Tampa Televangelists Draw Senate Scrutiny

Two U.S. Senators sent out a new round of letters today to some of the nation's most high-profile televangelists, urging them to turn over key financial records. The Senators told the ministries that they want to know how their "non-profit organizations are structured and operate," amid allegations that some of the televangelists have misused church funds to enrich themselves.

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Iraq Rocket Attack Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers

(CBS/AP) Three American soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in southern Iraq on Wednesday, bringing to 12 the number of soldiers who have been killed in Iraq over the past three days.

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Iraq Violence Sees Spike

Violence Follows Hamas Appeal For Calm

(CBS/AP) The Hamas prime minister called publicly Wednesday for a period of calm with Israel, laying out conditions that would end attacks on Palestinian militants, open Gaza's borders and lift economic sanctions.

But shortly after the appeal by Ismail Haniyeh, Israeli troops opened fire on a car in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and killed four Palestinian militants, clouding the prospects for a cease-fire.

This violence comes after an earlier arrest raid in the West Bank Wednesday morning where Israeli troops killed an Islamic Jihad militant in a pre-dawn gun battle, according to Palestinians and the Israeli military.

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Suicide Bombings In Lahore Kill At Least 31

Two suicide attacks killed at least 31 people and injured more than 200 in Lahore yesterday as suspected Islamist militants escalated their campaign of mayhem in Pakistan's largest cities.

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Al Qaeda probed over Lahore blasts

Violence In Indian State Is Partly Fuelled By Religious Intolerance

Recent religious conflict in the Indian state of Orissa has been aided by the aggressive evangelising of missionaries from outside the region, says an official with the largest traditional Protestant denomination in northern India.

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Gay Teenager Faces Return To Iran After Dutch Ruling

A gay teenager who claims he faces the death penalty in Iran after his boyfriend was executed there two years ago has spoken of his anger and disappointment at losing his legal battle against deportation.

Mehdi Kazemi, 19, who sought sanctuary in Britain in 2005 when he discovered that his partner had been hanged in Tehran for engaging in homosexual acts, is expected to be returned to Iran in the next few weeks.

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See also:

Now Iranian lesbian who fled to Britain faces deportation

Earlier:

Woman artist gets death threats over gay Muslim photos

10 Million-Year-Old Fossil Found In New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A geologic mapping project led to the finding of a 10 million-year-old fossil that's now being studied at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

--snip--

It belonged to a group of large oreodonts that resembled a cross between a pig and a camel which had large heads, small trunks, rather short legs on a longish body.

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Bill Promotes School Religion At Expense Of Education

EDMOND -- The Oklahoma House of Representatives Education Committee has just approved House Bill 2211. The bill is expected to pass the full House, and then to go to the Senate. Its authors describe it as promoting freedom of religion in the public schools. In fact, it does the opposite.

--snip--

The bill requires public schools to guarantee students the right to express their religious viewpoints in a public forum, in class, in homework and in other ways without being penalized. If a student's religious beliefs were in conflict with scientific theory, and the student chose to express those beliefs rather than explain the theory in response to an exam question, the student's incorrect response would be deemed satisfactory, according to this bill.

The school would be required to reward the student with a good grade, or be considered in violation of the law. Even simple, factual information such as the age of the earth (4.65 billion years) would be subject to the student's belief, and if the student answered 6,000 years based on his or her religious belief, the school would have to credit it as correct. Science education becomes absurd under such a situation.

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Afghan Death Toll Soars To 8,000 Last Year

The United Nations has delivered a grim assessment of the conflict in Afghanistan, reporting that violence increased sharply last year and resulted in the deaths of more than 8,000 people, at least 1,500 of them civilians.

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Bomb Strikes Bus In Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A roadside bomb in southern Iraq struck a bus on Tuesday, killing 16 passengers and wounding 22, an Interior Ministry official said.

--snip--

Meanwhile, five people were killed and 14 wounded when a suicide bomber slammed into a checkpoint in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

In Baghdad, one person was killed and eight people were wounded Tuesday when a gunman shot at a minibus carrying employees from Iraq's Electricity Ministry, an Interior Ministry official said.

In northern Iraq, authorities found a grave containing 20 bodies, police said.

