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Oct. 30–Fearing a massive outbreak of fever and germs, the World Health Organization and Saudi Arabia are asking people who are at higher risk for getting the H1N1 virus to stay home from one of the holiest rituals known to Muslims: the hajj to Mecca. Published Thursday in the well-respected journal Science, the recommendation is…

James Dobson, the voice of conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, will no longer host its flagship radio broadcast and is cutting formal ties with the organization that he founded more than 30 years ago, the evangelical group said Friday. Dobson, 73, and the board of directors both agreed about the moves, which will…

(RNS) Synagogues in Los Angeles were on high alert Thursday (Oct. 29) after a gunman shot two men heading to morning prayers in the city’s North Hollywood neighborhood. Two men were in the underground parking lot of Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue when they were shot by a man in a black, hooded sweatshirt, according…

(RNS) When it comes to hot-button political issues, the United Church of Christ is anything but wishy-washy. Its new general minister and president, the Rev. Geoffrey Black, has delivered 17,000 petition signatures to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging health-care reform — including coverage for all and access regardless of ability to pay. Its outgoing president,…

GENEVA (RNS/ENI) Lutheran World Federation leaders plan to apologize for their ancestors 16th-century persecution of Anabaptists, religious reformers whose successors include Mennonites and the Amish. “We ask for forgiveness — from God and from our Mennonite sisters and brothers — for the harm that our forebears in the sixteenth century committed to Anabaptists,” says a…

(RNS) The online auction house eBay has halted a proposed auction of items that aimed to raise funds for the defense of the man charged in the May killing of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. “Based on the details we know about the anticipated listings, we believe these would violate our policy regarding offensive material,”…

(RNS) Despite the economic recession, a plurality of congregations reported an increase in donations in the first half of 2009, according to a new study. More than two-thirds of 1,500 congregations surveyed said fundraising has increased (37 percent) or held steady (34 percent), according to the study. Nearly 30 percent said giving had decreased in…

(RNS) As Congress began writing legislation last spring to give businesses and homeowners tax incentives to make their homes more environmentally friendly, Nathan Diament looked at the legislation and saw a hole. Director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, Diament successfully pushed the sponsors of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which the…

(RNS) Jewish leaders are welcoming a revised statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that rejects suggestions that interfaith dialogue could lead to the conversion and baptism of Jews. American Jewish organizations had raised concerns that a document released by the bishops in June reversed earlier statements and indicated that dialogue between Catholics and…

Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry is calling on people to burn effigies of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this Halloween, as part of a “Burn in Hell” video contest to protest the health care legislation in Congress. Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, said Tuesday that the contest serves as a political…
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