A tense election in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on Sunday (June 30) ended with the enthronement of Metropolitan Daniil of Vidin as the new metropolitan of Sofia and patriarch of all Bulgaria, giving the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow an apparent ally as the church and its sponsor, Vladimir Putin, look to strengthen its influence in the Balkans. (Klein, Religion News Service)
Read MoreThe video posted last year on Chinese social media showed more than 100 Japanese children, supposedly at an elementary school in Shanghai, gathered in their schoolyard. Chinese subtitles quoted two students leading the group as screaming: “Shanghai is ours. Soon the whole China will be ours, too.” (Yuan, The New York Times)
Read MorePro-Trump professionals aren’t just talking about remaking Western civilization. Some are uprooting their lives to show that they mean it. The Claremont Institute has been located in Southern California since its founding in the late 1970s. From its perch in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, it has become a leading intellectual center of the pro-Trump right. (Graham, The New York Times)
Read MoreThe Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it would review a Texas law restricting minors’ access to internet pornography, one of a handful of cases it agreed to accept next term that are focused on First Amendment rights; a Trump-era criminal justice law and the regulatory power of federal agencies. (Raji, Jouvenal & Ovalle, The Washington Post)
Read MoreState Baptist officials have drawn on reserves to cover shortfalls over the past three years. The staff cuts, including four layoffs and two voluntary retirements, mean the state convention will not need to draw on reserves — as long as giving does not decline. (Smietana, Religion News Service)
Read MoreTransgender people under 18 face laws that bar them from accessing gender-affirming health care in 25 states — just a few years ago, not a single state had such a law. The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case from Tennessee in its next term that challenges that state’s gender-affirming care ban for young people. (Simmons-Duffin & Fung, NPR)
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