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Associated Press – November 7, 2007 SALT LAKE CITY – A polygamous-sect leader tried to hang himself in jail in January, eight months before a jury convicted him of rape as an accomplice, according to court documents. The disclosure Tuesday was in an evaluation by mental-health expert Eric Nielsen, who examined Warren Jeffs in April…

Associated Press-November 7, 2007 WASHINGTON – Moderate Republican presidential hopefuls Sen. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday secured key endorsements that could translate into increased support from Christian conservatives who, so far, have viewed their candidacy with a measure of concern. Former Republican presidential hopeful Sam Brownback, a conservative and favorite of evangelical Christians,…

Associated Press Nashville, Tennessee – Country music Rosanne Cash is facing brain surgery for a rare but benign condition and must cancel the last four dates on her “Black Cadillac” tour. The announcement was made Tuesday by Manhattan Records, the 52-year-old singer’s music label. Cash is expected to make a full recovery and resume recording…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service Washington – A prominent U.S. senator is seeking financial information from some of the biggest names among evangelical TV ministries following “complaints from the public” and news reports of possible money mismanagement. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, gave the six ministries…

Associated Press Vatican City – The king of Saudi Arabia met Tuesday with Pope Benedict XVI – the first-ever meeting between a pontiff and a reigning Saudi monarch – amid Vatican concerns about restrictions on Christian worship in the Muslim kingdom. The Vatican said the “positive presence and work of Christians was raised” during the…

United Press International Washington – Virginia high school officials recently gave a green light to a teen’s request for a once-banned after-school antiabortion club, the Washington Post reported. “We just wanted the same rights as other clubs,” 16-year-old Stephanie Hoffmeier told the Post. “It’s not a radical thing to expect equal treatment.” Stafford County, Virginia,…

Associated Press WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court stepped into a death penalty case Monday in which a defendant says his lawyers gave him bad advice by telling him to reject a plea deal that would have spared him a death sentence. Maxwell Alton Hoffman was convicted in connection with a revenge killing in Idaho and…

Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria – Delegates to a Syrian-based anti-Israel office began talks here Monday on ways to revive momentum for the Arabs’ boycott of the Jewish state. Eight Arab countries stayed away from the four-day meeting, including Egypt and Jordan which have signed peace treaties with Israel. Those attending the gathering, held twice a…

United Press International BOSTON, Nov 5, 2007 (UPI via COMTEX) — A Harvard study showed U.S. medical students receive little information about military medical ethics or a physician’s duties under the Geneva Conventions. Harvard Medical School researchers surveyed eight U.S. medical schools and found 94 percent of students receive less than one hour of instruction…

Associated Press SAN GERONIMO, Calif. – When David Milarch first visited Northern California in 1968, he thought he would see avenues of coast redwoods 100 miles long. What he found instead was a “moonscape,” he said. Nearly 40 years later, the Michigan arborist has returned to the region to realize his dream of preserving and…

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