their race, a practice common in Chicago. Read More
National
pat-quinn.jpgLt. Gov. Pat Quinn said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that he is certain scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be out of office in less than two months. Speaking from Chicago, Quinn said he believes the Illinois legislature will impeach Blagojevich by Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial birthday celebration Feb. 12. 

Read More
African-American
The murder rate among black teenagers has climbed since 2000 even as murders by young whites have scarcely grown or declined in some places, according to a new report. Read More
National
caroline-kennedy-546.jpgA Democratic congressman compared Caroline Kennedy to Sarah Palin, saying the would-be senator hasn't proved she has the "guts and the gumption" to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton. 

Read More
National
barack-obama.113.jpgThe media glare, the constant security appendage and the sheer production that has become a morning jog or a hankering for an ice cream cone - it's been closing in on Barack Obama for some time.

Read More
Books
The publisher of a disputed Holocaust memoir has canceled the book, adding the name Herman Rosenblat to an increasingly long list of literary fakers and ending with a heartbreaking crash his story _ embraced by Oprah Winfrey among others _ of meeting his future wife at a concentration camp. Read More
National
Will one of President-elect Barack Obama's New Year's resolutions be to quit smoking once and for all? His good-humored waffling in various interviews about smoking made it plain that Mr. Obama, like many who have vowed to quit at this time of year, had not truly done so. Read More
National
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday that if what he's done as Illinois governor is an impeachable offense, he's living on the "wrong planet" and is in the "wrong place." Speaking to a WLS-TV reporter outside a Chicago law office, the governor said he was hired to fight for the people of Illinois and that's what he's been doing. Read More
National
The two most influential women in President George W. Bush's White House -- first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- are strongly defending the president's legacy against critics who are calling his administration one of the worst in history.
Read More
World
Oil prices rose sharply on Monday, touching nearly 42 dollars in London, amid rising unrest in the Middle East and evidence that OPEC members have begun complying with agreed output cuts, traders said. Read More
detroit-lions.3.jpgThey'd known for weeks it was possible, each loss bringing them one stumble closer to a mark no team wants--or even wants to think about. Yet when it finally happened, the Detroit Lions were still stunned, unable to find words to adequately describe the shame in their accomplishment. 

Read More
Christian
A best-selling atheist author claims that Christianity not only falsely takes credit for good in the world, but actually promotes immorality. In a recent debate against a Christian scholar and pastor, Christopher Hitchens argued against the idea that Christianity is accountable for the spreading of moral principles such as how it is wrong to murder and steal. Read More
National
barack-obama.107.jpgA group of Christian leaders in the United States has called on President-elect Barack Obama to make the Israeli-Palestinian peace process an immediate priority during his first year in office.

Read More
eagles-coach-mcnabb.jpgDonovan McNabb flexed his muscles, seemingly mocking Terrell Owens. The always stoic Andy Reid played cheerleader, encouraging the crowd to make noise. Many fans may not want the quarterback or coach back for another season. But they'll be here for at least one more game -- a playoff game.

Read More
National
chip-saltsman-daylife.jpgReaction on the right to Saltsman's distribution of a song called "Barack the Magic Negro" in his quest to become the new chairman of the RNC has been mixed. One of Saltsman's rivals in the race for RNC chair, Ken Blackwell, an African-American himself, has defended Saltsman, dismissing the criticism as "hypersensitivity in the press": Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
gaza-pound2.jpgIsrael launched air strikes on Gaza for a second day on Sunday, piling pressure on Hamas after killing more than 270 people in one of the bloodiest days in 60 years of conflict between the Palestinians and the Jewish state.

Read More
World
palestians-war-israel-600.jpgThe Arab world reacted with outrage at Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip on Saturday, launching scattered protests and calls for retaliation against Israel. The Arab League announced a gathering of foreign ministers Wednesday would focus on the attack, said the organization's chairman Amr Moussa.

Read More
National
warren-obama-saddleback-602.jpgThe most thoughtful and interesting debate of the two-year-long presidential campaign occurred last August at Saddleback Church between John McCain and Barack Obama, moderated by Saddleback pastor Rick Warren. So it is notable that President-elect Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his Inauguration next month has brought forth hyperpartisan invective from the Democratic left. 

Read More
National
The Illinois House committee considering the removal of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich has rejected a request from the governor's lawyer to subpoena two top advisers to President-elect Barack Obama, the committee's chairwoman said Saturday. Read More
Christian
glenn-beck.jpgConservative ministry Focus on the Family has removed from its website an article about the latest book by former CNN host Glenn Beck in response to complaints over his Mormon ties.

Read More
Christian
I Am Second. The phrase is slapped on billboards across Dallas and broadcast on local television stations, and has snagged more than 8,000 Facebook friends. Even Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton is saying it. So, who is first? Read More
World
iceland-protest.jpgA boy charged to the front of an angry crowd here recently and tossed a carton of skyr, a popular local yogurt-like snack, at the Parliament building. It splattered on the rough-hewn stone. He and thousands of Icelanders were protesting one of the strangest economic failures of the global financial crisis.

Read More
Science
asteroid-earth.jpg
This well-done video is being passed around the world-wide web right now, so we thought we would give our readers a chance to view it. If nothing else, it reminds us that this world is coming to an end, and what it could look like. Also, it reminds us of how truly vulnerable we are--walking on a ball called Earth, hanging on nothing. 

