POLYGAMY CASE "Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS)" ARIZONA & UTAH Jilted Husband Sues Polygamous Church The Salt Lake Tribune Jason Miles Williams says his ex-wife was persuaded by leaders of a Utah polygamous religion to divorce him and become the second plural wife of another church member. Activists prod officials to crack down on polygamy The Associated Press Polygamists have lived mostly undisturbed for the better part of a century in northern Arizona, but anti-polygamy activists are hoping to capitalize on the recent publicity given to their cause by an independent gubernatorial candidate to bring about changes. Other news agencies: ,

INDIANA
Decapitated farm animals, birds found at Dunes
The Associated Press
BEVERLY SHORES -- Authorities are investigating the dumping of several decapitated animals at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

MARYLAND
Odd case takes more twists, turns in court
The Baltimore Sun
One year after reputed cult leader Scott Caruthers' arrest in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme, the court system is sorting through a tangled case in which one defendant is vowing to turn on the others, two suspects are undergoing psychiatric evaluations and one woman's "deprogramming" is under scrutiny.
Related article:
Judge is asked to bar tape in death-plot trial, The Baltimore Sun

MASSACHUSETTS
Farrakhan asks Bush to rethink position on Iraq
The Boston Herald
Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, called on President Bush yesterday to rethink his position on Iraq, saying an invasion would be a grave mistake.

MICHIGAN
Simple life of Amish may be in for change
Detroit Free Press
For hundreds of years, Amish farmers have lived without modern conveniences like electricity, indoor bathrooms and septic tanks. That's not good enough for a regional health agency in Mt. Pleasant.

PENNSYLVANIA
Ira Einhorn Found Guilty of Murder
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Ira Einhorn, the '70s hippie guru who fled to Europe and lived like a country squire after being charged with murder, was convicted Thursday of killing his girlfriend and stuffing her corpse in his closet a quarter-century ago.

Institute Seeks Scientific Take on Spiritual Transformation
Knight Ridder News Service
PHILADELPHIA -- When the Metanexus Institute on Science and Religion solicited research proposals for studying "spiritual transformation," its officials didn't expect to be inundated with 500 applications.

UTAH
SLC to Get Lawyer on Plaza Issue
The Salt Lake Tribune
The Salt Lake City Council has respectfully declined to take the mayor's advice that he is in charge of the city's response to the Main Street plaza ruling.

U. Law Students Apply for First Protest Permit
The Salt Lake Tribune
There is a way to respect the First Amendment and the wishes of the LDS Church on the Main Street Plaza, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Who Is the Real Rocky?
The Salt Lake Tribune
It has been a rough week for Rocky Anderson. Since Monday -- when the Salt Lake City mayor wondered aloud whether the city should find a constitutional way to allow the LDS Church to continue to restrict speech on its Main Street plaza while maintaining public access -- he has been called spineless, a church puppet, a sell-out.

Ex-LDS bishop gets new hearing date
The Associated Press
A former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is charged with sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl has gotten a new court hearing date.

FEATURE
Critics question whether Queen of Sheba existed
The Associated Press
About 3,000 years after her celebrated visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, the Queen of Sheba has taken a triple hit in recent weeks. We're being told that maybe the woman never existed.

CANADA
Dying wish unfulfilled;
Judge can't hear transfusion case
The Calgary Sun
Bethany Hughes' dying wish for teens to have the right to determine their own medical treatment is a wish family court can't grant, a judge ruled yesterday...Bethany -- a Jehovah's Witness -- opposed receiving blood.

New trial sends perv to jail;
Psychic abused girl
The Toronto Sun
A Toronto psychic who had sex with a girl for six years under the guise of exorcising deadly demons was jailed 15 months yesterday in a case that took nearly 10 years to resolve.

The Bible as 'hate literature'?
Canadians advance bill that chills speech about homosexuality
WorldNetDaily.com
A prison sentence for quoting the Bible in Canada? Holy Scriptures treated as "hate literature"? That could happen if a proposed bill is passed by Parliament, according to opponents who believe it would criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior.

CHINA
Former Falun Gong Follower Says Cult Leader Should be on Trial
The People's Daily
"It's Li Hongzhi who should be tried, not us," said Mo Chou, a former dedicated follower of the notorious Falun Gong cult. "What we have done has violated China's laws and we are sure to be punished according to the law, but we were cheated by Li Hongzhi and it's Li who misled us into acting against the government."
NOTE: The People's Daily is a pro-communist newspaper operated by the government of communist China which is hostile to Falun Gong.

ENGLAND
Witch hopes to snare sniper
The Age
A British witch says he is hoping to travel to the US to act as "bait" in the hunt for the serial sniper. Kevin Carlyon, 43, high priest of the British White Witches, said a television company in the US might take him across the Atlantic to help in the investigation.

JAPAN
MPD extends rewards for info on Aum fugitives
The Daily Yomiuri
As the number of tips to police on the three members of the Aum Supreme Truth cult on the nationwide police wanted list has declined, the Metropolitan Police Department has announced it will continue to offer 6 million yen in reward money for information leading to the arrests of the three for another year.

KENYA
Uproar as MPs claim State protecting Mungiki
The Nation
A claim by Opposition MPs that the Mungiki sect is a Government department caused uproar in the House yesterday. Members of the outlawed sect enjoyed protection from the government despite their involvement in unlawful activities, the MPs said.

NIGERIA
Cultists Kill Undergraduate in University
Daily Trust
An undergraduate of the University of Jos, Emmanuel Godwin Tawe was at the weekend shot dead by unknown gunmen suspected to be members of a cult.

ZAMBIA
Belief in Witchcraft Rescues Prisoner From Death Sentence
The Post
A belief in witchcraft no matter how unreasonable amounts to extenuating circumstances, said Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice David Lewanika as a death row inmate had his death sentence commuted to 20-years with hard labour.

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