The Trump administration has been temporarily blocked from expanding fast-track deportations in its bid to hurriedly remove undocumented immigrants from the U.S. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued the stay in Make the Stay New York v. Kristi Noem after…
Christian nationalism is a power grab, Kaylor says in new book
There’s a simple reason Christian nationalists are willing to abandon long-held values and rewrite, redact and reinterpret the Bible as needed to support Donald Trump, Brian Kaylor says. “They want power,” said Kaylor, a Baptist minister, editor-in-chief of Word&Way and…
Conservatives make case against death penalty
Conservatives should oppose capital punishment because it violates pro-life values and the principles of more transparent and limited government, death penalty abolitionists said during a recent panel discussion. “Do we trust the government to deliver our mail on time? I…
Trump will pay migrant children to leave US
The U.S. government plans to pay $2,500 to unaccompanied migrant children who voluntarily deport themselves from the country, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a memo to attorneys representing noncitizen minors. The policy affects undocumented immigrant children…
House Democrats draw flak for supporting Charlie Kirk day
Congressional resolutions declaring Oct. 14 a day of remembrance for slain right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk have fueled squabbling among House Democrats and confirm the continuing rise of Christian nationalism in conservative American politics, observers say. The U.S. House of Representatives…
Trump plans to slash refugee admissions and only let in whites
President Donald Trump is expected to cut refugee admissions into the United States to 7,500 next year — a new low for the U.S. and half the previous record-setting low cap set during his first presidency. The administration also is…
Chicago pastor sues Trump after ICE assaults him while praying
A Presbyterian minister attacked by ICE agents during the peaceful protest of a Chicago-area migrant processing center has joined a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s violence against demonstrators and media. David Black, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of…
Entire Fifth Circuit will rehear Louisiana Ten Commandments case
A federal appeals court has tossed out its previous ruling that Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is “plainly unconstitutional” and announced all 17 of its judges will now reconsider the case. The Fifth Circuit U.S. District Court of Appeals in New…
Coalition sues to stop $100,000 fee on H-1B visas
The Trump administration now faces litigation to block its new $100,000 fee on employer-sponsored nonimmigrant visas. Democracy Forward announced the lawsuit filed Oct. 3 by a coalition of health care providers, labor unions, religious organizations and schools against President Donald…
Wisconsin pioneers program for church property redevelopment grants
Churches in Wisconsin are now eligible for property redevelopment grants from a program organizers hope will spread to other states. The Good Next Step Grant Program provides congregations with awards of up to $40,000 to create affordable housing or a…
New ABC resource helps pass the torch of church leadership
It is the responsibility of seasoned Christian leaders to recruit and prepare new generations to guide the church into the future, said Jeffrey Haggray, executive director of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies and Judson Press. That requires older members…
Panelists testify to unresolved pain in death penalty cases
Cynthia Vaughn spent years consumed with rage over her mother’s 1984 murder and felt no relief whatsoever when the killer — her stepfather — finally was executed in 2019. “I didn’t get the closure people think comes with an execution….