Read More
Business
"We hope to do to this industry what Wal-Mart did to theirs, Starbucks did to theirs, Costco did to theirs and Lowe's-Home Depot did to their industry. And I think if we've done our job, five years from now you're not going to call us a bank." -- Kerry K. Killinger, chief executive of Washington Mutual, 2003 Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
gaza-israel-war-afp.jpg
Israel hammered Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 225 people in retaliation for rocket fire, in one of the bloodiest days of the decades-long Middle East conflict. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "Operation Cast Lead" against the Islamist movement, which has also left some 700 wounded, will continue "as long as necessary."

Read More
National
chip-saltsman-daylife.jpgRNC candidate Chip Saltsman's Christmas greeting to committee members includes a music CD with lyrics from a song called "Barack the Magic Negro," first played on Rush Limbaugh's popular radio show.

Read More
Christian
Just three years ago, half of the U.S. adult population felt the influence of religion on American life was rising. Today, only a little more than a quarter believe so.  Read More
Christian
rick-warren.23.jpgBest-selling author, social activist and megachurch pastor Rick Warren described the social gospel supported by many of the mainline churches as "Marxism in Christian clothing."

Read More
Christian
waterfront-church.jpgThe members of Waterfront Community Church attend weekly services in a high school auditorium. Their contemporary Christian music rock band practices at someone's home. And the pastor relies on a laptop and Starbucks for an office.

Read More
Christian
Like the biblical mustard seed, Trinity Chapel Church of God has experienced amazing growth. In 1983, Jim Bolin and wife Robin had a storefront worship center near Powder Springs with five families. Twenty-five years later, the charismatic preacher extolled the faithful in a vast, theaterlike sanctuary, had more than 7,000 church members and oversaw a vibrant international ministry. Read More
Business
amazon.com-logo-599.jpgOnline retailer Amazon.com Inc. called this holiday season its "best ever," saying Friday that it saw a 17 percent increase in orders on its busiest day -- a rare piece of good news in a season that has been far from merry for most retailers, including online businesses.

Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
israel-strikes-gaza-600.jpgAn Israeli airstrike against a Palestinian rocket squad killed a militant Saturday, the first death in Gaza since Hamas formally declared an end to a six-month truce. 

Read More
African-American
craig-watkins-588.jpgJan.1, 2007, the day Craig Watkins was sworn in as Dallas' first African-American district attorney, marked a seismic shift in local politics. Perhaps even more significant than the election of Ron Kirk, our first black mayor, Mr. Watkins' first two years in office illustrate a commitment to just and effective enforcement of the law; citizens expect as much and rightly so.

Read More
Roger Babson, famed statistician, said, "Every economic depression is foreshadowed by a religious decline." 

Great is the need for an authoritative voice to point the way out of our moral and spiritual confusion in America--a voice totally dedicated to God and his imperishable Word.
Christian
barack-obama92.jpgLeaders in Christian higher education could be in for an easier time under Barack Obama's administration than they had under George Bush. Under Bush's administration, the federal government became increasingly involved in accreditation for higher education, said Paul Corts, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Corts and others in Christian higher education are hopeful that the Obama administration will back off from further involvement.

Read More
Education
barack-obama-594.jpgThe New York Post reports that the Clear Stream Avenue Elementary School will not be changing its name to honor President-elect Barack Obama.

Read More
Christian
bryant-rodriguez.jpgWhat the authorities say happened to members of El Camino Church, a gray brick building wedged into a corner of Washington Heights, will not make financial history. No charities will have to close, no endowments will be eviscerated. Millions were not lost, let alone billions.

Read More
National
obama-family.3.jpgBarack Obama has long stressed the importance of religion in his life. But as his fellow Christians around the world attended Christmas services on Wednesday and Thursday, the president-elect and his family remained sequestered at their vacation compound on the windward coast of Oahu.

Read More
World
bethl-prayer.jpgThousands of pilgrims overcame checkpoints and tight security to celebrate Christmas with a mass last night in the birthplace of Christ, Bethlehem.

Read More
National
ed-genson-595.jpgIn a move intended to force public testimony from President-elect Barack Obama's inner circle, a lawyer for Gov. Rod Blagojevich has asked the legislative panel considering impeachment of the governor to subpoena more than a dozen witnesses, including Obama's incoming chief of staff.

Read More
Christian
carlos-williams.jpgCarlos Williams swore he'd never return his children to Washington, the city where drug deals, fights and drunks outside his father's apartment used to keep him and his brothers awake at night. 

Read More
Christian
It's not that Christmases past weren't meaningful for Tracey Keim. But today, the 41-year-old Metuchen resident expects to have her most spiritually important Christmas yet, one revolving more around a manger than a tree. Read More
National
obama-most-admired-590.jpgA month before his inauguration, Americans choose Barack Obama as the man they admire most in the world, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. It's the first time a president-elect has topped the annual survey in more than a half-century.

Read More
National
lincoln-Bible-596.jpgFrom the announcement of Barack Obama's longshot candidacy to the management of his presidential transition, his organization -- including the biggest fundraising operation in U.S. political history -- has rolled forward with seemingly flawless precision.

Read More
National
jesse-jackson-591.jpgThe Rev. Jesse Jackson has warned against prisons becoming "jail hotels" during his annual Christmas visit to the Cook County, Ill., jail.

Read More
National
michael-chertoff-592.jpgThe terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press.

Read More
World
ukraine-gas-593.jpgRussian gas giant Gazprom has renewed its threat to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on 1 January, saying a contract dispute has reached a "critical" stage. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Ukraine faced Russian "sanctions and demands" if it did not pay off its gas debt "to the last rouble".