Police and a local citizens group found five children, six women and nine men in the grave, just northeast of Samarra.

--snip--

Other mass graves have been found recently, including one discovered Saturday with up to 100 bodies just north of Baquba in Diyala province.

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See also:

8 U.S. troops, 14 Iraqis die in wave of insurgent bombings

3 More GI Deaths Reported In Iraq

Iraq, once secular, now dominated by religious parties

Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida

Al-Qaeda in Iraq may try for spectacular attacks

Iraq will not be a Qaedistan

Suicide Bombers Target Pakistan Investigators

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two suicide bombers exploded a car Tuesday at a building containing the offices of Pakistan's national investigative agency, destroying it and killing and wounding people inside.

Police said 17 people died and 175 were wounded in the attack in Lahore, and three more were killed in a separate suicide bombing in an area of the city known as Model Town. All three bombers died.

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At Least 24 Killed as Two Bombs Strike Pakistan

Gay Iranian Teen Loses Asylum Appeal

(CNN) -- The Netherlands has rejected an asylum plea by a gay Iranian teenager trying to escape possible persecution in his homeland.

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Gay Priest Not Welcome At World Meeting

LEADERS of the US Episcopal Church were told that the gay man they elevated to bishop will not be allowed to attend a top, once-a-decade worldwide Anglican Church meeting this year.

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Catholic couple win first round in civil partnership row with police

US Evangelical Rift On Global Warming Widens

A group of more than 40 leading Southern Baptists has widened the divisions within the powerful American evangelical movement over global warming, denouncing the denomination's stance as "too timid" and warning that its cautious response to the environment is seen around the world as "uncaring, reckless and ill-informed".

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Saudi Woman Drives On YouTube

When Wajeha Al Huwaider gets behind the wheel of a car, it's a daring and defiant act, flying -- or driving -- in the face of Saudi Arabia's ban on female drivers.

This weekend, in honor of International Women's Day and in protest of the law, she posted a video on Youtube of her driving inside the kingdom.

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5 U.S. Troops Killed In Suicide Blast

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least five U.S. soldiers on foot patrol were killed and three others wounded in a suicide bombing Monday in Baghdad, U.S. military officials in Iraq said.

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Death Threats Posted To Irish Fertility Clinics

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- Letters containing death threats and shotgun cartridges were mailed to two Irish government ministers and officials at two prominent fertility clinics, the targets of the threats said Monday.

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U.N. Blasts Israel For West Bank Housing Expansion Plan

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel on Monday for planning to build housing units in a West Bank settlement, saying the decision conflicts with "Israel's obligation under the road map" for Middle East peace.

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In a Jerusalem Suburb, Jewish Cultures Clash

When God Goes To The Office

(LifeWire) -- Rob Skinner did not expect to find a chaplain in the office when he started his sales job at Piedmont Air Conditioning in Raleigh, North Carolina. "I was a little worried because I didn't want God shoved down my throat," says Skinner, 38, a self-described liberal Christian.

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Vatican Lists New Sinful Behaviors

ROME, Italy (AP) -- A Vatican official has listed drugs, pollution and genetic manipulations as well as social and economic injustices as new areas of sinful behavior.

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Pope could face protests in Ireland over abuse cases

Clashing Over Church Ritual And Flag Protocol At The Naval Academy Chapel

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- On Sundays at the Naval Academy Chapel, at a few minutes past 11 a.m., the choir stops singing and a color guard carrying the academy flag and the American flag strides up the aisle.

Below a cobalt blue stained-glass window of Jesus, one midshipman dips the academy flag before the altar cross, and the other dips the American flag.

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Gravity Helps Astronomers See The Unseen

Einstein predicted that the gravity of a massive object such as a galaxy will bend light like a lens. In some cases, the lensing can image distant objects that lie behind the galaxy. Astronomers have studied such gravitational lenses for decades. Now they are ready to turn them into a powerful tool to test the latest theories of the structure and evolution of the universe.

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Settlement Expansion

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A Palestinian official said Sunday that Israel's plan to expand settlements in the West Bank was "like putting a stick in the wheels of the peace process."

