Mark A. Kellner

Liberty University agrees to independent sex assault probe, advocates claim

Advocates for sexual assault victims at Liberty University announced Thursday that the school's president, Jerry Prevo, agreed to ask the evangelical Christian institution's board of trustees Friday to approve an independent investigation into the school's handling of assault cases.

November 4, 2021

Protest set Thursday at Liberty, day after school president promises to address sex-assault concerns

Students and alumni plan to converge on the Lynchburg, Virginia, campus of Liberty University Thursday to demand administrators take more aggressive action on sex-assault complaints.

November 3, 2021

Using flamethrower of satire, ‘Babylon Bee’ roasts ‘wokeness’ in new book

Being woke means never having to say you're sorry, according to "The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness," a new book released Nov. 2 by District-based Salem Books.

November 3, 2021

‘Christmas with The Chosen’ sets theater sales record, adds screens

"The Chosen," a streaming video series that captured 200 million views by the end of its second season, has set a record for early ticket sales with its special Christmas presentation set to open in more than 1,500 theaters on Dec. 1, the series creator and executive producer said.

November 2, 2021

U.S. to honor Pete Seeger, Katharine Graham, Title IX on stamps

U.S. postage stamps, generally given to benign images of astronauts, deceased actors, and the periodic visage of a bighorn sheep, will get a bit of an edge next year with a trio of new issues honoring a crusading newspaper publisher, an anti-war folksinger and a civil rights law.

November 1, 2021

Calif. pro-life group claims narrow victory over vaccine protest ban

A federal judge has partially blocked a new California law banning protests near facilities offering vaccinations.

November 1, 2021

D.C. police probe antisemitic vandalism at GWU fraternity

The Metropolitan Police Department said Monday it is investigating a break-in and vandalism at a George Washington University fraternity in which a replica of a sacred Jewish text was damaged.

November 1, 2021

Ratio Christi gets win at University of Houston, days after lawsuit is filed

Ratio Christi, the evangelical Christian organization which sued the University of Houston-Clear Lake on Monday claimed a win five days later when the school said it would grant the group "recognized student organization" status.

October 29, 2021

Rubio, Cruz back Christian website designer seeking Supreme Court hearing

The Denver-area Christian website designer seeking to block Colorado from compelling her to design websites with same-sex messages violating her beliefs got some powerful support Friday as supporters -- including 45 lawmakers such as Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas -- asked the Supreme Court to review her case.

October 29, 2021

Activists seek climate ‘Day of Prayer’ for Manchin on All Saints’ Day

An interfaith group in the home state of West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III plans to hold a Day of Prayer on Monday, urging him to support government efforts to slow climate change.

October 29, 2021

Global pro-life coalition marks anniversary minus Biden, U.S.

A 36-nation coalition marked the first anniversary Thursday of a document defending women's health, life and the family -- without the official sanction of the United States, where President Biden withdrew U.S. assent to the Geneva Consensus Declaration soon after he was inaugurated.

October 28, 2021

Afghans have less religious liberty under new Taliban regime, U.S. watchdog group says

Members of minority Muslim religious communities in Afghanistan -- as well as non-Muslims, atheists and converts to Christianity -- are "at grave threat" under the Taliban's rule, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said Thursday.

October 28, 2021

Utah board asks to rename Dixie State University, despite no Civil War connection

Utah's Board of Higher Education unanimously voted Wednesday to ask legislators to rename a 110-year-old university in the southwestern part of the state because its name has "racist" implications.

October 27, 2021

Liberty University president blasts ex-spokesman’s lawsuit for ‘false’ allegations

Liberty University President Jerry Prevo on Tuesday accused the school's former spokesman of "falsely" alleging in a lawsuit that university officials "attempted to mishandle" a raft of sexual abuse complaints.

October 26, 2021

Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to prison for ‘extremist’ religious activity in Russia

Four Russian members of the Jehovah's Witnesses received stiff prison terms Monday in what the American-based movement calls the "longest, harshest" sentences imposed on its believers since the 2017 designation of the group as "extremists."

October 25, 2021

Liberty University sued over alleged ‘whistleblower’ firing in school’s sex-abuse probe

A former top Liberty University official is suing the evangelical Christian school, alleging he was fired for blowing the whistle on what he said was the mishandling of students' and staffers' sexual abuse complaints.

October 25, 2021

Evangelical group sues University of Houston over registration

An evangelical Christian group sued the University of Houston-Clear Lake on Monday, claiming that the school violated its religious freedom in refusing to grant it "recognized" status as a campus organization.

October 25, 2021

Daniel Darling, ousted NRB spokesman, to lead cultural center at Baptist seminary

Daniel Darling, the former National Religious Broadcasters spokesman fired Aug. 27 for telling evangelicals they should get COVID-19 vaccinations, has a new job.

October 25, 2021

Bartholomew I, Orthodox patriarch, out of D.C. hospital, Biden meeting on track, spokesman says

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world's 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians, is recovering from an illness and might not make his scheduled meeting with President Biden at the White House on Monday.

October 25, 2021

Mount Zion UMC, District’s oldest Black church, awarded with preservation grant

Three D.C. churches, including the District's oldest Black congregation, have won several thousand dollars in grant funding for preserving their buildings.

October 23, 2021