Read More
National
President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have been unusually talkative in recent weeks, sharing candid thoughts in a string of exit interviews. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Israel moved closer to invading Gaza, saying Thursday it had wrapped up preparations for a broad offensive after Palestinian militants fired about 100 rockets and mortar shells across the border in two days. Read More
Life
dewayne-wade-597.jpgWhen Dwyane Wade heard the plight of a South Florida woman whose nephew accidentally burned down her home -- and ruined all the family's possessions -- the Miami Heat star knew he had to do something.

Read More
National
jesse-jackson-jr-565.jpgA small fire started at the home of U. S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. early Wednesday on the South Side. At 12:15 a.m. Chicago Fire Department's truck 49, Engine 126 and Battalion Chief 17 responded to a fire in the 2500 block of East 72nd Street, police said. 

Read More
Christian
christmas-church.jpgMillions of Americans go to church on Christmas Eve. They crowd shoulder-to-shoulder in pews to sing "Silent Night" and light candles and listen to soloists belt out "O Holy Night."

Read More
Christian
kjv-1611.jpgOnly about 50 known copies of the first-edition 1611 King James Version of the Bible exist, and Hardin-Simmons University now has one, thanks to a Dallas couple. Dr. Charles Tandy and his wife, Roena, also donated a collection of other Bibles, leaves, fragments and volumes of secondary literature, some dating to 1521.

Read More
National
chelsea-banton-miracle-light-590.jpgWhen Chelsea Banton was born five weeks prematurely, doctors predicted she had 36 hours to live. Proving them wrong was the first miracle for Chelsea, now an Independence High School freshman. "She spent the first four months in a neonatal intensive care unit," recalls her mother, Colleen Banton of Mint Hill.

Read More
Christian
rick-warren.23.jpg
On Wednesday, as Warren ushered in Christmas Eve at his sprawling Saddleback Church in Orange County, he joked briefly about the inauguration fallout in a sermon devoted mostly to another pressing issue: the importance of faith when plans are upended. 
Read More
National
barack-obama.112.jpgReporting from Honolulu -- President-elect Barack Obama used a holiday radio address released Wednesday to remember the nation's troops serving overseas and citizens at home who are struggling amid a troubled economy.

Read More
World
mahmoud-ahmadinejad.12.jpgMahmoud Ahmadinejad's unexpected Christmas message is full of seasonal goodwill, but the Iranian President clearly believes that if Jesus Christ were alive today he would be on the side of Iran not the West.


Read More
Finances
The deals were there and, by most accounts, so were the shoppers. But at the close of the final holiday shopping weekend, consumers confessed they were still nervous about buying. Read More
National
blagojevish-emanuel-588.jpgLawyers for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich want two key aides to President-elect Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. subpoenaed, according to Chicago media reports. 

Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Thursday that terrorists in the Gaza Strip would pay a "heavy price" if they continued to target Israel, as the IDF finalized preparations for a possible large-scale assault on the coastal territory. Read More
Culture
The handful of 20-something friends went to a bar. They drank until the early morning, then left. And when one of their cars crashed into a light pole, Lisa Torti hurried over and pulled one of the passengers from the wreckage.  Read More
National
Christian
rick-warren.22.jpgRick Warren, the evangelical preacher chosen by Barack Obama to deliver the inaugural invocation, has posted a three-part video to his church's website responding to the furor that has erupted over his selection.

Read More
National
Opinion
earl-ofari-hutchinson-2.jpgThe soon to be release of a report on the contacts that President-elect Barack Obama or any of his staff members may have had with scandal-plagued Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will likely quiet the rumors and gossip about Obama and the governor. 

Read More
National
lincoln-bible.jpgBarack Obama has decided to take the oath of office on the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration in 1861. It is a highly symbolic gesture from the the man who will become America's first black president to the man who proclaimed the end of slavery.

Read More
National
barack-obama.111.jpgPresident-elect Barack Obama and two of his top advisers were interviewed last week by federal prosecutors probing Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's alleged bid to sell Obama's vacated Senate seat, according to a report issued today by an Obama lawyer. 

Read More
Christian
blind-spot-book-580.jpgIn a jarring misreading of the Islamist mentality, the New York Times last month described a Jewish center in Mumbai, India, as the "unlikely target" of the terrorists who attacked various locations there. "It is not known if the Jewish center was strategically chosen," the Times went on to declare, "or if it was an accidental hostage scene."

Read More
National
John Aravosis of Americablog noticed on Friday that Rick Warren's church website explicitly bans gay people "unwilling to repent of their homosexual lifestyle" from membership at Saddleback. (They are allowed, however, to attend services.) Read More
Opinion
george-bush-582.jpgThe George W. Bush farewell tour took off in earnest last week, with the president granting interviews left and right. The image that emerged was surprisingly upbeat. His party is in tatters, the economy is the bleakest in a generation, and yet Bush played the part of a man confident that history will side with him.

Read More
National
pat-roberson-583.jpgIn an interview with CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, conservative Pat Robertson said he was "remarkably pleased" with President-elect Barack Obama. Not so for President Bush, who he blames for the economic crisis. On President Bush: Read More
Health

African Americans are less likely than whites to seek end-of-life hospice care -- and a new study suggests that hospice admission criteria may be partially to blame.

