GEORGIA
Grand jury expands case against Nuwaubian leader
The Associated Press
EATONTON -- A Putnam County grand jury has almost doubled the number of crimes alleged against Dwight York, the leader of the United Nuwuabian Nation of Moors. The grand jury handed down a 208-count indictment Thursday, naming York in 197 of the charges, almost all of which are child molestation or aggravated child molestation.

MISSOURI
2 Miss Cleo executives get short probation terms in Missouri
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS -- The two Fort Lauderdale men accused of bilking consumers of $500 million through their Miss Cleo TV psychic operation flew to St. Louis on Wednesday, pleaded no contest to felony fraud, were sentenced and flew home after their corporations paid a $50,000 fine.

Phony Psychic 'Miss Cleo' Gets a Slap on the Wrist for Stealing Millions
NewsMax.com Wires
ST. CHARLES - Crime does pay: Two Florida corporations behind television "psychic" Miss Cleo saw the writing on the wall and agreed to pay a mere $50,000 fine for defrauding consumers out of millions in pay-per-call services.
Further research:
COURT TV's Full Coverage of Miss Cleo or COURT TV's Miss Cleo Special Report, including legal documents and script which "psychics" read to callers.

America's elusive minority: Muslims
The Christian Science Monitor
ST. LOUIS -– Muslims are taking root in America. Though small in number, they're growing fast and setting up enclaves in some of the largest cities. A study released today shows they're better educated and almost as well paid as the non-Hispanic white population. But if American Muslims are poised to join the mainstream economically, politics and religion are roiling the confluence.

OREGON
Sisters sue LDS church, allege abuse
The Oregonian
Two sisters filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing a Mormon high priest of repeatedly sexually abusing them from the early 1970s until the early 1980s.

PENNSYLVANIA
Einhorn Trial Hears Skull Details
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Spectators at the murder trial of former hippie guru Ira Einhorn gasped as photos of his former girlfriend Holly Maddux's severely fractured skull were projected on a courtroom screen Friday.

Amish farmers, others counting on new tobacco to pay the bills
The Associated Press
LITITZ -- The straw-hatted farmer and a helper deftly cut away at stalks of the light-green tobacco so that they fell neatly in a row, ready to be speared onto drying racks.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Pagans gather in S. Carolina
The Associated Press
SPARTANBURG -- In the very conservative, very Christian upstate section of South Carolina, a group of pagans met to welcome the autumnal equinox, celebrate the harvest and study the tenets of their various faiths.

TENNESSEE
Tenn. Mom, Preacher Accused of Letting Girl Die by Turning to God
ABCNews.com
When doctors told Jacqueline Crank to get her daughter to a hospital for the tumor that was growing on her shoulder, the Tennessee woman turned to God instead. Now the woman could face murder charges on top of the aggravated child abuse and neglect charges that she and the girl's "spiritual father," Ariel Ben Sherman, already face.

UTAH
S. Utah officer-polygamist faces sealed state counts;
Man is a member of the fundamentalist LDS sect
Deseret News
ST. GEORGE - The state Attorney General's Office has filed a case under seal against a police officer serving in the twin polygamist towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., a 5th District Court clerk confirmed today. State prosecutors have been investigating officer Rodney Holm, an admitted polygamist.
Other news agencies:
Criminal Charges Filed Under Seal Against Polygamist, The Salt Lake Tribune

Mormon Church Takes Anti-War Stance
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Mormon church issued a strong anti-war message at its semiannual General Conference, clearly referring to current hostilities in the Middle East, advocating patience and negotiation, and urging the faithful to be peacemakers.

VIRGINIA
Muhammad was ''a terrorist,'' Falwell says
The Associated Press
The Rev. Jerry Falwell says "I think Muhammad was a terrorist'' in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on the CBS program "60 Minutes.'' The conservative Baptist minister from Lynchburg tells correspondent Bob Simon he has concluded from reading Muslim and non-Muslim writers that Islam's prophet ``was a -- a violent man, a man of war.''

