INSIDER
To recuse or refuse? A look at Supreme Court justicesโ decisions on whether to step aside in cases
Read full article: To recuse or refuse? A look at Supreme Court justicesโ decisions on whether to step aside in casesIn declining to step aside from two high-profile Supreme Court cases, Justice Samuel Alito has provided a rare window on the opaque process by which justices decide to recuse themselves.
Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report says
Read full article: Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report saysA second flag of a type carried by rioters during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was displayed outside a house owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Upside-down flag at Justice Alito's home another blow for Supreme Court under fire
Read full article: Upside-down flag at Justice Alito's home another blow for Supreme Court under fireWhen an upside-down U.S. flag flew over the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021, it was largely seen in connection with the false claim by then-President Donald Trumpโs supporters that the 2020 election had been marred by fraud.
Justice Alito's home flew a US flag upside down after Trump's 'Stop the Steal' claims, a report says
Read full article: Justice Alito's home flew a US flag upside down after Trump's 'Stop the Steal' claims, a report saysDemocratic Sen. Dick Durbin says Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito should recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and the 2021 Capitol insurrection after a report about an upside-down American flag outside his home.
Lyft drivers spread the Gospel with ride-hailing ministries
Read full article: Lyft drivers spread the Gospel with ride-hailing ministriesPastor Kenneth Drayton and Tomika Reid try to inspire passengers through spiritual guidance on the road as part of what they see as Christian ride-hailing ministries.
Amid crises, rural roots anchor Southern Baptistsโ president
Read full article: Amid crises, rural roots anchor Southern Baptistsโ presidentThe new president of the Southern Baptist Convention is a staunchly conservative small-town preacher who touts biblical inerrancy, opposes women serving as pastors and supports abortion bans.
Cruel or harmless? Pastors mixed on GOP migrant transports
Read full article: Cruel or harmless? Pastors mixed on GOP migrant transportsAs Republican governors ramp up their transports of migrants to Democratic-run jurisdictions, the practice is getting a mixed reaction from Christian faith leaders โ many of whom, especially evangelicals, have supported GOP candidates by large numbers in recent elections.
Chris Cuomo's off-air role: Brother Andrew's strategist
Read full article: Chris Cuomo's off-air role: Brother Andrew's strategistTranscripts released Monday shed new light on how CNN anchor Chris Cuomo than previously known in helping defend his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, from sexual harassment allegations that forced him out of office.
Jim Bakker, his church settle lawsuit over COVID-19 claims
Read full article: Jim Bakker, his church settle lawsuit over COVID-19 claimsJim Bakker and his southwestern Missouri church will pay restitution of $156,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused the TV pastor of falsely claiming that a health supplement could cure COVID-19.
โMinariโ actor is nonchalant about new fame outside S. Korea
Read full article: โMinariโ actor is nonchalant about new fame outside S. Korea(Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)SEOUL โ When Youn Yuh-jung was asked how she felt about being called the โMeryl Streep of South Korea" in a recent interview, she said sheโs flattered by the comparison. โI am just a Korean actress in Korea,โ 73-year-old actor said. So I like to be myself.โYoun needs no introduction in South Korea, with a film career spanning over five decades. Youn lived in the U.S. for nearly a decade, not performing, before returning to South Korea, where she split from Cho and returned to acting. AdShe said the U.S. was considered a โdream landโ by Asian American immigrants in the 1970s and '80s, when โMinariโ is set.
International evangelical pastor Luis Palau dies at 86
Read full article: International evangelical pastor Luis Palau dies at 86(AP Photo/Marianne Armshaw, File)PORTLAND, Ore. โ Luis Palau, an evangelical pastor who was born in Argentina and went on to work with Billy Graham before establishing his own powerhouse international ministry, died Thursday. The Luis Palau Association said he died at his home in Portland, Oregon. โThis is hard news, but Luis is experiencing the beauty of the Lord face to face.โBorn to an affluent family in Buenos Aires, Palau rose from obscurity to become one of the most well-known international Christian evangelists. How many people weโve reached with the Gospel.โHis radio programs, including the international Spanish-language โLuis Palau Responde,โ are broadcast on 3,500 stations in 48 countries, and his Portland-based Luis Palau Association organizes dozens of events each year on five continents. โLuis Palau was the Apostle Paul to the Spanish-speaking world.
