A country up for grabs
Myanmar’s military toppled the civilian government. Now the country’s diverse population is banding together in protest
Cellblock campaign
Sam Brownback launches an unorthodox presidential campaign in an unusual way-by spending a night in a prison cell
Homeward bound
Soldiers on leave find a place to relax at USO airport centers
Who owns the steeple?
Litigation looms over church property as conservative congregations and dioceses consider leaving mainline denominations
Keeping tabs
Clamping down on "foreign" influences, the Kremlin forces churches to report attendance and even cash donations
Voices
Joel Belz
Far as the curse is found
Remember when the FBI-and a few other altogether dependable things in life-worked? When I was a kid, getting on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list was tantamount to being captured. You could count on it...
Andrée Seu Peterson
We shall have spring again
Imagine that you have been cold for a very long time, as long as you can remember. You are in a snowy landscape, but this is not the pleasant kind of snow of a Thomas Kincade painting, where hot c...
Marvin Olasky
The mark of Cain
ANGOLA, LA.-The New York Times last week blasted the growing number of Christian programs in prisons. Imagine convicts being told that God can heal them if they "turn from their sinful past"! Who ...
Mailbag
What right? What is happening in Darfur is a terrible crime ("Darfur," Nov. 25). It is government-sponsored mass murder and China, because of its desire for Sudan's oil, will veto any UN Se...
Notebook
Money
No easy cure
The long-term cure for sin doesn't come in a bottle, but Somaxon Pharmaceuticals gave it a good try. The San Diego-based drug maker has been attempting to find a drug to treat problem gambling, bu...
Sports
Head of the class
When the Chargers defense forced a turnover late in the fourth quarter of a 48-20 blowout victory over the Denver Broncos Dec. 10, San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson had no intention of re...
Culture
Notable CDs
Bestselling CDs
Style: Thirty-five career-spanning classics: some in their entirety, others spliced and interwoven, all remixed either a little or a lot. Worldview: That when it comes to new ways of market...
Movies & TV
Apocalypse then
What are we to make of the violence that permeates Mel Gibson's undeniably impressive piece of cinematic art? That was the question Christians were asking themselves in 2004 after the release of T...
Movies & TV
Hard rocks
In a brief rest from AK-47-toting rebels, a war-hardened Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) tries to make sense of human nature from the bloody chaos around him. Are people naturally good or bad? Na...
Movies & TV
One day at a time
ABC's thriller Day Break (Wednesdays 9:00 p.m. ET) revolves around a cop who must relive the same day over and over until he gets it right. Only then can he move on to the next day. The difficulty...
Dispatches
Quick Takes
Quick Takes
Fire sale The deals were red hot. And so was the building. Not even a fire could keep holiday shoppers away from a shopping mall in Mentor, Ohio. As black smoke from an electrical fire bill...
Quotables
Quotables
"Don't tell mama I'm for Obama." Unofficial slogan of staffers for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), according to the Washington Post, with "mama" being a reference to former first lady and fello...
The Buzz
The Buzz
Immigration Federal agents arrested more than 1,200 people on illegal immigration charges in a series of raids on Dec. 13 at Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in six states. Federal offici...
The Buzz Sidebar
Pentagon attacked
I confess: I have attended Bible studies led by the Christian Embassy. Multiple times. And here's the worst part: They changed my life. The ministry, a longtime work affiliated with Campus ...