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Tag: Religion

  • Towns once run by polygamous sect emerge from court supervision transformed

    COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — The prairie dresses, walled compounds and distrust of outsiders that were once hallmarks of two towns on the Arizona-Utah border are mostly gone.

    These days, Colorado City, Arizona, and neighboring Hildale, Utah, look much like any other town in this remote and picturesque area near Zion National Park, with weekend soccer games, a few bars, and even a winery.

    Until courts wrested control of the towns from a polygamous sect whose leader and prophet, Warren Jeffs, was imprisoned for sexually assaulting two girls, youth sports, cocktail hours and many other common activities were forbidden. The towns have transformed so quickly that they were released from court-ordered supervision last summer, almost two years earlier than expected.

    It wasn’t easy.

    “What you see is the outcome of a massive amount of internal turmoil and change within people to reset themselves,” said Willie Jessop, a onetime spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who later broke with the sect. “We call it ‘life after Jeffs’ — and, frankly, it’s a great life.”

    Some former members have fond memories of growing up in the FLDS, describing mothers who looked out for each other’s kids and playing sports with other kids in town.

    But they say things got worse after Jeffs took charge following his father’s death in 2002. Families were broken apart by church leaders who cast out men deemed unworthy and reassigned their wives and children to others. On Jeffs’ orders, children were pulled from public school, basketball hoops were taken down, and followers were told how to spend their time and what to eat.

    “It started to go into a very sinister, dark, cult direction,” said Shem Fischer, who left the towns in 2000 after the church split up his father’s family. He later returned to open a lodge in Hildale.

    Church members settled in Colorado City and Hildale in the 1930s so they could continue practicing polygamy after the sect broke away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the mainstream Mormon church that renounced plural marriage in 1890.

    Stung by the public backlash from a disastrous 1953 raid on the FLDS, authorities turned a blind eye to polygamy in the towns until Jeffs took over.

    After being charged in 2005 with arranging the marriage of a teenage girl to a 28-year-old follower who was already married, Jeffs went on the run, making the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list before his arrest the next year. In 2011, he was convicted in Texas of sexually assaulting two girls ages 12 and 15 and sentenced to life in prison.

    Even years after Jeffs’ arrest, federal prosecutors accused the towns of being run as an arm of the church and denying non-followers basic services such as building permits, water hookups and police protection. In 2017, the court placed the towns under supervision, excising the church from their governments and shared police department. Separately, supervision of a trust that controlled the church’s real estate was turned over to a community board, which has been selling it.

    The towns functioned for 90 years largely as a theocracy, so they had to learn how to operate “a first-generation representative government,” Roger Carter, the court-appointed monitor, pointed out in his progress reports.

    The FLDS had controlled most of the towns’ land through a trust, allowing its leaders to dictate where followers could live, so private property ownership was new to many. People unaccustomed to openness and government policies needed clarification about whether decisions were based on religious affiliation.

    Although the towns took direction from the sect in the past, their civic leaders now prioritize residents’ needs, Carter wrote before the court lifted the oversight last July.

    With its leader in prison and stripped of its control over the towns, many FLDS members left the sect or moved away. Other places of worship have opened, and practicing FLDS members are now believed to account for only a small percentage of towns’ populations.

    Hildale Mayor Donia Jessop, who was once distantly related to Willie Jessop through marriage, said the community has made huge strides. Like others, she has reconnected with family members who were divided by the church and quit talking to each other.

    When a 2015 flood in Hildale killed 13 people, she was one of many former residents who returned to help look for missing loved ones. She got a chance to visit with a sister she hadn’t seen in years.

    “We started to realize that the love was still there — that my sister that I hadn’t been able to speak to for in so many years was still my sister, and she missed me as bad as I missed her,” the mayor said. “And it just started to open doors that weren’t open before.”

    Longtime resident Isaac Wyler said after the FLDS expelled him in 2004, he was ostracized by the people he grew up with, a local store wouldn’t sell him animal feed, he was refused service at a burger joint and police ignored his complaints that his farm was being vandalized.

    Things are very different now, he said. For one thing, his religious affiliation no longer factors into his encounters with police, Wyler said. And that feed store, burger joint and the FLDS-run grocery store have been replaced by a big supermarket, bank, pharmacy, coffee shop and bar.

    “Like a normal town,” he said.

    People with no FLDS connections have also been moving in.

    Gabby Olsen, who grew up in Salt Lake City, first came to the towns in 2016 as an intern for a climbing and canyoneering guide service. She was drawn to the mountains and canyons, clean air and 300 days of sunshine each year.

    She said people asked “all the time” whether she was really going to move to a place known for polygamy, but it didn’t bother her.

    “When you tell people, ‘Hey, we’re getting married in Hildale,’ they kind of chuckle, because they just really don’t know what it’s about,” said Olsen’s husband, Dion Obermeyer, who runs the service with her. “But of course when they all came down here, they’re all quite surprised. And you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, there’s a winery.’”

    Even with the FLDS’ influence waning, it’s not completely gone and the towns are dealing with some new problems.

    Residents say the new openness has brought common societal woes such as drug use to Hildale and Colorado City.

    And some people are still practicing polygamy: A Colorado City sect member with more than 20 spiritual “wives,” including 10 underage girls, was sentenced in late 2024 to 50 years in prison for coercing girls into sexual acts and other crimes.

    Briell Decker, who was 18 when she became Jeffs’ 65th “wife” in an arranged marriage, turned her back on the church. These days, she works for a residential support center in Colorado City that serves people leaving polygamy.

    Now 40 and remarried with a child, Decker said she thinks it will take several generations to recover from the FLDS’ abuses under Jeffs.

    “I do think they can, but it’s going to take a while because so many people are in denial,” Decker said. “Still, they want to blame somebody. They don’t really want to take accountability.” ___

    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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  • Car Rams Into Chabad Headquarters in New York City, Damaging Doors

    NEW YORK (AP) — A car crashed into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York City on Wednesday night, damaging some of the deeply revered Hasidic Jewish site’s doors.

    There were no apparent injuries, and the driver was detained by police, Chabad Lubavitch spokesperson Motti Seligson said.

    “Those are the facts that we know at this point, and we hope to get clarity very soon,” he said.

    Video of the crash that was posted online shows a car with New Jersey license plates moving forward and backward on an icy driveway leading to a building in the complex and ramming its basement-level doors at least four times.

    The driver, who is wearing shorts, emerges, shouts to bystanders that “It slipped” and says something to police about trying to park.

    The Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights receives thousands of visitors annually. Its Gothic Revival facade is very recognizable to adherents of the Chabad movement and has inspired dozens of replicas across the world.

