trump

the Web Editors 8-02-2017

President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement on immigration reform accompanied by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) (L) and David Perdue (R-Ga.), at the White House. Aug. 2, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
 

President Donald Trump and Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) on Wednesday unveiled a plan at the White House to overhaul the rules for legal immigrants, a proposal that would slash numbers overall and focus on skilled immigrants, the White House said.

President Trump, flanked by evangelical leaders Paula White, right, and Jack Graham, in blue suit, speaks during the National Day of Prayer on May 4, 2017. Photo courtesy of Reuters/Carlos Barria

Squeezed among two dozen other evangelical supporters of the president, Southern Baptist Richard Land added his hand to the others reaching to pray for President Trump. The July 10 Oval Office prayer session, which has been panned and praised, is just one example of the access Trump and his key aides have given to conservative Christian leaders — from an hourslong May dinner in the Blue Room to an all-day meeting earlier this month in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door.

Image via Madeleine Buckley/ RNS 

“Since all of these folk make a big deal about putting their hand on the Bible and swearing themselves into office, we’ve come to let them know what’s in the Bible,” said the Rev. William J. Barber II, a North Carolina pastor at the forefront of state and national protests focused on poverty and civil rights.

Image via Rena Schild/ Shutterstock

What we’ve learned three years after Eric Garner’s death is that we can’t give up on God’s mandate for justice, incarnated in the gospel’s good news. If we trust and believe that selfish agendas of special interests will not prevail, we are compelled instead to believe that love will conquer hate.

Ryan Galloway 7-14-2017

Image via Reuters/Jeff Mason.

A Christianity that would vote for its own defense over the defense of those coming from war-torn countries, or the most in need among us, does not abide by the commands of its true champion — Jesus Christ.

Photo via Reuters/RNS 

In the wake of Trump’s executive orders restricting travel to the U.S. from seven — and under the revised travel ban, six — Muslim-majority countries, the report said, “the religious affiliation of refugees has come under scrutiny.”

Jazmine Steele 7-12-2017

America as a largely Christian nation is under scrutiny for its values and integrity. It’s an interesting time to be a person committed to faith in action. How does Christian faith inspire a response to these chaotic times? 

Sharon Watkins 6-29-2017

Rev. Sharon Watkins at the Circle of Protection news conference.

Further, this proposed budget seems to be based on an assumption that poor people and children should fund our national defense. The National Council of Churches and the Circle of Protection do not agree. The biblical prophets teach us that our security depends on upholding justice for people in poverty. Common wisdom in our own time tells us, “a hungry man is an angry man.” 

Elizabeth Welliver 6-20-2017

By the time I learned to read, Juana’s eldest daughter Lesvi was suffering from a life-threatening illness in Guatemala. She returned to care for her daughter, risking her own safety to make the dangerous trek. When she returned to the U.S., she learned that not only would her asylum status be denied, but she would be ordered to leave the country. But she couldn’t. Her child needed medical care.

Image via Susan Montgomery/ shutterstock.com

Kelly said in a statement on Thursday he was rescinding the initiative, known as DAPA, because "there is no credible path forward to litigate the currently enjoined policy."

Chris Curia 6-13-2017

Image via Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.com

Trump’s trip, then, is the epitome of this unique, sales-based approach that characterized his campaign and administration — a move toward achieving personal, political, and even religious victory, simultaneously. But to what end? The only clear motivation to which I can point is the uncannily vague promise to “Make America Great Again.”

Image via Reuters/ Kevin Lamarque

Evangelicals, Worthen said, were trained “to see the Bible as a code book that, properly interpreted, could reveal the true meaning of current events no matter what the fancy scientists and political elites would tell you.”

James Comey is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing June 8. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

James Comey said on Thursday he was disturbed by President Donald Trump's bid to get him to drop a probe into the former national security advisor, but the former FBI director would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice.

James Comey waits to testify to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on "Russia's intelligence activities" on Capitol Hill Jan.10. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

Former FBI Director James Comey said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump asked him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. In written testimony released the day before he appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said Trump told him at a meeting in the White House in February: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

Then-Assistant U.S. Attorney General Christopher Wray pauses during a press conference at the Justice Department Nov. 4, 2003. REUTERS/Molly Riley/File Photo

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he plans to nominate Christopher Wray, a former U.S. assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush now in private practice, to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

the Web Editors 5-18-2017

Roger Ailes answers questions during a 2006 panel discussion. REUTERS/Fred Prouser

Ailes grew the network to profound influence among right-wing audiences. But many other have found his Fox News growth strategy troubling during a time when use of the term fake news is on the rise. 

FILE PHOTO: Michael Flynn testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on "Worldwide Threats" in Washington February 4, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo

The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena on Wednesday demanding documents related to Russia from President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, ramping up its monthslong investigation of Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

FILE PHOTO: FBI Director James Comey waits to speak at the Boston Conference on Cyber Security at Boston College. March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey followed a turbulent year for Comey in which he became embroiled in controversy over his handling of investigations involving both Trump and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Here is a timeline of the events that preceded Comey's firing and Trump's reaction to them.

Pollution, poverty, and war take their toll on our health in ways beyond our control, and yet health care in our nation is still treated as a commodity for those who can afford it, rather than as a right for all. It is unthinkable that our nation can build pipelines that poison clean drinking water but expect citizens to suffer without affordable treatment due to lead exposure. It is unacceptable that some communities are trapped in cycles of poverty through discrimination often born of racism but cannot afford the medicine they need because their money must go to cheap, often less-nutritious food. And while it is unconscionable that our nation spends more on destroying lives abroad than it does on saving lives at home, the damage from war exceeds mere monetary cost. Investing in fighting an enemy abroad fuels enmity and distrust at home, putting undo stress on us and eroding our sense of compassion.

Trump will mark the National Day of Prayer by issuing guidance to federal agencies like the Treasury Department on how to interpret a law that says churches and religious organizations risk losing their tax-exempt status if they participate in political campaigns.