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Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pulpits unleashed: Churches no longer bound by IRS gag rule on politics
Florida houses of worship can now endorse political candidates in some cases, an exception created by the IRS recently that reversed decades of legal precedent preventing churches from involvement in politics. The Internal Revenue Service's position came from a July 7 filing meant to end a lawsuit from the National Religious Broadcasters association last year, who argued that a provision in the U.S. tax code infringed on First Amendment rights to speech and religious expression. That provision, known as the Johnson Amendment and covering what are called "501(c)(3)" nonprofits, banned tax-exempt organizations from political participation, like issuing endorsements or opposing candidates. The IRS's joint filing with the religious groups instead says political discussions "from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services" isn't interfering with political campaigns, but instead is similar to a "family discussion concerning candidates." This decision empowers churches in Florida to endorse political candidates, although that is not entirely new in the state's faith landscape. Often, political candidates would speak at churches and would mobilize religious groups to get involved in campaigns related to important issues to their congregation. In 2024, former Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign aimed to mobilize Black churchgoers to turn out to vote in "Souls to the Polls" initiatives in battleground states. Before last year's election, Gov. Ron DeSantis also turned to faith groups to stir opposition against ballot initiatives that would have enshrined abortion rights and recreational marijuana in the state's constitution. The governor turned to his faith and community initiative to mobilize religious groups, and his administration worked with Mat Staver to oppose the abortion amendment. Staver is chairman of Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit law firm and Christian ministry that advocates for religious freedom of expression. Staver lauded the president in a statement following the joint ruling, saying President Donald Trump "pledged to eliminate the Johnson Amendment and allow our pastors and churches to speak freely and without fear of retribution." "The Trump administration has now agreed to unshackle the pulpit from the chains of the Johnson Amendment," Staver said. It's not unusual for churches to get involved in discussions about contentious policy issues, namely abortion. When DeSantis campaigned against the abortion amendment, he went to City Church Tallahassee, which says on its website that it maintains a "conservative theological position." Thomas Wenski, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Miami, said many churches, despite these rules about political endorsement, would endorse candidates and wouldn't have a problem. The Archdiocese of Miami wouldn't do that, however, Wenski added. Although the church says its opinions on contentious topics in ballot amendments, Wenski said it wouldn't endorse political candidates because "a Catholic would feel homeless in either party at this point." Earlier this year, Wenski spoke at a Catholic mass in Tallahassee attended by the governor and reminded those in attendance that even "the migrant is not a stranger," quoting Jesus, and he thanked DeSantis for speaking out against the proposed constitutional amendment on abortion. He added: "The church doesn't endorse political leaders. That's a fool's errand to do that." This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@ On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: In Florida & elsewhere, churches can now endorse political candidates
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Immigrant detainees to be held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
LAKEHURST - The Department of Defense intends to house detained undocumented immigrants at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, according to federal officials. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed the department's intentions in a July 15 letter to U.S. Rep. Herb Conaway (D-3), who sits on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and whose district includes portions of the 42,000-acre facility. The decision was first reported by NJ Spotlight News. "I certify that the provision of Department of Defense real property at Camp Atterbury, Indiana and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, for temporary use by the Department of Homeland Security to house illegal aliens will not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or other military requirements, including National Guard and Reserve readiness," Hegseth wrote. Representatives for Conaway did not immediately return a request for comment. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, the Department of Homeland Security currently houses about 1,000 detained undocumented immigrants at two facilities in North Jersey — Delaney Hall in Newark and the Elizabeth Detention Center. TRAC is a nonpartisan research center that analyzes federal documents. Delaney Hall, one of the largest immigrant detention centers in the Untied States, has been a regular site for protests since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January. In May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-10) were arrested following incidents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers outside the facility. The case against Baraka was dismissed, but McIver was indicted on charges that she assaulted, resisted, impeded and interfered with federal officers. More: NJ Rep. LaMonica McIver makes court appearance for assault charges in Newark ICE incident It was not immediately clear how many undocumented immigrants would be detained at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. A spokesperson for the base and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return requests for comment. In February, the New York Times reported that the Trump Administration planned to hold undocumented immigrants at numerous military facilities across the country, specifically citing Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. That initiative got a huge boost this month when Congress passed a spending bill that authorized $168 billion for immigration enforcement, a nearly fivefold increase from current spending. More: See how ICE targets immigrants appearing at routine court hearings Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is the only tri-service military installation in the country, operated jointly by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. It was created in a 2009 realignment that combined the operations of Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base and Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst. The base is perhaps best known as the site of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. Mike Davis is an investigative reporter with the Asbury Park Press, where he's covered local news, politics, transportation and the cannabis industry. His work has changed laws, prompted government investigations and even won a few awards, which make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@ @byMikeDavis on social media platforms or send an encrypted message via Signal @bymikedavis.22. