On Capitol Hill, a handful of Republican lawmakers are threatening to reduce or eliminate funding for Catholic Charities and other faith-based groups who offer aid to immigrants at the Southern border.The members of Congress, who are echoing the campaigns of deeply conservative Catholic groups that vow to “#defund the bishops,” have already succeeded in inserting their agenda into legislation passed by the House earlier this year. (Jenkins, Religion News Service)
Read MoreAround the world, there are more than 12 million United Methodists, with about half of them living in the United States. In this country, the larger and often more conservative congregations tend to be in the South and Midwest. A recent accounting by the United Methodist News Service shows that about 20% of United Methodist congregations – more than 6,000 – have left the denomination in recent years. (DeRose, NPR)
Read MoreMicrosoft, Google and OpenAI are among the leaders in the US artificial intelligence space that have committed to certain safeguards for their technology, following a push from the White House. The companies will voluntarily agree to abide by a number of principles though the agreement will expire when Congress passes legislation to regulate AI. (Holt, Engadget)
Read MoreThis week, the British artist Matt Redman became known for something other than his internationally-best-selling “praise music” when he took on another global titan of the conservative Christian world – and his former mentor – Rev Canon Mike Pilavachi. (Swerling, The Telegraph)
Read MoreGreta Gerwig’s gender wars “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s nuclear war “Oppenheimer” blew past already-stratospheric prerelease expectations at the weekend box office to collect a combined $235.5 million in the United States and Canada, an astounding total that sent a clear message to Hollywood: If you want to commandeer the culture, you must give moviegoers something new — not just the same old threadbare franchises. (Barnes, The New York Times)
Read MorePresident Biden will announce on Tuesday the establishment of a national monument dedicated to Emmett Till, whose 1955 murder helped spark the civil rights movement, according to a White House official. The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument will include sites in Mississippi and Chicago. (Brown, The Washington Post)
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