Religion News Service (RNS) — The Rev. John Parks was taking his first sabbatical in 40 years of ministry when he got a call from his church’s accountant with some bad news. Church Mutual, the church’s insurance company, had dropped them. “This does not make sense,” Parks, the pastor of Ashford Community Church in Houston,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Two local law enforcement officers stationed in the complex of buildings where a gunman opened fire at former President Donald Trump left to go search for the man before the shooting, the head of Pennsylvania State Police said Tuesday, raising questions about whether a key post was left unattended as
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal group, has covered up defining features of the mosaics in its Washington D.C. shrine after the famous ex-Jesuit artist who designed them was accused of abusing women. The influential Catholic charitable organization announced earlier this month that it was covering the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press A Texas woman who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $109 million from a youth development program for military families has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Janet Yamanaka Mello, a former civilian employee of the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio was sentenced Tuesday in federal court after pleading
Continue ReadingAP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The European climate service Copernicus says Earth sizzled to the hottest day ever measured last Sunday. It’s yet another heat record that’s been shattered in the past couple of years. Copernicus’ preliminary data shows the global average temperature Sunday was 17.09 degrees Celsius, or 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit, which beats
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A surprise eruption in Yellowstone National Park shot steam, water and dark-colored rock and dirt high into the sky Tuesday and sent sightseers running for safety. The hydrothermal explosion happened around 10 a.m. in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles north of the famous Old
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — British and Spanish maritime officials say a fishing boat carrying 27 people has sunk nearly 200 miles off the Falkland Islands, leaving at least six people dead and seven people missing. Spanish authorities said Tuesday that 14 people made it onto a life raft and were rescued by
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters against the Gaza war staged a sit-in at a congressional office building Tuesday ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, with Capitol Police making multiple arrests. Netanyahu arrived in Washington Monday for a visit that includes meetings with President Joe Biden and a Wednesday speech before
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — One of five people charged with attempting to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for the acquittal of defendants in one of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud cases has pleaded guilty. Abdimajid Mohamed Nur pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — For the second time in weeks, a Missouri prison has ignored a court order to release an inmate whose murder conviction was overturned. Just as in the case of Sandra Hemme, actions by the state’s attorney general are keeping Christopher Dunn locked up. St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA All-Star Game drew a record number of viewers with 3.44 million people watching the contest in Phoenix on Saturday night. The game, which saw the WNBA All-Stars beat the U.S. Olympic team 117-109, easily topped the 1.44 million that viewed the 2003 contest. Saturday’s game peaked with more than
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Treasury Department is ordering the nation’s banking industry to start disclosing its holdings of Russian assets, with the goal of eventually seizing those billions of dollars in assets and selling them to aid the devastated Ukrainian economy. The disclosure is required under a new law passed by
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Nearly 200 men and women are alleging they were sexually abused as children while at a Chicago youth detention facility. A pair of lawsuits filed this week in the Illinois Court of Claims are the latest to detail harrowing instances of abuse at the hands of employees of juvenile detention
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — A group of 2,000 migrants from dozens of countries set out on foot Tuesday through southern Mexico as they attempt to reach the U.S., although recent similar attempts have failed, with groups disbanding after a few days without leaving the region. Several members of the group said they hoped
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The family of a Portuguese-Belgian aid worker detained in the Central African Republic for allegedly being in touch with armed groups to plot a coup have maintaining his innocence and called for his release, even as the African government says it had evidence to support its accusations. The brother
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A former sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey inside her Illinois home had been employed by a half-dozen police agencies since 2020. State law enforcement records show Sean Grayson’s career included short stints as a part-time officer at three small police departments, full
Continue ReadingAssocited Press HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban Olympic Committee has demanded the “immediate exclusion” of an island athlete who was included by the organizers as part of a refugee team that will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The committee said in the statement released Tuesday that “one of the two athletes included has
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has unveiled new restrictions on the state’s homeless family shelter programs. Healey said Tuesday that starting Aug. 1, families who aren’t prioritized for placement in emergency assistance shelters will be eligible to stay at overflow sites for just five days. Healey pointed to what she called
Continue ReadingAssociated Press While Steve Bannon is serving a four-month federal prison term, he’s got another trial coming up. A New York state judge on Tuesday set a December trial date for the conservative strategist. He is charged in New York with scheming to con donors who gave money to build a border wall, and he
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — About a thousand people are expected at a gala event this weekend as Wisconsin finally honors a person of color with a statue at its state Capitol. Workers lowered the shrouded statue of Wisconsin Secretary of State Vel Phillips into position Tuesday, and then encased it in a crate
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