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Israel OKs 1,100 homes in disputed areas

Israel fears 'third intifada' as it buries latest victims of terror

Islamists Win In Malaysia

The Parti Islam se-Malaysia, whose platform calls for stonings and amputations of Muslim thieves and adulterers, has declared victory in three northern states that border Thailand.

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Malaysian opposition scores upset

Evolution Scare Tactics Undermine Florida's Quest For Excellence

Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio cares so much about Florida's education standards the second of his "100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future" was creating a "world class" curriculum for our students.

Rubio never specifically defined what he meant in saying world class. But since the speaker began pushing lawmakers to continue the battle over teaching evolution in public schools, now we know.

In Rubio's world, apparently world-class curriculum standards means undermining and ignoring the top-flight educators and scientists who spent months crafting and reviewing the guidelines to create a rigorous and appropriate science curriculum that would bring Florida's education into the 21st Century.

And it means allowing science teachers to infuse science curriculum with religion - with the state's endorsement and protection.

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Storms Tries To Put Evolution Up For Vote

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - amen to that!

It's Daylight Science Time Again

It's that time of year, when crocuses bloom, the lawn starts to need mowing, and most Americans lose an hour's sleep setting their clocks ahead. (Remember? Spring forward, fall back.) So here are answers to your questions about the time switch -- and about sleep.

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Mass Grave Discovered North Of Baghdad

BAGHDAD - A mass grave containing about 100 bodies was discovered Saturday in a region north of Baghdad that has seen years of intense fighting between Shiites and Sunni extremist members of al-Qaida in Iraq.

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Iranian Teen Fears Deportation Means Death

Two gay Iranians living in Britain say they fear for their lives after their partners were sentenced to death by Iranian authorities and their requests for asylum in Britain were denied.

Advocates for Mehdi Kazemi, 19, and Pegah Emambakhsh, 40, say they will face harsh physical punishment, prison, and possible execution if forced to return Iran.

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Iraqis Protest Poor Security In Basra

(AP) Thousands of people took to the streets Saturday in southern Basra, protesting deteriorating security in a city where Iraqi forces assumed responsibility for safety last December.

It was day of violence as well as political unrest in Iraq: Police in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad reported two separate bombings in which six people were killed, and officers also found 13 bullet-ridden bodies.

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Malaysian Polls Decide Future Of Fundamentalist Islamic State

KOTA BHARU - THE future of Malaysia's only state held by the fundamentalist Islamic party was in the balance on Saturday as voters decided whether to switch to the multi-racial coalition.

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Malaysian opposition scores upset

Afghans Protest Over Danish Cartoon

(CNN) -- Thousands of Afghans packed a sports stadium in the western Afghanistan city Herat Saturday to protest the reprinting of the same Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked rage in the Muslim world two years ago.

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Catholic Church Pays $655M In Abuse Cases

THE Roman Catholic church in the United States paid out $A665 million last year for child sex abuse cases involving members of the clergy, or 54 per cent more than the previous year.

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Criminalizing Home Schoolers

On Feb. 28, Judge H. Walter Croskey of the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles ruled that children ages six to 18 may be taught only by credentialed teachers in public or private schools -- or at home by Mom and Dad, but only if they have a teaching degree.

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Humanists Call For Repeal Of U.S. Blasphemy Laws

Following Wednesday's action by the British House of Lords to abolish all blasphemy laws in the United Kingdom, the American Humanist Association reiterated its longstanding call to remove all such statutes wherever they appear within the United States and its territories. Though few Americans know of their existence, unenforceable blasphemy laws appear on the books in several U.S. states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming. No such federal laws exist. And in 1952, in Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against blasphemy bans of all sorts.

"Laws prohibiting blasphemy are a relic of the Middle Ages and are blatantly unconstitutional," declared Mel Lipman, a constitutional lawyer and president of the American Humanist Association. "Blasphemy is a purely religious offense and hence the sole concern of religious organizations and their own members. By contrast, those people without religion, or who have religious beliefs that don't condemn blasphemy, shouldn't be affected."

Ordinary citizens, however, have been affected in America's past. People who publicly used religious profanity or criticized God, Christ, Christianity or belief in a god were occasionally intimidated or criminally charged. But the last known person actually jailed for this offense, and this offense alone, was Abner Kneeland in 1838. Since then, remaining blasphemy laws have gone essentially unenforced and are now legally unenforceable.