    Commonly referred to as 770, a nod to the address of the complex’s original building, the headquarters now encompasses multiple adjacent structures.

    New York police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

    Associated Press

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  • Buddhist monks, supporters battle freezing temperatures after winter storm

    LOUISBURG, N.C. — The Buddhist monks aren’t slowing down despite the winter weather.

    For the past week the group journeyed across North Carolina on their way to Washington, D.C., through rain, sleet and sunshine. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Monday was Day 93 for the Buddhist monks on their Walk for Peace 

    • The monks will be out of North Carolina this week 

    • They are heading to Warrenton on Tuesday


    The monks were making their way through the state Monday, Day 93 of their Walk for Peace. The group has been welcomed and admired by thousands.

    “They’re walking in faith. They’re walking in faith,” said supporter Jeannette Bucher.

    Despite the road conditions after this weekend’s winter storm, the monks continue to walk while spreading their message. 

    Bucher said she and her friends were waiting at the airport in Louisburg for two hours. 

    “When I first saw them marching, I’ve been following them for months, and I just feel so blessed to be able to be here today. And I just can’t wait to be in their presence and just root them on,” she said.

    Louisburg native John Yarborough said he and his son grabbed their jackets and hats, then hit the road to see the monks.

    Yarborough said the group’s message, motivation and mission is nothing short of inspiring.

    “Because this world is about to be corrupt, there is so much hatred in this world, Black against white, that’s why we need peace,” he said.

    Yarborough said the Walk for Peace is the most exciting thing the area has seen in a long time. 

    “Something they have never been to here before, other than the civil rights stuff, when we used to march back in the day,” he said. “Other than that, that’s it.”

    Supporters seem to have one thing in common — they were ready to endure this weekend’s winter weather to support the message of peace for all.

    The monks are almost out of North Carolina but have a couple of more stops. 

    The group will be in Warrenton on Tuesday.

    Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.

     

    Jatrissa Wooten

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  • Why an Agnostic Animal-Rights Activist Went to Seminary

    I can’t say my affiliation with Christianity was very strong, but I did develop a positive association with the idea of moral community—the idea that we could get together, support each other, and try to do something good for one another and for the world. That seemed like an important thing for us to be doing.

    When did you start thinking about the role of religion in your animal-rights activism? I ask because the organization you started, Direct Action Everywhere, feels explicitly secular.

    I remember having a conversation around 2015 with Doug McAdam, a sociologist at Stanford who studies political movements. For the most part, he thought that DxE was a fascinating demonstration of grassroots mobilization and community-building. But he said one thing that really hit me hard, and made me think we might be on the wrong path: “You’re not really harnessing any particular identity. And movements that don’t have identities behind them just don’t succeed, because they can’t sustain themselves over the long term.”

    Fundamentally, what moves people is when they believe they’re fighting for something that’s part of them. If it’s purely about ideology, not about identity, it’s just not going to create sustained mobilization. The example he gave me was the Black church. He told me to read “The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement,” by Aldon Morris.

    I already knew a lot about Martin Luther King, Jr., and how the movement collapsed in the late sixties partly because of the loss of faith. There wasn’t the same sense of community and commitment. Doug shared this acronym with me, WUNC, coined by the sociologist Charles Tilly. It stands for “worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment.” When you have those four attributes, you have a successful movement.

    I realized there wasn’t a sense of worthiness in our movement, partly because there wasn’t a commitment to some greater moral purpose. In the late stage of the civil-rights movement, it became nihilistic—the Weather Underground, the Vietnam War tearing at the fabric of people’s commitment to nation, to community, to church. Our movement just never had that deep sense of moral purpose that made people feel like, O.K., these people are praiseworthy people.

    You don’t think “Don’t kill animals” is a worthy cause?

    I think it’s a worthy cause. I don’t think people see us as worthy people. There’s a big difference. It’s not enough to have a good cause. You have to have people believe you’re good people. If anything, it’s almost the opposite—even though people think we’re a good cause, they find us annoying and pedantic.

    I remember when Ta-Nehisi Coates went on Ezra Klein’s show after he read “Why We’re Polarized.” He called it a “cold, atheist book.” I think, even when animal rights is at our best, people see us as a cold, hard-atheist movement. There’s sentimentality and emotion about suffering in animal-confinement facilities, but there isn’t this sense that we’re a morally meaningful, upstanding contingent of the broader human community.

    I agree that the public thinks you guys are freaks or agents provocateurs trying to advance a marginal cause. How does affiliation with the church change that?

    I think it’s a complete antidote to that “freak” allegation. It’s hard to say whether this is a cultural artifact of the past ten thousand years or whether there’s something inherent in humanity—the desire for divine purpose. But, regardless of whether it’s socialization or something inherent, most humans on Earth see the divine as the most morally praiseworthy thing in our communities. This is even true of the cold, hard atheists—the effective altruists. They don’t call the divine God. Their divinity is some form of very strict utilitarianism.

    A shared narrative has to involve a story that doesn’t just matter to me. We all have stories about ourselves that are funny or interesting or inspiring, but a lot of times they only matter to us. And there are some stories that affect all of us—the nation-state, universities, sports teams.

    The other thing that’s important is a sense of power beyond our comprehension and control. I think that might be inherent to human beings—there’s something about that we almost want to worship.

    Jay Caspian Kang

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  • Multi-faith service draws hundreds in Minneapolis to show support for immigrant communities


    On Friday morning, hundreds of Minnesotans across faiths gathered together united by prayer at Temple Israel in Minneapolis.  

    They had a message of unity in a time of uncertainty. 

    “We welcome friends of many faiths, many stories, many journeys,” said Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman.

    During the coldest day of the year, people sought warmth inside Temple Israel in Minneapolis. Jewish, Muslim and Christian followers gathered to sing songs and recite prayers in different languages. 

    The sole purpose was to show support for immigrant communities in Minnesota. 

    “Each and every one of our traditions believes in the dignity of every human being,” said Zimmerman. 

    Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar were part of a group of politicians who said a prayer. And faith leaders lit a candle of remembrance for Renee Good and those detained by ICE. 

    “We don’t want hate. We don’t want division. We want a voice that is of hope and clarity of compassion,” said Zimmerman. 

    Among those who spoke was Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde. She traveled from Washington D.C. and wanted to be a part of this service.

    “Across the country, we see you, we will tell your story and we will follow your example of love, decency and courage,” said Budde. 

    Like others, Budde talked about unity and non-violence during a time when people are feeling fear. She is one of nearly 700 clergy members who traveled to Minnesota this week. 

    “Together, we will bring this nightmare to an end. It is for this moment that we are here,” said Budde. 

