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By Celine Castronuovo The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced changes to its Islamic personal laws, now allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosening alcohol restrictions and imposing harsher punishments for “honor killings.” The Associated Press and Reuters reported on the changes Saturday, with the UAE state-run news agency WAM saying that the updates are intended to improve the country’s economic …

By Daniel Politi Evangelical leader and huge Donald Trump supporter Kenneth Copeland had a hearty laugh over Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. But the word laugh doesn’t quite capture what he does during a prayer service. “The media said what?” Copeland said before bursting out laughing in the video posted by Right Wing Watch. …

By the Times Editorial Board A Catholic social services agency urged the Supreme Court this week to rule that the agency can participate in the city of Philadelphia’s foster care program while refusing to work with same-sex couples. The court should reject the agency’s appeal and make it clear that religious freedom may not be used as …

By Dan Robitzski Scientists have long assumed that about 40 percent of the universe’s visible matter — the kind makes up everything we can see and touch — was missing, never having been detected. Now, a team of researchers from France’s National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) says it’s finally found it — hidden away …

By Kathryn Post Taylor Valci was 7 the first time she spoke in tongues. The daughter of a Pentecostal pastor in California’s Bay Area, she grew up watching “Veggie Tales” and attending Missionettes, the Assemblies of God version of Girl Scouts. “For me, personally, God was absolutely the most important thing in the world,” Valci …

By Andrew L. Seidel Stop the counting! Keep counting! These contradictory demands lie at the heart of Trump’s legal strategy to steal the 2020 election. You can see it in the opposing chant of Trump supporters in The Recount’s remarkable side-by-side video of small MAGA mobs in Arizona and Michigan; rats piped to their nearest polling …

By Yonat Shimron Polling predictions frustrated and mystified voters on election night, as they did four years ago, when now-President Donald Trump far exceeded the prognosticators’ expectations. One area where this year’s polls were mostly in line with expectations, however, is religion. Exit polls conducted with voters by Edison Research for the National Election Pool and by AP …

By Casey Quinlan Evangelical leader Franklin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham, is warning voters that a Biden administration could result in the “targeting” of businesses through a “gay lesbian agenda.” Graham also baselessly asserted that Christian businesses and ministries would be put behind bars if Biden won the White House. In an interview released on …

By Joe Sommerlad Donald Trump looks increasingly likely to lose the US presidential election to challenger Joe Biden, with the Democrat just six Electoral College votes shy of the 270 he needs to claim victory and four states still to declare their results. The president moved quickly on Wednesday morning to cry “fraud”, baselessly alleging election interference …

By Scott Stump The New York megachurch pastor known for his celebrity followers has been fired from his position at Hillsong because of “moral failures” and “breaches of trust.” Carl Lentz, 41, who was a spiritual adviser to pop star Justin Bieber for years, has been fired from Hillsong’s New York City location, according to a statement released Wednesday …

By Peter Dockrill A distant asteroid trailing in the gravitational wake of Mars has been observed in greater detail than ever before, and the close-up reveals a surprising resemblance – one that raises some interesting questions about the object’s ancient origins. The asteroid in question, called (101429) 1998 VF31, is part of a group of trojan asteroids sharing the orbit …

By Asad Hashim A Pakistani court has ordered the police to take into custody a man accused of kidnapping, forcibly converting and marrying a 13-year-old Christian child until the next hearing in the case later this week. Azhar Ali, 44, will be presented before the Sindh High Court in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi …