RELIGION HEADLINES WED 8-27-25

(SRN NEWS)-

(  )  A network of abortion clinics in Maine will not resume getting Medicaid funds while its lawsuit against the Trump administration plays out.  The decision against Maine Family Planning by a federal judge comes despite a ruling last month by a different judge, who stated that Planned Parenthood clinics around the country must continue to be reimbursed.  In his ruling against Maine Family Planning, Judge Lance Walker said that Congress can “withhold federal funds and otherwise disassociate from conduct that is not enshrined as a constitutional right”.  The Maine network includes 18 abortion clinics across the state.

(  )  Several Florida cities are facing deadlines in the coming days to paint over or remove rainbow crosswalks — brightly colored street crossings meant to celebrate Gay Pride.  In letters from the state transportation department, communities are being ordered to remove them by early next month.  In July, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy gave governors 60 days to identify safety improvements, adding “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork.”  Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis amplified those comments on X, saying “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.”

(  )  Australia says Iran was behind at least two of the multiple anti-Semitic attacks that have roiled the country in recent months.  In response, the Australian government is expelling the Iranian ambassador and several other officials.  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the attacks “were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.  They have sought to harm and terrorize Jewish Australians and sow hatred and division.”  Anti-Semitism is on the rise all around the world, surging in the fall of 2023 following the devastating Hamas attack on Israel.

(  )  More bad news from Nigeria.  Muslim radicals have killed another 15 Christians in the restive northern part of the country.  Islamic terror groups of one kind or another have been murdering believers in Nigeria for decades in an effort to secure a Sharia state.  Amnesty International Nigeria reacted to the latest killings on Facebook saying “This is yet another indication of how vulnerable rural communities of Plateau State are to incessant attacks that always entirely destroy the affected communities.”  The Nigerian government is being accused of not exerting all its power to bring the terrorists to heel.