    In:

    John Lauritsen

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  • Faith leaders says


    Faith leaders will hold a news conference Tuesday in the Twin Cities to announce the participation of “hundreds of Minnesota places of worship” in A Day of Truth and Freedom — which calls for people to not work, shop or go to school this Friday.

    Organizers say the day’s aim is to “call for an immediate end to ICE operations” in the state.

    “As leaders in their community, clergy are bearing witness to the constitutional and human rights violations happening on a daily basis in our state and communities as a result of DHS operations,” wrote a spokesperson with the St. Paul-based nonprofit Isaiah.

    The Day of Truth and Freedom will also include a march and rally in downtown Minneapolis on Friday, starting at 2 p.m.

    Several Twin Cities businesses and co-ops will also close Friday in solidarity, and organizers say several unions are also on board, including the St. Paul Federation of Educators, the Minneapolis Federation of Educators, Unite Here Local 17, SEIU Local 26, and the transit union ATU.

    This is a developing story and will be updated.

    NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is Jan. 13, 2026.

    Ashley Grams

    contributed to this report.

    Stephen Swanson

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  • Christian leaders urge protecting worshippers’ rights after protesters interrupt service

    Several faith leaders called urgently for protecting the rights of worshippers while also expressing compassion for migrants after anti-immigration enforcement protesters disrupted a service at a Southern Baptist church in Minnesota.

    About three dozen protesters entered the Cities Church in St. Paul during Sunday service, some walking right up to the pulpit, others loudly chanting “ICE out” and “Renee Good,” referring to a woman who was fatally shot on Jan. 7 by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.

    One of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, leads the local ICE field office, and one of the leaders of the protest and prominent local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong said she’s also an ordained pastor.

    The Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention called what happened “an unacceptable trauma,” saying the service was ”forced to end prematurely” as protesters shouted “insults and accusations at youth, children, and families.”

    “I believe we must be resolute in two areas: encouraging our churches to provide compassionate pastoral care to these (migrant) families and standing firm for the sanctity of our houses of worship,” Trey Turner, who leads the convention, told The Associated Press on Monday. Cities Church belongs to the convention.

    The U.S. Department of Justice said it has opened a civil rights investigation.

    The recent surge in operations in Minnesota has pitted more than 2,000 federal immigration officers against community activists and protesters. The Trump administration and Minnesota officials have traded blame for the heightened tensions.

    “No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space or the intimidation and trauma inflicted on families gathered peacefully in the house of God,” Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, said in a statement. “What occurred was not protest; it was lawless harassment.”

    Jonathan Parnell, the pastor who led the disrupted service, is a missionary with Ezell’s group and serves dozens of Southern Baptist churches in the area. Cities Church, housed in a Gothic-style, century-old stone building next to a college campus on one of the Twin Cities’ landmark boulevards, has not returned AP requests for comment.

    Christians in the United States are divided on the moral and legal dilemmas raised by immigration, including the presence of an estimated 11 million people who are in the country illegally and the spike in illegal border crossings and asylum requests during the Biden administration.

    Opinions differ between and within denominations on whether Christians must prioritize care for strangers and neighbors or the immigration enforcement push in the name of security. White evangelicals tend to support strong enforcement, while Catholic leaders have spoken in favor of migrant rights.

    The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. and has a conservative evangelical theology.

    Miles Mullin, the vice-president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said faith leaders can and often have led protests on social issues, but those should never prevent others from worshipping.

    “This is something that just shouldn’t happen in America,” Mullin said. “For Baptists, our worship services are sacred.”

    On Facebook, Levy Armstrong wrote about Sunday’s protest in religious terms: “It’s time for judgment to begin and it will begin in the House of God!!!”

    But Albert Mohler, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called the protesters’ tactics unjustifiable.

    “For Christians, the precedent of invading a congregation at worship should be unthinkable,” Mohler said in an interview. “I think the political left is crossing a threshold.”

    Brian Kaylor, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated minister and leader of the Christian media organization Word&Way, called having an ICE official serve as a pastor “a serious moral failure.”

    But Kaylor, who has spoken out against the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants, said he was “very torn” by the protesters’ action inside a church.

    “It would be very alarming if we come to see this become a widespread tactic across the political spectrum,” he said.

    Many faith leaders were dismayed when the government announced last January that federal immigration agencies can make arrests in churches, schools and hospitals, ending the protection of people in sensitive spaces.

    No immigration raids during church services have been reported, but some churches have posted notices on their doors saying no federal immigration officers are allowed inside. Others have reported a drop in attendance, particularly during enforcement surges.

    Following the protest in Cities Church, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, said her office is investigating “potential violations of the federal FACE Act,” calling the protest “un-American and outrageous.”

    The 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act prohibits interference or intimidation of “any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned in a social media post that “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.”

    Several pastors called for better security in churches.

    The Rev. Joe Rigney, one of the founding pastors at Cities Church in 2015 who served there until 2023, said safety would have been his first concern had a group disrupted service, especially since the fatal shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school Mass last summer.

    In a statement to the AP, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s spokesperson said that while people have a right to speak out, the governor doesn’t support interrupting a place of worship.

    Also Monday, the Department of Justice notified a federal appeals court that it will appeal a ruling that federal officers in the Minneapolis area cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities. The case was filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists who are among thousands of people observing the activities of federal immigration officers in the area.

    Yet more protesters braved temperatures that dipped below zero (minus 8 Celsius) Monday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in St. Paul. Some waved signs from vehicles bearing messages including, “What did you do while your neighbors were being kidnapped?” and “We love our Somali neighbors.”

    Dozens of protesters also staged a brief sit-in at a Target store in St. Paul demanding that the retailer bar entry to federal agents. Target, headquartered in Minneapolis, has been criticized by activists after a video showed federal agents detaining two employees at a store in Richfield, Minnesota.

    ___

    Associated Press journalists Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee, Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and Jack Brook in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed.

    ___

    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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  • US Catholic cardinals urge Trump administration to embrace a moral compass in foreign policy

    ROME — Three U.S. Catholic cardinals urged the Trump administration on Monday to use a moral compass in pursuing its foreign policy, saying U.S. military action in Venezuela, threats of acquiring Greenland and cuts in foreign aid risk bringing vast suffering instead of promoting peace.

    In a joint statement, Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington and Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J., warned that without a moral vision, the current debate over Washington’s foreign policy was mired in “polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests.”

    “Most of the United States and the world are adrift morally in terms of foreign policy,” McElroy told The Associated Press. “I still believe the United States has a tremendous impact upon the world.”

    The statement was unusual and marked the second time in as many months that members of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy have asserted their voice against a Trump administration many believe isn’t upholding the basic tenets of human dignity. In November, the entire U.S. conference of Catholic bishops condemned the administration’s mass deportation of migrants and “vilification” of them in the public discourse.

    The three cardinals, who are prominent figures in the more progressive wing of the U.S. church, took as a starting point a major foreign policy address that Pope Leo XIV delivered Jan. 9 to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.

    The speech, delivered almost entirely in English, amounted to Leo’s most substantial critique of U.S. foreign policy. History’s first U.S.-born pope denounced how nations were using force to assert their dominion worldwide, “completely undermining” peace and the post-World War II international legal order.

    Leo didn’t name individual countries, but his speech came against the backdrop of the then-recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela to remove Nicolás Maduro from power, U.S. threats to take Greenland as well as Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

    Cardinals question the use of force

    The three cardinals cited Venezuela, Greenland and Ukraine in their statement — saying they “raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace” — as well as the cuts to foreign aid that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration initiated last year.

    “Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination,” they warned.

    “We renounce war as an instrument for narrow national interests and proclaim that military action must be seen only as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy,” they wrote. “We seek a foreign policy that respects and advances the right to human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world, especially through economic assistance.”

    Tobin described the moral compass the cardinals wish the U.S. would use globally.

    “It can’t be that my prosperity is predicated on inhuman treatment of others,” he told the AP. “The real argument isn’t just my right or individual rights, but what is the common good.”

    Cardinals expand on their statement in interviews with AP

    In interviews, Cupich and McElroy said the signatories were inspired to issue a statement after hearing from several fellow cardinals during a Jan. 7-8 meeting at the Vatican. These other cardinals expressed alarm about the U.S. action in Venezuela, its cuts in foreign aid and its threats to acquire Greenland, Cupich said.

    A day later, Leo’s nearly 45-minute-long speech to the diplomatic corps gave the Americans the language they needed, allowing them to “piggyback on” the pope’s words, Cupich said.

    Cupich acknowledged that Maduro’s prosecution could be seen positively, but not the way it was done via a U.S. military incursion into a sovereign country.

    “When we go ahead and do it in such a way that is portrayed as saying, ‘Because we can do it, we’re going to do it, that might makes right’ — that’s a troublesome development,” he said. “There’s the rule of law that should be followed.”

    Trump has insisted that capturing Maduro was legal. On Greenland, Trump has argued repeatedly that the U.S. needs control of the resource-rich island, a semiautonomous region of NATO ally Denmark. for its national security.

    The Trump administration last year significantly gutted the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying its projects advance a liberal agenda and were a waste of money.

    Tobin, who ministered in more than 70 countries as a Redemptorist priest and the order’s superior general, lamented the retreat in USAID assistance, saying U.S. philanthropy makes a big difference in everything from hunger to health.

    The three cardinals said their key aim wasn’t to criticize the administration, but rather to encourage the U.S. to regain is moral standing in the world by pursuing a foreign policy that is ethically guided and seeks the common good.

    “We’re not endorsing a political party or a political movement,” Tobin said. The faithful in the pews and all people of good will have a role to play, he said.

    “They can make an argument of basic human decency,” he said.

    Dell’Orto reported from Minneapolis.

    Nicole Winfield, Giovanna Dell'Orto

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  • DOJ vows to press charges after activists disrupt church where Minnesota ICE official is a pastor

    MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. Department of Justice said Sunday it is investigating a group of protesters in Minnesota who disrupted services at a church where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apparently serves as a pastor.

    A livestreamed video posted on the Facebook page of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, one of the protest’s organizers, shows a group of people interrupting services at the Cities Church in St. Paul by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” The 37-year-old mother of three was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month amid a surge in federal immigration enforcement activities.

    The protesters allege that one of the church’s pastors — David Easterwood — also leads the local ICE field office overseeing the operations that have involved violent tactics and illegal arrests.

    U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said her agency is investigating federal civil rights violations “by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”

    “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws!” she said on social media.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi also weighed in on social media, saying that any violations of federal law would be prosecuted.

    Nekima Levy Armstrong, who participated in the protest and leads the local grassroots civil rights organization Racial Justice Network, dismissed the potential DOJ investigation as a sham and a distraction from federal agents’ actions in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

    “When you think about the federal government unleashing barbaric ICE agents upon our community and all the harm that they have caused, to have someone serving as a pastor who oversees these ICE agents, is almost unfathomable to me,” said Armstrong, who added she is an ordained reverend. “If people are more concerned about someone coming to a church on a Sunday and disrupting business as usual than they are about the atrocities that we are experiencing in our community, then they need to check their theology and the need to check their hearts.”

    The website of St. Paul-based Cities Church lists David Easterwood as a pastor, and his personal information appears to match that of the David Easterwood identified in court filings as the acting director of the ICE St. Paul field office. Easterwood appeared alongside DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a Minneapolis press conference last October.

    Cities Church did not respond to a phone call or emailed request for comment Sunday evening, and Easterwood’s personal contact information could not immediately be located.

    Easterwood did not lead the part of the service that was livestreamed, and it was unclear if he was present at the church Sunday.

    In a Jan. 5 court filing, Easterwood defended ICE’s tactics in Minnesota such as swapping license plates and spraying protesters with chemical irritants. He wrote that federal agents were experiencing increased threats and aggression and crowd control devices like flash-bang grenades were important to protect against violent attacks. He testified that he was unaware of agents “knowingly targeting or retaliating against peaceful protesters or legal observers with less lethal munitions and/or crowd control devices.”

    “Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too,” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency stated. “They’re going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans.”

    Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder Monique Cullars-Doty said that the DOJ’s prosecution was misguided.

    “If you got a head — a leader in a church — that is leading and orchestrating ICE raids, my God, what has the world come to?” Cullars-Doty said. “We can’t sit back idly and watch people go and be led astray.”

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  • DOJ Vows to Press Charges After Activists Disrupt Church Where Minnesota ICE Official Is a Pastor

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice said Sunday it is investigating a group of protesters in Minnesota who disrupted services at a church where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apparently serves as a pastor.

    A livestreamed video posted on the Facebook page of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, one of the protest’s organizers, shows a group of people interrupting services at the Cities Church in St. Paul by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” The 37-year-old mother of three was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month amid a surge in federal immigration enforcement activities.

    The protesters allege that one of the church’s pastors — David Easterwood — also leads the local ICE field office overseeing the operations that have involved violent tactics and illegal arrests.

    U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said her agency is investigating federal civil rights violations “by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”

    “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws!” she said on social media.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi also weighed in on social media, saying that any violations of federal law would be prosecuted.