"Unenforceable statutes that remain on the books, especially unconstitutional ones, undermine public respect for the rule of law," noted Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "Beyond this, the British government has come to realize that the existence of blasphemy laws can hamper a nation's credibility when it seeks to oppose the enforcement of such laws by nations dominated by political Islam."

In November Britain protested Sudan's arrest of a British schoolteacher on a blasphemy charge wherein she was accused of letting her students give the name Muhammad to a class teddy bear. But then it was pointed out that Britain still had blasphemy laws on its own books. This fact limited the impact of that nation's principled human rights stand--leading the House of Lords to vote 148-87 on Wednesday to abolish its laws against blasphemy and blasphemous libel. The proposed law next goes to the House of Commons, where passage is all but assured. Also this week, the state legislature in Massachusetts began considering a bill to remove its own blasphemy law and related religious prohibitions.

Nonetheless, humanist leaders express criticism that this process has taken so long. "The lack of foresight in this issue is astounding," stated Fred Edwords, director of communications for the American Humanist Association. "Throughout the twentieth century humanists have pointed out the moral, legal and practical problems with blasphemy laws. Other secularists did so going back even to the nation's founding. Yet it requires specific extreme examples emerging from the Middle East during today's global era before enough people realize what a few moments of thought would have readily made clear. This is cause for concern."

LINK

Earlier:

Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

See also:

When blasphemy bit the dust

Lawsuit Over Prayer At Graduation Ceremonies In Texas Is Settled

Americans United for Separation of Church and State and a Texas public school district have settled a lawsuit involving a policy that allowed students to vote on prayer at graduation ceremonies.

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Utah's Secret Renews Mormonism Debate

The postcard image of Utah is a state of gleaming cities, majestic mountains and persistently smiling people. But new research shows a very different picture of the state, a snapshot of suicide and widespread depression.

A recent study by Mental Health America, the country's oldest independent mental health advocacy organization, ranked Utah the most depressed state in the country.

Another survey released last week by drug distribution company Express Scripts found that residents of Utah were prescribed antidepressant drugs more than those of any other state and at twice the national average.

--snip--

Psychiatrists point to several factors that could contribute to Utah's high levels of depression: limited mental health resources, restricted access to treatment as a result of cost, poor quality of resources and a varied list of other factors, including an underfunded educational system and a culture deeply rooted in the Mormon faith.

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Preacher: 'I Did Not Kill My Wife'

Matt and Kari Baker appeared to have a perfect life in Waco, Texas: a house in the suburbs, two beautiful daughters and church on Sundays with Matt at the pulpit.

But that existence was shattered when almost two years ago, when Kari was 31 years old, she apparently committed suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. There was a typed unsigned suicide note.

Matt, received the sympathy and compassion of his community -- until he was charged with his wife's murder. Now the 36-year-old preacher must defend himself to an increasingly doubtful congregation and prosecutor.

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South Charlotte Pastor Charged With Sex Crime

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A pastor from a south Charlotte church is accused of soliciting sex after police arrested him in a local park.

Officers arrested Robert Graff, a pastor at Saint Luke's Lutheran Church on Park Road, late Tuesday in Park Road Park. Graff is charged with crimes against nature.

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Iraq 'Still Unstable Despite Coalition'

Iraq is still violent and unsettled despite increased efforts by coalition forces, an Australian academic said following two deadly bomb blasts in a Baghdad shopping centre.

Fifty-five people were killed and many others injured when two bombs exploded in a crowded shopping area.

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Earlier:

Double bombing kills at least 54 in Baghdad

Malaysia Polls Open Amid Tensions

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysians voted Saturday in parliamentary elections that could see gains for Malaysia's opposition amid anger over race and religion among minority Chinese and Indians.

--snip--

The Chinese and Indians are also angry at a string of court decisions in religious disputes that have gone in favor of Malays, and Indians were infuriated by the demolition of Hindu temples by authorities last year.

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Israel Attack Linked To Hezbollah

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The deadly attack on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem Thursday was planned by an operation with purported ties to Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group in Lebanon, Palestinian militant sources in Gaza said.