The researchers found that compared with whites African Americans are more likely to want to continue aggressive treatment and expressed a need for more service

Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Over the weekend, a barrage of rockets hit Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip following the end of a six-month truce between Israel and the Islamic resistance movement Hamas. Read More
African-American
rick-warren.31.jpgJust one day before giving the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, a local pastor will be the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemorative Service, officials at Saddleback Church said.

Read More
Christian
Rick Warren is in a place he never expected to be: at the center of a culture war. The pastor chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to give the inaugural invocation backed Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in his home state of California. But he did so belatedly, with none of the enthusiasm he brings to fighting AIDS and illiteracy. Read More
Christian
The auctioneer told the small crowd huddled outside the Talbot County Courthouse that the property would be sold "as is" -- rectory, bell tower, oak pews and rose-tinted stained glass windows included. Read More
National
james-bevel-565.jpgThe Rev. James L. Bevel, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement whose legacy was clouded by an incest conviction has died, a relative said. He was 72.

Read More
National
condi-rice-566.jpgWith weeks to go before her job as secretary of state comes to an end, Condoleezza Rice said Monday she is looking for a new home near Stanford University in northern California, reports the AFP. 

Read More
Finances
arnold-schwarzenegger-560.jpgA California official is warning that the state will run out of money in about two months unless a budget deal is struck. State Controller John Chiang said Monday that his office could be forced to defer billions of dollars in payments or issue IOUs.

Read More
World
robert-mugabe-561.jpgBritain and the United States increased pressure on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to step down, accusing him of presiding over the country's economic collapse blamed for a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 1,000.

Read More
Add this to the growing list of Plaxico Burress' problems: getting in a car crash and not having insurance on his nearly $140,000 Mercedes-Benz. The suspended New York Giants wide receiver was sued last week in Florida's Broward County Circuit Court for rear-ending a woman in May. Read More
Christian
crossoverchurchx.jpgWorship services may still be the USA's most segregated hour, but fewer congregations are now completely white, finds a study comparing churches, synagogues and mosques last year with a decade ago.

Read More
Business
A trio of reports due Tuesday are expected to paint a bleak picture of the nation's housing market and the broader economy, as the deepening recession sends more companies lining up for a piece of the government's $700 billion bailout fund. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
The two frontrunners in the race to become prime minister after a snap election in February both vowed to topple Hamas, which has run Gaza since violently seizing power there in June 2007. Read More
Eye on Africa
zimbabwe-christmas.jpgThe last Sunday before Christmas was celebrated with a carol service in a downtown Johannesburg church that has become a haven for hundreds of Zimbabweans who have fled their nation's collapse.

Read More
National
In a Time magazine column, John Cloud writes that gay people should not be surprised that Barack Obama picked Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration: Read More
National
Barack Obama might have little option but to follow George W. Bush's approach on a range of foreign policy issues, including Iran, said Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state. Ms Rice told the Financial Times the new administration was likely to follow Mr Bush's lead in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme. During the president's second term, the US has co-ordinated its approach with the European Union, Russia and China. Read More
National
rick-warren.71.jpgUnder fire for opposing gay marriage, influential evangelical pastor Rick Warren said Saturday that he loves Muslims, people of other religions, Republicans and Democrats, and he also loves "gays and straights."

Read More
National
barack-obama.golf.2.jpgThe beachfront estate that will serve as the holiday-season headquarters for President-elect Barack Obama and his entourage should offer all the comforts of home--and then some.

Read More
Christian
Sometimes rumors (and dreams) come true. For months, there has been talk among ministry leaders, Christian journalists, and others that Rick Warren and the Reader's Digest Association were going to launch a magazine. Read More
Opinion
Critics are complaining that President-elect Barack Obama is moving too far right with his cabinet appointments, policy announcements and now, even his Inauguration ceremony with the selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation. Read More
National
In the wake of one the most publicized stories of a female teacher sexually abusing an underage student, the case of the beautiful Debra LaFave, MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer asked a psychologist TV guest "why someone who looks like a living Barbie Doll would need to have sex with a young kid." Read More
Christian
The Duggars are back with more answers to your parenting questions. Here, Jim Bob and Michelle -- who recently became parents for the 18th time -- offer their secrets to managing such a large brood. Read More
African-American
martha-putney.jpgMartha S. Putney, who became one of the first black women to serve in the Women's Army Corps during World War II and who went on to write pioneering works of history on black Americans in the military, died Dec. 11 in Washington. She was 92 and lived in Washington.

Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Israel threatened on Sunday to launch a major offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as violence simmered around the impoverished territory days after the end of a truce with the Islamists.  Read More
detroit-lions.jpgThe Detroit Lions somberly dressed after another defeat that was different than all the others. This one made NFL history and set the stage for a perfectly imperfect season. Detroit became the first 0-15 team when it was routed 42-7 by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.



Read More
Opinion
eleanor-clift.jpgThere shouldn't be any suspense, really, about whether Barack Obama will use his full name when he takes the oath of office. Still, there was such sensitivity during the campaign about his middle name that reporters were apt to wonder how he would handle this delicate moment. Not delicate at all, he has said.

Read More
Life
Tis the season for making whoopee. The Christmas-New Year's period produces a year-high spike in sexual activity and conceptions in the United States, according to biorhythm researchers and makers of sex-related products. Read More
Media
sears-new-logo.jpgIn a bold move to dispel the pall overshadowing the holiday shopping season, Sears this week launched Good News Now on Yahoo! News. 