    Nekima Levy Armstrong, who participated in the protest and leads the local grassroots civil rights organization Racial Justice Network, dismissed the potential DOJ investigation as a sham and a distraction from federal agents’ actions in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

    “When you think about the federal government unleashing barbaric ICE agents upon our community and all the harm that they have caused, to have someone serving as a pastor who oversees these ICE agents, is almost unfathomable to me,” said Armstrong, who added she is an ordained reverend. “If people are more concerned about someone coming to a church on a Sunday and disrupting business as usual than they are about the atrocities that we are experiencing in our community, then they need to check their theology and the need to check their hearts.”

    The website of St. Paul-based Cities Church lists David Easterwood as a pastor, and his personal information appears to match that of the David Easterwood identified in court filings as the acting director of the ICE St. Paul field office. Easterwood appeared alongside DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a Minneapolis press conference last October.

    Cities Church did not respond to a phone call or emailed request for comment Sunday evening, and Easterwood’s personal contact information could not immediately be located.

    In a Jan. 5 court filing, Easterwood defended ICE’s tactics in Minnesota such as swapping license plates and spraying protesters with chemical irritants. He wrote that federal agents were experiencing increased threats and aggression and crowd control devices like flash-bang grenades were important to protect against violent attacks. He testified that he was unaware of agents “knowingly targeting or retaliating against peaceful protesters or legal observers with less lethal munitions and/or crowd control devices.”

    “Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too,” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency stated. “They’re going from hotel to hotel, church to church, hunting for federal law enforcement who are risking their lives to protect Americans.”

    Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder Monique Cullars-Doty said that the DOJ’s prosecution was misguided.

    “If you got a head — a leader in a church — that is leading and orchestrating ICE raids, my God, what has the world come to?” Cullars-Doty said. “We can’t sit back idly and watch people go and be led astray.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Aloka the Peace Dog reunites with Walk for Peace following surgery

    Aloka the Peace Dog was reunited with the Walk for Peace monks for the first time since undergoing leg surgery following an injury during the 2,300-mile Walk for Peace in early January. The reunion happened in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Aloka briefly appeared in front of supporters during the group’s lunch stop. He appeared to be in good spirits. The monks say his spirits remain high and he is healing well. “We are happy to share that Aloka is recovering very well from his surgery,” the group wrote on a Facebook post after his surgery.Video below: More about the Walk for Peace and the monks’ stop in North CarolinaA team at the Charleston Veterinary Referral Center in Charleston, South Carolina, performed the surgery and assisted Aloka through the early stages of his recovery.The monks say Aloka received a professional therapy massage and red-light therapy. He will not be walking with the group for now so he can continue healing.Find a map of the monks’ path on sister statin WXII’s website.

    Aloka the Peace Dog was reunited with the Walk for Peace monks for the first time since undergoing leg surgery following an injury during the 2,300-mile Walk for Peace in early January.

    The reunion happened in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Aloka briefly appeared in front of supporters during the group’s lunch stop. He appeared to be in good spirits.

    The monks say his spirits remain high and he is healing well. “We are happy to share that Aloka is recovering very well from his surgery,” the group wrote on a Facebook post after his surgery.

    Video below: More about the Walk for Peace and the monks’ stop in North Carolina

    A team at the Charleston Veterinary Referral Center in Charleston, South Carolina, performed the surgery and assisted Aloka through the early stages of his recovery.

    The monks say Aloka received a professional therapy massage and red-light therapy. He will not be walking with the group for now so he can continue healing.

    Find a map of the monks’ path on sister statin WXII’s website.

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  • Music streams hit 5 trillion in 2025. Christian, rock and Latin lead growth in the US

    NEW YORK — The global music industry hit 5.1 trillion streams in 2025. It’s a new single-year record, up 9.6% from 2024, which held the previous record.

    That’s according to a 2025 Year-End Report from Luminate, an industry data and analytics company that provides insight into changing behaviors across music listenership.

    In the U.S., on-demand audio streams hit 1.4 trillion, a 4.6% increase from last year.

    But attention is on older music. Less than half all U.S. on-demand audio streams — 43% — were from tracks released in the last five years (2021 – 2025).

    One exception? Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” and Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem,” both of which surpassed 5 million album equivalent units in a single year. That’s a combination of sales and streaming combined.

    Luminate’s 2025 Mid-Year Report revealed that though streams of new music — music released in the last 18 months — were slightly down from the same time last year in the U.S., new Christian/gospel music defied the trend, said Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vice president of music insights and industry relations, led by acts like Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake and Elevation Worship.

    In the year-end report, it is clear that Christian/gospel music has continued to grow stateside: up 18.5% in on-demand audio volume change compared to 2024.

    Other genres that saw an uptick? Rock grew 6.4% and Latin grew 5.2%.

    “Rock is the largest growth genre this year, meaning it grew its share of the streaming pie the most,” said Marconette in a statement. “Though rock streaming in general leans catalog (tracks older than 18 months), the genre posted the second highest total of new current streams this year.”

    For Latin music’s growth, Bad Bunny is responsible. His on-demand audio streams totaled 5.3 billion — 4.38% of all Latin on-demand audio streams.

    “The Latin genre continues to be one of the highest growth-genres in the U.S.,” adds Marconette. “Bad Bunny was a key driver of the growth this year with his new album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” generating 2.97 billion U.S. on-demand audio streams in 2025.”

    The introduction of high-profile artificial intelligence artists became a leading music story in 2025. Those include Xania Monet and the rock band The Velvet Sundown.

    Monet went on to become the first AI act to debut on a Billboard radio chart, reaching No. 3 on the organization’s Hot Gospel Songs and No. 20 on the Hot R&B Songs.

    There have been quite a few AI country artists as well, including Aventhis, Cain Walker and Breaking Rust. The latter had a song called “Walk My Walk” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s country digital song sales chart in November. The vocal phrasing, melodic shape and stylistic DNA came from the Grammy-nominated country artist Blanco Brown, an artist who has worked with Britney Spears, Childish Gambino and Rihanna.

    These artists serve as examples of generative AI continuing to upend the music industry, giving anyone the ability to instantly create seemingly new songs by typing prompts into a chat window, often using models trained on real artists’ voices and styles without their knowledge.

    And according to Luminate, they’re having real success. Monet earned 125 million global on-demand audio streams last year. Breaking Rust brought in roughly 72.8 million streams followed by Walker with 48.1 million, Enlly Blue with 34.8 and Juno Skye with 15.5 million.

    The top songs, globally, as determined by on-demand audio streams are the following:

    1. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” — 2.858 billion

    2. HUNTR/X (Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami) from “Kpop Demon Hunters,” “Golden” — 2.430 billion

    3. Alex Warren, “Ordinary” — 2.403 billion

    4. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” — 2.236 billion

    5. Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather” — 2.133 billion

    6. Bad Bunny, “DtMF” — 1.701 billion

    7. Kendrick Lamar and SZA, “Luther” — 1.672 billion

    8. Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things” —1.630 billion

    9. sombr, “Back to Friends” — 1.587 billion

    10. Gracie Abrams, “That’s So True” — 1.544 billion

    Seven of the top 10 tracks were released in 2024. The exceptions are “Golden,” “Ordinary” and “DtMF.”

