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CLEVELAND — The preacher’s voice rises to a booming pitch. Near the end of his sermon, the Rev. David Cobb Jr. runs down a list of politicians in mesmerizing, rapid-fire rhythm: “You don’t really need Bush. You don’t really need Cheney. You don’t really need Palin. You don’t really need Biden,” he thunders to his…

WASHINGTON (RNS) Democrat Kay Hagan filed a defamation suit Thursday (Oct. 30) against Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s re-election campaign, saying her opponent for a Senate seat from North Carolina inaccurately accused her of having ties to an atheist political action committee. “A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser in Kay Hagan’s…

NEW ORLEANS – It’s Halloween, and Anne Rice has a new book – a memoir in fact – that’s climbing best-seller lists. Everything is normal, then. Normal if it were 1994 – the height of Rice’s megaselling fame as a queen of Southern Gothic pulp. For those who haven’t been paying attention lately to vampire…

HIRBET QEIYAFA, Israel – An Israeli archaeologist has discovered what he believes is the oldest known Hebrew inscription on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard – a find that suggests Biblical accounts of the ancient Israelite kingdom of David could have been based on written texts. A teenage volunteer discovered the curved shard bearing five lines of…

Vatican City – A Jewish leader says Pope Benedict XVI is considering a request to freeze the sainthood process for wartime Pope Pius XII, who critics say did not speak out enough during World War II to save Jews amid Hitler’s extermination campaign. Rabbi Ravid Rosen says the pope was asked to do so during…

Utah’s polygamous groups are once again circulating a voters’ guide that ranks political candidates and their views on issues important to fundamentalist communities. This year’s ratings were based on responses or actions related to campaign ethics and civil rights. Among questions candidates were asked: “Should polygamous people have the same right as other Utah citizens…

On Friday (Oct. 31), no one will be surprised to see ghosts and goblins on the loose. But for some Americans, ghosts — along with extraterrestrials, Bigfoot and UFOs — aren’t the stuff of seasonal sightings or tabloid teasers. They’re real — as real as a resurrected Jesus and a devious Satan are to millions.…

(UNDATED) Naomi Gonzalez grew up poor in Chicago, bouncing among nine foster homes while her father served time in prison. The single mother of four believes Barack Obama understands her struggle. “He’s come from poverty, he comes from a single mother, he’s experienced racism,” said Gonzalez, 30, “A lot of us can relate to him.”…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – On a recent Sunday, the Rev. Richard Mahan scrapped a sermon on forgiveness. He felt compelled instead to address the economic turmoil battering the nation. “Everybody’s facing hard times,” he told worshippers at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Charleston. “If you’re not, you’re going to.” Include churches in that dismal forecast. With…

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) The hottest campaign in Michigan this fall features no candidate, but an embryo. In the fight over Proposal 2, advocates and opponents are spending millions to shape voter opinion on a proposal to loosen current restrictions on embryonic stem cell research in the state. In West Michigan, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos…

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