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Feds: Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to hold immigrant detainees Solve the daily Crossword
Newsweek
12 minutes ago
- Newsweek
The MAGA Meltdown Over Trump's Jeffrey Epstein Scandal
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The most striking feature of the Jeffrey Epstein drama playing out across the Trump administration is MAGA followers' shock at learning that Donald Trump was a longtime associate of Epstein's. Some even begin to wonder whether the president's name might appear in any documentation that may still exist about Epstein's alleged abuse of underage girls. The MAGA movement is no stranger to sex abuse scandals—for years, it's invented ever-more salacious ones to pin on its political enemies rather than admit Trump's proven misdeeds. Edgar Maddison Welch shot up the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C., on December 4, 2016, just weeks after Trump had been elected president for the first time. As Q-Anon emerged in early 2017, "Pizzagate" became one of the central tenants of the cult. By 2020, the theory had gone beyond merely claiming that Democrats and financial elites like Bill Gates were running pedophile rings, and turned into a full-blown delusion that they were torturing children to jack up their hormones and then draining them of their blood to extract psychoactive, life-extending substances. As Right Wing Watch documents, uber-Trump cultist and Q-Anon theorist Liz Crokin explains in one of her videos: Adrenochrome is a drug that the elites love. It comes from children. The drug is extracted from the pituitary gland of tortured children. It's sold on the black market. It's the drug of the elites. It's their favorite drug. It is beyond evil. It's demonic. It is so sick. When then-OMB Director Mick Mulvaney used the word "pizza" in a televised cabinet meeting, Crokin and other Trump cultists took the remark as confirmation of the "reality" of children being being tortured and having their adrenochrome "harvested" at a pizza restaurant in a D.C. suburb. "President Trump and his staffers are constantly trolling the deep state," Crokin said of Mulvaney's reference. "That's President Trump's way of letting you know Pizzagate is real and it's not fake. They're—he's constantly using their words against them and throwing it in their face and God bless him, it's amazing." Much of this served to distract from a real sex scandal Republicans would rather not discuss: Trump's years-long and reportedly close association with Jeffrey Epstein, and the young women—one who claimed, but later retracted, that she was 13 at the time—who have accused Trump of sexual assault. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to speak at... WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to speak at an artificial intelligence and energy summit. MoreNow, the old proverb about the dangers of "riding the tiger" is haunting Trump. Whataboutisms like, "But what about the Clintons?" and "What about Biden's laptop?" aren't working this time. People of all political stripes aren't willing to overlook the alleged abuse of youngsters. Many Trump supporters have spent years emotionally and socially invested in a mythos that depicts the president as a brilliant, competent, and upstanding man with the best interests of the working class at heart. They've merged their own sense of self with the persona of Trump they've seen, heard, and internalized from within the carefully controlled right-wing information bubble. Admitting betrayal or deception requires admitting they were wrong, which comes with deep psychological costs—thus the anguish and conflict we're seeing among the Trump base. As MAGA icon Candace Owens offered this week in a wounded voice, "What is happening now is it seems like you think your base is stupid. That's how I feel. I feel like Trump thinks his base is stupid." The big question now is whether the swamp of right-wing media can process the news in a way that will turn it into simply another passing-and-soon-forgotten Trump scandal, like his abuse of E. Jean Carroll, the Access Hollywood tape, or the 34 felony convictions arising from his payoffs to Stormy Daniels for their extramarital tryst. Trump's ability to survive the Epstein saga will also depend on whether his administration can release anything that his base may consider credible. Original videotapes or photos that are not clearly doctored, first-person testimony by Ghislaine Maxwell should she ever be allowed to speak with the press or Congress (Republicans just blocked the latter), or more former teenage victims going on the record could spell doom for his relationship with his base. On the other hand, Trump's efforts to squelch the conversation, strong-arm the press, and threaten reporters who ask Epstein questions may work. More concerning, if cornered Trump may decide to do something truly risky—something that could crash the economy or lead the nation to war—to change the subject. If there's anything we know about Donald J. Trump, it's that he's a survivor. His tenacity and thirst for revenge are legendary, and if he makes it through this there will be hell to pay, at least in some quarters. Hopefully it won't be our entire nation—or world peace—that has to suffer the consequences. Thom Hartmann is a four‐time winner of the Project Censored Award, a New York Times bestselling author of over thirty books, and America's #1 progressive talk radio show host for more than a decade. His latest book is The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