    Just like last year and the year before it, when it comes to overall music streaming in the U.S., R&B and hip-hop still lead, once again accounting for more than one in every four streams stateside.

    In 2025, rap and R&B accounted for 349.9 billion on-demand audio streams, up from 341.63 billion last year.

    It is followed by rock with 260.5 billion (up from 234.22 billion last year) and pop with 167.2 billion (up from 165.49 billion).

    Rounding out the top five is country with 122.5 billion (up from 117.58 billion) and Latin with 120.9 billion (up from 113.02 billion.)

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  • Mississippi synagogue congregant shares story of 1967 Ku Klux Klan bombing

    JACKSON, Miss. — Beverly Geiger Bonnheim was 17 when the Ku Klux Klan bombed her synagogue in 1967. This weekend, at 75, she watched it burn again.

    “It was horrifying and disbelieving to see it again,” Geiger Bonnheim said. “Does history change?”

    The historic Beth Israel Congregation, the only synagogue in Jackson, was set ablaze shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday.

    The fire badly damaged the 165-year-old synagogue’s library and administrative offices. Two Torahs — the sacred scrolls with the text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible — were destroyed, and five others were being assessed for smoke damage.

    Stephen Pittman, 19, confessed to lighting a fire inside the building, which he referred to as “the synagogue of Satan,” according to an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Monday.

    He was charged with maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive. He is also facing a similar state charge of first-degree arson of a place of worship.

    Neither of the two public defenders representing Pittman have addressed the charges, nor have they returned The Associated Press’ requests for comment.

    Geiger Bonnheim, who now lives in Dallas, remains an active member of the congregation. She is also on the board of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, a nonprofit that celebrates Jewish life in the South and is based out of the Beth Israel Congregation building.

    She recalls visiting the synagogue with her father the night it was bombed in 1967, calling the sight horrific. At the time, her father was vice president of the congregation, which had just moved into the building, she said.

    “There’s a Hebrew saying, ‘l’dor v’dor,’ from generation to generation,” she said. “The 1967 (bombing) and dealing with the Klan, that was my generation’s and my parent’s generation’s dealing with bigotry and hatred. Unfortunately now it’s this generation’s time to have to deal with those very issues.”

    Geiger Bonnheim said the news of the arson was depressing but not surprising. Jewish people have been persecuted for more than 3,000 years, she said.

    Benjamin Russell, the spiritual leader of Beth Israel Congregation who is going to school to become a Rabi, said recovering from hardship is part of the Jewish psyche. He said the Torah is filled with examples of people being reborn through hardship.

    “From the ashes, something beautiful will rise,” Russell said.

    Zach Shemper, the congregation’s president, has vowed to rebuild. Already, nearby churches are opening their doors, offering to let the congregation worship inside. Other synagogues have offered the Beth Israel Congregation new Torahs.

    The fire has not interrupted the congregation’s programs, and they plan to gather Friday night to observe Shabbat, a weekly day of rest.

    “We’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere,” Shemper said.

    While the congregation has shown resilience, their anger and sadness is palpable.

    Abram Orlansky, a congregant and former Beth Israel Congregation president, broke down when he thought about his two children and the role the synagogue plays in their lives.

    “We told our kids the truth — that someone did this on purpose, and it’s because they don’t like the Jewish people,” he said.

    At the same time, Orlansky said seeing the outpouring of support from the Jackson community and the worldwide Jewish community has been heartening, and his kids are excited to be a part of showing the world that their community isn’t going anywhere.

    ___

    LaFleur contributed to this report from Dallas, Texas.

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  • Vatican Claims a Holy Year Success With 33 Million Pilgrims

    VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Monday gave a final accounting of its 2025 Holy Year, saying more than 33 million pilgrims had participated and that the only real dispute with the city of Rome concerned the style of fountains built for the event’s main public works project.

    Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday will officially close out the Holy Year and shut the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, capping a rare Jubilee that was opened by one pope and closed by another.

    For the Vatican, a Holy Year is a centuries-old tradition of the faithful making pilgrimages to Rome every 25 years to visit the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and receive indulgences for the forgiveness of their sins.


    Participation grew after Francis’ death

    The Vatican said 33,475,369 pilgrims had participated and Italy, the U.S. and Spain were the top nationalities represented.

    But the Vatican’s Holy Year organizer, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, acknowledged the number was only an estimate and could include double counting. There was no breakdown between Holy Year pilgrims and Rome’s overall tourism numbers.

    The Vatican arrived at the figure by combining the number of people who officially registered for Jubilee events, volunteer crowd counters at Rome-area basilicas and closed-circuit television cameras at St. Peter’s Basilica, which recorded around 25,000 to 30,000 people a day crossing the threshold of the Holy Door.

    Assuming that number every day for the past year, around 10 million pilgrims would have crossed through the Holy Door. Officials said they never envisioned more, given its limited capacity and that pilgrims would have visited Holy Doors at other Rome basilicas.

    The official number exceeded the 31.7 million people originally forecast by a study conducted by the Roma Tre University.

    The Vatican said it recorded a steady increase in participation following the death of Pope Francis in April and the election of Leo, a transition that made this Holy Year only the second in history to be opened by one pope and closed by another. In 1700, Pope Innocent XII opened the Jubilee and Pope Clement XI closed it after Innocent’s death.

    Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said 110 of the 117 public works projects initially associated with the Jubilee had been completed, including the most audacious: a pedestrian piazza at the end of the Via della Conciliazione boulevard, opposite St. Peter’s Basilica, that required the rerouting of traffic to an underground tunnel.

    The design of Piazza Pia, as the square is known, also saw the major point of disagreement between Fisichella and Gualtieri over the two fountains that frame the view along Conciliazione toward the basilica.

    Gualtieri liked the fountains. Fisichella didn’t, but had to put his preferences aside because the piazza is on Italian soil.

    “This was probably the only point on which we had to say, laughing and smiling, that we didn’t completely agree,” Fisichella said. “He liked those two fountains, I liked others, but I had to back down.”

    Fisichella said he didn’t think the contemporary stone fountains suited a piazza that looks toward the baroque splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica and along the fascist-era architecture of Via della Conciliazione, which was itself created by razing a neighborhood for the 1950 Jubilee.

    One year later, Fisichella has gotten used to them but still doesn’t love them.

    “I always thought they looked like foot baths,” he said.