Read More
World
haiti-slave.jpgThere are now more slaves on the planet than at any time in human history. True abolition will elude us until we admit the massive scope of the problem, attack it in all its forms, and empower slaves to help free themselves.

Read More
World
da-vinci-p.jpgLovers of Dan Brown novels will be salivating at the discovery of three previously unknown drawings on the back of one of Leonardo's major works. A curator spotted the sketches on the back of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne when it was taken down in September for restoration.

Read More
National
barack-obama.111.jpgPresident-elect Barack Obama has expanded his goals for a massive federal stimulus package to keep pace with the increasingly grim economic outlook, aiming to create or preserve at least 3 million jobs over the next two years.

Read More
National
Earlier this week, A.C. Thompson of The Nation revealed that after Hurricane Katrina, white vigilante groups patrolled New Orleans, blockaded streets, and shot at least eleven black men. Read More
Finances
This year, of all years, every dollar you save is important. That's particularly true when it comes to taxes. A few steps taken now -- before the year ends -- can save you money when tax time rolls around. Read More
National
c-kennedy3.jpgIn just a few days, Caroline Kennedy's bid to replace Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has acquired nearly all the trappings of a traditional New York statewide campaign: a bevy of consultants, a tour of upstate cities and television cameras tracking her every move.

Read More
National
Just two months after the twin towers fell, the armies of the Northern Alliance marched into Kabul. The Taliban fled. The triumph was total in the "splendid little war" that had cost one U.S. casualty. Or so it seemed. Read More
National
b-madoff3.jpgAnti-Jewish commentary is flooding the Internet in the wake of Bernard Madoff's arrest on charges of masterminding one of the biggest Wall Street frauds in history, campaigners said Friday.

Read More
World
A group of Russian warships arrived in Cuba on Friday, the first such visit to the Soviet-era ally since the end of the Cold War, an AFP journalist reported. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
The United States is unprepared for a major hostile attack against vital computer networks, government and industry officials said on Thursday after participating in a two-day "cyberwar" simulation. Read More
National
jerry-brown.jpgThe California attorney general has changed his position on the state's new same-sex marriage ban and is now urging the state Supreme Court to void Proposition 8.

Read More
Christian
sunday-adelaja.jpg
Ukraine's most prominent charismatic pastor, Sunday Adelaja, is at the center of controversy over his alleged involvement in a business venture that some claim bilked investors out of $100 million.
Read More
Christian
Michael O. Emerson is founding director of the Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life at Rice University. He is also the coauthor of People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States, Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, and several other books on congregational life and race. Read More
National
obama-admin-nom.jpgHe's not in office yet, but conservative evangelical Christians are already worried that Barack Obama's rise to the White House will threaten their freedom to live according to the Bible and profess it as the literal word of God.

Read More
Christian
daniel-pedroza-600.jpgCapo Beach Calvary Church's junior high ministry director was arrested at the church this morning on suspicion of having a "sexual relationship" with a teenage female enrolled in his program. Read More
National
Christian
The original question I was asked to address was "How does our commitment to the primacy of the gospel tie into our obligation to do good to all, especially those of the household of faith, to serve as salt and light in the world, to do good to the city?"  Read More
Christian
Out of the myriad and random tenants that fill the Empire State Building, there is one that seems both perfectly situated, yet jarringly out of place. Read More
National
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, declaring he will "fight" until his last breath, defended himself Friday for the first time since his arrest last week on federal corruption charges. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
hamas-man.jpgThe Islamist militant group Hamas says it has ended its six-month ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip. As the ceasefire expired at 0400 GMT, Hamas issued a statement blaming Israel which had not "respected" the truce.

Read More
National
inaugural-invocation-4.jpgPresident-elect Barack Obama on Thursday defended his choice of a popular evangelical minister to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, rejecting criticism that it slights gays. The selection of Pastor Rick Warren brought objections from gay rights advocates, who strongly supported Obama during the election campaign.

Read More
Christian
diverse-church.jpgThe Sunday service at Durham's King's Park International Church features a blast of hymns, gospel and praise music performed live and loud by band members that are as multi-racial as the people in attendance.

Read More
National
barack-obama.110.jpgOne of the five emails obtained by the Associated Press news agency asks about the outcome of the Democrat's victory after all the time and money invested. It concludes: "Another black family living in government housing!"

Read More
National
Here is Rick Warren's statement praising Obama for his "courage" in picking the pastor to deliver the invocation at the inauguration despite criticism of the president-elect due to Warren's opposition to gay marriage: Read More
African-American
robert-blackwell.jpgFuneral arrangements are pending for the country's first black Republican mayor, Highland Park's Robert Blackwell, who died Tuesday night after a long illness. Blackwell, who was in his 80s, was mayor of Highland Park for two different stints in the '60s and '70s.

Read More
Opinion
earl-ofari-hutchinson-2.jpgPresident-elect Barack Obama almost certainly knew that he'd take some heavy flack from gay rights and abortion rights groups for picking mega preacher Rick Warren to give his inaugural invocation. Warren backed the anti gay marriage Prop 8 in California to the hilt and rails against abortion. 

Read More
African-American
90210-cast.jpgNearly a decade after the NAACP condemned a "virtual whiteout" in broadcast TV, the civil rights group said major networks have stalled in their efforts to further ethnic diversity on-screen and off. Television shows of the future could be even less inclusive because of a failure to cultivate young minority stars and to bring minorities into decision-making positions, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said.

