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….
Trump administration eliminates data gathering on US hunger
The Trump administration’s elimination of annual food insecurity reports will plunge the nation into the dark when it comes to feeding hungry Americans, nutrition advocates say. “Ultimately, this is a loss not just for data collection, but for the millions…
Mormon church shooter believed to be a MAGA supporter
The man who killed at least four worshipers at a Mormon church in Michigan Sept. 28 displayed a Trump sign outside his home and was known to wear MAGA gear. Authorities have identified Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Mich., as…
Trump orders death penalty restored in DC and nationwide
President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum reimplementing the death penalty in the District of Columbia, and the administration said it also will begin pushing capital punishment nationwide. Existing law permitting the federal government to conduct executions for “aggravated crimes”…
Embattled Oklahoma schools chief leaving post
Ryan Walters will step down as the superintendent of Oklahoma public schools Oct. 1 to lead a conservative organization founded to oppose teachers’ unions and “the liberal, woke agenda” he claims is polluting American education and values. “For decades, union…
Court stops Trump’s middle-of-the-night deportation of children
Some of President Trump’s immigration policies suffered a setback in one federal court and a victory in another. In one case, a federal judge temporarily barred the administration from swiftly deporting nearly 330 Guatemalan children under the premise of reuniting…
Rod Kennedy writes a book to explain why he writes about Trump so much
Rodney Kennedy has been accused by MAGA followers of suffering from a demented fixation on every word and deed of Donald Trump. The Baptist pastor and author in Louisiana acknowledged those claims will no doubt increase with the recent publication…
‘Interfaith Imam’ released from ICE custody
Imam Ayman Soliman has been released from an Ohio jail after the federal government dropped its deportation case against him and fully reinstated the asylum status he was granted in 2018. The former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplain and Egyptian immigrant…
14 more Texas districts sued over Ten Commandments
An additional 14 Texas public school systems are being sued to stop them from installing classroom Ten Commandments displays mandated by the state. A coalition of civil rights groups filed a federal complaint Sept. 22 against the Arlington, Azle, Comal,…