Falwell: Intent not to attack Muhammad;
Baptist pastor stirs U.S. Muslims, calls Islam's prophet 'terrorist'
WorldNetDaily.com
In an interview with WorldNetDaily, Rev. Jerry Falwell said his characterization of Islam's prophet Muhammad as a terrorist in a segment on the next edition of "60 Minutes" was not intended to antagonize Muslim people. Other news agencies:
Muslims protest Falwell interview, The Houston Chronicle

UPI: Falwell Muslim Comments Spark Global Protests
NewsMax.com
UPI reports that remarks by conservative Baptist minister Rev. Jerry Falwell, who called Prophet Mohammed a "terrorist," appears to have outraged Muslims across the globe with protests reported from India to Malaysia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Atheists urged to unite;
March leader will visit S.L. to push 'godless' activism
Deseret News
They're calling it, without flinching, the Godless Americans March on Washington. They could have called it the Atheist Americans March but that doesn't have the same ring, says Ellen Johnson. Besides, she suggests, why shrink from a term that only the non-godless see as a damning insult.

AUSTRALIA
Scientist claims human cloning 'underway'
ABC Online
The head of a human cloning firm run by a controversial sect says several viable human pregnancies are in progress but she also admits there have been miscarriages

CHINA
Hackers Hit Hong Kong Newspaper
The Associated Press
HONG KONG -- Mainland Chinese who went online Thursday to read a Hong Kong newspaper were redirected by hackers to a Web site full of Falun Gong messages, a newspaper spokesman said.

INDIA
Jaya wields stick on conversions, gets Sangh’s pat;
Ordinance bans conversions by ‘force or fraud'
The Indian Express
CHENNAI -- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has banned religious conversions by ‘‘force or fraud’’ in the state, earning a pat on the back from the Sangh Parivar but criticism from Christian organisations. Other news agencies:
Indian state bans conversions, BBC News

JAPAN
Aum to be put under surveillance for three more years
Japan Today
TOKYO — The Justice Ministry's Public Security Investigation Agency will ask the Public Security Examination Commission to allow it to place the Aum Shinrikyo cult under surveillance for an additional three years, informed sources said Monday.

KENYA
Uhuru denies links with Mungiki sect
The Nation
President Moi's preferred successor, Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday said he had nothing to do with the outlawed Mungiki sect. He said those linking him with the group were bent on maligning his name as he campaigned for the presidency.

PHILIPPINES
Man claiming to be sex cult leader nabbed
Inquirer News Service
BACOLOD CITY -- The National Bureau of Investigation has arrested the man claiming to be a sex cult leader who sent photos of nude women and children to media outlets in this city and to senators in Manila.
Other news agencies:
NBI agents nab leader of sex cult in Bacolod, The Manila Times
Sex cult head locked up in jail, The Philippine Star

Court to examine firearms of 'cult'
The Sun Star Cagayan de Oro
The Regional Trial Court Branch 25 (RTC) will trace for itself the serial numbers of the 16 high-powered firearms confiscated from cult group Philippine Benevolent Christian Missionaries (PBCM) sometime this week.

ROPEROS: The Ecleo case (Commentary)
The Sun Star Cebu
Since when have prisoners been granted the right to demand what prison cell they should occupy in our jails? And since when have friends and kin of suspects been given the unique privilege of pressuring authorities for special treatment of suspected murderers simply because they head religious cults, and kin to powerful politicians in the home province?

SOUTH AFRICA
Satanists get life
News24.com
JOHANNESBURG -- Two self-confessed satanists, who consider themselves to be "God's angels of death sent to kill people", were both given two life sentences and 27-year jail terms by Mr Justice Ezra Goldstein in the Johannesburg Supreme Court on Friday.

SPAIN
Opus Dei Founder to Be Canonized, Religion Still Stirs Debate Over Its Practices
The Associated Press
FUENLABRADA - When his alarm clock rings in the morning, Tello Aguilar never hits the snooze button. He says God doesn't want him to.

Pilgrims Arrive for Opus Dei
The Associated Press
ROME -- Boatloads of pilgrims from Spain arrived in Rome Saturday for the canonization of the founder of the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei in a ceremony led by Pope John Paul II.

DISCLAIMER: Sect News Daily is not responsible for the content of any external links or news items written for any newspaper or news agency, nor are we responsible for the length of time external links are available online. Although Sect News Daily is intended for an evangelical audience interested in current events, we do not promote any specific denomination or church. This is to prevent us from unintentionally promoting a group or a group's teachings that may be in conflict with the spiritual beliefs of the staff of Sect News Daily. Sect News Daily does not regard all religious or spiritual groups listed in news items as cults. Some articles are posted to keep the evangelical Christian informed as to events in Christendom.