Read More
National
rod-blag4.jpgGov. Rod Blagojevich needs time to put together a legal team and political consultation to defend himself against federal corruption charges but feels he's "not getting space or a chance to sort anything out," according to one of several pastors who prayed with the embattled governor at his North Side home Friday morning.

Read More
Entertainment
will-smith-son.jpgWill and Jada Pinkett Smith have deep pockets when it comes to charities. Tax returns for their foundation show the couple gave $1.3 million in donations last year to a variety of religious, civic and arts groups, reports Fox411's Roger Friedman.

Read More
National
The Rev. Al Sharpton took Caroline Kennedy to lunch Thursday at a famed Harlem soul food restaurant as she continued her quest to join her uncle in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy smiled as she and the civil rights activist made their way through a throng of media and into Sylvia's, whose walls are lined with photographs of visiting politicians including the Clintons. Read More
Christian
Baptisms reached a 20-year low. Church membership dropped, prompting fears the Nashville-based Baptist body was on a downward slide. And its outgoing president warned that within 20 years, more than half of Southern Baptist churches could die off. Read More
Education
KMBC in Kansas City reports that on a reverend in Blue Springs, Missouri who removed books related to President-elect Barack Obama from the Catholic school's library because of his position on abortion: Read More
Christian
In an HBO documentary set to air Jan. 29, disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard says he never claimed to be heterosexual, as was once reported, and he continues to struggle with same-sex attraction. But he's committed to living a heterosexual life because he believes it's better for children to be raised by a mother and a father. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Russia has hardened its stance toward US plans for a missile shield in an apparent bid to "test the mettle" of incoming President Barack Obama, US arms negotiator John Rood said Wednesday. Read More
National
paul-weyrich.jpgPaul Weyrich, who helped turn social conservatives into the most powerful element of the Republican party, had long suffered ill health. Yet together with the Rev Jerry Falwell, one of America's leading political evangelicals, he pushed the Christian Right-wing agenda to the forefront of the nation's politics.

Read More
National
warren-obamainvo.jpgBarack Obama's choice of a prominent evangelical minister to perform the invocation at his inauguration is a conciliatory gesture toward social conservatives who opposed him in November, but it is drawing fierce challenges from a gay rights movement that - in the wake of a gay marriage ban in California - is looking for a fight.

Read More
National
rick-warren.21.jpgEver since Barack Obama was elected president, the media has been pining to write a story about liberal dissatisfaction with his transition efforts. By and large, the meme has been blown out of proportion, as the press overestimated how divisive Obama's cabinet choices were for progressives.

Read More
National
arne-duncan1.jpgChicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan, who President-elect Barack Obama announced yesterday as his choice to be Secretary of Education, supported and approved plans for a special public high school for homosexuals.

Read More
Christian
suzan-cook.jpgMost neighborhoods have no shortage of places to worship, so a new religious service may not draw much attention. But when the program is in one of the best-known venues in Harlem, the Apollo Theater, people take notice.

Read More
African-American
On Average, American Blacks are genetically 80 percent of African ancestry and 20 percent of European ancestry. These findings were part of a recently released study on something known as "gene expression." Read More
National
george-bush.71.jpg
President George W. Bush knows he's unpopular. But here's what matters, he says: ''I didn't compromise my soul to be a popular guy.'' In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News Channel, Bush also praised the national security team assembled by President-elect Barack Obama, offered hope to U.S. automakers seeking government assistance and said the people of Illinois will have to sort out allegations that Gov. Rod Blagojevich sought kickbacks in choosing a successor for Obama's Senate seat.
Read More
National
You could call it "Obamalot." That makes some sense. The incoming presidential couple, Barack and Michelle Obama, bear superficial similarities to John and Jacqueline Kennedy of the 1960s "Camelot" White House -- charisma, vigor, her fondness for sheath dresses, for instance. Read More
National
Pro-life pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration. It makes a whole lot of sense. Even though Warren and Obama disagree on the life issue, they do see eye to eye on many social justice issues.  Read More
National
You probably sat in a fancier conference room the last time you refinanced or heard a pitch about life insurance. There's a table, some off-brand mesh office chairs, a bookcase that looks as if it had been put together with an Allen wrench and instructions in Swedish. Read More
National
The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday denied an effort to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich, rejecting what could have been the quickest way to force the Democrat from office. Read More
Business
Citing a credit crisis and dwindling sales, Chrysler LLC on Wednesday said it would shut down all of its manufacturing operations from the end of this week for at least a month. Read More
World
One of South Korea's most famous actresses was convicted of adultery Wednesday in a high-profile case that drew renewed attention to a decades-old law prohibiting extramarital affairs.
Read More
Opinion
joseph-phillips-568.jpgFiscal irresponsibility is the problem.  After one wades through the politics, special interests and double talk surrounding the proposed $15 billion bailout of Chrysler and General Motors, the bottom line is that the mega automobile corporations have mismanaged their finances. 

Read More
Thomas Macauley, English historian and statesman, spoke prophetically more than a century ago: "Your republic will be pillaged and ravaged in the twentieth century just as the Roman Empire was by the barbarians of the fifth century, with this difference: the devastators of the Roman Empire came from abroad, while your barbarians will be the people of your own country and the product of your own institutions!"
Christian
ted-haggard.4.jpgDisgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard has agreed to help promote a new documentary following his life in exile after a 2006 sex scandal -- no longer bound by an agreement with his former church that prohibited him from talking publicly about the events that led to his downfall.

Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Russia has agreed to supply Lebanon with 10 MiG-29 fighter jets, Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said on Tuesday during a visit to Moscow. The ITAR-Tass news agency said the planes would be provided as aid.  Read More
"In the traditional black church, most people only attend the worship service," said Jay Wells, director of LifeWay Christian Resources' ministry to black churches. "We need to move them beyond the experience in the worship service to become disciples," Wells told several hundred leaders of black churches attending a National Black Sunday School Conference at LifeWay's headquarters in Nashville, Tenn. Read More
A spokesman for Jesse Jackson Jr. says the congressman has been an informant for the U.S. attorney's office in Illinois for at least a decade, and has relayed information about Gov. Rod Blagojevich since 2006, though not in the corruption case currently under investigation. Read More
Billey Joe Johnson was considered one of the top high school football recruits in Mississippi, as well as the country, until his shocking death early Monday morning. Johnson, hailing from Jackson, Miss., rushed for more than 1,500 yards his last season, totaling over 4,000 for his career, and received scholarship offers from a number of major schools including Alabama, LSU and Mississippi as a top-rated recruit by both Scout and Rivals. Read More
The NAACP has determined through an independent investigation that George County High School football star Billey Joe John son Jr. did not commit suicide last week during a traffic stop in Lucedale, the vice president of the organization's Mississippi chapter said Sunday. Read More
More than 60 abortion rights groups have signed a 55-page report to President-elect Obama urging him to include abortion coverage in any national health care plan and to help roll back dozens of pro-life laws, including bans on taxpayer funding of abortion and partial-birth abortion in what one pro-life group says would amount to an "abortion bailout." Read More
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi recently confirmed to Capitol Hill missionary Rev. Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK) of Faith and Action that the war against Christmas is real. Read More
Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a grim forecast for the Canadian economy, saying in an interview with broadcaster CTV a depression is possible. "The truth is, I've never seen such uncertainty in terms of looking forward to the future," Harper told CTV. "I'm very worried about the Canadian economy." Read More
Philadelphia has been chosen as the National Bible City of 2009, heralding plans for Bible-themed events around the city culminating in the National Bible Week. The National Bible Association (NBA) annually chooses a city as the focus of its efforts to encourage people to read the Bible. The NBA encourages people to read the Bible, emphasizing its literary value. Read More
Fighting to stay in business, Detroit's two daily newspapers will radically change their relationship with readers by slashing home delivery to three days a week, printing small editions on other days and encouraging people to get information online. Read More
Seeking to dampen persistent media speculation a retaliatory strike is in the works against Pakistan, India's defense minister is declaring no military action is being planned. But he warns Islamabad to act against terrorists on its soil, if it wants normal relations with India.   Read More
Newsweek magazine's latest cover story has stirred strong criticism from Christians over its analysis of the Bible and the definition of marriage. In the cover article The Religious Case for Gay Marriage, religion editor Lisa Miller argues that the Bible's message of marriage lacks the clarity and substance needed to form a good case against same-sex marriage. Read More
Jason Castro, a runner-up in season 7 on 'American Idol,' gives his testimony in this video on the very cool I Am Second website. Castro tells how a Christian camp experience in high school -- with a little help from the David Crowder Band -- led him to "really dedicate my life to the teachings of Jesus." Read More
To the chapters of a life of a one-time prime minister and now freelance diplomat, add one more: Mr. Blair Goes to Yale. Read More
President-elect Barack Obama has said that he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act shortly after assuming office. The act would strike down local and state laws related to limiting abortion, parental notification and such. According to some reports, he may even do this as one of his first (and therefore closely scrutinized) initiatives as president.  Read More
If anyone knows how Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich feels right now, I do. On Tuesday, the governor was arrested in a glare of publicity and charged with going on "a corruption crime spree," as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald described it -- including alleged attempts to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. Read More
President-elect Barack Obama said Monday a review by his own lawyer shows he had no direct contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the appointment of a Senate replacement, and transition aides did nothing inappropriate. Read More
Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich has sent a note to her neighbors apologizing for the media attention that has besieged her Chicago neighborhood. In the message sent over the weekend, Blagojevich acknowledged "the media barrage that has descended" on her neighborhood. Read More
Newspapers are desperately seeking new business models that will help them survive dwindling readership and a deep advertising slump exacerbated by the recession. Read More
You've been "superpoked" -- and served. A court in Australia has approved the use of Facebook, a popular social networking Web site, to notify a couple that they lost their home after defaulting on a loan. Read More
Caroline Kennedy told New York's governor on Monday that she's interested in the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, making her the highest-profile candidate to express a desire for the job.  Read More
A judge sentenced a religious sect's elder to 30 years in prison for molesting an 11-year-old girl during a phony cervical cancer exam. Read More
An apocalyptic religious sect's leader was convicted Monday of criminal sexual contact with an underage girl in an incident he called a spiritual healing exercise. Read More
The Christmas season is deeply embedded into the consciousness and lifestyles of Americans. It alters people's schedules, spending patterns and family experience, but it may not have as dramatic an effect on lives in other dimensions as you might imagine. Read More
The eastern Indian state of Orissa, largely unknown to Catholics in the West before August, is a rural area with significant mineral resources.  Read More
Despite major progress reducing overall colorectal cancer incidence and death rates in the United States, black men and women are still 45 percent more likely than whites to die of the disease. That finding was contained in a report released Monday by the American Cancer Society. Read More
