Baptists should not sit quietly while the federal government considers a report that would redefine religious liberty in the United States. The Presidential Religious Liberty Commission’s draft report deserves a direct Baptist response. It challenges church-state separation while advancing a…
The Intercept challenges Trump’s retaliation against protesters
An online news organization sued the Trump administration June 24 to win the release of documents related to a federal database established to retaliate against protesters and others exercising constitutional rights. The Intercept is asking the U.S. District Court for…
What Disclosure Day reveals about evangelicals’ fears
While the Trump administration and their voters seem increasingly hostile to releasing the Epstein Files, they’re continuing to release UFO files. The images, videos and written testimony have led to a constant stream of speculation and questions over the past…
6 ways the Reflecting Pool boondoggle mirrors Trump and MAGA
It was supposed to be a simple restoration project. A $1.5 million maintenance project on a prominent national landmark that would take about two weeks to complete. A proverbial drop in the bucket of the Department of the Interior’s budget….
Who is the domestic terrorist?
In the wake of the violence of January 6, 2021, some observers wondered why the insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol weren’t charged with domestic terrorism. The reason is simple: There is no standalone federal crime on the books for domestic…
Trump EEOC claims more religious discrimination on vaccine mandates
In another instance of the Trump administration punishing companies for past demands that workers get vaccinated against COVID-19, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $358,000 to resolve a dozen claims. Under the second presidency of Donald Trump, the Equal Employment…
‘Show up and do something,’ ACLU leader urges
Opposing American authoritarianism will require dedicated action and avoiding the temptation to fall into “grim despair” over its advances, said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. “It is always a matter of courage and,…
Nonprofits aiding immigrant kids say Trump admin intimidating them
The Washington, D.C.-area offices of nonprofit groups that provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children were recently visited by federal agents in what some of the organizations described as a campaign of intimidation. Kids In Need of Defense, or KIND,…
Court again demands Trump’s slush fund be verified as dead
A federal court granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from establishing a nearly $1.8 billion slush fund for the president’s political allies as a lawsuit against the account moves ahead. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia issued the…
Republicans push through more unregulated funding for ICE and CBP
Immigrant and civil rights advocates condemned the $70 billion immigration bill President Donald Trump signed into law June 10. The “Secure America Act” passed by Congress a day earlier provides funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol…
Trump admin defying court order on immigration access
The Trump administration continues to deny legal benefits to some immigrants based on national origin and in direct violation of a federal judge’s June 5 ruling to halt the practice. In response, an emergency motion was filed June 10 asking…
Trump faces barrage of lawsuits, loses hundreds of cases
President Donald Trump says courts are “highly politicized” and judges treat him “so unfairly.” It’s true that no previous president has been the subject of so many lawsuits in the first 18 months of a term, but no previous president…