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Bible-Obsessed Gangster Jailed For 38 Years

Manchester, England -- A fitness instructor who was obsessed with violent sex was yesterday jailed for 38 years for the murder of a teenage singer, her mother and brother.

Pierre Williams, 33, raped 18-year-old Kesha Wizzart, who had been a contestant on ITV talent show Stars In Their Eyes, before bludgeoning her to death.

He also sexually assaulted her mother Beverley Samuels, 36, his former girlfriend, before battering her to death with a hammer.

He then killed Kesha's 13-year-old brother Fred by hitting him over the head.

Police believe Williams's violent temper and jealousy in the face of Miss Samuels's rejection were compounded by religious delusions.

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Iran's State Within A State

They were once the storm troops of the Iranian revolution, the fanatical young men who spearheaded Ayatollah Khomeini's campaign to overthrow the Shah and establish an Islamic Republic where the rule of law was based on a strict interpretation of the Koran.

Nearly three decades have passed since the ayatollah returned in triumph to Tehran from exile in Paris, but many of those who were the original founders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards today hold positions of great power and influence, to the extent that many Iranians are now openly questioning whether there is any point in voting in next week's parliamentary elections.

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Jewish Women Who Are Taking The Veil

Sarah is part of a budding movement of about 100 Jewish women in this city who have begun covering their bodies. Some cover just their hair and neck; others wrap their entire face, save their eyes, with the loose cloth. They call their head-covering a sal, refusing to acknowledge the resemblance to its Muslim twin, the hijab. In Beit Shemesh, the political line is strictly right wing, with many of the religious leaders advocating expulsion of Arabs from the biblical boundaries of the land of Israel. But the two communities may have more in common than they think.

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Ontario Court Rejects Religious Exemption To Motorcycle Helmet Law

A devout Sikh who challenged an Ontario law requiring all motorcycle riders to wear a helmet on provincial roads has lost his court case.

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Dutch Face 'Substantial' Terror Threat Over New Film On Islam

The Netherlands has raised its national risk level of a terrorist attack to "substantial" before the launch of a film made by a right-wing politician that is expected to be critical of the Koran.

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Church Row Exposes Splits In Spain Before Vote

MADRID (Reuters) - When Spanish bishops advised Catholics on how to vote in next Sunday's election, Spaniards were reminded of the Church's one-time power, but also of how that power has waned.

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Religious Group Can't Take Government Money, Humanists Say

The Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), the legal arm of the American Humanist Association (AHA), sent an information letter today to Morning Star Ranch, an evangelical training camp, advising the religious organization not to accept tax funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the purpose of "renovating facilities."

"Morning Star Ranch is ineligible for government money," declared Bob Ritter, legal coordinator of the AHLC. "Therefore, if the organization accepts and spends such funds, the organization could later be required to return them."

Ritter explained the legal issue. "Since Morning Star Ranch is a pervasively sectarian organization, any award of tax dollars would be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and HUD's own regulations. The government can't use tax dollars to endorse or aid religion; that is a breach of our cherished tradition of church-state separation. And religion is clearly integral to every aspect of Morning Star Ranch's programs. This is why the organization is barred from receiving government funding."

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Grace Community Church Pastor Issued Endorsement For Shelley Sekula Gibbs

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Houston church whose pastor issued a letter of endorsement for a congressional candidate.

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Grand Canyon Reveals Its Age-Old Mystery

Cave formations indicate natural wonder is about 16 million years old.

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Crossing The Divide

SOLOMONS, MARYLAND - On a clear January day, Stephen Godfrey is dressed for fossilhunting: frayed baggy jeans, a puffy green vest, and a leather jacket that's seen better times. A paleontologist and curator at the modest Calvert Marine Museum here, Godfrey frequents the nearby Calvert Cliffs, which rise from the shoreline of Chesapeake Bay and hold everything from ancient shark teeth to dolphin skulls. "You start collecting them because, well, they're beautiful," he says of his beloved fossils.

