High school football coach asks Supreme Court for help after being fired for praying

A former high school football coach who was fired for praying after games is now asking the US Supreme Court to consider his case of unlawful dismissal, Fox News reports. Joe Kennedy is appealing to the Supreme Court following a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that Bremerton School District in Washington state had fired him lawfully.

Appeals court upholds block on Tennessee “heartbeat” law

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court ruling which blocked a Tennessee law banning abortion at the detection of a “fetal heartbeat,” usually around six weeks gestation, Axios reports. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the block in the wake of Texas’ recent controversial law which bans abortion after six weeks.

Court upholds death sentence for white supremacist who murdered nine at South Carolina black church

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the conviction and death sentence of Dylann Roof, a young, self-confessed white supremacist who murdered nine members of a South Carolina black congregation in 2015, Voice of America (VOA) reports. The unanimous three-judge panel rejected arguments that Roof should have been ruled incompetent to stand trial for the killings at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Two Supreme Court Justices want SCOTUS to review defamation law through Christian ministry case

Two US Supreme Court have stated that a defamation lawsuit by D. James Kennedy Ministries (DJKM) against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) offers the Court an opportunity to review its controversial landmark defamation ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), Fox News reports. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch are calling for the Supreme Court to hear the case specifically in order to revisit the high standard of “actual malice” that was set in 1964, and which they say has rendered it excessively difficult for plaintiffs to prove libel.

Indiana clinics must report complications from abortions says Court of Appeals

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on August 2 upheld an Indiana law requiring abortion providers to report complications arising from abortions carried out in their facilities, the Christian Post (CP) reports. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the case brought by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky which argued Indiana’s Complications Statute of Senate Enrolled Act No. 340 was “unconstitutionally vague.”

Pakistan court upholds life sentence for Christian accused of sending text messages against Islam

A court of appeals in Pakistan has upheld the life sentence of Zafar Bhatti, a Christian man who was convicted and imprisoned in 2017 for supposedly sending insulting text messages Islam’s prophet Mohammed, Morning Star News reports. Pakistan is one of nine nations the US has designated a “Country of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom.

Nevada to pay church $175,000 for legal fees in lawsuit against pandemic restrictions

Nevada is to pay Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley church $175,000 for legal fees it incurred in its lawsuit against state COVID-19 restrictions on houses of worship, the Christian Post reports. The Nevada Board of Examiners unanimously approved a request from the Office of the Attorney General to pay the funds as the result of a tort claim.

Appeals court allows abortion waiting period; SCOTUS does not have to intervene

In a ruling which means the US Supreme Court does not have to immediately get involved, a federal appeals court temporarily reinstated Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period for abortions, the Washington Free Beacon reports. The appeals court decision overturned a 2020 trial court decision which determined the waiting period instituted in 2017 to be unconstitutional.

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