ARIZONA
Polygamist's death creates tension in enclave
The Arizona Republic
The leader of an Arizona-based polygamist sect died Sunday, setting the stage for a possible religious power struggle in the nation's largest enclave of plural marriage in northwestern Arizona.

CALIFORNIA
TV psychic inspires a vision of money
Los Angeles Times
HOLLYWOOD -- Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and director of the Skeptics Society, has an idea for a TV show that would debunk psychics, faith healers and other mysterious phenomena that he deems a fraud or simply explainable in less-than-supernatural terms.

COLORADO
Aspen man objects to yoga as religion
Rocky Mountain News
Many local parents and teachers who have benefited from yoga want stretches and breathing techniques taught to first-, second-, third- and fourth-graders at Aspen Elementary School. But a few parents say teaching yoga in a public school breaches the wall between church and state.

ILLINOIS
Judge rejects atheist lawsuit
United Press International
CHICAGO -- A federal judge Tuesday rejected a lawsuit seeking to block the recitation of an ecumenical prayer at a planned memorial service to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

MARYLAND
Man tied to reputed cult faces more charges of murder conspiracy
The Baltimore Sun
The reputed leader of a space cult in Carroll County, accused of plotting to kill a former business associate, was charged Friday with conspiring to murder two other people, according to court records.

PENNSYLVANIA
Man battled depression before shooting sibling, self;
Deaths of inseparable brothers stun family in Pohatcong Twp.
The Morning Call
After months of struggling, 23-year-old Andrew Parker had a new apartment, a new career path and new encouragement that he was winning his battle against depression. That's why it's so difficult for his family to understand what drove him to use an AK-47 to kill his 22-year-old brother, Daniel, before turning the assault rifle on himself last week in their Bethlehem Township apartment.

AUSTRALIA
Wizard school opens in Austria
BBC News
A school for witchcraft and wizardry has opened in Austria. Pupils of the school, which is located in the mountains of Klagenfurt, can take classes in potions and spell making.

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CANADA
Former Jehovah's Witness weeps as she describes abuse at hands of father
The Canadian Press
TORONTO -- A former Jehovah's Witness whose church elders allegedly covered up her father's sexual abuse wept openly Monday as she described in court the details of her torturous teenage years.

Woman scarred by sex abuse, not life as a Jehovah's Witness, lawyer suggests
The Canadian Press
TORONTO -- It was a childhood of sexual abuse at the hands of her father, not the ways of her church, that sent a former Jehovah's Witness down a rocky path of job insecurity, sexual dalliances and emotional turmoil, a lawyer suggested Tuesday.

ENGLAND
Sikh girl denied free school travel
BBC News
A North East council wants the government to act after being forced to deny a Sikh schoolgirl free transport because she is the "wrong" religion.

KENYA
Witches Scare Pupils, Says Cleric
The East African Standard
Witchcraft is greatly contributing to declining education standards in the district, a Catholic priest said yesterday. The priest in charge of Kebirigo Parish, Father Christopher Oira, said students no longer attend morning and evening tuition for fear of abduction by witches.

Chaos as police battle Mungiki
The Daily Nation
Scores of Mungiki sect followers were yesterday injured in a fierce battle with the police. Chaos started when armed police raided bus terminuses in Kirinyaga District to clear out members of the banned sect who had taken control of matatu (commuter taxi) routes.

SOUTH AFRICA
79 in court for 'witchcraft killings'
News24.com
JOHANNESBURG -- Scores of youths arrested at the weekend in connection with the deaths of a woman and her daughter appeared in the Bochum magistrate's court on Monday, Limpopo police said.

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