It was the study of fossils that, 25 years ago, set Godfrey on an anguished path. Raised in a fundamentalist Christian family in Quebec, Canada, embracing a 6000-year-old Earth where Noah's flood laid down every fossil, Godfrey began probing the underpinnings of creationism in graduate school. The inconsistencies he found led step by step, over many years, to a staunch acceptance of evolution. With this shift came rejection from his religious community, estrangement from his parents, and, perhaps most difficult of all, a crisis of faith that endures.

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Atheist Soldier Says Army Punished Him

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A soldier claimed Wednesday that his promotion was blocked because he had claimed in a lawsuit that the Army was violating his right to be an atheist.

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Sudan Urges Muslims To Act Against Denmark; Thousands Protest Cartoon

KHARTOUM, Sudan - President Omar al-Bashir vowed on Wednesday to ban Danes from Sudan and called for a Muslim boycott of Denmark before a crowd of tens of thousands denouncing the country at a government-backed protest against a cartoon satirizing the Prophet Muhammad.

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Britain's Blasphemy Law No Longer Sacred

LONDON -- A funny thing happened in November when Britain launched a righteous protest over Sudan's arrest of a British schoolteacher accused of insulting Islam by letting her students name a class teddy bear Muhammad.

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See also:

Humanists Call for Repeal of U.S. Blasphemy Laws

Church Steps Into Political Fray In Spain

MADRID - Spain's most prominent Roman Catholic priests have stepped into the center of a bare-knuckle election campaign here, igniting a firestorm by seeming to tell voters how to cast their ballots.

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Religious Defamation "Is Abuse Of Rights"

GENEVA: Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki yesterday said defaming religious images or sensibilities should be seen as a breach of human rights.

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Iran's Religious Conservatives Are Expected To Solidify Power At Polls

TEHRAN -- With eight days before Iran's parliamentary elections, there is little doubt that religious conservatives will tighten their grip on power, pushing aside some of the veteran politicians who helped found the Islamic Republic 29 years ago.

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Dutch PM Seeks French Help Over Anti-Islam Film

PARIS (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende asked France Wednesday to show solidarity with his country if there is any fallout over an anti-Islamic film made by a Dutch right-wing politician.

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U.S. Commander Warns On Al Qaeda Plotting

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Al Qaeda terrorists may be plotting more urgently to attack the United States to maintain their credibility and ability to recruit followers, the U.S. military commander in charge of domestic defense said Thursday.

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Masked Militiamen Enter Key Somali Town

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- More than 100 masked Islamic militiamen entered a strategic town Thursday in the latest bold move by a force defeated two years ago at the hands of Somalia's Western-backed government and its Ethiopian allies.

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Alleged Manila Bomb Plotters Arrested

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippine authorities have arrested three Middle Eastern men suspected of involvement in a plot to bomb the American embassy and three other foreign missions in Manila, officials said Thursday.

--snip--

The Philippines is a key Washington ally in its global war on terrorism. It has allowed U.S. counterterrorism troops to arm and train Filipino soldiers battling al Qaeda-linked militants in the country's south, scene of a decades-long Islamic separatist insurrection.

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Pair Of Bombs Kills 53 In Baghdad, Officials Say

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Fifty-three people were killed and 125 were wounded in two bomb attacks Thursday evening in a Baghdad commercial district, an Interior Ministry official said.

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Gunman Kills 8 At Jerusalem Seminary

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A gunman broke into a prominent Jewish seminary Thursday, spraying automatic-weapons fire and killing eight people, many of them students, authorities said.

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See also:

Egypt builds new wall along Gaza

Gaza humanitarian crisis worst since '67

Palestinian ambush kills Israeli soldier

Looking for Mr. Right

U.S. decides it's better to talk than fight in Gaza

Sikhs Won't See Pope If Daggers Banned

A group of Sikhs refuse to attend a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI when he comes to the United States in April because they were ordered not to bring a dagger they are required to carry as part of their faith.

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Danish Cartoonist's 81 Namesakes In Terror Risk

Denmark's security services have provided protection to namesakes of the Danish cartoonist behind controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

There are 82 Kurt Westergaards living in Denmark but only one of them is the man who life is under daily threat because of his caricatures of the founder of Islam.

However, some of other 81 "Kurts" scattered across Denmark have also received mistaken identity death threats because they share the same name as the illustrator.