Slain Capitol Police officer honored: 'We will never forget'
Read full article: Slain Capitol Police officer honored: 'We will never forget'(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON โ Congressional leaders paid tribute Wednesday to slain U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick in the building he died defending, promising his family and his fellow officers that they will never forget his sacrifice. Sicknick died after an insurrectionist mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, interrupting the electoral count after then-President Donald Trump urged them to โfight like hellโ to overturn his defeat. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sicknick was a patriot who will be remembered by lawmakers each day as they enter the Capitol. The 42-year-old officer was only the fifth person to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, a designation for those who are not elected officials, judges or military leaders. Also in attendance was Wenling Chestnut, widow of slain Capitol Police Officer Jacob Chestnut, one of two Capitol Police officers killed by a gunman in 1998.
Religious right eyes Biden warily after Trump's good favor
Read full article: Religious right eyes Biden warily after Trump's good favorAs his administration draws to a close, some of those backers are approaching President-elect Joe Biden with skepticism, but not antagonism. During the Obama administration, Graham attended a conversation Biden convened among faith-based advocates about gun legislation. However, some groups such as Perkins' may find occasional opportunities to work with the Biden administration even while remaining critical of it in their messaging to members and fundraising, according to evangelical writer and analyst Napp Nazworth. Meanwhile, evangelicals outside those most closely associated with Trump already are identifying commonalities where they could partner with Biden. The Trump administration had slashed the refugee target to historic lows.
As Trump faces uncertain future, so do his signature rallies
Read full article: As Trump faces uncertain future, so do his signature ralliesAs President Donald Trump faces an uncertain future, so too does a fixture of the American political scene over the last five years: the Trump campaign rally, a phenomenon that has spawned friendships, businesses and a way of life for Trumpโs most dedicated supporters. She has been to nearly 20 Trump events, from rallies to Fourth of July celebrations on the National Mall. Indeed, the Trump campaign estimates the events have generated tens of millions of dollars a week in free television coverage. George Gigicos, who ran Trumpโs 2016 advance operation, said the rallies "were hugely importantโ to Trump's campaigns and presidency. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild, who has been studying Trump supporters, agreed that he had tapped into religious imagery that secular liberals often missed.
Moving the flip zone: Democrats march deeper into suburbia
Read full article: Moving the flip zone: Democrats march deeper into suburbiaA purple ring โ call it the flip zone โ emerges through the suburbs. But the midterm elections of 2018 showed that the flip zone has moved in the era of President Donald Trump, with dramatic consequences. To hold the White House and control of the Senate, he and his party must stop the flip zone from moving farther out again. In 2018 in Milwaukee, the flip zone moved out less than half a mile as Wisconsin elected a Democratic governor. โ In Atlanta, the flip zone was nearly 24 miles out, at 434 households per square mile.
'Fighting for you': First lady makes her case for Trump vote
Read full article: 'Fighting for you': First lady makes her case for Trump voteIn my husband, you have a president who will not stop fighting for you and your families, said Mrs. Trump, an immigrant herself. Mrs. Trump noted that the lives of Americans changed drastically in March with the onset of the coronavirus. President Trump is fighting for all of us. President Trump has put his America First vision into action," Pompeo said. Only the second foreign-born first lady in U.S. history, Mrs. Trump, 50, is a native of Slovenia, a former communist country in eastern Europe.
Jim Bakker gets PPP loans during legal fight on fraud claims
Read full article: Jim Bakker gets PPP loans during legal fight on fraud claimsFILE - In this Friday, March 2, 2018 file photo, televangelist Jim Bakker leaves a funeral service for the Rev. Applicants seeking PPP loans were asked to certify they werent engaged in any activity that is illegal under federal, state or local law. Bakkers co-counsel is Jay Nixon, a former four-term Missouri attorney general and two-term Democratic governor. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge pushes back on framing the lawsuit as a religious freedom infringement. Dont let me have to file for bankruptcy.A week later, Arvest Bank, as the lender, released three PPP loans to Bakkers church management, production and retreat entities.
Virus loans helped entities tied to Trump evangelical allies
Read full article: Virus loans helped entities tied to Trump evangelical alliesVice President Mike Pence, left, greets Senior Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress, right, after Pence spoke at the Southern Baptist megachurch First Baptist Dallas during a Celebrate Freedom Rally in Dallas, Sunday, June 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Virus loans helped entities tied to Trump evangelical allies
Read full article: Virus loans helped entities tied to Trump evangelical allies(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)NEW YORK โ Churches connected to President Donald Trump and other organizations linked to current or former Trump evangelical advisers received at least $17.3 million in loans from a federal rescue package designed to aid small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Graham, whose megachurch claims more than 42,000 members, is not related to Trump evangelical adviser Franklin Graham, son of the late Rev. Other program beneficiaries connected to veteran evangelical Trump allies include The Faith & Freedom Coalition, founded by conservative strategist Ralph Reed, which got a loan of between $150,000 and $350,000. King Jesus International Ministry, the Miami megachurch where Trump launched his evangelical outreach push ahead of Novemberโs election, received a loan of between $2 million and $5 million according to the data. That church's pastor, Guillermo Maldonado, was also among a group of faith leaders who met and prayed with Trump at the White House last fall.
