RELIGION HEADLINES THR 11-20

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(SRN NEWS)-

(  )  The leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group has pleaded guilty in New York to trying to recruit others to commit violent attacks against Jews.  One plot would have involved dressing up as Santa Claus to hand out poisoned candy to children.  Federal prosecutors say they will seek a sentence of up to 18 years for Michael Chikvili (chick-VEE-lee), a 22-year-old from the Republic of Georgia.  He pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Brooklyn to soliciting hate crimes and distributing information about making bombs and poison.

(  )  A South Carolina bill that would allow judges to sentence women who get abortions to decades in prison has stalled after failing to get out of a legislative subcommittee this week.  Four of the six Republicans on the panel refused to vote on the measure, which would ban all abortions unless the woman’s life is threatened.  The three Democrats were then able to vote against sending the bill forward.  The proposal is not dead, but the effort did reveal a lack of support amongst Republicans.  South Carolina currently bans abortion at about six weeks.

(  )  Florida elections officials have taken steps under pressure from activists to advance a proposed initiative to legalize recreational marijuana on next year’s ballot.  The procedural move comes after the campaign behind the issue, Smart and Safe Florida, filed a complaint with the Florida Supreme Court.  The group claims that officials in Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration are trying to improperly block the measure from getting on the ballot in 2026.  A growing number of states are moving to legalize marijuana.

(  )  Entrepreneur Richard Gamble has broken ground on an architectural landmark that is expected to be one of the largest Christian monuments in England, if not the world.  The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, with a price tag of 59 million dollars, will not, however, carry any of the familiar Christian icons.  Instead, its signature design is of a Mobius strip.  Gamble says “We live in a country where Christianity has been pretty much put on mute.  To build something that big and unashamedly Christian, I don’t think anybody had the faith that it was going to happen.”