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Woman Jailed For 'Worshipping Tea Pot'

A sharia court in Malaysia jailed a woman for joining a "tea-pot worshipping" cult.

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Richard Dawkins' US Tour Begins This Week

The God Delusion University Tour 2008 begins this Thursday in Tempe, Arizona, and continues through the month of March.

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Muslim Scholars, Vatican Officials Talk

VATICAN CITY -- Muslim scholars who have called for greater dialogue with Christians began two days of talks Tuesday with the Vatican to prepare for what church officials say will be a historic audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

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See also:

Church exhumes Padre Pio

Afghan Attack Kills 2 NATO Soldiers, Injures 4

KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide attack on a government office guarded by Afghan and NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan left two alliance soldiers dead and four more wounded, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday.

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See also:

Opium Wars

Violence Leaves Young Iraqis Doubting Clerics

BAGHDAD -- After almost five years of war, many young people in Iraq, exhausted by constant firsthand exposure to the violence of religious extremism, say they have grown disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they preach.

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Suicide Bombers Kill 5 In Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Twin suicide bombers set off explosives at a naval college in Pakistan Tuesday, killing at least five other people and wounding at least 16, one critically, the government said.

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Israeli Troops Return To Gaza; Overthrow Next?

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip -- About 25 Israeli armored vehicles rumbled into southern Gaza after nightfall Tuesday, and troops clashed with militants, Palestinian witnesses said.

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See also:

Gaza Clashes Leave Infant Girl Dead

Was Moses High On Mount Sinai?

JERUSALEM -- When Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, he may have been high on a hallucinogenic plant, according to a new study by an Israeli psychology professor.

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U.S. Fires Missiles At Somalia Terror Target

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military struck "a target against a known al Qaeda terrorist" in southern Somalia early Monday, the Pentagon said.

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U.S. launches missile strike in Somalia

Israel Withdraws From Gaza

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Most Israeli tanks and troops pulled out of northern Gaza early Monday, and an Israel Defense Forces spokesman confirmed that the military was ending its five-day offensive operation.

The attacks targeted Palestinian militants who launched dozens of rockets into southern Israel.

The operations, which prompted an emergency U.N. Security Council session Saturday night, resulted in the deaths of at least 110 Palestinians since Wednesday, according to Palestinian medical sources. The Israel Defense Forces said two Israeli soldiers were killed.

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See also:

Israel pulls troops out of Gaza

U.S.: Troops Find 14 Bodies Shot In The Head In Iraq

Story Highlights:

Bodies of Iraqi security forces or anti-insurgents found, U.S. military reports

Car bomb detonates in central Baghdad, killing 15 people

Another car bomb detonates in eastern Baghdad, killing three

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Muslim Law Board Demands Ouster Of Taslima

KOLKATA -- Demanding ouster of controversial writer Taslima Nasreen, the All India Minority Forum on Sunday accused the government of trying to protect her though she has hurt sentiments of Muslims in the country.

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Nato Fears Over Dutch Islam Film

Nato's secretary general says he fears the airing of a Dutch film criticising Islam will have repercussions for troops in Afghanistan.

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See also:

Afghans protest at Danish cartoons

Orderly Universe: Evidence Of God?

Not Really, ABC News Columnist Says; It's Not Unusual for Order to Occur Naturally

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Suicide Bomber Hits Pakistan Peace Meeting

(AP) A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday at a large meeting called by tribal elders pushing for peace in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100, witnesses and officials said.

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Israel To Press Ahead In Gaza Offensive

(AP) The Palestinian president suspended peace talks Sunday as Israel brushed off international criticism and vowed to press ahead with an offensive that has killed more than 100 Palestinians, until militants halt rocket attacks.

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See also:

Palestinians suspend peace talks with Israel

Israel's Gaza Attacks Raise Arab Anger

US: Embattled Veterans Official Resigns

SAN FRANCISCO (IPS) - Another high-ranking George W. Bush administration official has resigned. The Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits Daniel Cooper quit Thursday amid mounting criticism over a backlog of disability claims for injured veterans that runs six months long and an appearance he made in a fundraising video for an evangelical Christian organisation where he said Bible study was more important than doing his job.

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Students Plan Atheist Club To Challenge, Educate

To believe or not to believe, that is the question.

