WASHINGTON — A federal judge appointed to the bench by then-President George W. Bush has ruled that Congress may reject an atheist’s request to present an opening invocation and that officials did not discriminate against him in requiring that those who present prayers be actual faith leaders. “This court concludes that the refusal of the […]
AUSTIN, Texas — An undocumented teenage girl who is in the United States unaccompanied by her parents is asking a court to grant her permission to obtain an abortion as officials at the immigration facility where she is being held have allegedly denied her request. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit on […]
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Republican lawmaker in Kentucky has filed a bill that would abolish elective abortions in the state, leaving an exception for those recommended by a physician for medical reasons. “Whereas an average of more than nine unborn children are killed via abortion in Kentucky each day, an emergency is declared to exist, and this […]
(Fox News) — Two children were sexually assaulted during a New Jersey home invasion by a man who threatened them with a gun, state police said Sunday. New Jersey State Police said Craig Lassiter, 33, of Middletown, New York, was captured on Long Island, N.Y. four days after the Sept. 18 attack. Officials said they received […]
(Fox News) — California health care workers who “willfully and repeatedly” decline to use a senior transgender patient’s “preferred name or pronouns” could face punishments ranging from a fine to jail time under a newly signed law. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the legislation last week. The sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, has argued […]
BRIDGEPORT, Mich. – A national atheist activist organization has requested an investigation into what it calls a “flagrant violation of the First Amendment” after learning that coaches and players of a Michigan high school’s junior varsity football team circled up to pray with another team after a recent game. “This conduct is unconstitutional because coaches endorse […]
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Two Florida women have been arrested on child neglect charges after they allegedly overdosed on heroin together with their infant children in their car. The Boynton Beach Police Department posted about the matter on Friday, stating that it wanted to make the situation public “in hopes of preventing it from happening again […]
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A Missouri appeals court has revived a lawsuit filed by a member of the Satanic Temple who is seeking a “religious exemption” from a state law that requires mothers to wait 72 to hours to obtain an abortion following an ultrasound and the provision of an informational booklet advising that they […]
MADISON, Wisc. — A federal judge has again struck down a 60-year-old law that allows pastors in the nation an exemption from paying taxes on their housing allowance. “[A]ny reasonable observer would conclude that the purpose and effect of § 107(2) is to provide financial assistance to one group of religious employees without any consideration to the […]
WASHINGTON — At the instruction of President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has released a memo to all government departments and agencies that provides guidance as to how federal laws pertaining to religious liberty protections should be interpreted. “Religious liberty is not merely a right to personal religious beliefs or even to worship in a […]