Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde appears in a new video ad urging all people to vote. The bishop, who made headlines in January 2025 for urging President Donald Trump at his inaugural prayer service to “have mercy” on immigrants and the…
Trump will let in more refugees — as long as they’re Afrikaners
The Trump administration has raised the nation’s annual refugee admissions cap from 7,500 to 17,500 for the coming year but again dictated that the vast majority must be white South Africans. President Donald Trump slashed the 125,000 person resettlement goal…
American Baptists offering aid to distressed Haitians
American Baptist Churches USA has administered tens of thousands of dollars in emergency assistance to Haitian communities besieged by federal immigration actions since losing Temporary Protected Status. The denomination’s American Baptist Home Mission Societies announced it has provided $135,000 through…
Trump TV ads anger Dems, frustrate GOP and may be illegal
President Donald Trump is using $20 million in Homeland Security funds to air a dozen TV ads praising him and his achievements, including “PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” a month before midterm elections. One ad, “Final Battle,” was used in…
Jeffress calls Talarico ‘not a Christian’ and ‘evil’
Robert Jeffress escalated his attack on James Talarico in a Sept. 30 podcast conversation with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, said Talarico, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Texas, “is not a…
Bob Agee, former OBU president, dies days before 88th birthday
Bob Agee, the second-longest-serving president of Oklahoma Baptist University, died Sept. 26 just four days shy of his 88th birthday. Agee led the Shawnee, Okla., school from 1982 to 1998 and is credited with shaping the school amid political and…
‘Bring back the electric chair,’ Tennessee GOP candidate urges after botched execution
Christa Pike remained in critical condition in a Tennessee hospital Oct. 1 after surviving two execution attempts and numerous agonizing efforts to insert IVs during her failed lethal injection the day before. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee responded by announcing…
Tina Peters spreads election doubts after early release from prison
Tina Peters, a Christian election-denying felon, has traveled the country raising doubts about voting since June when she left prison seven years early thanks to President Donald Trump’s successful pressure campaign against Colorado officials. Peters thanked Trump in the Oval…
Battle over Johnson Amendment continues in court
Denying tax-exempt status to faith groups that endorse political candidates violates the constitutional rights of congregations, the Trump administration claimed in a recent court filing. The U.S. Justice Department made the argument in a brief submitted Sept. 21 in National…
Hegseth plans Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth plans to create an Office of Religious Affairs within the Pentagon that will “strengthen the moral, ethical and spiritual readiness of our warfighters.” Hegseth announced the new office Sept. 30 in a speech laden…
Tennessee botches another execution
For the second time in four months, Tennessee’s death penalty protocol has failed to work. On Wednesday, Sept. 30, inmate Christa Pike was “alive and loudly snoring after the attempted lethal injection and taken by ambulance from the prison,” her…
EEOC demands religious accommodation for anti-trans employee
The Trump administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sided with a disgruntled employee who refused to use another employee’s desired gender pronouns. The EEOC announced Sept. 30 it has reached a settlement with Generac Power Systems, a Wisconsin generator manufacturer,…