Steve Owen, a graduate English major, is spearheading the Atheist Student Organization, a new student club at Sacramento State which will pose the question to the campus community.

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Iraq Casualties Rise Again After Qaeda Bombs

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violent civilian deaths in Iraq rose 36 percent in February from the previous month after a series of large-scale bombings blamed on al Qaeda, Iraqi government figures showed on Saturday.

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Taliban Leader Accused In Bhutto Assassination

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani police on Saturday formally accused the top Taliban leader in the country and four others of planning the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

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Israeli Airstrike Damages Hamas Premier's Office

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli aircraft hit the Gaza City building housing the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh early Sunday, heavily damaging it.

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It was the fifth consecutive day in which Israeli forces launched air and ground operations against militants in northern Gaza, aimed at stopping what Israel says is a steady barrage of rocket fire into its towns.

--snip--

Fifty-two Palestinians have been killed and 200 wounded since Friday in Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said, in the deadliest 24 hours of violence in more than a year.

The sources said 85 people, including civilians and children, have been killed in the Jebaliyah area since the incursion began Wednesday.

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See also:

Bloody Israeli-Hamas clashes escalate in Gaza

Archbishops Have 'Serious Reservations' About Blasphemy Repeal

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned the Government that they have "serious reservations" about the abolition of the blasphemy laws.

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Ex-Islamists Start Moderate Thinktank

Two former Islamists are to launch a Muslim thinktank aimed at improving relations with the west by challenging extremist ideologies.

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Dutch PM Issues Warning On Film About Koran

The Dutch government yesterday took the unusual step of publicly distancing itself from an unreleased film about the Koran by an anti-Islamic MP, saying the project threatened the safety of Dutch citizens abroad.

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Germany: Gallery Shut After Muslim Threats

The authorities in Berlin closed a gallery whose exhibition included satirical works by Danish artists that caricatured the Kaaba shrine in Mecca after Muslims protested, the German news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur reported, citing the local arts council.

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Berlin gallery in Islam art row

Catholics Are Losing Their Religion

Ireland -- While 160 priests died in the past year, only nine men were ordained. In the same period, 228 nuns died with only two taking final vows.

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City Council Faces Prayer Objections

The Port Huron City Council plans to make changes Monday to its policy regarding invocations before meetings after an atheist asked for permission to lead the prayer.

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ACLU Files Suit Against Iowa Town Over Parking Regulations

LEON (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has sued the city of Leon over a parking ordinance the ALCU said bans everyone but churchgoers from parking on some public streets.

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Religious Freedom Group Questions Grant To W. Pa. Group

A religious liberty group is challenging a $141,000 federal grant to a suburban Pittsburgh group, citing concerns that it's violating the principle of separation of church and state.

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Semi-Related:

Officials will end prison treatment program

Endorsement prompts IRS to investigate California pastor

Atheists Find Strength In Numbers

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A legion of the godless is rising up against the forces of religiosity in American society.

"People who were ashamed to say there is no God now say, 'Wow, there are others out there who think like me,'" said Margaret Downey, president of the Atheist Alliance International, whose membership has almost doubled in the past year to 5,200.

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Americans United Files Lawsuit Challenging Sectarian Prayers At New York Town's Board Meetings

Church-State Watchdog Group Says Board's Preference For Christianity Flouts First Amendment Of The Constitution.

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World's Biggest Particle Smasher Completed

Ambitious experiment will help scientists recreate Big Bang conditions.

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Scientists See Deep Inside Human Brain

New imaging technique peers into areas key to behavior.

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Children Killed As Gaza Violence Flares

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel's defense minister Thursday told his country "to ready for escalation" as it continued to pummel Gaza with airstrikes in response to rocket attacks from militants in the Palestinian territory.

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IDF kills 20 Palestinians, including 6 children, in Gaza and West Bank

Israel warns of invasion of Gaza

Israeli minister warns of Palestinian 'holocaust'

Suicide Bombing Kills 35 In Pakistan

(AP) A suicide bomber attacked the funeral for a slain police officer in Pakistan's volatile Swat Valley on Friday, killing at least 35 people and injuring 62 others, police said.

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30 killed in Pakistan funeral blast