    A long history of Jubilees and public works

    Rome’s relationship with Jubilees dates to 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII inaugurated the first Holy Year in what historians say marked the definitive designation of Rome as the center of Christianity.

    Even then, the number of pilgrims was so significant that Dante referred to them in his “Inferno.”

    Massive public works projects have long accompanied Holy Years, including the creation of the Sistine Chapel, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for the Jubilee of 1475, and the big Vatican garage, for the 2000 Jubilee under Pope John Paul II.

    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • POPE FRANCIS: THE FIRST with Norah O’Donnell

    Pope Francis sits down for a global exclusive interview with CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell from the Vatican. In a wide-ranging conversation, Francis speaks about the wars across the world, immigration, climate change, his vision for the Catholic Church and his legacy. Ahead of the Church’s first World Children’s Day, the Pontiff talks about children as hope for the future.

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  • Peruvian Shamans Predict Maduro’s Fall, Continued Global Conflicts in 2026

    LIMA, Peru (AP) — A group of shamans gathered Monday on a sacred hill overlooking Peru’s capital city to carry out an annual ritual in which they make predictions for the upcoming year.

    Dressed in traditional Andean ponchos and headdresses, the group performed a ceremony atop the treeless San Cristobal hill, and made predictions about the course of international relations, ongoing conflicts and the fate of world leaders.

    In this year’s event, the shamans said that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will be removed from office, and added that global conflicts, like the war in Ukraine will continue.

    “We have asked for Maduro to leave, to retire, for President Donald Trump of the United States to be able to remove him, and we have visualized that next year this will happen,” said shaman Ana María Simeón.

    The group has a mixed record with its annual predictions.

    Last year, they warned a “nuclear war” would break out between Israel and Gaza, where a ceasefire is currently in place.

    But in December 2023, the group correctly predicted that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who had been imprisoned for human rights abuses, would perish within twelve months.

    Fujimori died from cancer in September 2024 at the age of 86.

    Before Monday’s ceremony, the shamans met to drink hallucinogenic concoctions derived from native plants — including Ayahuasca and the San Pedro cactus — which are believed to give them the power to predict the future.

    During the ceremony, they placed blankets with yellow flowers, coca leaves, swords and other objects on San Cristobal hill, asking for positive energy for the new year.

    After dancing in circles and playing ancestral instruments, the shamans asked for peace in the Middle East, an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the fall of President Maduro.

    The prayers to the gods, performed amid flowers and incense, as well as dances, are intended to encourage leaders to make good decisions.

    The shamans also predicted natural disasters, such as earthquakes and climatic phenomena.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Freezing Rain Floods Gaza Camps and Leaves Displaced Palestinians in Dire Conditions

    KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Rain lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding makeshift encampments with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by the two-year war attempted to stay dry in tents frayed by months of use.

    Muddy water soaked blankets and mattresses in tents in a camp in Khan Younis and fragile shelters were propped up with old pieces of wood. Children wearing flip-flops and light clothing ill-suited for winter waded through the freezing puddles, which turned dirt roads into rivers. Some people used shovels to try to push the water out of their tents.


    Nowhere to escape the rain

    “We drowned last night,” said Majdoleen Tarabein, a woman displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. “Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell. The tent flew away. We don’t know what to do or where to go.”

    She showed blankets and the remaining contents of the tent, completely soaked and covered in mud, as she and family members tried to wring them dry by hand.

    “When we woke up in the morning, we found that the water had entered the tent,” said Eman Abu Riziq, also displaced in Khan Younis, as she pointed to a puddle just outside. “These are the mattresses — they are all completely soaked. My daughters’ belongings were soaked. The water is entering from here and there,” she said, gesturing toward the ceiling and the corners of the tent. Her family is still reeling from her husband’s recent death, and the constant struggle to stay dry in the winter rains.

    At least 12 people, including a 2-week-old infant, have died since Dec. 13 from hypothermia or weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.

    Emergency workers warned people not to stay in damaged buildings because they could collapse at any moment. But so much of the territory reduced to rubble, there are few places to escape the rain. In July, the United Nations Satellite Center estimated that almost 80% of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.

    Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Oct. 11, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry. The overall Palestinian death toll from the war has risen to at least 71,266. The ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.


    More shelter desperately needed in Gaza as aid falls short

    Aid deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, according to an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli military’s figures. The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid said in the past week that 4,200 trucks full of humanitarian aid entered Gaza, plus eight garbage trucks to assist with sanitation, as well as tents and winter clothing as part of the winterization efforts. But it refused to elaborate on the number of tents. Humanitarian aid groups have said the need far outstrips the number of tents that have entered.

    Since the ceasefire began, approximately 72,000 tents and 403,000 tarps have entered, according to the Shelter Cluster, an international coalition of aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

    “Harsh winter weather is compounding more than two years of suffering. People in Gaza are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins. There is nothing inevitable about this. Aid supplies are not being allowed in at the scale required,” Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the top U.N. group overseeing aid in Gaza, wrote on X.


    Netanyahu travels to Washington for talks about second stage of ceasefire

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida about the second stage of the ceasefire. Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday.

    Though the ceasefire agreement has mostly held over the past 2 1/2 months, its progress has slowed. Israel has said it refuses to move on to the next stage of the ceasefire while the remains of the final hostage killed in the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war are still in Gaza. Challenges in the next phase of the ceasefire include the deployment of an international stabilization force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.

    Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of truce violations.

    Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Jeffrey R. Holland, next in line to lead Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dies at 85

    SALT LAKE CITY — Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was next in line to become the faith’s president, has died. He was 85.

    Holland died early Saturday morning from complications associated with kidney disease, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on its website.

    Holland, who died in Salt Lake City, led a governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which helps set church policy while overseeing the many business interests of what is known widely as the Mormon church.

    He was the next longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President Dallin H. Oaks, making him next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan.

    Henry B. Eyring, who is 92 and one of Oaks’ two top counselors, is now next in line for the presidency.

    Holland had been hospitalized during the Christmas holiday for treatment related to ongoing health complications, the church said. Experts on the faith pointed to his declining health in October when Oaks did not select Holland as a counselor. He attended several church events that month in a wheelchair.

    His death leaves a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Oaks will fill in coming months, likely by calling a new apostle from a lower-tier leadership council. Apostles are all men in accordance with the church’s all-male priesthood.

    Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked for many years in education administration before his call to join the ranks of church leadership. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the Utah-based faith’s flagship school, from 1980 to 1989 and was a commissioner of the church’s global education system.

    Under his leadership, the Provo university worked to improve interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its Torch of Liberty Award for helping foster greater understanding between Christian and Jewish communities.