Church is a place that carries the promise of fellowship, acceptance and support. But that's not how one 35-year-old Spokane mother experienced it. The woman, who requested anonymity, says she was raised as a member of a local evangelical church until just before she entered her teens. Read More
When George W. Bush became president in 2000, he brought with him a kind of "hey, guy" Christianity that had been quietly booming in megachurches throughout the land. It was neither the formal Episcopal worship of his youth nor the groovy pan-spirituality of lefty dabblers.  Read More
A perplexing new chapter is unfolding in Barack Obama's racial saga: Many people insist that "the first black president" is actually not black. Debate over whether to call this son of a white Kansan and a black Kenyan biracial, African-American, mixed-race, half-and-half, multiracial -- or, in Obama's own words, a "mutt" -- has reached a crescendo since Obama's election shattered assumptions about race. Read More
President-elect Barack Obama's choice for White House chief of staff spoke to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office about who the governor should appoint to replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Chicago Tribune reported on Saturday. Read More
Disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has no plans to resign, "at least today," his spokesman told ABC News, despite Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's announcement that she has asked the state Supreme Court today to declare Blagojevich "unable to serve," setting in motion a process that could force him out of office by the end of the day. Read More
Megachurch pastor Rick Warren is under a bit of fire following his recent comments on Fox's Hannity and Colmes show. On the program, host Sean Hannity had asked Warren if expressing the need to "take out" Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was "advocating something dark, evil or something righteous." Read More
The Rev. Robert A. Schuller has resigned as senior pastor of Crystal Cathedral, reportedly after a spat with his father, former pastor Robert H. Schuller, over the church's popular Christian television program, "Hour of Pour." Read More
It may not be too late to send the presents back, as astronomers have calculated that Christmas should not be celebrated on December 25 - but on June 17 instead. Researchers tracked the appearance of the 'Christmas star', which the Bible states three wise men followed to find Jesus. Read More
When missionaries James and Stacy Hill came home from Turkey in 2001, one of the first things they looked for was health insurance. They couldn't afford commercial insurance plans they saw, so they signed up with Medi-Share, a Christians-only bill-sharing program operated by the Florida-based nonprofit Christian Care Ministry. Read More
An Iraqi reporter called U.S. President George W. Bush a 'dog' in Arabic and threw his shoes at him during a news conference in Baghdad. Read More
Jennifer Hudson was scheduled to begin shooting the video for her next single, "If It Isn't Love" next week, but has put the brakes on going back to work. Read More
A pastor is in critical condition in a medically induced coma after a brazen attack by a pair of robbers at his San Bernardino County church. Read More
A black exchange student has been stabbed by unknown assailants in a southern Russian city in an attack officials say may have been racially motivated. Read More
Lawyers for the Oregon City parents charged in the faith-healing death of their young daughter, Ava, will ask a judge next month to dismiss the case. Read More
Gov. Sarah Palin's home church was badly damaged by arson, leading the governor to apologize if the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" from her failed campaign as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Read More
Second Coming Watch/World
Globalization needs a "solid basis of values" to succeed, contended former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a major address this past week. Faith is one way to provide a values system for globalization, but not the only way, he told hundreds of students and professors at Yale University after completing his first semester as a visiting professor. Read More
The sudden crush of worshipers packing the small evangelical Shelter Rock Church in Manhasset, New York - a Long Island town of yacht clubs and hedge fund managers - forced the pastor to set up an overflow room with closed-circuit TV and 100 folding chairs, which have been filled for six consecutive Sundays. Read More
Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. should bow out of contention for Obama's Senate seat. True there is yet no evidence that he offered to grease Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's palm in return for the seat. But there's a continuing probe into whether a Jackson family member or associates acted as Jackson's paymasters to Blagojevich.  Read More
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s scheduled interview with federal agents and prosecutors in the Illinois corruption scandal has been delayed because "they have a traffic jam of people," the Congressman told ABCNews.com this morning. Read More
Pressure grew on two of Barack Obama's closest political aides yesterday as new details emerged of the "pay-for-play" allegations against the Governor of his home state. Rahm Emanuel, the President-elect's new Chief of Staff, and Jesse Jackson Jr, the co-chairman of his presidential campaign, both faced new revelations about their possible involvement in the scandal. Read More
A fundraiser held by Indian-American businessmen three days before Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges emerged Friday as a potentially key event in the federal investigation into whether he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Read More
National
Writer Toni Morrison famously dubbed Bill Clinton "the first black president"--a title he fervently embraced. Abner Mikva, the Chicago Democratic Party stalwart and former Clinton White House counsel, offers a variation on that theme. "If Clinton was our first black president, then Barack Obama is our first Jewish president," says Mikva, who was among the first to spot the potential of the skinny young law school graduate with the odd name. Read More
A controversy is brewing in Nassau County after some students are denied a chance to form a gay-straight alliance club which causes the cancellation of all other after-school clubs.
Read More
Richard Cizik, the longtime Washington lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals--the largest evangelical umbrella organization in the country, representing roughly 45,0000 churches--resigned Thursday after igniting a firestorm in the evangelical world by vowing support for gay civil unions in an interview with National Public Radio. Read More
The Republican party must stop "shouting at the world" and start listening to minority groups if it is to win elections in the 21st century, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday. In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria for Sunday's "GPS" program, President Bush's former secretary of state said his party's attempt "to use polarization for political advantage" backfired last month. Read More
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday named the head of New York's urban housing agency to run the Washington department that attempts to make housing affordable for all Americans and end lingering racial discrimination. Read More