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Associated Press – November 20, 2007 NEW YORK – Scientists have made ordinary human skin cells take on the chameleon-like powers of embryonic stem cells, a startling breakthrough that might someday deliver the medical payoffs of embryo cloning without the controversy. Laboratory teams on two continents report success in a pair of landmark papers released…

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – November 21, 2007 Running into the fire. That is how the Rev. D.E. Paulk describes returning 15 months ago to take the helm of his family-run, scandal-plagued Cathedral at Chapel Hill in Decatur. He knew the rumor was floating around that he was born of an adulterous liaison between his mother…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service When Pentecostal power couple Randy and Paula White recently announced they were headed to divorce court, the most remarkable part of the reaction was that there wasn’t much reaction at all. For increasing numbers of clergy, a divorce no longer generates the kind of career-killing hue and cry…

By Heather Donckels Religion News Service While millions of Americans are stocking their kitchens for a Thanksgiving feast, many groups are concerned about those who will go hungry on Thanksgiving and in the weeks and months to come. Inflation has made food more expensive, making it harder for families to put food on the table…

Associated Press Tokyo – The Dalai Lama says he may appoint a successor or rely on an election before his death in a break with tradition, a Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday, following recent orders that China must approve Tibet’s spiritual leaders. According to centuries of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the search for the reincarnation of spiritual…

Associated Press – November 19, 2007 AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Conservationists seeking to save the chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank as she hid from the Nazis said Monday it is strong enough to withstand a storm, and urged the city to delay its order to fell the tree later this week. The massive 150-year-old tree…

Associated Press – November 17, 2007 LONDON – The Scottish scientist who created Dolly the sheep more than a decade ago said he is abandoning the cloning technique that he pioneered, according to an interview published Saturday. Ian Wilmut, who led the team that created Dolly in 1996, told The Daily Telegraph that he is…

Associated Press – November 19, 2007 WASHINGTON – Hate crime incidents in the United States rose last year by nearly 8 percent, the FBI reported Monday, as racial prejudice continued to account for more than half the reported instances. Police across the nation reported 7,722 criminal incidents in 2006 targeting victims or property as a…

By Daniel Burke Religion News Service (RNS) The Presbyterian Church (USA) has removed Citigroup Inc. from its list of businesses probed for possible ties to violence and oppression in the Palestinian territories, saying it found no “improprieties.” The Louisville, Ky.-based denomination had looked into whether the financial conglomerate was helping terrorist groups launder money. The…

By David Finnigan Religion News Service LOS ANGELES (RNS) After an angry outcry from Muslim leaders, the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday (Nov. 14) canceled plans to create a “mapping” database on local Muslim communities to help pinpoint possible Islamic extremists. “When they are talking about mapping gang areas, Mafia areas, it’s erroneous to…

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