    Holland is widely remembered for a 2021 speech in which he called on church members to take up metaphorical muskets in defense of the faith’s teachings against same-sex marriage. The talk, known colloquially as “the musket fire speech,” became required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, raising concern among LGBTQ+ students and advocates.

    Holland was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Terry Holland. He is survived by their three children, 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

    —-

    This story has been corrected to show that Holland was preceded in death by his wife.

    —-

    Associated Press Writer Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

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  • How TV Shows Like ‘Mo’ and ‘Muslim Matchmaker’ Allow Arab and Muslim Americans to Tell Their Stories

    COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Whether it’s stand-up comedy specials or a dramedy series, when Muslim American Mo Amer sets out to create, he writes what he knows.

    The comedian, writer and actor of Palestinian descent has received critical acclaim for it, too. The second season of Amer’s “Mo” documents Mo Najjar and his family’s tumultuous journey reaching asylum in the United States as Palestinian refugees.

    Amer’s show is part of an ongoing wave of television from Arab American and Muslim American creators who are telling nuanced, complicated stories about identity without falling into stereotypes that Western media has historically portrayed.

    “Whenever you want to make a grounded show that feels very real and authentic to the story and their cultural background, you write to that,” Amer told The Associated Press. “And once you do that, it just feels very natural, and when you accomplish that, other people can see themselves very easily.”

    At the start of its second season, viewers find Najjar running a falafel taco stand in Mexico after he was locked in a van transporting stolen olive trees across the U.S.-Mexico border. Najjar was trying to retrieve the olive trees and return them to the farm where he, his mother and brother are attempting to build an olive oil business.

    Both seasons of “Mo” were smash hits on Netflix. The first season was awarded a Peabody. His third comedy special on Netflix, “Mo Amer: Wild World,” premiered in October.

    Narratively, the second season ends before the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but the series itself doesn’t shy away from addressing Israeli-Palestinian relations, the ongoing conflict in Gaza or what it’s like for asylum seekers detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers.

    In addition to “Mo,” shows like “Muslim Matchmaker,” hosted by matchmakers Hoda Abrahim and Yasmin Elhady, connect Muslim Americans from around the country with the goal of finding a spouse.

    The animated series, “#1 Happy Family USA,” created by Ramy Youssef, who worked with Amer to create “Mo,” and Pam Brady, follows an Egyptian American Muslim family navigating life in New Jersey after the 9/11 terrorists attack in New York.


    Current events have an influence

    The key to understanding the ways in which Arab or Muslim Americans have been represented on screen is to be aware of the “historical, political, cultural and social contexts” in which the content was created, said Sahar Mohamed Khamis, a University of Maryland professor who studies Arab and Muslim representation in media.

    After the 9/11 attacks, Arabs and Muslims became the villains in many American films and TV shows. The ethnic background of Arabs and the religion of Islam were portrayed as synonymous, too, Khamis said. The villain, Khamis said, is often a man with brown skin with an Arab-sounding name.

    A show like “Muslim Matchmaker” flips this narrative on its head, Elhady said, by showing the ethnic diversity of Muslim Americans.

    “It’s really important to have shows that show us as everyday Americans,” said Elhady, who is Egyptian and Libyan American, “but also as people that live in different places and have kind of sometimes dual realities and a foot in the East and a foot in the West and the reality of really negotiating that context.”

    Before 9/11, people living in the Middle East were often portrayed to Western audiences as exotic beings, living in tents in the desert and riding camels. Women often had little to no agency in these media depictions and were “confined to the harem” — a secluded location for women in a traditional Muslim home.

    This idea, Khamis said, harkens back to the term “orientalism,” which Palestinian American academic, political activist and literary critic Edward Said coined in his 1978 book of the same name.

    Khamis said, pointing to countries like Britain and France, the portrayal in media of people from the region was “created and manufactured, not by the people themselves, but through the gaze of an outsider. The outsiders in this case, he said, were the colonial/imperialist powers that were actually controlling these lands for long periods of time.”

    Among those who study the ways Arabs have been depicted on Western television, a common critique is that the characters are “bombers, billionaires or belly dancers,” she said.


    The limits of representation

    Sanaz Alesafar, executive director of Storyline Partners and an Iranian American, said she has seen some “wins” with regard to Arab representation in Hollywood, noting the success of “Mo,” “Muslim Matchmaker” and “#1 Happy Family USA.” Storyline Partners helps writers, showrunners, executives and creators check the historical and cultural backgrounds of their characters and narratives to assure they’re represented fairly and that one creator’s ideas don’t infringe upon another’s.

    Alesafar argues there is still a need for diverse stories told about people living in the Middle East and the English-speaking diaspora, written and produced by people from those backgrounds.

    “In the popular imagination and popular culture, we’re still siloed in really harmful ways,” she said. “Yes, we’re having these wins and these are incredible, but that decision-making and centers of power still are relegating us to these tropes and these stereotypes.”

    Deana Nassar, an Egyptian American who is head of creative talent at film production company Alamiya Filmed Entertainment, said it’s important for her children to see themselves reflected on screen “for their own self image.” Nassar said she would like to see a diverse group of people in decision-making roles in Hollywood. Without that, it’s “a clear indication that representation is just not going to get us all the way there,” she said.

    Representation can impact audiences’ opinions on public policy, too, according to a recent study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Results showed that the participants who witnessed positive representation of Muslims were less likely to support anti-democratic and anti-Muslim policies compared to those who viewed negative representations.

    For Amer, limitations to representation come from the decision-makers who greenlight projects, not from creators. He said the success of shows like his and others are a “start,” but he wants to see more industry recognition for his work and the work of others like him.

    “That’s the thing, like just keep writing, that’s all it’s about,” he said. “Just keep creating and keep making and thankfully I have a really deep well for that, so I’m very excited about the next things,” he said.

    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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  • Palestinian Man Kills 2 in Car-Ramming and Stabbing Attack in Northern Israel, Police Say

    JERUSALEM (AP) — A car-ramming and stabbing attack by a Palestinian man left two people dead in northern Israel on Friday, police said.

    Police said the attacker first crashed his vehicle into people in the northern city of Beit Shean, killing one man, and then sped onto a highway, where he fatally stabbed a young woman. Police said that the attacker was heading toward the nearby city of Afula when a civilian bystander intervened and the attacker was shot.

    Both of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, Israel’s rescue services said. A teenage boy was hospitalized with minor wounds sustained in the car-ramming, according to bystanders.

    Police said that the attacker, who was hospitalized with injuries, came from the West Bank.

    The war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and sparked a surge of violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with a rise in attacks by Palestinian militants as well as Israeli settler violence against Palestinians.

    In September, Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop during the morning rush hour in Jerusalem, killing six people and wounding another 12, according to Israeli officials.

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