February 14, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Silver Lining for Clinton: Evangelical Support
Michelle Boorstein and Jacqueline L. Salmon/Washington Post (02/13/2008)
Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama by sizable margins in all three contests yesterday, but one number out this week does break in her favor. According to a new poll, the quarter of white evangelicals who identify as Democrats overwhelmingly support Clinton.

Finding Their Faith
Amy Sullivan/Time (02/14/2008)
If the Democratic ticket in November is able to capture a greater share of religious voters than in previous elections, it will be because both Obama and Clinton have rejected their party's traditional fight- or-flight reaction to religion.

Obama's Sister Talks About His Childhood
Associated Press (02/14/2008: cbsnews.com)
Born and raised in Honolulu, Obama honed his ability to appeal to a diverse group of people in the islands, a crossroad of cultures from throughout the Pacific, said his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

Muslim running for Congress wants to combat ignorance about his faith
Ken Kusmer/Associated Press (02/14/2008: dailybreeze.com)
INDIANAPOLIS - A convert to Islam stands an election victory away from becoming the second Muslim elected to Congress and a role model for a faith community seeking to make its mark in national politics. Political newcomer Andre Carson is the Democratic nominee in a March 11 special election to succeed his late grandmother, Julia Carson, representing Indiana's 7th District. She died in December of lung cancer, and her grandson is seeking to fill out the rest of her sixth term, which expires at year's end.

Conservatives revisit third party
Eric Gorski/Associated Press (02/13/2008: sunherald.com)
Bob Fischer, a South Dakota businessman and anti-abortion activist, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that while he could back the Arizona senator over either Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama, he made clear that he and others in the evangelical movement are not content with those choices.

CHURCH AND STATE
Archbishop objects to Clinton rally at Catholic university
Associated Press (02/14/2008: usatoday.com)
Archbishop Jose Gomez complained about plans for a rally by Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, an abortion rights supporter, at a Catholic university. The archbishop released a statement Wednesday noting that Clinton and some other presidential candidates' support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research were not in line with Catholic values.

IRS Probes Pastor's Huckabee Endorsement
Associated Press (02/14/2008: ap.google.com)
BUENA PARK, Calif. — A Southern Baptist preacher who endorsed GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee on church letterhead said Wednesday he was being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service for mixing religion with politics. Rev. Wiley Drake, a prominent pastor in the Southern Baptist Convention, said he received a 14-page letter from the IRS on Feb. 7.

BILLY GRAHAM
Billy Graham recovering after surgery
Associated Press (02/14/2008: usatoday.com)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A spokesman says the Rev. Billy Graham is recovering well from a surgery to update a shunt that controls excess fluid in his brain. Larry Ross says the 89-year-old evangelist will return to a regular diet later in the day Thursday and will spend some time walking the halls of Asheville's Mission Hospital.

CONGREGATIONS AND FAITH GROUPS
Ceiling piece drops 70 feet in Holy Name
Manya A. Brachear/Chicago Tribune (02/14/2008)
A fist-size piece of the wooden ceiling inside Holy Name Cathedral reportedly plummeted 70 feet and damaged a pew on Tuesday, prompting staff to close the cathedral until Saturday.