Amid furor over monuments, Trump call for garden of statues
Read full article: Amid furor over monuments, Trump call for garden of statuesFILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speaks in Washington. The president unveiled his plan Friday, July 3, 2020, during his speech at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, S.D. We will raise the next generation of American patriots, Trump said at Mount Rushmore. None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honoring, remembering, and studying, according to the order. The order includes language to make clear that non-U.S. citizens who played significant roles in American history also could be honored in the garden.
Evangelist who built global ministry dies in Atlanta at 74
Read full article: Evangelist who built global ministry dies in Atlanta at 74ATLANTA Evangelist Ravi Zacharias, who built an international ministry that strives to defend Christianity on intellectual grounds, has died in Georgia. Zacharias died Tuesday at his home in Atlanta after a brief battle with sarcoma, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries said in a statement. Billy Graham invited Zacharias to preach at the inaugural International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in Amsterdam in 1983, the organization said. The ministry's mission is helping the thinker believe and the believer think," it said in announcing the death of Zacharias. In an emotional video message, professional athlete Tim Tebow asked for prayers for Zacharias' family and ministry.
Franklin Graham: No interest in federal money meant for WHO
Read full article: Franklin Graham: No interest in federal money meant for WHOFranklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, sits for a portrait at his group's field hospital in New York's Central Park. โBut it would be too much of a controversy if they gave Samaritanโs Purse a penny. The prospect of Samaritan's Purse receiving funding redirected from the U.N. health agency prompted warnings from some Graham critics, including the secular group American Atheists. Samaritanโs Purse is no stranger to controversy during the pandemic. A spokesman for the charity said that the Central Park site had not accepted volunteers, relying solely on employees.
Trump portrays himself as defender of faith for evangelicals
Read full article: Trump portrays himself as defender of faith for evangelicalsThe El Rey Jesรบs church kickoff of โEvangelicals for Trumpโ will be followed in the weeks ahead by the launches of โCatholics for Trumpโ and โJewish Voices for Trump." Those abortion limits drew 39% support from white mainline Protestants, 33% support from nonwhite Protestants and 45% support from Catholics, but 67% support from white evangelical Protestants. About 6 in 10 Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nonwhite Protestants supported those protections, compared with about a third of white evangelical Protestants. But Democrats have shown strong interest in connecting with voters of faith, even evangelicals whom Trump is often assumed to have locked down. "Fridayโs rally is Trumpโs desperate response to the realization that he is losing his primary voting bloc โ faith voters.
Poll: White evangelicals distinct on abortion, LGBT policy
Read full article: Poll: White evangelicals distinct on abortion, LGBT policyWhite evangelicals were also more likely than members of other faiths to say religion should have at least some influence on policymaking. About 6 in 10 Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nonwhite Protestants supported those protections, compared with about a third of white evangelical Protestants. Indeed, white evangelical Protestantsโ preference for a religious influence on abortion policy surpassed most other issues examined in the poll. About 8 in 10 white evangelicals said religion should have at least some influence on abortion policy. But not every Trump-backed policy found strong support in the poll from white evangelical Protestants.
Franklin Graham responds after Christian magazine his father founded blasts President Trump
Read full article: Franklin Graham responds after Christian magazine his father founded blasts President TrumpBilly Graham posted an opinion piece saying President Donald Trump should be removed from office, Grahamโs son released a statement. President Trump tweeted out his thoughts of the article on Friday morning:....have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. Yes, my father Billy Graham founded Christianity Today; but no, he would not agree with their opinion piece. My father knew Donald Trump, he believed in Donald Trump, and he voted for Donald Trump. Is President Trump guilty of sin?
Trump blasts Christian magazine that called for his removal
Read full article: Trump blasts Christian magazine that called for his removalBilly Graham, โwould rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President." The magazine โhas been doing poorly and hasnโt been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years,โ Trump wrote. Franklin Graham, who now leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and prayed at Trumpโs inauguration, tweeted Friday that his father would be โdisappointedโ in the magazine. He wrote on Facebook: โIs President Trump guilty of sin? โNo President has done more for the Evangelical community, and itโs not even close,โ Trump said in his tweets.